Grit

Hosted by Kleiner Perkins

BusinessInterviews guests

Website RSS feed

Episodes

297

Latest episode

Oct 2026

Language

About the show

Grit explores what it takes to create, build, and scale world-class organizations. It features weekly episodes highlighting the leaders who are pushing their companies to make a difference. This series is hosted by Joubin Mirzadegan, go to market operating partner at Kleiner Perkins, a venture capital firm investing in history-making founders.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

October 19, 2026Episode 2961 hr 7 min

The 20-Year Bet to Make Fusion Energy Work | Jeff Lawson

“Don’t go public without understanding your go-to-market.” Jeff Lawson reflects on Twilio’s go-to-market mistakes, including how the company generated hundreds of millions in revenue with just 7 sales reps. He also shares how AI is changing the economics of software and why he’s betting on fusion energy instead of entering the AI startup race. Guest : Jeff Lawson, co-founder and former CEO of Twilio, and co-founder and CEO of Inertia Connect with Jeff Lawson: X LinkedIn Connect with Joubin: X LinkedIn Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com Follow Grit on: LinkedIn X Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

October 5, 2026Episode 2951 hr 3 min

How Vercel Is Rethinking Go-to-Market With AI | COO Jeanne Grosser

At Vercel, 91% of support volume is already resolved by an agent. After spending a decade at Google and another at Stripe, Jeanne Grosser shares how AI is changing the way Vercel goes to market. She also talks about the founder relationship as a “professional marriage,” what she looks for in a company she can stay at for a decade, and why she believes every pixel on the internet could eventually be built on Vercel. Guest: Jeanne Grosser, COO of Vercel Connect with Jeanne Grosser: X LinkedIn Connect with Joubin: X LinkedIn Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com Follow Grit on: LinkedIn X Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

September 21, 2026Episode 2941 hr 6 min

Inside the AI Startup Making Customer Support 65% Cheaper

How do you keep up when you go from 50 to 500 employees in a year? Jesse Zhang shares how Decagon scaled that quickly, from hiring ahead of demand to keeping the company connected as the team grows. He also explains why the zero-to-one phase is so different from scaling, and how Decagon found its way out of the idea maze in just three weeks. Guest: Jesse Zhang, Co-founder and CEO, Decagon Connect with Jesse Zhang X LinkedIn Connect with Joubin: X LinkedIn Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com Follow Grit on LinkedIn X Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

September 7, 2026Episode 2931 hr 0 min

The AI Race Has a Leaderboard | Arena CEO Anastasios Angelopoulos

AI could be bigger than electricity. Anastasios Angelopoulos is seeing that shift firsthand, with Arena ranking 500+ models and tracking roughly 10 new releases every week. On Grit, he explains why there may never be one dominant AI model and why the API layer may be less sticky than people think. Guest: Anastasios Angelopoulos, Co-Founder and CEO of Arena Connect with Anastasios Angelopoulos X LinkedIn Connect with Mamoon X LinkedIn Connect with Joubin: X LinkedIn Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com Follow Grit: LinkedIn X Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

August 24, 2026Episode 2921 hr 12 min

Data Centers in Orbit by 2028: Baiju Bhatt on His Plans After Robinhood

What kind of founder walks away from a multi-billion-dollar fintech company to start building rockets? Baiju Bhatt, co-founder of Robinhood, joins Joubin Mirzadegan to talk about life after one of the most consequential companies in modern finance, and why he's now betting on Cowboy Space Corporation, an orbital infrastructure company building AI data centers that ride to space inside its own rockets. "I still have that dog in me," he says. Baiju opens up about building alone for the first time in 15 years and what he learned about product-market fit while scaling Robinhood through its most chaotic years. Connect with Baiju: X LinkedIn Connect with Joubin: X LinkedIn Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com Follow Grit on LinkedIn X Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

August 10, 2026Episode 29150 min

Booking.com CEO on AI and the Future of Travel

"Our mission is to make it easier for everybody to experience the world." From the dot-com crash to AI, Glenn Fogel has spent nearly three decades helping Booking Holdings evolve through every major technology shift while staying true to that mission. He also shares with Joubin Mirzadegan why "you're always selling," and how Booking is using AI to amplify what every employee can accomplish. Guest: Glenn Fogel, CEO of Booking Holdings Connect with Glenn LinkedIn Connect with Joubin: X LinkedIn Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com Follow Grit LinkedIn X Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

July 27, 2026Episode 2901 hr 1 min

Ex-Twitter CEO on Why AI Needs a New Internet | Parag Agrawal

"The answer to every problem is a model." Parag Agrawal shares the ideas behind Parallel: products that continuously learn, and teams designed around versatile problem solvers. He also shares why he built an AI agent for himself, and why AI's biggest opportunity is expanding what people can achieve. Guest: Parag Agrawal, founder and CEO of Parallel, and former CEO of Twitter Connect with Parag X LinkedIn Connect with Mamoon X LinkedIn Connect with Joubin X LinkedIn Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com Follow Grit on: LinkedIn X Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

July 13, 2026Episode 2891 hr 22 min

The Sales Framework Every Founder Needs | Mark Roberge

"There's 20 fires going on at every moment in the office and you have enough water to put out four." Mark Roberge shares what it takes to build and scale a company, from finding product-market fit to knowing when it's time to grow. He also shares the framework behind his new book, The Science of Selling, and why founders should scale based on their own data, not another company's success. Guest: Mark Roberge, Founding CRO of HubSpot, HBS Professor, and Co-Founder at Stage 2 Capital Connect with Mark: X LinkedIn Connect with Joubin: X LinkedIn Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com Follow Grit on: LinkedIn X Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

June 29, 2026Episode 2881 hr 11 min

Airwallex's Jack Zhang on Fintech, Failure, and Growth

In 2020, Airwallex lost nearly half its revenue overnight. Today it's worth $11 billion. Jack Zhang reflects on the decisions that kept the company alive, raising capital during uncertainty, and leading through its toughest chapter. This episode is a candid look at why Jack chose to keep building, even when a $1.2 billion acquisition was on the table. Guest: Jack Zhang, founder and CEO, Airwallex Connect with Jack Zhang X LinkedIn Connect with Joubin X LinkedIn Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com Follow Grit on: LinkedIn X Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

June 15, 2026Episode 2871 hr 12 min

Why 80% of the Fortune 100 Chose Qualtrics | Ryan Smith

AI may change software overnight, but company building still takes time. Ryan Smith explains why, despite the pace of AI, “the race is going to be way longer than anyone thinks.” He reflects on Qualtrics surviving multiple market cycles and ultimately being acquired by SAP for $8 billion days before going public. Guest: Ryan Smith, co-founder Qualtrics Connect with Ryan Smith X LinkedIn Connect with Joubin: X LinkedIn Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com Follow Grit: LinkedIn X Learn more about Kleiner Perkins