Startup Grind

The agenda is live! And @aplusk is joining us on the Mainstage at the Startup Grind Conference. This year's agenda is a full-stack exploration of how the AI economy is being built, from infrastructure to applications to the operators making it real. View the agenda, pick your sessions, and grab your ticket. Link in replies.

Become a better negotiator. I spent an hour speaking with Stanford negotiation professor Stan Christensen on @Divotdotorg about preparing for high-stakes negotiations, why negotiation Is creative problem solving, and how to sell your company. Timestamps: 00:04:06 — Giving People What They Value Most 00:05:18 — Why Fairness Matters in Negotiation 00:06:12 — Preparing for High-Stakes Negotiations 00:07:34 — Why the Best Negotiators Listen More Than They Speak 00:08:45 — Why Negotiation Is Creative Problem Solving 00:11:06 — The Biggest Mistake in Business Negotiations 00:12:29 — How to Negotiate a Job Offer (Early vs Senior Career) 00:17:30 — Venture Capital Negotiations: Why Founders Need Leverage 00:29:51 — Selling a Company: Why You Must Control the Process 00:39:27 — The Story That Solved a 100-Year Conflict 00:46:07 — How Stan Measures Success in Life Hashtags: #NegotiationSkills #Stanford #BusinessNegotiation #Persuasion #Leadership #Startups #VentureCapital #Entrepreneurship #DealMaking #DivotPodcast

Filevine and its founder @RyanM_Anderson may be the most successful AI company you haven't heard of. @filevine is a legal tech platform on an incredible run - serving 6,000 customers and generating +$200 million in annual revenue. @Divotdotorg chat below. Timestamps: 02:42 — What Filevine Actually Does (Legal AI Explained) 04:08 — The Problem That Inspired Filevine 05:03 — The Risk Conversation With His Wife 09:03 — Meeting the Engineer Who Built the Vision 11:56 — The Founder Mindset: “I’ll Figure It Out” 18:20 — The Day Ryan Quit His Job 22:14 — Rewriting Filevine for the AI Era 25:41 — How AI Is Changing Software Teams 31:28 — Why the Legal Industry Could Grow 100x 44:55 — The Future of Law: AI Running Legal Work 55:20 — The Mindset to Build a Billion-Dollar Company 01:06:10 — Ryan’s Real Definition of Success Hashtags: #RyanAnderson #LegalAI #LegalTech #Entrepreneurship #SaaS #ArtificialIntelligence #Leadership #Justice #Innovation #DivotPodcast

In 2015 I took this picture in San Francisco with the Startup Grind Chapter Directors in Tehran Iran, Ramallah Palestine, Tel Aviv Israel, and San Francisco USA. Seems like a lifetime passed since the world was here.

@StartupArchive_ Eric was right then, still right now. AI doesn’t forgive sloppy spend. #SG2026

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt: “The great founders are frugal” When Eric joined Google as CEO in 2001 — two years after the company had raised a $25 million Series A — he shared an office with four engineers. He even had to lend one of the founders his car when theirs broke down. He believes this frugality is common attribute of the best founders: “I can always tell when we’re dealing with a proper founder by how they are spending their money… Whenever I go to startups that have beautiful offices and really nice chairs, I cringe.” Eric continues: “The great founders are frugal. They understand that the money needs to be used precisely for certain areas. Many of the most successful founders begin with no salary at all… If you’re not prepared to live that, you don’t really understand what being a founder is like.” Video source: @StartupGrind (2016)

2016 SG Conference: Great founders are frugal. 2026 SG Conference: In the AI economy, capital efficiency is leverage. The stack moves fast. Runway buys iterations, distribution, and the right hires. Sloppy spend kills optionality. More founder and investor signals like this at #SG2026. See the agenda → link in replies

My chat with Tomer Cohen, who was the Chief Product Officer at LinkedIn and is one of the most influential product builders in Silicon Valley. On @Divotdotorg we talk about how he helped turn LinkedIn Into a daily habit, what separates good and great products, and the rise of the full-stack product builder. Links below.

