Minus One

Elad Gil, investor and author of High Growth Handbook, offers contrarian startup takes in a wide-ranging conversation. He questions the cofounder myth and when selling makes sense. He explains why product surface area and cross-selling beat raw data moats. He also covers AI-driven opportunities, incumbents’ advantages, and sensible exit hygiene.

Grant Lee, cofounder and CEO of Gamma, built an AI visual storytelling tool that rethinks slide decks. He discusses pivoting from frustration with slides to a mobile‑first, multimedia product. He covers surviving the SVB crisis, scaling lean to a $2B valuation, why different beats better, and pushing through “cringe valley” to make storytelling a growth and hiring advantage.

Tony Xu, Co-founder and CEO of DoorDash, who built the company from early hustle to a delivery leader. He discusses digitizing the physical world, how DoorDash creates proprietary local inventory and mapping data, whether AI-native competitors threaten fulfillment businesses, and why customer-focused product design and hands-on operations still matter.

Andrew Yang, entrepreneur and former presidential candidate known for advocating universal basic income, discusses AI-driven job disruption and why white-collar roles are now at risk. He explains his approach to spotting trends early. He also describes Noble Mobile’s plan to lower bills and pay people to use their phones less. The conversation covers political engagement, systemic reforms, and societal risks from rapid automation.

Waseem Daher, founder and CEO of Pilot and former Dropbox engineer who built Ksplice and Zulip. He argues passion arises from doing, not prior mission. He favors rapid hypothesis testing over aimless ideation. He explains team-first idea selection, why micromanagement can help, and how AI and LLMs reshape startup creation and scaling.

What does it feel like to bet your company on AI when everyone's talking about a bubble?Anurag Goel, CEO of Render and former employee #8 at Stripe, joins SPC Partner Jonathan Brebner to share why he's going all-in on AI infrastructure. The SPC alum breaks down the honest debates happening inside his company, why vulnerability builds more trust than the "always confident" founder persona, and how random events (like his wife's grad school decision) led to his early days at Stripe.1. Anurag Goel: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anuragoel/2. Jonathan Brebner: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-brebner/3. South Park Commons: https://www.linkedin.com/company/southparkcommons/Apply to SPC: https://www.southparkcommons.com/apply0:00:00 Intro0:00:27 How Anurag joined Stripe0:04:30 Silicon Valley “mythmaking”0:07:15 Can founders be vulnerable?0:09:00 His “Minus One” moment after Stripe0:15:45 Killing “good” ideas0:17:50 How Render unlocks developer productivity0:24:00 The AI bubble

Kunal Shah, founder of FreeCharge and CRED, shares his unique insights on human behavior and product design. He highlights the importance of asking 'why?' to foster curiosity and drive innovation. Kunal delves into how cultural factors can stifle creativity and explores the nuances of human motivation in pricing. He discusses the role of aesthetic design in building trust and the clever marketing strategies behind CRED's campaigns. His reflections on the dynamics of startup success and the necessity for relentless learning are both thought-provoking and inspiring.

Vidit Aatrey, Co-founder and CEO of Meesho, shares his entrepreneurial journey through the challenges of building an e-commerce platform for Bharat. He discusses the importance of early team culture, innovative product experiments, and the pivot to social commerce that led to their success. Vidit also delves into the impact of Jio and COVID on user behavior, the significance of customer trust, and the exciting role of AI in enhancing their services. With insights on serving Indian consumers, he reflects on the lessons learned and future prospects for Meesho.

In this engaging talk, Kevin Scott, Microsoft’s CTO and former Google exec, dives into the nuances of AI and entrepreneurship. He reflects on his transition from academia to impactful tech roles and stresses the importance of choosing problems based on their potential impact. Kevin discusses Microsoft’s early investment in OpenAI, the significance of customer feedback, and the need for rapid experimentation. He also highlights the exciting future of AI, advising kids to embrace fundamentals and a service mindset as they prepare for an AI-driven world.

Gokul Rajaram, an esteemed operator and investor with a legacy at Google, Meta, and DoorDash, shares invaluable insights for founders. He emphasizes the importance of passion and personal connection in choosing missions, highlighting the need to truly understand customers by working within their environments. The conversation also explores how unstructured time can foster creativity, the growing role of AI in startups, and the necessity for multidisciplinary founding teams in this new tech landscape. Gokul calls for deep curiosity among founders to drive innovation.