The Newcomer Podcast

CEO and founder of security startup Vanta, Christina Cacioppo, joins to talk about how she was able to raise a huge Series A ($50m at $500m valuation). We also talk about her jump from being a VC to a founder, why Zoom-based fundraising is here to stay and whether female founders get a fair shake from the tech press. Get full access to Newcomer at www.newcomer.co/subscribe

Our show begins with our first ever guest, Rippling CEO Parker Conrad. He talks about why the tech press spends too much time listening to VCs who don't have nearly as much power as reporters think. He also looks back at the way he was infamously pushed out of his previous company, Zenefits, and the role A16Z played in that saga.Our thanks to @yungchomsky for our theme music. Get full access to Newcomer at www.newcomer.co/subscribe

OpenAI has entered what insiders are calling Code Red!In this episode, we unpack why Sam Altman is suddenly sounding the alarm.Is this a genuine internal crisis, or a calculated move to set expectations ahead of a major product cycle next year?We explore:-What “Code Red” actually means inside OpenAI-Whether the urgency is operational, political, or performative-How leadership is using public pressure to reshape the company’s narrative-Why this dramatic messaging may signal a huge release in 2025-The possibility that Sam is intentionally creating a “we turned the ship around” story-How OpenAI’s competitors (Anthropic, Google DeepMind, xAI) are interpreting this momentOpenAI is still the most important company in AI, but the cracks, pressure points, and power moves have never been more visible. If this is really Code Red, the stakes are enormous.