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PODCAST

Spotlight On

Spotlight On is a podcast about how companies are built, from the people doing the building. We take you behind the scenes to hear from founders and builders about what they did, what they learned… and what they’ll never do again. This series is produced by Accel, a global venture capital firm. Learn more at Accel.com/SpotlightOn.

business

All Episodes

00:43:35

Accel’s Amit Kumar and Ivan Zhou on being an...

Spotlight On ·

2024/05/02

No founder's journey is a straight line. In the throes of ups and downs, having guidance from someone who understands your experience can be invaluable. In this special episode of Spotlight On, Accel’s Amit Kumar and Ivan Zhou discuss their shared founder journeys and transition into VC, and dive into how they worked together to steer Ivan’s startup, Mayhem, through its most challenging times.Mayhem (formerly Visor) was a social gaming platform that joined Accel Family in 2018 and was acquired

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01:03:24

CrowdStrike’s George Kurtz on building a generational...

Spotlight On ·

2024/04/25

Since its inception in 2011, CrowdStrike has had a profound impact on the security landscape. Yet, despite their wildly successful 2019 IPO, there is no finish line for CEO and Co-Founder George Kurtz. With each passing year, the company grows larger, the market opportunities expand, and the need to prevent breaches becomes even more critical. In this episode of Spotlight On, George and Accel’s Sameer Gandhi reflect on how their shared vision for a full suite of security solutions on a single

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00:26:44

Sysdig’s Suresh Vasudevan on embracing a “challenger...

Spotlight On ·

2024/04/18

In 2018, Sysdig made two critical decisions: pivoting its focus entirely to cloud security and welcoming Suresh Vasudevan as its new CEO. In this episode of Spotlight On, Suresh shares insights from his journey and unveils the bold decisions that have transformed Sysdig into a leading cloud security company.Suresh has learned the key to a successful CEO transition is shared decision-making. Over the years, he built a highly collaborative and disciplined team, encouraging them to stay focused on

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00:29:40

Syrup’s James Theuerkauf on building an AI-powered...

Spotlight On ·

2024/04/11

Building an AI-powered startup today presents distinct challenges: a lingering hype cycle, steep competition, endless customer education, and rapidly evolving technical capabilities. In this episode of Spotlight On, Syrup’s James Theuerkauf shares advice for early-stage founders navigating this inflection point. He discusses building an AI product that cuts through the noise and adds value, the advantages of building a distributed, global team, and how to stay focused on what matters in a market

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00:35:23

Webflow’s Vlad Magdalin on the biggest lessons...

Spotlight On ·

2024/04/04

Webflow provides a way to design, build, and launch powerful websites visually without writing code. In this episode, Vlad Magdalin shares his inspiration for the product, tracing the story back from his early passion for computer science and 3D animation to the very moment he recognized a market need for intuitive, visual web design tools. He provides an open look into the company-building challenges his team faced during the early days, and how it helped build resilience in the years that

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00:46:07

Klaviyo’s Andrew Bialecki on proving a tech startup...

Spotlight On ·

2024/03/28

When Klaviyo became a public company in 2023, we celebrated a moment over a decade in the making. In this episode of Spotlight On, Andrew Bialecki shares learnings from Klaviyo’s unique growth story, from the diligence that came from bootstrapping to the 'unfair advantage' gained by scaling a startup outside a typical tech hub. Klaviyo is an intelligent marketing automation platform. Under Andrew’s leadership, Klaviyo has grown to support over 143,000 brands. The discussion covers how a

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00:01:06

Spotlight On Season 2 | Official Trailer

Spotlight On ·

2024/03/26

Spotlight On examines the technology shaping our world through conversations with the people building it. This season, established and rising leaders across both private and public sectors discuss the challenges and opportunities of building companies in today’s rapidly changing technology landscape. Learn more at at Accel.com/SpotlightOn.

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00:25:37

Episode 13: Accel’s Vas Natarajan, Sara Ittelson, and...

Spotlight On ·

2024/01/09

AI is considered to be one of today’s most significant inflection points — but is the enthusiasm warranted, or is it mere hype? In this episode of Spotlight On: AI, Accel partners delve into the state of the market and what comes next, drawing on the insights and predictions about artificial intelligence shared throughout this season.During the season, we interviewed 12 leaders applying AI in all parts of the ecosystem. They have enabled new industries and profoundly influenced productivity,

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00:37:43

Episode 12: Arm’s Rene Haas on building the brain of...

Spotlight On ·

2024/01/02

Arm has been a force in the technology ecosystem since 1990. Their unique model allows them to ride the waves of innovation without being tied to just one moment in time. As a result, they’ve powered them all: smartphones, cloud software, edge computing, and now, AI. For most of this period, Rene Haas, Arm’s CEO, has been working in the semiconductor industry. On this episode of Spotlight On: AI, Rene will reflect on the remarkable innovation he’s seen in the cutting-edge technology, and how Arm is

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00:40:39

Episode 11: Transcend’s Kate Parker on putting data...

Spotlight On ·

2023/12/21

Recent developments in artificial intelligence have sparked an outcry for control over personal data. While regulators, politicians, and the business community have been thinking about how to improve data privacy, there is still much more work to do. Kate Parker, Transcend’s COO, will discuss the progress in data governance, how companies can adopt and build secure AI services, and why it is critical to give power back to the user. Questions around data and privacy will only become more important

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00:37:32

Episode 10: Cinder’s Glen Wise on trust and safety...

