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Welcome to First Block, a Notion series where founders from the world’s leading companies tell us what it was like to navigate the many firsts of their startup journey—and what they learned from that experience.

In this episode, we spoke with Garrett Lord, co-founder and CEO of Handshake. Handshake is the leading career platform connecting students and young professionals with employers, serving 17 million users and nearly 1 million companies. Garrett shares his journey from growing up in a working-class family in Michigan to building a company that democratizes access to career opportunities. He discusses his days living out of his car, the importance of talent density, and why this is the moment to go all in on your biggest bets.

Chapters

00:00 Intro

00:48 Founding the Spark

02:43 The Early Grind

06:42 Talent Matters Most

07:37 Scaling Through Leadership

13:17 Inside Handshake AI

18:04 Shaping the Future Workforce

19:38 Advice Block