Parker Conrad's Billion Dollar Startup Lessons: Do unscalable things, then scale them (part 1)

Today we're going to hang out with Parker Conrad. He created Rippling. He's one of the best product-focused CEO's I've ever met. Today he's going to share some of the most hard-won startup lessons that I've ever heard. And he hasn't talked about it anywhere else.
Hear about his startup journey
☠️ Spending 7 years grinding it out on a startup that wasn't working
🧨 Finding product market fit by doing the unscalable
💎 Getting it right with Rippling: Using software to actually scale operations
Read the full transcript here: blog.garrytan.com/parker-conr...
Learn more about Rippling at rippling.com
Follow Parker on Twitter at / parkerconrad
I’m Garry Tan, venture capitalist and cofounder at Initialized Capital. We were earliest investors in billion dollar startups like Coinbase and Instacart, and we’re spending time with some of our best founders to learn the secrets of their success and see the future they’re building. I’m doing my own run-and-gun one man KZread channel with no staff or crew - we're going for raw and unfiltered, not perfect.
Please like this video and subscribe to my channel if you want to see more videos like this!

Пікірлер: 72

  • @andresbf830
    @andresbf8304 жыл бұрын

    "Start with the problem that you have and look for the right way to solve it, rather than technology searching for a solution" "Make something people want, do unscalable things, and actually scale it" This is so elegantly well said, and so fundamentally true ... Thank you Garry and Parker! ♥️🚀

  • @ArnoldGelacio
    @ArnoldGelacio4 жыл бұрын

    A solution in search of a problem... exactly what I did as an engineer trying to start my first startup many many years ago. I know better now. Looking forward to learning YC ways in Startup School.

  • @nickel
    @nickel4 жыл бұрын

    Been a few years since I last saw you but glad to see you're putting KZread content out now, just subscribed! :)

  • @kesavakirupadinakaran2250
    @kesavakirupadinakaran22504 жыл бұрын

    Truly appreciate this type of content, Garry. :)

  • @towersroofinginc422
    @towersroofinginc4224 жыл бұрын

    Another great video! Thank you for including the transcript, for some reason youtube is not working for me right now.

  • @owenlee9474
    @owenlee94743 жыл бұрын

    Thank you 😊 have been working at my "startup" for 4 years now. Learning alot from your channel to make it work

  • @ec-becomesuccessfulbrand8839

    @ec-becomesuccessfulbrand8839

    3 жыл бұрын

    What's Your Startup, Friend?. We'll love to support you!

  • @alexjahani2853
    @alexjahani28536 ай бұрын

    preparing for an interview at rippling right now and rly appreciating these videos!

  • @waltondornisch7662
    @waltondornisch76623 жыл бұрын

    So very smooth, so educational

  • @leeackerson2579
    @leeackerson25794 жыл бұрын

    Parker is absolutely right, not only do most startups not follow their business plan, many don't actually end up in the exact same business they started out in. I once talked with the principal at a large VC firm and he told me they once did a study of all the startups they had invested in over a 7 year period and NONE of them really followed the business plan they had originally brought to the VC.

  • @GarryTan

    @GarryTan

    4 жыл бұрын

    Oh interesting. I think our pivot rate is maybe 25%

  • @lakshaithani268
    @lakshaithani2683 жыл бұрын

    Great insights from Parker Conrad. Thanks Garry for bringing this content to us!!

  • @GarryTan

    @GarryTan

    3 жыл бұрын

    Glad you enjoyed it!

  • @jonyeazel
    @jonyeazel3 жыл бұрын

    Love your channel Gary. Really high level stuff.

  • @sandieman
    @sandieman3 жыл бұрын

    Finally solid video storytelling in San Francisco!

  • @zando5108
    @zando51082 жыл бұрын

    its great listening to each of these origin stories!

  • @rjyoungling220
    @rjyoungling2203 жыл бұрын

    Watching this again. So much useful information here. (Also, started learning how to code cuz of you.)

