Greymatter

Current economic conditions have put thousands of highly qualified candidates in search of new roles. In just a few months, the population of job-seekers will further expand as a wave of fresh graduates – many of whom will be taking on the first serious role of their career – enter the market. The dearth of open roles can be discouraging to any candidate, and those at the beginning of their careers may feel this even more acutely. A bright spot is early-stage startups in need of talent to build core teams, and for many, the best match may be the newest job seeker. Yuliya Mykhaylovska, who leads university recruiting for Greylock's talent team, shares how to evaluate and recruit candidates at the earliest stages of their career, and outlines how startup founders can best structure the role to allow flexibility and growth along with the company. You can read a transcript of this interview here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/starting-points/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Audio version of Greylock general partner Asheem Chandna's essay for Forbes "Four Tasks for CEOs in 2023: Leveraging the Downturn." As Chandna puts forth, while economic recessions can mark the end for many otherwise promising companies, they also present opportunities. Businesses that were previously in hyper-growth mode now have time to re-asses and implement tactics they couldn't in busier times. Chandna lays out several strategies to take in this scenario. This essay was read by Greylock's head of editorial Heather Mack. You can read the essay here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/asheemchandna/2023/01/18/four-tasks-for-ceos-in-2023-leveraging-the-downturn/?sh=7494f60f56cc Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The second episode of Fireside Chatbots featuring Greylock general partner Reid Hoffman and ChatGPT, the large language model created by OpenAI. This week, Reid and ChatGPT talk about the ways humans and AI can work together to significantly increase productivity, scientific discovery, analytical capabilities, and creativity. As ChatGPT says, "The jobs of the future will likely be a combination of technical and human skills, requiring individuals to be adaptable and able to work with new technologies. " You can read a transcript of this conversation here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/the-human-ai-partnership/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Figma's VP of Communications Nairi Hourdajian and Greylock marketing partner Elisa Schreiber discuss how startup founders can approach their communications strategy. Whether a startup is looking to recruit talent, acquire customers, establish thought leadership, or just raise general awareness, having a well-structured communications strategy in place is crucial. This conversation is part of Greylock's Brain Trust series. You can find a transcript of the interview here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/startup-storytelling/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Introducing Fireside Chatbots, a miniseries featuring conversations not only about AI, but with AI. Greylock general partner Reid Hoffman talks with ChatGPT, a large language model created by OpenAI. Hoffman, who serves on OpenAI's board, poses questions to ChatGPT about the massive positive impact he believes AI will all facets of society. For this podcast, we used an AI-generated voice for ChatGPT, powered by the text-to-speech platform of Play.ht. The chat transcripts are exact, word for word, which Hoffman says, " show the magic and the current limitations of the technology. " You can read the transcript of this conversation here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/reid-hoffman-chatbots-talking-ai-with-ai Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tome CPO and co-founder Henri Liriani and Katy Amaya of the Greylock talent team discuss the rising importance of founding designers at startups and share best practices for building strong design teams. While past generations of startups could get away with focusing purely on the technical aspects of their product in the initial stages and bring design teams later, today's startups are living in the age following an explosion of consumer apps (and the subsequent push for consumerization of enterprise software) that has resulted in a heavy focus on the end user experience. Good design is now a critical part of a company's success. You can read a transcript of this interview here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/designed-with-purpose/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A re-broadcast of our interview with Okta executive vice chairman, COO, and co-founder Frederic Kerrest, who shares stories from his earliest days as an entrepreneur starting a business in the midst of the Great Recession. The challenging experience is why Kerrest wrote Zero to IPO, a collection of some of the best actionable advice from some of the world’s most influential entrepreneurs. The book, which was published earlier this year, details his early days at Okta as well as those of other iconic entrepreneurs. This interview is part Greylock's Iconversations speaker series and was originally recorded in May 2022 with former Greylock general partner Sarah Guo. You can read a transcript of this interview here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/instructive-experiences/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A re-broadcast of our episode featuring the audio version of Greylock general partner Reid Hoffman's essay, "Human Nature in Vices and Virtues: An Adam Smith Approach to Building Internet Ecosystems and Communities," published on the Knight Foundation's website. Hoffman discusses how some of the most popular websites leverage some of humankind's less desirable attributes(e.g. "the 7 deadly sins"), and how entrepreneurs and investors can think about building based on virtuous traits. Essay read by Greylock marketing partner Elisa Schreiber. You can read the essay here: https://knightfoundation.org/human-nature-in-vices-and-virtues-an-adam-smith-approach-to-building-internet-ecosystems-and-communities/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A compilation of excerpts from 22 of our most popular podcasts of 2022. Greylock's head of editorial Heather Mack walks listeners through through interviews with industry leaders including OpenAI's Sam Altman, Cloudflare's Michelle Zatlyn, Nike's John Donahoe, and more. We're also featuring the top sought-after advice from Greylock's own team of investors such as Reid Hoffman, and tactical guidance from Greylock's talent and marketing specialists. You can read a transcript of this episode (which includes links to all full episodes from which the compilation is made) here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/2022-year-in-review/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Zoox CEO Aicha Evans speaks with Greylock general partner Reid Hoffman to discuss how the "robotaxi" company has made safety permeate into every aspect of the company culture and operations; why they are building for dense urban environments; and her vision for the future of the “people moving business.” Zoox's unique approach to autonomous driving (building all of the hardware and software in-house, from the ground up), means the entire company is oriented around the same mission and priorities. From the people building the door handles to the developers coding the software, keeping riders safe is the paramount focus for every Zoox employee. That means all teams must operate with total transparency and expect a culture of collective learning, patience, and tradeoffs, says Evans. You can read a transcript of this interview here: You can read a transcript here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/zoox-moving-people-forward/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices