Spotlight On

In 2018, Barr Moses was looking to start a company but wasn't sure which idea to pursue. She decided to work on three different startup ideas in parallel to see which one gained the most traction with customers.

One of those ideas was Monte Carlo, a solution to address the challenges around data reliability that Barr had experienced throughout her career— dealing with broken data products, wasted time, lost trust, and firefighting data quality issues. As Barr met with potential customers, it became clear that there was significant demand from technical leaders grappling with the consequences of data downtime across their organizations. 

Today, Monte Carlo has successfully created a new category and firmly established itself as the end-to-end data observability platform for companies like Cisco, Fox, American Airlines, and more. Now, in the era of AI, the role of data quality has never been more critical. 

In this episode of Spotlight On, Barr and Accel’s Steve Loughlin reflect on Monte Carlo’s unique origin story, explain “Hell Yeah Moments” as a company success metric, and dig into why they chose speed, focus, and customer impact as core values. Barr also peels the curtain back on why she decided to launch the company alongside an entirely new category—Data Observability—and the grit and determination it takes to build and sell a product that’s never been built or sold before. There’s no playbook for that, but Monte Carlo created its own.

Conversation Highlights:

Featured: Barr Moses, Co-Founder and CEO at Monte Carlo, and Steve Loughlin, Partner at Accel.

Learn more about Accel’s relationship with Monte Carlo:

In a landscape dominated by incumbent players, Gamma takes a bold approach: instead of trying to be better than the existing players, they aim to be an entirely different tech company. They've reimagined the very essence of presentation tools and the creative possibilities they offer. In this episode of Spotlight On, Gamma’s Co-Founder, Jon Noronha, delves into the team’s journey, from an early acquisition at a former startup to somewhat coincidentally building a product that dovetails perfectly with AI. He also unpacks the challenges and opportunities early-stage companies face navigating today’s landscape.

While still in the early innings, Gamma’s journey underscores the importance of staying nimble and ahead of the curve. They’ve learned to anticipate and adapt to advancements in AI models and how to prevent the common (yet often surprising!) misuse of artificial intelligence products. On the heels of their Series A round, the discussion offers advice for early-stage startup founders on overcoming hurdles in aligning a product with market needs, fundraising in different economic climates, and more.

Conversation Highlights:

00:00 - Introduction to Gamma

03:10 - The foundations Gamma had in place to take advantage of the AI wave

08:42 - Structuring early-stage teams to leverage AI UX designers

14:31 - Outpacing powerful incumbents by embracing uniqueness to earn market share

23:02 - Building an AI company with customer data sensitivity in mind

30:02 - Overcoming challenges of fundraising during boom times

32:08 - Reflecting on the importance of a lean early-stage team

Featured: Jon Noronha, Co-Founder at Gamma, and Vas Natarajan, Partner at Accel

Since joining forces in 2019 to tackle the complexities of global employment, founders Marcelo Lebre and Job van der Voort navigated their startup, Remote, and its customers through a series of challenges: a global pandemic, the rapid emergence of distributed workforces, and subsequent economic volatility. In this episode of Spotlight On, Marcelo and Accel’s Miles Clements discuss the effectiveness of global remote team structures despite obstacles.

Marcelo has taken no shortcuts in understanding the nuances that come with operating a distributed workforce himself, operating Remote’s $3B business with a team in 75+ countries worldwide. This episode provides essential insights for founders on the importance of deeply understanding the problems they aim to solve and, of course, presents a convincing argument for the sustainability of remote work. As debates continue around the effectiveness of remote work, and its pros and cons, Marcelo and his team focus on helping others consider the benefits of a well-considered, long-term strategy for supporting durable, globally distributed teams.

Conversation Highlights: 

00:00 - Introduction to Marcelo Lebre and Remote

02:46 - Discovering early challenges in hiring global, distributed teams

07:09 - Lessons from scaling a startup like Remote during the uncertainty of COVID-19

12:29 - Data that supports the enduring trend of a global, distributed workforce

15:26 - Economic advantages of hiring talent globally

18:13 - Advantages of building a full-stack product in a competitive market

24:10 - Remote’s thoughtful, methodical approach to understanding global markets 

Featured: Marcelo Lebre, Co-Founder at Remote, and Miles Clements, Partner at Accel

No founder's journey is a straight line. In the throes of ups and downs, having guidance from someone who understands your experience can be invaluable. In this special episode of Spotlight On, Accel’s Amit Kumar and Ivan Zhou discuss their shared founder journeys and transition into VC, and dive into how they worked together to steer Ivan’s startup, Mayhem, through its most challenging times.

