Imagining Arc by The Browser Company

The Browser Company
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Imagining Arc by The Browser Company

These are the things many CEOs encounter but few talk about - here you have a seat at the table. At The Browser Company we’re building a new browser, Arc. Every week our CEO Josh, and our team, share real-time updates on what’s working, what’s not, and our biggest questions — especially right now, as we imagine Arc. Send Josh thoughts anytime on joshm@thebrowser.company.

Episodes

  1. 27 SEPT

    Developing a vision for Arc 2.0

    Josh reflects on a rollercoaster week at The Browser Company and what will be remembered as a critical moment in our company’s history. Looking forward, he then shares his process for writing a vision for Arc 2.0 and a peak at what’s coming next.  This episode wraps up our 10 week podcast series (for now). In the meantime, reach out to us at josh@thebrowser.company - and we’ll see you on the internet!  Chapters: 00:00 - A rollercoaster week 01:05 - Moments in company history 02:10 - Arc 2.0 vision document 03:28 - Clarifying the future vs. assuming you don’t know 04:50 - Learning from the past five years 06:42 - The final episode 07:48 - Time to dig in 08:50 - Celebrating our team 09:40 - Emails to josh@thebrowser.company 11:00 - See you on the internet!

    10 min

  2. 19 SEPT

    Five companies inspiring our work right now

    As Josh gears up to head to a founder’s retreat this week, he reflects on the other companies he’s currently inspired by. From media and everyday tools to AI and tech, each company, founder, and team provides a different motivator for Arc and its future. As always, please send your thoughts to joshm@thebrowser.company. Chapters: 00:00 Intro 00:15 Spending a week offsite 01:08 Finding inspiration from other companies 02:15 1- OpenAI & Anthropic  02:25 Articulating a singular mission 04:18 2 - Cursor 04:29 Feedback from Mark Zuckerberg 05:30 Pairing power and familiarity 06:29 3 - The New York Times 07:10 Brand and experience applied across verticals 08:30 4 - Apple Notes & Apple Podcasts 09:00 A simple interface with more under the surface 09:14 Pouring joy into the details 10:21 5 - Perplexity 11:10 Different beliefs about the space 11:30 Absolute relentless focus 12:25 Shoutouts and thank yous

    14 min

  3. 12 SEPT

    Describing Arc’s value and service

    Inspired by a listener email, Josh explores how to talk about Arc not in its technical form, but instead as a unique value and service. He reflects on how brands like Peloton, Uber and Apple have positioned their products beyond their tangible use - and what that can look like for Arc going forward. Chapters: 00:00 - Feeling inspired 00:22 - One thing on Josh’s mind 01:30 - How to explain Arc 2.0 05:30 - Positioning of Peloton, Uber and Apple 08:11 - What is the equivalent explanation of Arc 2.0? 09:31 - Send your ideas to joshm@thebrowser.company 11:06 - Inspiration from a listener email

    11 min

  4. 5 SEPT

    Repositioning the entire company towards one goal

    In this episode of Imagining Arc, Josh focuses on his responsibility as a CEO to staff and resource a team around one singular goal. He reflects on three key inflection points in the business - switching from Electron to Swift, building Windows on Swift, and nailing a prototype for Arc Search - and how those big decisions throughout Browser Company's history have set us up for building Arc 2.0 today.  We love hearing from you at joshm@thebrowser.company. Chapters: 00:00 - How do you staff and resource towards one goal? 00:40 - Recapping one the most inspiring All Hands ever 00:56 - Welcoming a dear friend to Browser Company  02:17 - A talk for the ages from Ben, Alexandra and Samir 03:26 - Moving the entire company to Arc 2.0? 04:04 - 3 inflection decisions and a trip down memory lane 04:36 - Switching from Electron to Swift 06:13 - Building Windows in Swift 07:30 - Prototyping 30-50 Arc Searches 10:02 - Being held back by novelty tax 11:15 - Brainstorming the Dinner Party Test in Paris 11:38 - “Saving you 1,000 clicks” 12:10 - We are going to do your busy work for you 12:34 - Taking room to dream a little bit 13:42 - From two pods to repositioning the company 15:05 - Texas Hold Em and taking the risk 16:27 - Shoutouts and emails - joshm@thebrowser.company In this episode: Our original bet on Swift for Windows Our decision to build in Swift over Electron Welcoming Cemre to The Browser Company

    19 min

  5. 29 AUG

    Three product decisions and one big question

    In this week's episode, Josh shares three big product decisions we've made – and asks for your thoughts on our most pressing question: how should we share this journey with the 99% of Arc members who aren’t listening to this podcast? How can we best bring our members along as we work towards getting an early version of Arc 2.0 in your hands? From solidifying our value proposition, to defining our tab management principles, and building a technical architecture focused on performance – things are moving, momentum is building, the team is dreaming…. and we just want to know how much, how little, or even what you want to hear as we work towards this reimagined Arc. Chapters 00:28 Three decisions we made this week 00:40 Solidifying our value proposition 02:09 Betting on a technical architecture for performance 04:05 Committing to our tab management system 06:00 Same team, same dream 06:32 Remember switching from Facebook to Instagram? 07:47 What we need your help on 09:51 How to share before there’s something to see 11:12 What would you want to hear and why? 13:24 Doing right by our members 14:02 Shoutouts and thanks