Spotlight On ·

2023/12/21

Generative AI has transformed technology, presenting new opportunities and raising concerns about potential harm. There is no shortage of questions about how to hold generative AI accountable – or if we can at all. Glen Wise and his team are answering these questions through Cinder’s trust and safety platform. Because of the recent advancements in artificial intelligence, companies face new challenges in identifying how users, networks, or content may violate their terms of service. Glen and his

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00:39:46

Episode 09: Checkr’s Daniel Yanisse on tackling bias...

Spotlight On ·

2023/12/19

AI can be used to reduce human bias, but if we’re not careful, it can also learn it. In this episode of Spotlight On: AI, Daniel Yanisse, Co-Founder and CEO of Checkr and Accel partner Rich Wong discuss their concerns, hopes, and advice for building a fairer future. “Be self-aware. You know where bias may be, so be cautious where there is AI in those business processes. What becomes dangerous is when it is a black box, and you don’t think about how to apply it tactically.” – Daniel Yanisse Born in

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00:30:47

Episode 08: Ironclad’s Cai GoGwilt on a decade of...

Spotlight On ·

2023/12/12

Ironclad's story is one of great patience, careful preparation, and steadfast belief in the transformative power of artificial intelligence. For nearly a decade, the team has been preparing for the AI moment we are now in. Join us as Cai GoGwilt, Co-Founder and Chief Architect of Ironclad, shares the challenges and triumphs of their journey since founding the company in 2014. The story inspires founders to ask themselves: are there things you want to do in the future that you can prepare for

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00:44:19

Episode 07: Synthesia’s Victor Riparbelli on creating...

Spotlight On ·

2023/12/05

A self-proclaimed sci-fi enthusiast, Victor Ribarbelli is drawn to the exciting frontiers of technology. His work began with website development and evolved into a passion for company building. Eventually, he found his place in the European startup ecosystem as Synthesia’s Co-Founder and CEO, where he has had a lasting impact. After a year of exploring VR, AR, and AI startup ideas, he crossed paths with Professor Matthias Niessner. Niessner’s influential research on AI video generation at Stanford

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00:39:38

Episode 06: Bard’s Jack Krawczyk on the birth of...

Spotlight On ·

2023/11/28

Jack Krawczyk, Google Bard’s Product Lead, has a founder-like obsession with pooling feedback and measuring success. Since launching in March 2023, Bard has been quickly recognized as an extraordinary tool for unlocking creativity. In this episode, Jack shares his experiences building Bard, his advice for founders, and discusses the creative opportunities to come from AI. We first got to know Jack in 2016 when he joined our team as an Entrepreneur in Residence, and later advised for an Accel

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00:38:21

Episode 05: Scale AI’s Alexandr Wang on the most...

Spotlight On ·

2023/11/14

It was only recently that Scale AI stepped into the limelight. But since 2016, it has been one of Silicon Valley’s quiet but indispensable forces – the data infrastructure powering the entire AI industry. Today, every significant large language model (LLM) is built on top of Scale’s data engine. Because of Scale, AI has the potential to transform the global economy. “AI is the most important technological advancement of our time.” - Alexandr Wang At its helm is founder and CEO Alexandr (Alex)

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00:29:55

Episode 04: Merge's Shensi Ding on powering the next...

Spotlight On ·

2023/11/07

Shensi Ding and Gil Feig met during a computer science class in college and quickly formed a close friendship. Years later, they would reconnect and launch Merge. In this episode of Spotlight On: AI, Shensi reflects on their founding story and how Merge has evolved from streamlining product integrations to serving the quickly growing market of AI companies. Today, Merge is powering the next generation of AI SaaS companies. The journey began in 2015 after Shensi and Gil graduated from Columbia

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00:34:10

Episode 03: Ada’s Mike Murchison on how AI is...

Spotlight On ·

2023/10/31

Ada’s founding story is one the Accel team has always loved. Before its launch, founders Mike Murchison and David Hariri convinced seven customer service teams to let them work as support agents. After a year of exhaustive intake, they knew that for Ada’s customer service platform to add real value, AI was imperative. This was 2016 and at that time, an AI-first approach to customer service was unique—but the results were astounding. We discuss their journey on this episode of Spotlight On. “We

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00:39:04

Episode 02: Roblox’s Daniel Sturman on building great...

Spotlight On ·

2023/10/24

We first got to know Daniel Sturman during his time at Cloudera, and have always valued his insights on building great technical teams. Daniel was part of Accel’s original "Spotlight On" series, which debuted as a blog back in 2019. His insights on Building Great Teams were as salient then as they are now. In this episode of Spotlight On, we expand upon the subject of team building, by examining it through the lens of today's rapidly evolving AI landscape. The company name Roblox is ubiquitous

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00:43:13

Episode 01: AssemblyAI's Dylan Fox on building an AI...

Spotlight On ·

2023/10/17

Dylan Fox, founder and CEO of AssemblyAI discusses the profound changes to the AI landscape over the past eight years, gives insight into where he thinks AI is going as a category, and offers advice on how founders should approach hiring, problem identification, customer interaction, and more. In 2015 Dylan Fox was a machine learning engineer at Cisco. Amazon Alexa launched earlier that year, taking the world by storm, and creating a significant demand for companies to add voice controls to their

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61 results

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