  • @GarryTan

    @GarryTan

    3 жыл бұрын

    Great to hear! It will pay off massively.

  • @stopinvadingmyprivacy8375
    @stopinvadingmyprivacy8375 Жыл бұрын

    Love Parker and am a customer. Have met him in person and was super impressed. Hope someone close to him can advise him to take better care of his health -- his weight has ballooned and I'm genuinely worried for him! Take care of yourself, friend. We want you to stick around.

  • @mohamedabdul633
    @mohamedabdul6333 жыл бұрын

    This channel is the great place for people like me who's looking to start a startup. Thanks

  • @GarryTan

    @GarryTan

    3 жыл бұрын

    That’s my hope!

  • @fyodorio
    @fyodorio3 ай бұрын

    Nice, clever, and practically wise guy, kudos 👍

  • @Redant1Redant
    @Redant1Redant4 жыл бұрын

    “Me and 40 engineers and no one else “ (!). Uh, that 41people. That’s a huge team!

  • @GarryTan

    @GarryTan

    4 жыл бұрын

    Yes it’s unusual. $17M seed round. But that’s what happens when you build a unicorn in 24 months for your 2nd startup, then leave and have the ability to do it again without any of the prior mistakes.

  • @edguerrera8944
    @edguerrera89443 жыл бұрын

    Have a feeling decentralization of large business and creating similar companies with more sustainable honorable practices you name it big Pharmaceutical is crashing hard big food and personal favorite big oil is why we started Hemp Fuel Group 2017 👊

  • @GarryTan

    @GarryTan

    3 жыл бұрын

    Lots to do isn't there?

  • @bombeofficial
    @bombeofficial4 жыл бұрын

    appreciate these... especially the transcript!

  • @GarryTan

    @GarryTan

    4 жыл бұрын

    Thanks for watching!

  • @GarryTan

    @GarryTan

    4 жыл бұрын

    Rev.com captions

  • @YoannBuzenet
    @YoannBuzenet4 жыл бұрын

    I'll definitely be there next week !

  • @rajatbansal512
    @rajatbansal5123 жыл бұрын

    Wish this was longer man. Amazing stuff!!

  • @GarryTan

    @GarryTan

    3 жыл бұрын

    Luckily there is Part 2!

  • @rajatbansal512

    @rajatbansal512

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@GarryTan Ya saw that but I wish there were more joe rogan style 3 hours conversation with silicon valley guys , that would be amazing. .

  • @playgemji
    @playgemji3 жыл бұрын

    Useful video indeed. Love the YC stories.

  • @GarryTan

    @GarryTan

    3 жыл бұрын

    Glad you enjoyed it!

  • @thenewschoolpodcastwithchr7
    @thenewschoolpodcastwithchr74 жыл бұрын

    Hey Garry, I LOVE your youtube channel and am so impressed that it's a one man shop. I recently launched a podcast (also doing all the work) and am looking into taping videos as well for future episodes. I am confused how you get close ups for you and your guests and two person shots. Are you bringing three cameras to achieve this?

  • @PeterSu

    @PeterSu

    4 ай бұрын

    Gl with the podcast! Most likely is 3 cameras on tripods (wide, shot of host, shot of guest).

  • @nuperspektive
    @nuperspektive3 жыл бұрын

    Best channel on KZread 🔥🔥🔥

  • @kushalkamra3803
    @kushalkamra38032 жыл бұрын

    Thanks Garry 👍

  • @brandonxochoa
    @brandonxochoa3 жыл бұрын

    Applying tech solutions to my CPG!

  • @juliusurban8575
    @juliusurban85754 жыл бұрын

    Great Video! I would love to hear the content on the go. Any plans on releasing the Audio as a Podcast?

  • @GarryTan

    @GarryTan

    4 жыл бұрын

    I decided to do transcripts on my blog, instead and focus on video.

