Pattern Breakers
130 episodes - English - Latest episode: 5 days ago - ★★★★★ - 367 ratingsHost Mike Maples Jr. from venture capital firm Floodgate offers lessons from the rare startup super performers — BEFORE they were successful. Pattern Breakers features interviews with some of Silicon Valley’s most legendary entrepreneurs and thought leaders, including Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen, LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, Instagram founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Kreiger, business maverick Mark Cuban, and Shopify co-founder Tobi Lütke.
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Episodes
Breakthrough Lessons: Why You Need to Nail a Niche before Going Big
February 18, 2020 17:13 - 8 minutes - 7.47 MBIn Crossing the Chasm Geoffrey Moore clearly lays out a very important idea: you need to appeal to a niche of visionaries, before pragmatists—or your startup will usually fail. In this Lesson of Greatness, Mike Maples Jr of Floodgate builds on this by showing that to get big, you have to start small. The episode contains specific strategies for founders to consider when nailing their early niches on the way to massive success. Check out the new Pattern Breakers Blog at patternbreakers.subst...
Why Geoffrey Moore's Crossing the Chasm is a must-read for Ambitious Startup Founders
February 18, 2020 17:07 - 31 minutes - 28.6 MBCrossing the Chasm by Geoffrey Moores is the most influential book on technology go-to-market ever written, and for good reason. In this episode, Mike Maples Jr from Floodgate talks to Geoffrey Moore about how startup founders can apply its core principles to building great startups, as well as how to avoid critical mistakes. Check out the new Pattern Breakers Blog at patternbreakers.substack.com for even more Pattern Breaking content from Mike. Mike's new book Pattern Breakers is availabl...
Lessons of Greatness: Why Finding Undiscovered Talent is the Winning Mindset
February 03, 2020 09:05 - 8 minutes - 7.6 MBGreat Startup Recruiting is surprisingly similar to great Startup Ideas: Just like you have to find undiscovered opportunities to start a great startup, you need to find undiscovered talent to build a great startup team. In this Lesson of Greatness, we discuss how to find great undiscovered talent and five key factors to look for.
Breakthrough Lessons: Why Finding Undiscovered Talent is the Winning Mindset
February 03, 2020 09:05 - 8 minutes - 7.6 MBGreat Startup Recruiting is surprisingly similar to great Startup Ideas: Just like you have to find undiscovered opportunities to start a great startup, you need to find undiscovered talent to build a great startup team. In this Lesson of Greatness, we discuss how to find great undiscovered talent and five key factors to look for.Check out the new Pattern Breakers Blog at patternbreakers.substack.com for even more Pattern Breaking content from Mike. Mike's new book Pattern Breakers is avai...
Keith Rabois: Key lessons from Peter Thiel, Reid Hoffman, and Jack Dorsey
February 03, 2020 09:00 - 29 minutes - 27.2 MBFew people in the history of startups have seen more examples of excellence than Keith Rabois. Not surprisingly, Keith is also one of the best investors in Silicon Valley, having achieved great success as an Angel and now at Founders Fund.Check out the new Pattern Breakers Blog at patternbreakers.substack.com for even more Pattern Breaking content from Mike. Mike's new book Pattern Breakers is available now wherever you buy books.
Lessons of Greatness: Why Great Ideas Won't Wait
January 21, 2020 05:27 - 6 minutes - 5.61 MBIt's tempting to start a company when it meets the conditions of your "master plan." But sometimes you realize that an idea has visited you and it is now or never...you must either plunge in and take the chance NOW, or watch from the sidelines while someone else makes it happen.
Breakthrough Lessons: Why Great Ideas Won't Wait
January 21, 2020 05:27 - 6 minutes - 5.61 MBIt's tempting to start a company when it meets the conditions of your "master plan." But sometimes you realize that an idea has visited you and it is now or never...you must either plunge in and take the chance NOW, or watch from the sidelines while someone else makes it happen.Check out the new Pattern Breakers Blog at patternbreakers.substack.com for even more Pattern Breaking content from Mike. Mike's new book Pattern Breakers is available now wherever you buy books.
How Todd McKinnon of Okta believed (even when he sometimes didn't) in the inevitability of breakout success.
January 21, 2020 05:25 - 29 minutes - 26.9 MBTodd McKinnon co-founded Okta when most around him thought it was a bad idea. And soon, he started to wonder if they were right. Was he cut out to be a startup company builder? But eventually, he proved to everyone (and most importantly to himself) that he was right to believe from the very start.Check out the new Pattern Breakers Blog at patternbreakers.substack.com for even more Pattern Breaking content from Mike. Mike's new book Pattern Breakers is available now wherever you buy books.
