Decoder with Nilay Patel

99designs CEO Patrick Llewellyn talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about leading a design startup based in Australia.In this episode: How 99designs helps designers and their clients work together online; how it makes finding work easier for freelance designers; why design will never be completely done by computers; founding a startup in Australia; why 99designs sees itself as a "platform" and not just a marketplace; and where the company goes next. Plus, can places outsides Silicon Valley build entrepreneurial societies? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tony Xu, the CEO and co-founder of DoorDash, and Christopher Payne, the COO, talk with Recode's Kara Swisher about how the delivery company's busy 2018 and why it's starting to think about delivering more than food. In this episode: (01:41) Where DoorDash is now and the delivery business; (05:25) Is Amazon a competitor?; (08:07) Xu and Payne's backgrounds; (11:32) Why DoorDash succeeded where Webvan failed; (15:10) Working with big restaurants and why they don't do it themselves; (21:03) How DoorDash makes money; (25:53) The gig economy and the future of work; (30:48) Where the business could go beyond food delivery; (34:09) Why Xu started DoorDash; (36:08) The current startup environment and the image of tech; (39:31) What does it take to be an entrepreneur now?; (43:05) Raising money from SoftBank's Vision Fund; (44:55) The future of DoorDash and the future of retail stores; (50:51) Trends in shopping and the delivery business Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Molly Barton, the CEO and co-founder of serialized reading app Serial Box, talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about trying to make a Netflix-style digital platform for books. In this episode: (01:19) Barton's background and the early days of e-books; (06:45) Looking for digital innovation in publishing; (12:38) Combining e-books with audiobooks; (15:48) Why Barton started Serial Box; (20:13) How it works; (26:42) The business side and fundraising; (29:52) How the traditional publishing industry has reacted and what sort of books perform best; (33:52) Copyright and contract writers; (37:07) How well does a successful Serial Box book do?; (40:01) Where does reading go from here? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Khosla Ventures partner Keith Rabois talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about the current startup and venture capital landscape, the Trump administration and more. In this episode: (01:18) Rabois's background; (04:28) Becoming a venture capitalist and how Khosla Ventures invests; (09:37) The startup and venture capital landscape; (15:06) Why startup fundraising was unusually hectic in December; (19:15) Investing in healthcare, aerospace and autonomous driving; (26:56) Artificial intelligence; (29:02) Ethical issues in advertising and at Facebook; (36:40) Political advertising and Russian media manipulation; (40:40) The prospect of regulation; (46:32) Saudi Arabia and the murder of Jamal Khashoggi; (50:04) Contrarianism and book recommendations; (53:45) Being conservative and Rabois' friend Peter Thiel; (58:07) What happens to the Trump administration next?; (1:02:16) Who could run against Trump and win?; (1:04:47) Rabois's real estate company Opendoor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WW International CEO Mindy Grossman talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about how her company, formerly known as Weight Watchers, has transitioned into modern "wellness" culture. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Inc. magazine senior writer Christine Lagorio-Chafkin talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about her new book, "We Are the Nerds: The Birth and Tumultuous Life of Reddit, the Internet's Culture Laboratory." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Imgur CEO Alan Schaaf talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about starting the image-sharing site and moderating its content. In this episode: (00:59) Schaaf's background; (03:18) Launching Imgur; (07:56) Imgur's early business plan; (15:34) Where online images are going (and how to pronounce "gif"); (21:37) Famous memes and how entertainment is changing; (30:19) The ugliness of social media; (38:09) Why other social platforms don't moderate their content like Imgur does Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bret Kinsella, the editor of the voice technology blog Voicebot.ai, talks with Recode’s Rani Molla about the future of virtual assistants like Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant. In this episode: (01:02) Kinsella’s background; (05:07) The history of voice tech; (11:19) How many people have smart speakers and what do they do with them?; (14:51) Music and podcasts on smart speakers; (16:51) Smart homes and voice; (20:51) Voice shopping; (24:40) Why brands are all in on voice; (28:04) Positioning products for voice searches; (31:33) Pay to play in search results; (34:11) Amazon’s microwave; (38:30) Other recently announced voice hardware; (43:18) Is this a privacy nightmare waiting to happen?; (45:48) Where will voice tech be in five years? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Scott Belsky, a venture partner at Benchmark and the chief product officer at Adobe, talks with Recode's Teddy Schleifer about his book, "The Messy Middle: Finding Your Way Through the Hardest and Most Crucial Part of Any Bold Venture." In this episode: (02:32) Why Belsky came to California and started Behance; (07:14) Bootstrapping, taking investment and selling the company; (10:44) Leaving Adobe to join Benchmark; (14:53) Returning to Adobe; (18:36) Belsky's new book; (21:20) The difference between starting a company and keeping it going; (26:05) Belsky's favorite lessons from the book; (30:37) How he became an early investor in Uber; (33:54) Pinterest and other investments; (38:56) What would Belsky change about the startup world? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jonathan Neman, the co-founder of fast food salad chain Sweetgreen, talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about the company's techie side and the future of restaurants. In this episode: (01:26) How Sweetgreen got started; (04:14) Starting up in Washington, D.C.; (07:28) Why Sweetgreen sees itself as a "food platform"; (10:58) The challenges of food; (18:01) Sweetgreen's competitors and how it sources ingredients; (23:05) Online ordering; (27:21) Delivery and why other restaurants are giving up too much control; (30:12) Customer service vs. logistics; (34:05) "We wanted to make vegetables sexy"; (37:25) Tech companies getting into food; (40:17) Going international and to new cities in the U.S.; (41:29) Challenges and mistakes; (46:08) How Sweetgreen is using the blockchain; (49:07) The future of food and of Sweetgreen Notes from our sponsors:LEGO: In today's show you heard advertising content from The LEGO Store. With LEGO, every gift has a story. Start your story today at https://LEGO.build/Recode-Ship Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices