Building a Following and Solving the Employee Data Problem

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The speaker reflects on their podcast journey and the importance of branding and perception. They then introduce Rippling, their existing company that focuses on solving the problem of maintaining employee data. The chapter discusses the challenges faced in various software verticals and presents Rippling as an opportunity to rebuild software with a deep understanding of roles and companies.

In this memorable episode from our podcast archives, we revisit our conversation with Parker Conrad, Co-Founder of Rippling and former CEO of Zenefits. Parker opens up about his entrepreneurial path, detailing everything from fundraising challenges to his departure from Zenefits and the founding of Rippling. We also discuss the dynamics between VCs and founders, including what founders really value from investors, as well as the many entrepreneurial lessons Parker has gained from growing four companies (including two that reached unicorn status).

This episode was originally aired in May 2022.

(00:00) Intro

(01:25) Parker's Early Life and Education

(02:08) Parker's Experience at Harvard and Early Career

(05:21) Parker's Journey to Entrepreneurship

(08:27) The Founding of Sigfig and Challenges Faced

(10:15) The Birth of Zenefits and its Rapid Growth

(13:13) The Downfall of Zenefits and Lessons Learned

(19:12) Parker's Perspective on Media Narratives and VC Involvement

(35:48) The Power of Investors and Branding

(37:22) The Influence of Media on Investment Success

(38:42) The Role of Venture Capitalists and Founders

(39:39) The Impact of Social Media on Business

(40:48) The Rise of Andreessen Horowitz

(41:18) Introducing Rippling: A New Approach to Business Software

(41:32) The Power of Employee Data in Business Software

(49:47) The Advantages of Compound Companies

(56:13) The Role of Founders in Business Units

(01:09:20) The State of San Francisco and the Tech Industry

Executive Producer: Rashad Assir

Producer: Leah Clapper

Mixing and editing: Justin Hrabovsky

Check out Unsupervised Learning, Redpoint's AI Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@UCUl-s_Vp-Kkk_XVyDylNwLA

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About the Show

Logan Bartlett is a Software Investor at Redpoint Ventures - a Silicon Valley-based VC with $6B AUM and investments in Snowflake, DraftKings, Twilio, and Netflix. In each episode, Logan goes behind the scenes with world-class entrepreneurs and investors. If you're interested in the real inside baseball of tech, entrepreneurship, and start-up investing, tune in every Friday for new episodes.