Privacy, AI & Resilience: Joe Root on Building a Human-Centered Company

What does it really take to build a company that people actually want to work at?

In this episode of Lead Human, Jack Myers and Tim Spengler sit down with Joe Root, co-CEO and co-founder of Permutive, to talk about entrepreneurship, resilience, culture, privacy, and leading with purpose in the age of AI.

Joe shares what it was like starting companies straight out of university, why Permutive took years of wandering before the business really found its shape, and the two skills he believes matter most in the early founder journey: curiosity and resilience. He also explains the difference between building a great product and building a great company, and why founders have to learn how to build great teams—not just great ideas.

The conversation goes deep on psychological safety, multicultural teams, communicating vision differently to investors vs employees, and why advertising should respect consumer privacy instead of trying to work around it. Joe also lays out how AI could help create a healthier internet by automating repetitive work and giving people more room to make an outsized impact.

If you care about leadership, startups, AI, or building an organization where people can do meaningful work, this conversation is for you.

Lead Human is hosted by Jack Myers & Tim Spengler, produced by Wondir Studios (Desta Wondirad), in association with Acast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.