    18 min

  6. 21 AUG

    Overcoming doubt: Feature explorations and family feedback

    Today’s episode of Imagining Arc is about doubt—the doubt that creeps in for CEOs of any company, the moments that counter it, and how it all relates to this exact moment of imagining Arc. As the summer wraps up and he moves back to Brooklyn after moving during Covid, Josh reflects on why we started The Browser Company back in 2019, what has changed over the last five years, and the conviction that remains the same. From the team’s latest experiments with New Tab homepages, to iterations on Arc Search’s onboarding, and an unexpected contribution from his father, this episode touches on how to remain inspired, driven, and have fun – even in the face of uncertainty. As always, if you have any questions or feedback, send them to joshm@thebrowser.company. Mentioned on this episode: Browser Company values: https://thebrowser.company/values/ Chapters: 00:00 - Intro 01:18 - The hardest part of being a founder: doubt 04:25 - Looking back to day 1 of Browser Co 06:01 - Getting inspired from building Arc 2.0 07:00 - Finding energy in New Tab Page explorations 08:15 - Seeking feeling in animations and interactions 09:10 - Remaining relentless in moving the numbers 10:10 - Having fun and why we do the work 11:50 - Special shoutout to Josh’s Dad 12:30 - Tell us your Arc fantasy - joshm@thebrowser.company

    13 min

  7. 14 AUG

    Focusing on the only thing that matters: a leapfrog product

    Fresh off the board call, Josh shares a recap of the board's feedback on our current top three questions. From how early to ship Arc 2.0, to weighing familiar interfaces, breaking down false binaries between growth and monetization, and focusing on the only thing that matters—building a leapfrog browser for a better way to use the internet. Touching on the complexities of growth, monetization, and building a product users cannot imagine living without, this episode dives deep into the journey of reimagining Arc — and why the team is currently finding inspiration in Pixar's "Encanto" for this next phase. Chapters (00:00) Intro and why I almost didn't record this episode (01:13) The Board’s responses to our three questions (03:12) Ship early, ship often (even if embarrassing) (05:30) Packing power in familiar interfaces (09:35) Optimizing for growth or monetization (12:28) Finding inspiration in Encanto (15:06) Shoutouts and responses - joshm@thebrowser.company Links: Casita Video, the purest form of how we hope Arc 2.0 feels to you.

    18 min

  8. 6 AUG

    Three things we're asking our board this week

    In this episode of "Imagining Arc," Josh dives into our upcoming board check-in call and the creative tensions we're currently working through at The Browser Company: when and how to ship Arc 2.0? How do we keep Arc simple but also non-incremental? Should we optimize for growth or monetization? Alongside prep for our board call, Josh shares one thing that's going well, one thing that isn't, and one thought on his mind this week at The Browser Company. (00:00) Intro (1:25) Preparing for our board call (5:17) You can't fake it at your board meetings (7:30) The one thing we need advice on (8:00) #1 - How and when should we ship Arc 2.0? (11:50) #2 - Staying simple but breaking through? (13:35) #3 - Optimizing for growth or monetization? (14:50) Monetization as a form of trust and test of value (17:35) One thing that's going well, one thing that's going poorly (18:25) We can make APIs out of any application? (23:20) We need to speed up our enterprise security features? (26:00) Is Arc a window or a mirror? (27:40) Responses to your thoughts! Reach out to joshm@thebrowser.company

    32 min

  9. 30 JUL

    In search of Arc’s value proposition

    Coming out the noise, the dinner party test, and doing less? Josh shares his biggest question right now: how do we pick the central value proposition for Arc — and shape Arc around that. (0:00) Intro (0:21) Top of mind (1:26) Coming out of the noise (3:09) A letter to myself “Why are we here?” (5:09) Our three current focus areas (7:44) The illusive value prop (11:40) Current value prop explorations (14:11) Optimizing for feelings (15:18) Doing less? (17:50) Closing and email responses Mentioned in this episode The Internet Computer, The Browser Company's very first YouTube video sharing the vision for Arc Notes on a Roadtrip, our values at The Browser Company Optimizing for Feelings, an essay on seeking meaning beyond metrics I want a President, the art piece by Zoe Leonard referenced by Josh that inspired his writing on the why behind Arc

    21 min

  10. 23 JUL

    Where are all the new features?

    What does Arc’s beloved Sidebar have in common with the Apple I? A few things (we hope). Josh explains why we haven’t shipped anything new in a while, and what we mean by taking a Blank Page Approach to our beloved browser this summer. (0:00) Intro (0:10) Where are all the new Arc features? (0:40) Summer is for stability & performance (1:10) Reflecting on a year since Arc 1.0 (1:40) The vision for Arc (2:20) Arc today is too complicated (2:40) Taking a blank page approach (4:00) From the Apple I to the Macintosh (we hope) (4:40) The purest version of Arc (5:05) Sidebar or topbar? (6:00) More of what you love (6:20) Our promise to you (7:00) joshm@thebrowser.company

    8 min
  • 10 Episodes

About

These are the things many CEOs encounter but few talk about - here you have a seat at the table. At The Browser Company we’re building a new browser, Arc. Every week our CEO Josh, and our team, share real-time updates on what’s working, what’s not, and our biggest questions — especially right now, as we imagine Arc. Send Josh thoughts anytime on joshm@thebrowser.company.

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