The Luba Show

Luba Yudasina
  • 5.0 (4)
  • Technology
  • Updated Weekly

Conversations with the human behind the ambition.

  1. 1d ago

    How a16z's Most Connected VC Picks Founders

    Today I walk with David Haber, general partner at Andreessen Horowitz. David co-founded Bond Street and sold it to Goldman Sachs, started his career working for the founder of Royalty Pharma and investing at Spark Capital, and helped open a16z's New York office. He gets into why he'd rather back the missionary than the mercenary, and why he believes opportunity lives between fields of expertise. We get into: - The Friday night football taco stand he set up in high school, which he says made the vendor millions of dollars over the next 20 years - Working next to Airbnb co-founder Nathan Blecharczyk as a sophomore intern, and passing on the chance to become Airbnb's first non-technical hire - How Royalty Pharma got to a $25 billion market cap with about 50 employees, and why it inspired his firm over fund thesis - Vantage, the AI tool he built from 750 meetings' worth of transcripts that now lives in a16z's Slack - Why founders spend 95% of their time selling, and why he backs missionaries over mercenaries so much more! 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐒(00:00) Trailer(00:51) David Haber, General Partner, Andreessen Horowitz(01:14) Why people call him the most connected VC in New York(02:35) From the Holocaust to Nicaragua to Tijuana(05:23) The Friday night taco stand that made a vendor millions(11:18) Sitting next to Airbnb's Nathan Blecharczyk as an intern(15:40) Royalty Pharma: $25B market cap with about 50 employees(28:48) The hardest problem in building Bond Street(37:06) Emailing Goldman Sachs' CFO and ignoring his job description(39:27) Vantage: the AI tool built on 750 meetings(46:02) Why founders spend 95% of their time selling(47:20) Missionary VS mercenary founders(52:18) Firm over fund, and how a16z runs like a company(59:40) Taking 275-year-old Sotheby's into NFTs(1:00:36) Marc Andreessen's pitch: the J.P. Morgan of the information era(1:10:45) Why he wishes Bond Street had been bigger(1:12:31) Outro Follow DavidLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haber/X: https://x.com/dhaber?lang=en Follow LubaInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifeoflubaa/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yudasinal/X: https://x.com/LubaYudasina

    How a16z's Most Connected VC Picks Founders

  2. 5d ago

    $13 Billion CEO Thinks Most People Shouldn't Start A Company

    Today I walk with Shishir Mehrotra, CEO of Superhuman, the company formerly known as Grammarly. Shishir co-founded Coda and sold it to Grammarly, built skippable ads at YouTube into a product that went from $0 to $1 billion in 18 months, and sits on the boards of Spotify and Walmart, and now he runs a company with over $700 million in revenue. He talks about why most people should not start a company, and why he gave up ownership of Coda without any startup pride. We get into: - Why the right startup idea should feel like a curse, and why he tells students not to keep a list of startup ideas - The misspelled Vinod Khosla email that made $500,000 land in his account and moved his company to Silicon Valley in a week - Joining YouTube when it lost money on every single view, and board meetings with Eric Schmidt about shutting it down - The skip button every salesperson said would kill revenue, and how it went from $0 to $1 billion in 18 months - Selling Coda to Grammarly, and why he needs a sense of purpose more than a sense of ownership so much more! 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐒 (00:00) Trailer (01:07) Shishir Mehrotra, CEO, Superhuman (01:32) Making the Lego robotics world championships four times with his daughters (08:59) His dad only paid for majors where the books are 50 years old (12:18) Why most people should not start a company (14:47) The Vinod Khosla email that moved $500,000 in one afternoon (20:15) Joining YouTube when it lost money on every view (25:50) Board meetings with Eric Schmidt about shutting YouTube down (35:20) The skip button that went from $0 to $1B in 18 months (40:30) Susan Wojcicki and the 55/45 creator revenue split (45:54) Sketching Coda on a notepad by his bed (53:52) Why he sold Coda to Grammarly (59:30) Purpose over ownership and zero startup pride (1:01:45) The bundling theory he built with Daniel Ek at Spotify (1:04:49) Superhuman's AI agents and 60% of auto-drafted emails sent (1:09:37) Why AI will make teams bigger (1:15:32) Outro Follow Shishir LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shishirmehrotra/ X: https://x.com/shishirmehrotra Follow Luba Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifeoflubaa/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yudasinal/ X: https://x.com/LubaYudasina