Lessons of Greatness: How to Get Customers to Hire Your Product
January 13, 2020 09:05 - 7 minutes - 6.88 MBWhat job should a desperate customer hire YOUR product to do? Answering this question is key to unlocking a key lesson of greatness. Here we discuss how the Instagram founders illustrate this lesson perfectly and how you can apply it to your own success as a startup founder.
Breakthrough Lessons: How to Get Customers to Hire Your Product
January 13, 2020 09:05 - 7 minutes - 6.88 MBWhat job should a desperate customer hire YOUR product to do? Answering this question is key to unlocking a key lesson of greatness. Here we discuss how the Instagram founders illustrate this lesson perfectly and how you can apply it to your own success as a startup founder.Check out the new Pattern Breakers Blog at patternbreakers.substack.com for even more Pattern Breaking content from Mike. Mike's new book Pattern Breakers is available now wherever you buy books.
How Instagram Delighted 1 Billion Users....but Almost Didn't
January 13, 2020 09:00 - 40 minutes - 37.4 MBFind out how Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger trusted their instincts and overcame rookie mistakes on the way to building Instagram, which now gets close to 100 Million photos uploaded a DAY. Check out the new Pattern Breakers Blog at patternbreakers.substack.com for even more Pattern Breaking content from Mike. Mike's new book Pattern Breakers is available now wherever you buy books.
Lessons of Greatness: How You Can Tame the Startup Rollercoaster
December 30, 2019 09:05 - 6 minutes - 6.22 MBThe Startup Rollercoaster is not fun, but it's a reality of startup life. The great founders learn to manage it rather than be overwhelmed by it. In this lesson of greatness, Mike Maples summarizes key lessons from Kim Polese's success at this, as well as specific techniques to stay grounded through all of the inevitable ups and downs.
Breakthrough Lessons: How You Can Tame the Startup Rollercoaster
December 30, 2019 09:05 - 6 minutes - 6.22 MBThe Startup Rollercoaster is not fun, but it's a reality of startup life. The great founders learn to manage it rather than be overwhelmed by it. In this lesson of greatness, Mike Maples summarizes key lessons from Kim Polese's success at this, as well as specific techniques to stay grounded through all of the inevitable ups and downs.Check out the new Pattern Breakers Blog at patternbreakers.substack.com for even more Pattern Breaking content from Mike. Mike's new book Pattern Breakers is...
Kim Polese: Building the Early Web with Java and Marimba
December 30, 2019 09:00 - 32 minutes - 29.6 MBKim Polese, the founding product manager for Java at Sun, as well as co-founding CEO of Marimba, talks about how Java almost didn't come to be....as well as her experiences riding the startup rollercoaster as a high-profile, and ultimately successful startup founder.Check out the new Pattern Breakers Blog at patternbreakers.substack.com for even more Pattern Breaking content from Mike. Mike's new book Pattern Breakers is available now wherever you buy books.
Lessons of Greatness: Find your inner MacGyver
December 23, 2019 09:05 - 8 minutes - 7.6 MBIf you want find greatness, you have to improvise to beat impossible over and over again. There is no course or framework to teach you how to do this. Instead, you must never surrender to any fear or obstacle you face.
Breakthrough Lessons: Find your inner MacGyver
December 23, 2019 09:05 - 8 minutes - 7.6 MBIf you want find greatness, you have to improvise to beat impossible over and over again. There is no course or framework to teach you how to do this. Instead, you must never surrender to any fear or obstacle you face. Check out the new Pattern Breakers Blog at patternbreakers.substack.com for even more Pattern Breaking content from Mike. Mike's new book Pattern Breakers is available now wherever you buy books.
Osman Rashid: “How did Chegg find a way through?”
December 23, 2019 09:00 - 44 minutes - 40.6 MBOsman Rashid, co-founder and original CEO of Chegg, talks about how Chegg’s startup team of misfit rebels navigated through a crazy sequence of near-death experiences…one day at a time…and lived to tell the tale of achieving greatness. Check out the new Pattern Breakers Blog at patternbreakers.substack.com for even more Pattern Breaking content from Mike. Mike's new book Pattern Breakers is available now wherever you buy books.
Lessons of Greatness: Living in the Future
December 16, 2019 09:05 - 6 minutes - 6.2 MBWilliam Gibson, the cyberpunk novelist has said “The future is already here; it’s just not evenly distributed.” This perfectly describes a key lesson of greatness from Marc’s Netscape experience.
Breakthrough Lessons: Living in the Future
December 16, 2019 09:05 - 6 minutes - 6.2 MBWilliam Gibson, the cyberpunk novelist has said “The future is already here; it’s just not evenly distributed.” This perfectly describes a key lesson of greatness from Marc’s Netscape experience. Check out the new Pattern Breakers Blog at patternbreakers.substack.com for even more Pattern Breaking content from Mike. Mike's new book Pattern Breakers is available now wherever you buy books.
