EPISODE 31

In this live Founder Mode episode recorded at Workshop in San Francisco, Jason and Kevin sit down with two of the most influential builders in modern tech — Max Mullen, Co-Founder of Instacart, and Andrew Ofstad, Co-Founder of Airtable. They share never-before-heard founding stories, from Instacart’s $20K Trader Joe’s hack to Airtable’s first prototype built entirely in local storage. The conversation spans early lessons in scrappy product development, balancing speed and craft, scaling company culture, leadership evolution, and founder burnout. They also dive into how AI is reshaping startup building, what makes SF’s comeback real, and their most contrarian lessons from a decade of creating category-defining companies.

CHAPTERS

0:00 – Welcome to Founder Mode Live

2:00 – Backing the Cybertruck into Workshop

4:25 – The $20K Trader Joe’s Story

9:45 – Building Instacart’s First Catalog

10:58 – Airtable’s Early Browser-Only MVP

15:32 – Speed vs. Craft: Product Tradeoffs

22:18 – Scaling Culture and Leadership

29:10 – Founders on AI, Product, and Speed

35:44 – Burnout, Balance, and Founder Longevity

42:36 – SF’s Comeback and Final Lessons

LINKS

Connect with Max Mullen

maxmullen.com • LinkedIn • X/Twitter

Connect with Andrew Ofstad

LinkedIn • X/Twitter

Stay Connected with Founder Mode

Subscribe to our newsletter: foundermode.kit.com

Connect with Kevin

LinkedIn • X/Twitter

Connect with Jason

LinkedIn • X/Twitter