Long Strange Trip: CEO to CEO with Brian Halligan The Most Founder Mode CEO Working Today Isn’t the Founder: Opendoor’s Kaz Nejatian
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Mar 12, 2026 
Kaz Nejatian, former Shopify CTO turned Opendoor CEO known for product-driven leadership and a 16-day refounding of a public company. He discusses founder mode as owning outcomes, the mechanics of a fast turnaround, tying compensation to performance, making Opendoor AI-native, and the power of decisive life defaults and stewardship.
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Value The Long Term Like A Zero Discount Rate
- Great CEOs apply a near-zero discount rate to the future, valuing 10-year outcomes as much as this week.
- Kaz credits Tobi Lütke's long horizon thinking for Shopify's durable strategy and product focus.
Read Institution Histories Before Building Products
- Kaz dove into Shopify Shipping by reading the U.S. Postal Service Act to understand the system's history and mechanics.
- He studies institutional history to grasp why industries work the way they do before building product.
From Weekend Deep Dives To CEO In 16 Days
- Kaz first modeled Opendoor for weekends, planned to take it private with his wife, then got recruited and became CEO in about 15–16 days.
- The quick board conversations led to a refresh and a refounding pledge to prioritize product over optics.