Marc Andreessen: “Was Netscape an Overnight Success?”
December 16, 2019 09:00 - 43 minutes - 39.9 MBMike Maples, Jr talks to Marc Andreessen, Co-founder of Netscape—the startup that launched the Internet era. What it was like when Netscape was about to blow up? What does he wish Netscape had done differently? -- and what lessons from its success are not fully understood?Check out the new Pattern Breakers Blog at patternbreakers.substack.com for even more Pattern Breaking content from Mike. Mike's new book Pattern Breakers is available now wherever you buy books.
Breakthrough Lessons: Real Artists Get Out of the Building
December 09, 2019 18:32 - 8 minutes - 7.81 MB“Getting out of the building” means something deeper than many realize. Mike Maples Jr explores why in this key lesson of greatness. Check out the new Pattern Breakers Blog at patternbreakers.substack.com for even more Pattern Breaking content from Mike. Mike's new book Pattern Breakers is available now wherever you buy books.
Lessons of Greatness: Real Artists Get Out of the Building
December 09, 2019 18:32 - 8 minutes - 7.81 MB“Getting out of the building” means something deeper than many realize. Mike Maples Jr explores why in this key lesson of greatness.
Steve Blank: Great Entrepreneurship is Artistry
December 09, 2019 18:32 - 39 minutes - 36.4 MBSteve Blank’s Customer Development methodology is one of the critical teachings of entrepreneurship over the last twenty years This episode explains why great founders are more like artists than normal business people and why getting out of the building is more about artistry than running a focus group. Check out the new Pattern Breakers Blog at patternbreakers.substack.com for even more Pattern Breaking content from Mike. Mike's new book Pattern Breakers is available now wherever you buy ...
Breakthrough Lessons: Hack Value Before Hacking Growth
December 02, 2019 09:15 - 6 minutes - 6.22 MBWhy proving a startup’s value hypothesis before testing its growth hypothesis is critical.Check out the new Pattern Breakers Blog at patternbreakers.substack.com for even more Pattern Breaking content from Mike. Mike's new book Pattern Breakers is available now wherever you buy books.
Lessons of Greatness: Hack Value Before Hacking Growth
December 02, 2019 09:15 - 6 minutes - 6.22 MBWhy proving a startup’s value hypothesis before testing its growth hypothesis is critical.
Sarah Leary of Nextdoor: “The Moment You Know You've Created Something Valuable"
December 02, 2019 09:10 - 50 minutes - 46.1 MBNextdoor today is worth more than $2 Billion and is used by 250,000 neighborhoods throughout the world. Silicon Valley types had doubts about their approach, but Sarah offers valuable ideas for finding the path to the light. One crucial hint is that users matter far more than the folks in the "chattering class." Check out the new Pattern Breakers Blog at patternbreakers.substack.com for even more Pattern Breaking content from Mike. Mike's new book Pattern Breakers is available now wherever...
Breakthrough Lessons: You Need a Breakthrough Insight
December 02, 2019 09:05 - 6 minutes - 5.9 MBLearn why great startups have unique insights that defy conventional wisdom.Check out the new Pattern Breakers Blog at patternbreakers.substack.com for even more Pattern Breaking content from Mike. Mike's new book Pattern Breakers is available now wherever you buy books.
Lessons of Greatness: You Need a Breakthrough Insight
December 02, 2019 09:05 - 6 minutes - 5.9 MBLearn why great startups have unique insights that defy conventional wisdom.
Andy Rachleff on “How to Know If You’ve Got Product Market Fit”
December 02, 2019 09:00 - 38 minutes - 35.7 MBThe Co-founder of Benchmark Capital & Wealthfront explains the most important goal of a startup: how do you find product-market fit? As the man who coined the term, he’s the expert—and in this episode, he also shares lessons learned from legendary startup super performers such as Scott Cook, Reed Hastings, Don Valentine, and many others. Check out the new Pattern Breakers Blog at patternbreakers.substack.com for even more Pattern Breaking content from Mike. Mike's new book Pattern Breakers...
Why Greatness is a Decision
November 19, 2019 23:16 - 4 minutes - 4.48 MBIn the Starting Greatness premier, Floodgate co-founder and podcast host Mike Maples, Jr., explains why greatness is a decision—and what questions you need to ask yourself to make your startup a success. Check out the new Pattern Breakers Blog at patternbreakers.substack.com for even more Pattern Breaking content from Mike. Mike's new book Pattern Breakers is available now wherever you buy books.