Mayhem (formerly Visor) was a social gaming platform that joined Accel Family in 2018 and was acquired by Niantic in 2021. In April, Ivan joined Accel as an early-stage partner, mirroring Amit’s founder-partner journey. Their discussion explores the resilience needed to navigate turbulent times, a central theme in their founder experiences. This episode unpacks some of the most critical qualities of early-stage founders and operators – the determination to solve real problems, the importance of establishing strong foundations, and the willingness to rethink strategies when things don’t go according to plan.

Conversation highlights: 

00:00 - Ivan’s background and first startup attempt

04:44 - Uncovering the problem and passion that would inspire Mayhem 

07:25 - What Ivan and Amit were looking for in an early-stage VC partnership

11:40 - The importance of building a company around a problem, not a category

18:09 - Lessons learned in a pivotal moment when Mayhem nearly failed

21:16 - How adversity as a founder helped both Amit and Ivan become better partners

30:50 - Ivan’s discovery of his passion for supporting other founders

39:17 - The core verticals and traits Ivan is looking for in future founders

Featured: Ivan Zhou and Amit Kumar, Partners at Accel

Since its inception in 2011, CrowdStrike has had a profound impact on the security landscape. Yet, despite their wildly successful 2019 IPO, there is no finish line for CEO and Co-Founder George Kurtz. With each passing year, the company grows larger, the market opportunities expand, and the need to prevent breaches becomes even more critical. 

In this episode of Spotlight On, George and Accel’s Sameer Gandhi reflect on how their shared vision for a full suite of security solutions on a single platform, which kickstarted the partnership in 2013, has become a reality. As CrowdStrike approaches the 5th anniversary of its IPO, boasting a market cap of $72 billion, George reflects on the company’s enduring success. He shares his learnings as a second-time founder, detailing how he structures his investors and his board, and how his unwavering focus on solving the hard problems first continues to guide the company today.  

Conversation highlights: 

00:00 - Recounting the first meeting between George and Accel, which, against all odds, kickstarted a successful partnership 

11:34 - How George held onto conviction for an unconventional approach to security 

16:41 - Advice for founders operating in highly competitive landscapes

30:19 - Building an effective board of directors 

33:00 - The importance of retaining the agility of a startup, even as a scaled business

38:01 - Parallels between racing and leading a business: time, data, team, and detail

44:40 - Considerations for the impact of AI and dark LLMs across the security landscape

51:05 - How George reinforced his commitment to customers post-IPO

Featured: George Kurtz, President, CEO, and Co-Founder of CrowdStrike, and Sameer Gandhi, Partner at Accel

In 2018, Sysdig made two critical decisions: pivoting its focus entirely to cloud security and welcoming Suresh Vasudevan as its new CEO. In this episode of Spotlight On, Suresh shares insights from his journey and unveils the bold decisions that have transformed Sysdig into a leading cloud security company.

Suresh has learned the key to a successful CEO transition is shared decision-making. Over the years, he built a highly collaborative and disciplined team, encouraging them to stay focused on their strategy and core areas of strength regardless of what their competitors are doing. It is all part of maintaining a "challenger mindset," and it has steered the company through periods of change and helped it thrive despite a fiercely competitive tech landscape.

