The Eric Ries Show Eric Ries

In this first episode of The Eric Ries Show, I sit down with serial entrepreneur and intrepid explorer, Sami Inkinen. Sami has co-founded two companies: Trulia and Virta Health. After Trulia was acquired by Zillow for $3.5 billion, he rowed from California to Hawaii with his wife, unassisted. What can’t this guy do? Now, he’s on a mission to reverse type 2 diabetes in 100 million people with his latest venture, Virta Health. In this episode, we discuss:

In the interview, we cover:

• How Sami got started as an entrepreneur coming over to America with no experience

• What it was like to IPO during his time at Trulia 

• What he’s learned raising money after a market crash and a zero-interest environment

• The best way he found to get great talent

• Why Virta is a mission-based company disguised as a for-profit company

• What he learned rowing unassisted to Hawaii from California

• Why he says you should create a mission that is both simple and ambitious  

• And so much more

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Where to find Sami Inkinen:

• X: https://twitter.com/samiinkinen 

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samiinkinen/ 

• Website: ​​https://www.samiinkinen.com/ 

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Where to find Eric:

• Newsletter: https://ericries.carrd.co/ 

• Podcast: https://ericriesshow.com/ 

• X: https://twitter.com/ericries 

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eries/ 

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theericriesshow 

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In This Episode We Cover:

(00:00) Welcome to the first episode of the Eric Ries Show

(00:35) Meet our guest Sami Inkinen

(05:20) Sami reflects on Trulia’s IPO

(08:20) How Sami started in entrepreneurship

(11:10) Sami’s founding story for Trulia (acquired by Zillow for $2.5 billion)

(16:40) Why most people never end up starting a business

(18:57) How to find better talent as a founder

(23:15) Sami shares how much money he raised for Zillow and Virta

(25:20) Sami’s lessons on how to get momentum for your startup

(30:30) What changed when Sami took his company public

(38:00) Why Sami decided to start Virta and take on type 2 diabetes 

(41:55) How type 2 diabetes can affect anyone, even a high-performing endurance athlete

(47:36) Sami shares what he tells each founder when they ask for his investment 

(53:20) The importance of defining your mission that is both simple and ambitious 

(57:30) Trust leads to success 

(1:03:07) A mission-based company disguised as a for-profit company  

(1:08:10) How Sami built an economic model built on helping his customers

(1:14:00) More details on how Sami set up Virta’s company structure 

(1:17:08) What is a GLP-1 drug and how Virta is a GLP-1 off-ramp 

(1:24:32) Sami’s approach to leadership 

(1:26:02) Why Finland maximizes human capital better than most

(1:28:00) What are Sami’s thoughts on AI 

(1:30:15) How to become one with your pain

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Referenced: 

• Virta Health: https://www.virtahealth.com/ 

• Virta Health YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VirtaHealth 

• Trulia Acquired By Zillow: https://zillow.mediaroom.com/2014-07-28-Zillow-Announces-Acquisition-of-Trulia-for-3-5-Billion-in-Stock 

• Type 2 Diabetes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_2_diabetes 

• GLP-1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GLP-1_receptor_agonist 

• Ozempic: https://www.ozempic.com/ 

• Buddhist Parables Of The Arrow: https://grandrapidstherapygroup.com/second-arrow-of-suffering/ 

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Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email jordan@penname.co 

Eric may be an investor in the companies discussed.

For too long, company builders have been told that purpose and profit are at odds -- that trading one for the other is inevitable. A burgeoning group of founders is proving that wrong, creating organizations whose commitment to their mission inspires the trust of customers, employees, investors, and other partners, leading to serious competitive advantage.

Better companies mean a better world for everyone not just now, but far into the future.

Join Eric Ries for conversations with a range of leaders from across industries as well as thinkers who are contributing to this new movement to tackle generational challenges by centering human flourishing.



Where To Find Eric Ries:

Website: https://www.ericriesshow.com/

X: https://twitter.com/ericries

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eries/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theericriesshow



Production and Marketing: https://penname.co/