Grit Podcast

The apps and websites we use every day depend on systems most of us never see. Jay Kreps joins Joubin Mirzadegan to share how Confluent became the 'central nervous system' for companies like Expedia and eBay, letting them respond to business operations instantly. They also break down why the myth of AI-driven efficiency falls short, and why building truly transformative companies takes far longer than most people expect. Guest: Jay Kreps, Co-Founder & CEO of Confluent

Can a no-code giant reinvent itself in the AI-native era? This week on Grit, Airtable CEO Howie Liu shares what it means to “refound” a company, how speed comes from tearing up old playbooks, and why conversational AI is reshaping his product—and his company.

How do you win when your competitors are the biggest companies in the world? This week on Grit, Dropbox co-founder and CEO Drew Houston retraces the path from a bus-stop prototype to competing head-on with Google, Apple, and Microsoft. He explains why grit is “learning to run toward discomfort,” and the moments he realized founders keep going “for the love of the game.”

What if your tools shared context like your team does? This week on Grit, Shishir Mehrotra shares how the Coda and Grammarly collaboration unlocks context as a “superpower,” reflects on his early days at Google and YouTube, and hints at a future where tools anticipate intent and amplify how we work. He also shares how this paves the way for agent-based workflows and AI-native communication, beginning with Superhuman’s email experience. Guest: Shishir Mehrotra, co-founder of Coda and CEO of Grammarly

Ivan Zhao joins Joubin Mirzadegan on Grit to break down how the company's minimalist design became a strategic edge in a world overwhelmed by bloated software. He shares why the AI agent still hasn't arrived, and how Notion's modular approach might be the closest thing to making it real.

Daragh Murphy is giving brands their own credit-card platform—no legacy bank required.On this week's Grit, the Imprint co-founder and CEO traces the leap from being a junior lawyer to closing nine-figure card deals.He breaks down the hidden economics of credit-card loyalty, the discipline of treating capital “like the last dollar,” and how AI will slash risk-and-support costs.

What does it take to build the logistics backbone for the next generation of commerce? Sean Henry, founder and CEO of Stord, joins Kleiner Perkins partner Ilya Fushman and Grit host Joubin Mirzadegan to talk about scaling a national fulfillment network that now moves 50 million packages a year and reaches 15% of U.S. households. They explore how Stord is using AI to connect warehouses, middle-mile routes, and delivery promises into one smart system. The goal: to give every brand an Amazon Prime-like advantage.

Eric Yuan turned a simple belief into Zoom, the platform that kept the world moving through a once-in-a-century shutdown and redefined modern work. On this episode of Grit, the Zoom CEO shares why velocity beats size, how a family-first ethos powered his leadership during COVID, and why the coming wave of AI dwarfs the original internet boom. He details how he’s refreshing Zoom’s culture for 7,500 people, opting for virtual deal calls over in person meetings, settling into life as an empty-nester, and keeping Zoom nimble enough to outpace Big Tech and the next wave of AI startups.