In Depth
First Round
Welcome to In Depth, a new podcast from First Round Review that’s dedicated to surfacing the tactical advice founders and startup leaders need to grow their teams, their companies and themselves. Hosted by Brett Berson, a partner at First Round, In Depth will cover a lot of ground and a wide range of topics, from hiring executives and becoming a better manager, to the importance of storytelling inside of your organization. But every interview will hit the level of tactical depth where the very best advice is found. We hope you’ll join us. Subscribe to “In Depth” now and learn more at firstround.com
Episodes
Mentioned books
7 snips
Nov 6, 2025 • 1h 24min
How to build a company you’ll run forever | Zack Kanter (Founder and CEO of Stedi)
Zack Kanter, Founder and CEO of Stedi, shares his journey from turning $2,500 into a successful auto-parts business to revolutionizing the healthcare industry with an API-first approach. He discusses the challenges of bootstrapping, the eight iterations of his EDI product before finding product-market fit, and the concept of 'eating glass' to emphasize hard work and commitment. Zack also explores the impact of operational excellence and why his company embraces a culture of high accountability and resourcefulness.
Oct 23, 2025 • 1h 23min
Go hard early: How lessons from Verkada shaped Serval's AI agents for IT teams | Jake Stauch (Founder and CEO)
Jake Stauch, founder and CEO of Serval, shares insights from his experience at Verkada in shaping the future of IT automation. He emphasizes the power of tackling existing categories rather than creating new ones. Jake reveals a customer interview tactic that unearths IT pain points, and discusses how Serval leverages AI to create codeless automation workflows. He also covers the importance of hiring adaptable talent and embedding engineers within customer teams to drive innovation. With a focus on delivering consumer-like experiences, Serval aims to redefine enterprise IT.
9 snips
Oct 22, 2025 • 59min
The pivot that paid off: How fal found explosive growth in generative media | Gorkem Yurtseven (Co-founder and CTO)
Gorkem Yurtseven, the Co-founder and CEO of fal, discusses the company's meteoric rise in the generative media space, scaling from $2M to over $100M ARR. He reveals the bold pivot from data infrastructure to generative inference, driven by market demand. The conversation explores unique hiring philosophies, the significance of prioritizing developer experience, and predictions for 2027, when AI-generated video is expected to become mainstream. Gorkem also shares insights on managing rapid growth and the challenges of building a diverse tech team.
9 snips
Oct 1, 2025 • 1h 9min
From dorm room to life-saving AI | Prepared’s story | Michael Chime (Co-founder & CEO of Prepared)
Michael Chime, co-founder and CEO of Prepared, shares his journey from a Yale startup to a life-saving AI platform for 911 call centers, now acquired by Axon. He discusses how personal experiences with school shootings inspired their initial safety app. Michael reveals the challenges of navigating government procurement and the bold strategy of offering their product for free to gain traction. He emphasizes the importance of mission-driven values, customer engagement, and evolving product features, all while monitoring real-life impact on emergency responses.
49 snips
Sep 11, 2025 • 1h 9min
Saying yes to everything: How customer obsession built Samsara | Kiren Sekar (CPO)
Kiren Sekar, CPO of Samsara and an early leader at Meraki, shares insightful stories from his journey in tech. He reveals how customer feedback loops shaped their first product and why targeting mid-market was strategic. Kiren discusses the balance between scaling while maintaining a startup mindset and the importance of hiring for intrinsic motivation. The conversation also touches on the transformative role of AI in operational data and how essential partnerships have bolstered their growth in a competitive landscape.
29 snips
Sep 3, 2025 • 1h 12min
Starting an education giant in a “bad market” | ClassDojo’s story | Sam Chaudhary (Co-founder and CEO)
Sam Chaudhary, co-founder and CEO of ClassDojo, dives into the fascinating journey of building a communication platform embraced by millions. He discusses why focusing on consumers—teachers, students, and parents—was pivotal for success. Sam shares insights on growing the platform through word-of-mouth and the importance of a founder's mindset. He emphasizes relentless resourcefulness as key to navigating challenges, highlights the evolution of their products, and explores unique innovations like a safe online space for children.
42 snips
Aug 28, 2025 • 1h 6min
From Chrome extension to $5B platform | Postman’s journey | Abhinav Asthana (Co-founder & CEO)
Abhinav Asthana, Co-founder and CEO of Postman, reflects on his journey from creating a simple Chrome extension to leading a $5B platform for API collaboration. He shares insights on making the leap to Silicon Valley and realizing Postman’s potential. Abhinav discusses the importance of building community and balancing developer needs with effective product design. He also reveals early monetization experiments and the role of feedback in shaping their SaaS model, highlighting how a seamless developer experience can drive innovation.
65 snips
Aug 20, 2025 • 1h 4min
How Canva leveraged unconventional growth levers to grow to $42B | Cameron Adams (Co-founder & CPO)
Cameron Adams, Co-founder and Chief Product Officer at Canva, shares his journey from Google to launching a $42B design platform. He discusses how Canva turned social media managers into passionate advocates and the lessons of a quiet launch day. Adams also reveals two unconventional growth levers that transformed their strategy and the importance of community feedback in product development. His insights on balancing vision with scrappy execution illustrate the unique path Canva took to resonate with millions of users worldwide.
46 snips
Aug 14, 2025 • 1h 6min
Twitter's former CEO on rebuilding the web for AI | Parag Agrawal (Co-founder and CEO of Parallel)
Parag Agrawal, Co-founder and CEO of Parallel and former Twitter CEO, dives deep into the future of web infrastructure for AI. He discusses lessons learned from his Twitter days and why the web must evolve to serve AI efficiently. Agrawal highlights the importance of accuracy over speed in AI search, along with innovative API design for agent-friendly experiences. He also shares insights on hiring talent, the unique customer needs in tech, and how AI is reshaping roles in engineering. The conversation blends tech strategy with personal growth, offering a fresh perspective on AI's potential.
94 snips
Aug 6, 2025 • 1h 2min
Ignoring Silicon Valley advice to build a $3B fintech unicorn | Immad Akhund (Co-founder and CEO of Mercury)
Immad Akhund, CEO and co-founder of Mercury, a digital banking platform for startups, shares insights from his two-decade journey in entrepreneurship. He discusses the importance of strong product-market fit and the pitfalls of weak iterations. Immad also reveals Mercury's unique culture playbook that encourages intentional hiring and how trust was built during the Silicon Valley Bank crisis with the launch of Mercury Vault. His experiences highlight the need for endurance and transparency in navigating the fintech landscape.
