Lessons on building a unicorn used by 84% of the Fortune 100 | Emil Eifrem (Neo4j)

Jan 23, 2025

Emil Eifrem, Co-founder and CEO of Neo4j, discusses the fascinating journey of his open-source graph database company that has gained significant traction among Fortune 100 companies. He delves into the impact of transparency and trust in building business relationships. Emil also shares insights on navigating the U.S. versus Swedish entrepreneurial landscapes, the challenges of scaling a tech company, and the pivotal decision to realign values regarding military contracts. Additionally, he explains the revolutionary role of AI in data organization and the importance of ethical leadership in tech.

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ANECDOTE

Neo4j's Origin Story

Emil Eifrem met Eric Ries on the streets of San Francisco, discussing his open-source graph database, Neo4j.
Ries later visited Eifrem in Malmö, Sweden, learning about the company's unique origins.

INSIGHT

Open Source as Distribution

Open source can be a powerful distribution mechanism, not just a means of production.
Neo4j prioritized open source for distribution, enabling wider adoption and community contributions.

INSIGHT

Trust and Open Source

Open source fosters trust and transparency, reducing friction in product adoption.
Building a company with a focus on user happiness is key for bottom-up growth.

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In this episode of The Eric Ries Show, I’m joined by Emil Eifrem, Co-Founder and CEO of Neo4j, an open-source graph database. Neo4j enables organizations to unlock the business value of connections, influences, and relationships in data.

In our conversation today, we talk about the following topics:

• The origin story of Neo4j and why they chose open source

• Open source as a means of production vs. distribution

• How open source fosters trust and transparency

• The pros and cons of doing business in the US

• Why Neo4j updated their values and changed their stance on military contracts

• What a Leader’s Guide is and how it keeps companies tied to their mission

• The challenges of implementing AI

• An explanation of RAG information retrieval and how it relates to LLMs

• And more!

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Where to find Emil Eifrem:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emileifrem/

• X: https://x.com/emileifrem

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Where to find Eric:

• Newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ericries.carrd.co/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

• Podcast: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ericriesshow.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

• YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@theericriesshow⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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In This Episode We Cover:

(00:00) Intro

(01:42) How Eric and Emil got connected

(07:35) The origin story of Neo4j

(13:38) Why Emil went with an open-source model

(20:25) The benefits of being open source as a means of distribution

(25:07) Why Emil has no regrets about going open-source

(26:50) How open source builds trust

(30:33) The difference in doing business in the US vs. Sweden

(35:34) How Neo4j got to product market fit and early struggles

(38:30) Why Neo4j declined the GSA schedule and why it was a mistake

(46:22) Emil’s thoughts on changing his position, reworking values, and recommitting

(51:40) Eric’s advice to avoid mission drift: A leader’s guide, and a two-way review

(1:00:04) The challenge of implementing AI—and the possibility of massive opportunity

(1:09:20) How Neo4j successfully implemented AI

(1:11:55) An explanation of IR (information retrieval) and how it’s relevant to AI

(1:22:44) What gives us trust in the AI system

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You can find the transcript and references at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.ericriesshow.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Production and marketing by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://penname.co/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Eric may be an investor in the companies discussed.