

Pattern Breakers
Floodgate
Host 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.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Dec 16, 2019 • 7min
Breakthrough Lessons: Living in the Future
William 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 Pattern Breakers Blog at patternbreakers.substack.com for
even more Pattern Breaking content from Mike.
Mike's book Pattern Breakers is available now wherever you buy books.
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Dec 16, 2019 • 44min
Marc Andreessen: “Was Netscape an Overnight Success?”
Mike 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 Pattern Breakers Blog at patternbreakers.substack.com for
even more Pattern Breaking content from Mike.
Mike's book Pattern Breakers is available now wherever you buy books.
Follow Mike on X!

Dec 9, 2019 • 9min
Breakthrough Lessons: Real Artists Get Out of the Building
“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 Pattern Breakers Blog at patternbreakers.substack.com for
even more Pattern Breaking content from Mike.
Mike's book Pattern Breakers is available now wherever you buy books.
Follow Mike on X!

5 snips
Dec 9, 2019 • 40min
Steve Blank: Great Entrepreneurship is Artistry
Steve 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 Pattern Breakers Blog at patternbreakers.substack.com for
even more Pattern Breaking content from Mike.
Mike's book Pattern Breakers is available now wherever you buy books.
Follow Mike on X!

Dec 2, 2019 • 7min
Breakthrough Lessons: Hack Value Before Hacking Growth
Why proving a startup’s value hypothesis before testing its growth hypothesis is critical.
Check out the Pattern Breakers Blog at patternbreakers.substack.com for
even more Pattern Breaking content from Mike.
Mike's book Pattern Breakers is available now wherever you buy books.
Follow Mike on X!

6 snips
Dec 2, 2019 • 50min
Sarah Leary of Nextdoor: “The Moment You Know You've Created Something Valuable"
Nextdoor 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 Pattern Breakers Blog at patternbreakers.substack.com for
even more Pattern Breaking content from Mike.
Mike's book Pattern Breakers is available now wherever you buy books.
Follow Mike on X!

Dec 2, 2019 • 6min
Breakthrough Lessons: You Need a Breakthrough Insight
Learn why great startups have unique insights that defy conventional wisdom.
Check out the Pattern Breakers Blog at patternbreakers.substack.com for
even more Pattern Breaking content from Mike.
Mike's book Pattern Breakers is available now wherever you buy books.
Follow Mike on X!

80 snips
Dec 2, 2019 • 39min
Andy Rachleff on “How to Know If You’ve Got Product Market Fit”
The 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 Pattern Breakers Blog at patternbreakers.substack.com for
even more Pattern Breaking content from Mike.
Mike's book Pattern Breakers is available now wherever you buy books.
Follow Mike on X!

Nov 19, 2019 • 5min
Why Greatness is a Decision
In 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 Pattern Breakers Blog at patternbreakers.substack.com for
even more Pattern Breaking content from Mike.
Mike's book Pattern Breakers is available now wherever you buy books.
Follow Mike on X!