@aplusk Explore the agenda and grab your ticket: startupgrind.tech/agenda

The agenda is live! And @aplusk is joining us on the Mainstage at the Startup Grind Conference. This year's agenda is a full-stack exploration of how the AI economy is being built, from infrastructure to applications to the operators making it real. View the agenda, pick your sessions, and grab your ticket. Link in replies.

This AI cycle is different from the dot-com era. In this clip, @mamoonha , Partner at @kleinerperkins and investor behind Slack, Figma, Box, and Yammer, shares the reason: AI products are already useful, and already generating real revenue. Watch the full episode hosted by @DerekjAndersen - Link in comments.

@halo_fund Huge first nine months - congrats to the @halo_fund team! Experience x AI is exactly where we’re seeing some of the most ambitious founders building — not just layering on AI, but redesigning workflows and categories from the ground up. Feels like this is just the beginning.

9 months of Halo. 8 portfolio companies. Nearly $300 million invested. Hosting our LPs in Utah this week has us reflecting on the massive potential at the intersection of experience and AI technology. Grateful for the partners and founders making this vision a reality. The momentum is just beginning.

@Forbes This is a big moment for legal AI! Harvey has been one of the clearest signals in a high trust category. Looking forward to hearing Gabe Pereyra share the journey at SG Conference.

Early AI darling and legal software maker Harvey is in talks to raise $200 million at a $11 billion valuation. Learn more: forbes.com/sites/iainmart… (📸: Harvey)

@harvey @gabepereyra startupgrind.com/conference

@harvey at $11B is wild. Cannot wait to hear @gabepereyra unpack the journey at Startup Grind Conference. Link in reply.

“Just get started. Done overthinking.” 🔥

@Divotdotorg @DerekjAndersen Timeless advice on building with purpose!

A startup legend on Divot. Guy Kawasaki breaks it down clearly: Don’t try to be the next Steve Jobs or Elon Musk. Build products you’d use yourself. Use tools like Signal because privacy protects freedom. And define success by one thing: empowering people. No hype. Just first-principles thinking from decades at the center of tech. 🎙️ Watch now - link in comments.

Such a great episode! Straightforward, honest insights every founder should hear.

My @Divot chat with famed author, startup guy, and generally interesting person @GuyKawasaki. We talked about working for Steve Jobs, Silicon Valley, surfing, and his new book "Everybody Has Something to Hide" which released today. Timestamps: 1:09 — Starting Surfing at 60: Obsession Beats Talent 3:49 — Growing Up in Hawaii: Identity, Culture & Perspective 6:44 — Everybody Has Something to Hide: Privacy, Signal & Freedom 12:44 — Writing 18 Books: Why Most People Shouldn’t Write One 16:57 — Build for Yourself: The Origin of Great Products 18:20 — Working With Steve Jobs: Mission Over Ego 19:40 — Mission-Driven vs Ego-Driven Leadership 22:35 — The Halo Effect: Why You Should Be Skeptical of Authority 27:22 — Steve Jobs vs Elon Musk: Focus vs Scale 30:51 — Don’t Be the Next Steve Jobs. Be the First You 33:08 — Finding Your Calling: Loving the Entire “Sandwich” 46:31 — Jane Goodall: Purpose Without Retirement 52:19 — Guy’s Golden Touch: Finding Gold Early 57:24 — Grit as the Real Advantage 58:25 — Family, Legacy & Measuring a Life Hashtags: #GuyKawasaki #SteveJobs #ElonMusk #Apple #Canva #Entrepreneurship #Startups #Creativity #ProductBuilding #Leadership #Innovation #SiliconValley #Grit #Purpose #DivotPodcast

We take our speaker lineup seriously every year, and this one is already starting strong. First wave is up: bit.ly/speakerrevealx