Conversation highlights: 

00:00 – Intro to Sysdig and Suresh’s background

03:59 – How a new CEO can build trust through shared decision-making

07:48 – Sysdig's pivot from observability to security: risks & strategic decisions

11:49 – How to challenge competition effectively through customer validation

14:10 – Navigating common pitfalls when building an open-source community

17:53 – The importance of building a team strong enough to withstand executive change

22:26 – How AI will transform the cloud security user experience 

Featured: Suresh Vasudevan, CEO of Sysdig, and Ping Li, Partner at Accel

accel.com/spotlight-on/sysdig-suresh-vasudevan

Building an AI-powered startup today presents distinct challenges: a lingering hype cycle, steep competition, endless customer education, and rapidly evolving technical capabilities. In this episode of Spotlight On, Syrup’s James Theuerkauf shares advice for early-stage founders navigating this inflection point. He discusses building an AI product that cuts through the noise and adds value, the advantages of building a distributed, global team, and how to stay focused on what matters in a market full of distractions. 

The episode also offers a look into the evolving retail landscape. Syrup's AI helps retail leaders like Faherty, Desigual, and Reformation optimize inventory, their most precious and expensive asset. Getting the right product, in the right location, at the right time is an age-old challenge, but today, it is precisely the type of problem AI can solve. 

Conversation highlights:

00:00 – James’ background and Syrup’s founding story 

01:44 – How technology can solve the complex merchandising problems brands face

06:57 – The environmental impact of wasted garments, how AI presents solutions

10:05 – Roadblocks to AI adoption among brands and common customer concerns

18:27 – Advice for startups building a global, distributed product and team

26:17 – How early-stage companies can cut through the noise and fundraise thoughtfully

Featured: Sara Ittelson, Partner at Accel and James Theuerkauf, CEO and Founder of Syrup

Webflow provides a way to design, build, and launch powerful websites visually without writing code. In this episode, Vlad Magdalin shares his inspiration for the product, tracing the story back from his early passion for computer science and 3D animation to the very moment he recognized a market need for intuitive, visual web design tools. He provides an open look into the company-building challenges his team faced during the early days, and how it helped build resilience in the years that followed.

Today, Webflow is a successful startup that supports a vibrant community of over 3.5 million users worldwide. Vlad shares his advice for other founders that he wishes he’d known at the start of his journey: to approach investors with boldness about your vision and values, think systematically around monetization, invest time training leaders, and more.

Conversation highlights: 

00:00 – Vlad’s background and Webflow’s founding story

02:53 – How fundraising challenges turned Webflow into a resilient business

09:22 – The importance of setting expectations and values alignment with VCs

20:00 – Ways the CEO role and business changed in the first year after fundraising

22:31 – Lessons Vlad wishes he had known at the start of his entrepreneurial journey 

30:50 – Webflow’s approach to training AI models with respect for creators

Featured: Vlad Magdalin, CEO and Co-Founder at Webflow, Arun Mathew, Partner at Accel 

When Klaviyo became a public company in 2023, we celebrated a moment over a decade in the making. In this episode of Spotlight On, Andrew Bialecki shares learnings from Klaviyo’s unique growth story, from the diligence that came from bootstrapping to the 'unfair advantage' gained by scaling a startup outside a typical tech hub. 

Klaviyo is an intelligent marketing automation platform. Under Andrew’s leadership, Klaviyo has grown to support over 143,000 brands. The discussion covers how a startup changes during various stages of growth and offers an open look into the evolving nature of the CEO role—from the earliest stages to operating as a public company. 

Conversation highlights:

00:00 – Background and Klaviyo’s founding story

06:03 – Reflecting on the hustle it took to gain early customers

10:27 – Challenges & benefits of bootstrapping, what Andrew would do differently today

18:36 – Launching in Boston and learnings for startups building outside of a tech hub

22:47 – Building enduring partnerships like Klaviyo x Shopify

27:20 – How Klaviyo stays ahead by being a customer of their own products.

32:54 – Benchmarks Andrew looked for during the pre-IPO journey

35:53 – Klaviyo AI, and the impact Andrew sees from the technology in the future

41:00 – Advice for the challenges a founder faces as their roles change and evolve

Featured: Andrew Bialecki, CEO and Co-Founder of Klaviyo and Ping Li, Partner at Accel

Learn more: accel.com/spotlight-on/episodes/klaviyo-andrew-bialecki

Spotlight On examines the technology shaping our world through conversations with the people building it. This season, established and rising leaders across both private and public sectors discuss the challenges and opportunities of building companies in today’s rapidly changing technology landscape. Learn more at at Accel.com/SpotlightOn.