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We are doing something new and different in this episode. Instead of the episode being a conversation between an entrepreneur and a venture capitalist, we have a conversation between a product/business person i.e Chander, your regular host, and a software developer/technologist i.e. David Krieger, Principal Software Engineer at Pivotal. You will still get two different perspectives. We cover how software development has changed in the last two decades, relationship between product managers and engineers, and how a software developer thinks about coding.

Arne sends his regards!

Useful links:

1. Book: The Mythical Man-Month

2. Why the tech products are mediocre? 

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Softbank has changed the late stage venture industry. After the recent delay of the WeWork IPO, Softbank's strategy of injecting a lot of capital in startups at high valuations is being questioned. In this episode, we discuss the structure of Softbank Vision Fund and how Softbank is influencing startup founders and smaller venture capitalists. 

Useful Links:

1. Softbank vision fund 

2. Softbank 

3. Masayoshi Son

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We get deeper into startup operations, specifically how to develop and market products. How do you prioritize things in pre product launch and post product launch stages of the startup? What are the boundaries between product and marketing? Furthermore, we discuss frameworks that can be applied to product development and marketing. 

This episode also touches upon the current state of WeWork IPO and Apple's product announcements this week.

Correction: It was mentioned in the episode that the new Apple A13 chip has trillions of transistors. We meant to say billions (8.5B) of transistors. Sorry. 

Useful links:

1. Five stages of the sales process

2. How do people adopt new products?

3. Why do we buy things?

4. Capitalism and advertising 

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In our latest episode, Arne and I talk about the streaming video market. The history, the current state, and how we think the market will evolve. Streaming video is a very diverse and deep area so we could not include everything we wanted to discuss like the current value chain of cable tv channels. However, you will get a good idea about the current state of streaming. 

Correction: Netflix did lose customers in the US in 2Q19 but had net adds globally. See details at https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/18/netflix-loses-16-billion-in-market-value-following-earnings-miss.html

Useful Links 

1. Hollywood vs. Silicon Valley 

2. Netflix culture

3. Apple movie rental service 

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Peloton filed its S1 earlier this week. Arne and Chander discuss the complexity of the Peloton business which is a combination of technology (hardware and software), media (production and distribution), and fitness (managing instructors and retail sales). We also talk about their interesting business model and the challenges Peloton might face in continuing its growth.

We could not get to the second section of the podcast due to technical difficulties. So, enjoy our shortest episode till date.

Useful links

1. Peloton S1 

2. Genesis of a fitness device 

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Although one of the charms of our podcast is that Arne and Chander have different perspectives on almost everything, today both of us share the view that WeWork (officially, The We Company) is overvalued and its governance practices are questionable. Last week, WeWork filed its S1 with the SEC for its Initial Public Offering (IPO). In this podcast episode, we analyze WeWork's business model, valuation, and business practices. 

We also discuss why companies pivot, how to do it, and what are the challenges related to pivoting. 

Please join us for a friends of Valley Nordic gathering in Oslo on September 4th evening. Details and RSVP here. 

Useful Links

1. The We Company S1 

2. Buffett and Munger on investing and other things

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As a follow up to the last episode which was about how to think about moving your startup to Silicon Valley (SV), this episode is about how to raise capital in SV if you are a Nordic or a non SV startup. Arne and I discuss: 

1. Why an international startup should think about raising money in SV?

2. What rounds (Seed, Series A, Series B, and so on) are easier to raise in SV? 

3. How do SV venture capitalists decide to fund international startups? 

4. How to prepare for raising capital in SV?

5. What are the challenges after you have raised capital in SV?

Useful links:

1. Silicon Valley Evil or Redeemable? 

2. How does Silicon Valley work?

3. Lessons from first attempt at entrepreneurship

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This episode was recorded in response to audience feedback from Norway. Many startups outside the San Francisco Bay Area are attracted by Silicon Valley and wonder if they should move (or open an office) here. Arne and I discuss the following: 

1. Why a startup should move to Silicon Valley? When it makes sense and when it does not. 

2. Who from the startup should move?

3. When is the right time to move?

4. How to move i.e. what resources are available to help and the process?

5. What are the challenges after a startup has moved to Silicon Valley?

Useful links:

1. How does Silicon Valley work?

2. Decision making for startups

3. Silicon Valley vs. Hollywood

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In this episode, Arne and I discuss The RealReal [Nasdaq: REAL], its business model, IPO, and challenges. How the valuation of an eCommerce startup differs from a subscription-based B2B SaaS (Software as a Service) company. 

In our hot or not section, we discuss Edge Computing. We had a debate on what it is. Why is it important and how it works with AI, 5G, and IoT. 

Useful links:

The Real Real S1 

Edge Computing 

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In this episode, Arne and I discuss Medallia [NYSE: MDLA] IPO which went public last week. Their business model and how it compares with other SaaS IPOs. 

We discuss 5G and in our hot or not section. 

Useful links

1. Medallia S1

2. Direct Listing IPO

3. Applications and Bandwidth