    $13 Billion CEO Thinks Most People Shouldn't Start A Company

  3. Sep 29

    She Raised $16.5M+ to End Genetic Disease - Noor Sidiqqui

    Today I walk with Noor Siddiqui, founder and CEO of Orchid. Noor was a Thiel Fellow at 17, studied CS at Stanford, and has raised $16.5M for Orchid from Vitalik Buterin, Brian Armstrong, Balaji Srinivasan, and Elad Gil, and now she's out to end what she calls the genetic lottery. She gets into why she thinks people won't have sex for babies anymore, and what she'd pick for her own kid if the tech existed today. We get into: - Why she calls the genetic lottery "super evil and unfair" - The 5–10% chance of genetic disease if you conceive the old-fashioned way - Her most controversial take: people aren't going to have sex for babies anymore - Why Michael Phelps is only Michael Phelps because of a genetic lottery - Tetrachromats, 100 million colors, and what "leveling the playing field" actually means so much more! Timestamps (00:00) Trailer(00:53) Noor Siddiqui, Founder and CEO, Orchid(01:04) The flashmob dance proposal(11:15) Applying to the Thiel Fellowship at 17(24:22) Founders raising $50M and losing $100M(31:48) Taking advice from the 500 IQ nerd(35:36) Why genetics shape everything(51:03) What is a super baby(54:55) Sequencing 3 billion letters and why the genetic lottery is evil(1:01:16) People aren't going to have sex for babies(1:02:43) Michael Phelps and the genetic lottery(1:07:21) Escaping the code we were stuck with (1:20:21) Upgrading all humans would make her cool(1:22:20) Outro Follow Noor LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/noorsiddiqui/ X: https://x.com/noor_siddiqui_ Follow Luba Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifeoflubaa/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yudasinal/

    She Raised $16.5M+ to End Genetic Disease - Noor Sidiqqui

  4. Sep 24

    He Co-founded $2B Udemy. Now a16z Gave Him $42M To Rethink College - Gagan Biyani

    Today I walk with Gagan Biyani, founder and CEO of the Horowitz Andreessen Academy. Gagan co-founded Udemy, which grew into a multibillion-dollar public company, built Sprig, co-founded Maven, and started his first profitable business at 13, and now he's building a16z's new school for young builders, backed by $42 million. He gets into the $60M company he had to shut down, why his investors backed him again anyway, and why a Harvard dropout means nothing to him. We get into: -Starting a debate camp at 13 that ran 50% EBITDA margins, and landing in the principal's office for it -Sprig: $60M raised, 1,300 employees, a shutdown, and investors who backed his next company anyway -Why the Academy flips college around, with students building instead of attending class -The call from Andrew Chen and ten meetings with Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz that became the Academy -Why he tells 18-year-olds that raising VC is a ten-year commitment so much more! 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐒(00:00) Trailer(01:01) Gagan Biyani, Founder & CEO, Horowitz Andreessen Academy(02:23) A one-year fellowship built around building, not class(03:55) The three skills that are AI proof(08:16) Grandparents from Rajasthan who never finished high school(09:31) Starting a debate camp at 13 with 50% margins(12:59) Why schools are afraid of student agency(18:33) Seven jobs, three years, and rarely going to class(18:46) Why most professors don't care about teaching(25:41) What Udemy and Maven taught him(33:32) Raising $60M at Sprig, shutting down, and getting backed again(38:16) Why raising VC at 18 is a ten-year commitment(39:21) The call from Andrew Chen that started the Academy(41:18) Why the best builders will pick a16z over MIT or Harvard(43:17) 50 founding students, tuition-free(45:46) Why a Harvard dropout means nothing to him(51:42) Outro Follow GaganLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gaganbiyani/X: https://x.com/gaganbiyani Follow LubaInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifeoflubaa/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yudasinal/

    He Co-founded $2B Udemy. Now a16z Gave Him $42M To Rethink College - Gagan Biyani

  5. Sep 23

    $9.5B Gusto Founder Went Back to Being an Engineer to Build an AI CoFounder - Edward Kim

