The Growth Show

When Payal Kadakia quit her job at Warner Music Group, she didn't have a backup plan. She knew she wasn't happy in her job, but she wasn't sure what she wanted to do next. After a few weeks of soul-searching, she decided on her next move: She was going to start a fitness membership to help people uncover new classes in their area. Five years, and a few business models later, ClassPass is helping hundreds of thousands of people ignore any excuse to not exercise.

Not long ago, men’s shorts were long, with as many pockets as possible. But these days, they’re shrinking. And we can trace it all back to four friends with one simple idea. Today, we’re talking with Tom Montgomery, a co-founder of Chubbies, a men and women’s clothing company. Tom tells us what it’s like to bear the “bro” stereotype and sell a product that no one was asking for at the time.

To Jerry Colonna, accepting leadership means accepting to work on yourself. Because if you’re struggling personally, your company is probably struggling as well. Jerry is the founder of Reboot, a coaching company that’s helped some of the tech industry’s most well-known leaders. In this episode, he tells us the first step he takes with all of his clients, how he got into this industry, and where he thinks we’re headed when it comes to mental health in the workplace.

Projects fail. Side-projects fail even more. But every once in awhile, a project comes along that shatters expectations (and maybe even a Google Sheet in the process). Yet all too often, we’re left wondering why? Mikael Cho, the CEO and founder of Unsplash, knows the answers to this question. Unsplash was once a side project itself. In today’s episode, Mikael explains which signs to keep a sharp eye on when you’re exploring side projects, and how he transitioned his own into the company it is today.

When did working 100 hours become the banner for success? And worse, when did it become so damn cool? Luckily, not everyone thinks so. David Heinemeier Hansson is the creator of Ruby on Rails and the founder and CTO of Basecamp. David believes this type of workaholism starts at the top and quickly trickles down to your employees. He tells us why we need to change the narrative and stop thinking that all-nighters make us better employees.

Tech has a diversity problem. And in recent years we’ve seen a wave of programs aimed at teaching young people of color to code. But the reality is that addressing the diversity problem is about much more than just teaching kids how to code. Brandon Nicholson is the founding executive director of the Hidden Genius Project, an organization that teaches engineering skills and equips students with leadership skills.

Amanda Spann is a serial entrepreneur, and after seeing major judgment errors like Pepsi's tone-deaf Kendall Jenner ad, she launched the site youneedablackperson.com. She meant it as a joke, but it’s rooted in a much larger issue. On today’s episode, Amanda explains how rapid growth and groupthink can poison a company’s better judgment, and how she’s avoiding having the same issues with her own products.

For years, the pace of everyday work has been increasing. But Kathie Sever’s company is a good example of why the future may not be faster.Kathie owns Fort Lonesome, a custom chain stitching outfit in Austin, Texas. After witnessing first hand the unsustainable practices of the garment industry, she wanted to change the way we all think about clothing. And she’s doing just that. One stitch at a time.

More than a decade ago, Steve Blank helped lay the groundwork for The Lean Startup movement. Instead of innovating in a vacuum, he told entrepreneurs they needed to get outside and talk to customers. In this episode, Steve explains why innovation is fundamentally different in startups, how the Lean Startup can be applied almost anywhere, and what you should do if your company’s innovation engine starts to sputter.

Six months after Karen Aiach’s daughter Ornella was born, she was diagnosed with Sanfilippo syndrome, a rare genetic disorder. Doctors told Karen her daughter would likely live for just over a decade. Left with no option, she created one herself. After only three weeks of receiving the news, and with no medical background, Karen cofounded Lysogene, a biotech company targeting the syndrome. In this episode, she reminds us why “no” or “never” is only the start of the conversation.

In a world of unicorns, Anthony Tjan is an investor looking for sea turtles. He watched first hand as his company went bust the same day the Dotcom bubble burst. And he realized that good, steady growth powered by teams of good people is really the only thing that matters.  In this episode, Tony tells us how to learn from standout companies that promote goodness, how to surround yourself with good people, why you may want to cook dinner with more of your potential employees.

If you’ve ever had to cater a meeting, you know the panic that comes along with it. The type of panic that sits deep in the pit of your stomach. Will the food be late? Will it be the same as you ordered? Or even worse, will it show up at all? Stefania Mallett heard these concerns first hand. Thousands of these concerns, in fact. All from customers at her previous company. And when that company went under? She knew exactly what problem to solve with her next company -- EzCater.

On Monday, you download a new productivity app. On Tuesday, you load it up with all the tasks you need to accomplish. By Friday? You’ve abandoned that list - and you’re in the market for the next new app that’s sure to change your life. That’s why Amir Salihefendic, the founder and CEO of the productivity startup Doist, says his company is out to solve a psychological problem, not a product problem.

Jim Cline was only a few months away from retirement. That is, until a former colleague of his offered him a job most people would run far away from: CFO of a company $134 million in debt. In today’s episode, Jim tells us why he took on that challenge, how he helped realign his team, and how he’s changing course now that he’s stepped up to be the CEO. This episode is presented with HubSpot’s State of Inbound 2017.

If everything on earth is connected, what does that mean for humanity? This week we’re digging out one of our favorites from the archives. In this episode, Linden Tibbets, CEO of IFTTT, outlines a vision of the world where everything is so connected, that moving across the different systems in your life is as easy as rearranging books on a shelf.