Grit

Hosted by Kleiner Perkins

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Episodes

287

Latest episode

Jun 2026

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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.

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60 recent

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 QualtricsConnect with Ryan SmithXLinkedInConnect with Joubin:XLinkedInEmail: grit@kleinerperkins.comFollow Grit: LinkedInXLearn more about Kleiner Perkins

June 1, 2026Episode 2861 hr 17 min

What It Takes to Build Software for 171,000+ Restaurants | Aman Narang

Great software companies often come from understanding pain points at a very deep level.On Grit, Aman Narang shares how Toast built trust with 171,000+ restaurant operators by helping restaurants manage everything from payments and online orders to staff scheduling and daily operations.He also reflects on lessons around product-market fit and scaling a company before it’s fully ready.Guest: Aman Narang, co-founder and CEO, ToastConnect with Aman NarangLinkedInConnect with ToastLinkedInInstagramXConnect with Joubin:XLinkedInEmail: grit@kleinerperkins.comFollow on LinkedInFollow on XLearn more about Kleiner Perkins

May 18, 2026Episode 28556 min

What It Takes to Build a Generational Company | Anduril’s Trae Stephens

Founder quality becomes more important as startups become easier to build.Trae Stephens, co-founder of Anduril and partner at Founders Fund, has spent years backing founders with strong conviction, including most recently at Roadrunner.He shares why too much capital too early can hurt startups, and why the best companies are built by teams with complementary strengths.Guest: Trae Stephens, co-founder, Anduril and Partner, Founders FundConnect with Trae StephensXLinkedInConnect with Joubin:XLinkedInEmail: grit@kleinerperkins.comFollow Grit on LinkedInFollow Grit on XLearn more about Kleiner Perkins

May 4, 2026Episode 28456 min

How AIG Is Reinventing Insurance With AI | Peter Zaffino

What does it take to run a company where the business is risk itself?In conversation with Joubin Mirzadegan, Peter Zaffino shares what the role demands at AIG, including high stakes decisions, constant responsibility, and sacrifice. This episode looks at his journey as CEO ahead of his transition to Executive Chairman this June.Leading at a global scale across 200+ countries.Guest: Peter ZaffinoConnect with Peter ZaffinoLinkedInConnect with Joubin:XLinkedInEmail: grit@kleinerperkins.comFollow on LinkedInFollow on XLearn more about Kleiner Perkins

April 20, 2026Episode 2831 hr 17 min

From Airbnb to Linear: How Karri Saarinen Redefined Product Design

In a market that hadn’t changed in decades, Linear didn’t win by being faster. They won by being more thoughtful.Karri Saarinen helped shape design at Airbnb and Coinbase before building Linear around small teams and high standards.On Grit, he shares how Linear is building for a new era of software development.Guest: Karri Saarinen, co-founder and CEO of LinearConnect with Karri SaarinenXLinkedInConnect with Josh Coyne:XLinkedInConnect with Joubin:XLinkedInEmail: grit@kleinerperkins.comFollow on LinkedInFollow on XLearn more about Kleiner Perkins

April 6, 2026Episode 2821 hr 2 min

How Kevin Mandia Built the Most Trusted Name in Cybersecurity

What does security look like when attackers use AI better than you do?Armadin recently raised $200M to build for the “attacker of the future,” where attacks are autonomous and harder to contain.On the Kleiner Perkins Grit podcast, Kevin Mandia joins Joubin Mirzadegan to share how he’s thinking about this shift, why cybersecurity has always been a calling, and why customer trust is what ultimately compounds into market leadership.Guest: Kevin Mandia, Founder and CEO, ArmadinConnect with Kevin MandiaLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-mandia-0a07173/Connect with Josh Coyne:XLinkedInConnect with Joubin:XLinkedInEmail: grit@kleinerperkins.comFollow on LinkedInFollow on XLearn more about Kleiner Perkins

March 23, 2026Episode 28240 min

The Silicon Valley Insider In The Pentagon | DoW Emil Michael

Emil Michael went from scaling Uber across 600 cities to rewiring the world's largest military.In the midst of the Pentagon-Silicon Valley debate, the now U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering opens up about what a real partnership demands from both sides.He also shares how he's built three new entry points for defense tech companies, and why America's military is called the "Department of War" again.Guest: Emil Michael, U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Research and EngineeringConnect with Emil MichaelXLinkedInConnect with JoubinXLinkedInEmail: grit@kleinerperkins.comFollow on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/kpgritFollow on X:https://x.com/KPGritLearn more about Kleiner Perkins

March 9, 2026Episode 2811 hr 12 min

How Sierra Is Pulling Ahead in the AI Race | Co-founder Bret Taylor

Few founders have seen Silicon Valley from every seat at the table.After co-creating Google Maps at Google, serving as CTO at Facebook, and later as co-CEO of Salesforce, Bret Taylor is now building AI agents at Sierra to redefine customer experience.On Grit, he explains why “competitive intensity” is a core value at their fast-growing company and why he believes AI won’t lead to a world where people stop working.Guest: Bret Taylor, co-founder of SierraConnect with Bret XLinkedInConnect with JoubinXLinkedInEmail: grit@kleinerperkins.comFollow GritLinkedInXLearn more about Kleiner Perkins:https://www.kleinerperkins.com/

February 23, 2026Episode 2791 hr 3 min

The AI Era of Cybercrime: How Malwarebytes Is Evolving Its Security Stack | Marcin Kleczynski

What began as a 14 year old fixing infected computers became Malwarebytes, an 800 person cybersecurity company trusted by millions of customers.On Grit, Marcin Kleczynski joins Joubin Mirzadegan to explore AI driven cyber threats, strategic reinvention, and the discipline of evolving before the market forces you to.“We’ve exceeded. Now, what do we do to protect individuals against the next wave of threats, which are plentiful?”Guest: Marcin Kleczynski, CEO at MalwarebytesConnect with Marcin KleczynskiX: https://x.com/mkleczynskiLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcinkleczynski/Connect with JoubinX: https://x.com/JoubinmirLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joubin-mirzadegan-66186854/Email: grit@kleinerperkins.comFollow on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/kpgritFollow on X:https://x.com/KPGritLearn more about Kleiner Perkins: https://www.kleinerperkins.com/

February 9, 2026Episode 27843 min

The Truth Behind Automation Claims in Customer Support | Cresta CEO Ping Wu

Can you scale customer support without burning out agents or frustrating customers?Ping Wu shares how Cresta combines AI and human intelligence into a single system that scales sustainably for companies like United Airlines and Porsche.In this episode, Ping also breaks down the three constraints that shape automation in the real world: conversation complexity, infrastructure debt, and customer demographics.Guest: Ping Wu, CEO of CrestaConnect with Ping WuX: https://x.com/ping_wuLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pingwu/Connect with JoubinX: https://x.com/JoubinmirLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joubin-mirzadegan-66186854/Email: grit@kleinerperkins.comFollow on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/kpgritFollow on X:https://x.com/KPGritLearn more about Kleiner Perkins: https://www.kleinerperkins.com/