Crucible Moments

Nov 30 2023 143

Crucible Moments Podcast artwork

A podcast about the inflection points that shaped some of the most important companies of our time. Crucible moments are pivotal decisions that determine your trajectory. Hear from founders like Jack Dorsey of Block, Jensen Huang of Nvidia, and Anne Wojcicki of 23andMe about how they navigated the challenges and opportunities that defined their stories. Hosted by Roelof Botha of Sequoia Capital. The content of this podcast does not constitute investment advice, an offer to provide investment advisory services, or an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy an interest in any investment fund.

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Nvidia ft. Jensen Huang - An overnight success story 30 years in the making

Nov 30 2023 38 mins

CEO Jensen Huang tells the legendary story of Nvidia, from the company’s early days pioneering 3D graphics cards for a niche PC gaming market to powering the AI revolution as the sixth most valuable company in the world. Nvidia faced multiple near-death experiences along the way, and their so-called “diving catches,” as Jensen calls them, were some of the most dramatic busine

23andMe ft. Anne Wojcicki - How a DNA startup took on the FDA and redefined health tech

Nov 16 2023 38 mins

Millions of customers have explored their genome with 23andMe. But when the company started in 2006, the idea of consumer DNA testing was heresy to the medical establishment. The FDA once even ordered 23andMe to stop selling its health testing product. The company persevered to make allies out of adversaries, and became the only FDA-approved product on the market. Learn how 23andMe

Jawbone ft. Hosain Rahman - The rise and fall of the first wearable technology company

Nov 02 2023 36 mins

Co-founders Hosain Rahman and Alex Asseily, and Chief Creative Officer Yves Behar, recount the meteoric rise and fall of Jawbone. One of the most innovative companies of the mid 2000s, Jawbone pioneered wearable technology with UP, the first wrist-worn fitness tracker, and revolutionized sound with Jambox, the first smart wireless speaker. In one of the most dramatic turns in Silic

HubSpot ft. Brian Halligan & Dharmesh Shah - How an underdog helped invent modern marketing, and then took on Goliath

Oct 19 2023 32 mins

Founders Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah reveal how they took a blog started as a hobby and turned the ideas behind it into a $20+ billion success. In 2006, HubSpot upended traditional approaches to marketing by taking advantage of the the nascent internet in a new way: By capitalizing on seach engines and social media, they offered a way to pull customers in rather than pushing a

Eventbrite ft. Julia Hartz - A thriving events company took 14 years to build and nearly disappeared in 14 days

Oct 05 2023 44 mins

What happens to an events company when every event is canceled? “Even if you have spent 14 years building something, it could truly be gone in 14 days.” After working tirelessly to revolutionize how live events are organized, this was the reality Eventbrite CEO Julia Hartz faced in March of 2020 as pandemic lockdowns went into effect, extinguishing the lifeblood of her business

Block ft. Jack Dorsey - A controversial hack week project becomes the #1 financial services app

Sep 21 2023 37 mins

CEO Jack Dorsey reflects on Block’s origins and defining moments with host Roelof Botha. Dorsey founded Square in 2009 with a clear vision: economic empowerment for all. Their dongle that turns iPhones into credit card readers was just the start. With Square, small business owners were able to reach more customers and better manage their companies. But when Cash App, which emerge

Airbnb ft. Brian Chesky - Battling a copycat clone and rebuilding user trust to revolutionize travel

Sep 07 2023 39 mins

As Airbnb took off in the early 2010s, Brian Chesky remembers worrying, “this is just one accident away from being a dead idea.” That accident finally came in 2011 when a host’s apartment was ransacked. It set off a period of soul searching that became a turning point—the company’s efforts to rebuild trust led it to becoming the global behemoth it is today. In this episod

PayPal ft. Max Levchin - A merger of enemies that reshaped Silicon Valley

Sep 07 2023 46 mins

PayPal was the defining tech company of its generation, with alumni going on to start YouTube, Tesla, Yelp, LinkedIn, among many others. But the company nearly didn’t make it. The PayPal of today only exists because of how its team navigated early, unprecedented inflection points. Find out why Max Levchin now says he does “not recommend” a merger of equals to anyone, how the

Introducing "Crucible Moments"

Aug 30 2023 3 mins

A podcast about the inflection points that shaped some of the most important companies of our time. Crucible moments are pivotal decisions that determine your trajectory. Hear from founders like Jack Dorsey of Block, Jensen Huang of Nvidia, and Anne Wojcicki of 23andMe about how they navigated the challenges and opportunities that defined their stories. Hosted by Roelof Botha, Mana