    Today I walk with Edward Kim, co-founder and CTO of Gusto. Edward built Gusto with two Stanford classmates into a $9.5B payroll platform running 300,000 small businesses, made over $1M selling Android apps on the side, and after a decade managing engineers, he's writing code again to ship an AI co-founder for the back office his mom used to run when he was a kid. He gets into why his doctor dad handed him a Paul Graham essay in the car, and the unfairness technical co-founders feel while business co-founders raise the money. We get into: -Making $700K a year selling Android apps after his first startup shut down -Why his doctor dad handing him a Paul Graham essay changed his career -His mom running the entire back office of his dad's medical practice while raising three kids -The unfairness technical co-founders feel while business co-founders get wined and dined by investors -Going back to code after 10 years managing engineers to ship an AI co-founder for small businesses so much more! (00:00) Trailer (00:51) Edward Kim, Co-Founder and CTO, Gusto (00:57) The elaborate escape rooms he builds for his wife Yuna (03:04) The San Francisco half marathon on a bet that reconnected him with Josh (05:32) Making $700,000 a year selling Android apps (10:25) Screenshot It, the $7 app for a feature Android didn't have (18:31) His mom running the entire back office of his dad's medical practice (26:22) The Paul Graham essay his doctor dad handed him in the car (29:51) Getting into Y Combinator with Gary as a partner (32:49) The unfairness technical co-founders feel while business co-founders raise money (36:51) After 15 years of co-founding, why the workload evens out (56:07) Building Gusto Co-Founder for the small business back office (1:15:01) His life philosophy in one sentence (1:15:08) Outro Follow Edward LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edawerd/ X: https://x.com/edawerd Follow Luba Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifeoflubaa/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yudasinal/ X: https://x.com/LubaYudasina

    $9.5B Gusto Founder Went Back to Being an Engineer to Build an AI CoFounder - Edward Kim

  6. Sep 17

    He Helped Founders Raise $2 Billion. Now He's Sold on Solo Founding - Julian Weisser

    Today I walk with Julian Weisser, founder of Solo Founders and co-founder of On Deck. Julian has run 27 ODF cohorts, helped more than 1,000 founders collectively raise over $2 billion, and spent eight years matching people with co-founders, and now he believes AI has made the co-founder optional. He gets into the $400,000 payout demand from a co-founder who did two months of work, and why he compares co-founders to car phones now that solo founders have the cell phone. We get into: - Calling his own teenage taste in jazz "musical masturbation," and the moment that actually taught him to love it - The $400,000 payout a co-founder demanded for two months of work, and why there was no mechanism to force them out - His run co-founding On Deck, where 27 cohorts helped over 1,000 founders raise $2B+, and why he thinks the co-founder problem is basically already solved - The Hacker News post that got almost no response except one email from Dropbox's first employee so much more! Timestamps (00:00) Trailer(00:51) Julian Weisser, Founder, Solo Founders(02:06) Calling his old jazz taste "musical masturbation"(20:17) 27 cohorts, thousands of founders, more reps than any VC(35:50) The $400K co-founder payout demand(39:45) The Hacker News post that led to Dropbox's first employee(44:45) Golden Gate Park was built from sand dunes(54:50) Why co-founders have seasons, not forever contracts(58:53) The "oddballs" who never wanted co-founders, including Loyal's Celine Halioua(1:00:59) Co-founders are the car phone. Solo founders are the cell phone.(1:06:47) Why owning less equity can mean more freedom(1:16:18) His two-word life philosophy: keep going(1:16:34) Outro Follow JulianX: https://x.com/julianweisserLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julianweisser/ Follow LubaInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifeoflubaa/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yudasinal/X: https://x.com/LubaYudasina

    He Helped Founders Raise $2 Billion. Now He's Sold on Solo Founding - Julian Weisser

  7. Sep 14

    Amplitude went public at a $5.6 billion valuation. Now its CEO is rebuilding all 800 employees around AI

    Automate Compliance (and get $1,000 off!!) - https://vanta.com/luba Today I walk with Spenser Skates, co-founder and CEO of Amplitude. Spenser shut down his first startup, a voice-to-text texting app called Sonalight, a year after it got into Y Combinator, spent years going through what he calls an identity crisis moving from founder to CEO, and has grown Amplitude into a public company of roughly 800 people, and now he's rebuilding it around Wave, an AI engine that rewrites products using their own data. We get into: Why he and his co-founder Curtis intentionally shut down Sonalight a year after Y Combinator, even after a Demo Day that got them press and tens of thousands of downloads The customer research rule he now enforces at Amplitude: talk to 30 teams before writing a line of the original product, and only build if a real chunk of them say yes Wave, Amplitude's new AI engine that scans a product's own data and rewrites its features, including one fix that tripled a customer's AI usage overnight Why he thinks the most ambitious operators, including a SaaS "legend" he looked up to, are driven by insecurity rather than confidence The Norman Borlaug story that convinced a 20-something Spenser to bet his entire career on tech instead of academic researchSo much more! TIMESTAMPS (00:00) Trailer (01:08) Spenser Skates, Co-Founder & CEO, Amplitude (01:36) Why video games stopped feeling like real achievement (08:50) Growing up in Cambridge and hating a life scripted by other people (15:04) The Norman Borlaug story that convinced him to bet on tech (20:14) Convincing Curtis to leave Google and co-found a company (24:55) Playing StarCraft until 2am while pretending to build the startup (29:04) The exact test for knowing when to kill a startup (32:30) Why half a founding team's time should go to customers, not code (35:02) The identity crisis of going from founder to CEO of 800 people (40:35) Burning the boats on the old Amplitude to go all in on AI (42:33) Wave: the AI engine that rewrites products using their own data (48:49) Why insecurity, not confidence, drives the most ambitious operators (56:01) Betting on his partner Anne and being "single until Series B" (1:05:00) Outro Follow Spenser LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/spenserskates X: https://x.com/spenserskates Follow Luba Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifeoflubaa/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yudasinal/

    Amplitude went public at a $5.6 billion valuation. Now its CEO is rebuilding all 800 employees around AI

  8. Sep 10

    From $10M to $70M ARR in 12 Months, The Story of OpenArt - Coco Mao

    Automate Compliance (and get $1,000 off!!) - https://vanta.com/luba Today I walk with Coco Mao, CEO and co-founder of OpenArt, an AI visual storytelling platform. Coco spent years as an engineer at Google, ran her own startup inside Google's internal startup incubator, and built OpenArt through six months of weekly pivots until a prototype built in under three days went viral on Hacker News, and now she's betting the entire company on a new category she calls vibe directing. We get into: Why she quit her Google side-hustles, including the Amazon fidget-toy business she overstocked right before founding OpenArtThe six-month stretch of weekly pivots that ended with a three-day prototype going viral on Hacker NewsOpenArt's bet on "vibe directing," the video-agent category she compares directly to vibe codingWhat actually separates good AI-generated work from "total slop": idea and taste, not the toolsLaunching the AI Personality Awards with Fanvue, and why she thinks AI influencers will make human creators more valuable, not lessSo much more! Timestamps (00:00) Trailer (00:54) Coco Mao, CEO & Co-Founder, OpenArt (03:11) Selling fidget toys on Amazon before quitting Google (04:56) Meeting co-founder Jon inside Google's startup incubator (08:01) Betting on AI art in 2022, a non-consensus space (08:18) The weekly pivot that led to a Hacker News-viral prototype (14:09) Naming OpenArt and getting mistaken for OpenAI (14:56) Raising a seed round on speed, not metrics (19:11) Hire fast, fire very fast (20:01) Why OpenArt survived while image-gen rivals disappeared (23:00) Vibe directing: the next category after vibe coding (28:08) What separates good AI work from total slop (39:40) Launching the AI Personality Awards with Fanvue (43:46) The hardest part of scaling: reinventing yourself (50:22) The one founder belief she now thinks is wrong (51:20) Outro Follow Coco LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kechunmao/ X: https://x.com/cocokechun Follow Luba Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifeoflubaa/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yudasinal/ X: https://x.com/LubaYudasina

    From $10M to $70M ARR in 12 Months, The Story of OpenArt - Coco Mao
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

Conversations with the human behind the ambition.

Information

  • Creator
    Luba Yudasina
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    34
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Luba Yudasina

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