  • @jagathbn8483
    @jagathbn84833 жыл бұрын

    Hey Tan, Your videos are far more informative than every other videos ever seen!! Keep Going!! I am really greatful to you contribution here. Thanks, Jagath

  • @GarryTan

    @GarryTan

    3 жыл бұрын

    I appreciate that!

  • @ahmedbehairy9040
    @ahmedbehairy90404 жыл бұрын

    Great content Garry, quick q though; When do you go lean and when do you go the Rippling-way?

  • @GarryTan

    @GarryTan

    4 жыл бұрын

    Lean for the first time. Fat if you have been successful before.

  • @andresbf830

    @andresbf830

    4 жыл бұрын

    yes, lean until you find product-market fit, and once you find it, all-in , right?

  • @GarryTan

    @GarryTan

    4 жыл бұрын

    Andrés BF Arguably fat when you think you have a lot of competitors and want to eat their lunch.

  • @nranand
    @nranand4 жыл бұрын

    Great video Gary and Patrick is awesome. But do you think he could have raised $17m upfront seed round as a first time founder? i.e. If he didn't do zenefits.

  • @GarryTan

    @GarryTan

    4 жыл бұрын

    Probably not! He built Zenefits from zero to $70M annual revenue in less than 2 years so that helped a lot.

  • @matthewl.5085
    @matthewl.50853 жыл бұрын

    Parker doesn't want to be interrupted 😂

  • @GarryTan

    @GarryTan

    3 жыл бұрын

    LOL yes sorry, this was one of my earlier interviews and I wasn't as good at just letting people talk :-)

  • @FaisalWirakusuma
    @FaisalWirakusuma4 жыл бұрын

    Time to go productive, Garry!

  • @GarryTan

    @GarryTan

    4 жыл бұрын

    Yes, ALWAYS!

  • @mxmoritz
    @mxmoritz4 жыл бұрын

    🚀 Looking forward to part 2! Great opportunity to subscribe and hit that 🔔 so I won't miss it 😂

  • @GarryTan

    @GarryTan

    4 жыл бұрын

    Thank you!

  • @kumodee1
    @kumodee14 жыл бұрын

    Came here from Linkedin

  • @tonymendestv
    @tonymendestv3 жыл бұрын

    Let the dude speak ! LOL 😝

  • @GarryTan

    @GarryTan

    3 жыл бұрын

    Haha sorry

  • @afriday11
    @afriday117 ай бұрын

    Raise $17m, hire 40 engineers, release it and customers will flock to use your product… exactly the opposite to the YC way. That said, rules are meant to be broken.

  • @GarryTan

    @GarryTan

    7 ай бұрын

    Advanced techniques not meant for broad use but there is no one size fit all path to PMF

  • @anukrw
    @anukrw3 жыл бұрын

    Mate you REALLY need to stop interrupting him. Just some constructive criticism.!

  • @GarryTan

    @GarryTan

    3 жыл бұрын

    This was one of my first interviews. I have gotten better since.

  • @nexovec
    @nexovec3 жыл бұрын

    This channel getting so little attention is a total joke

  • @GarryTan

    @GarryTan

    3 жыл бұрын

    All in good time, friend!

  • @nexovec

    @nexovec

    3 жыл бұрын

    ​@@GarryTan Considering your production quality and virality of entrepreneurship videos globally, I'm certain that you're getting demoted by the Algorithm unjustly based on something totally irrelevant. Consider trying out different thumbnail, title and description styles, instead of sticking to the usual stuff, might help. Cheers!

  • @jamesclerkin9918

    @jamesclerkin9918

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@GarryTan it’s amazing u give this content away for free

  • @ReflectionOcean
    @ReflectionOcean4 күн бұрын

    By YouSum Live 00:01:09 Rippling automates admin work for seamless employee life cycles. 00:02:25 Initial startup failures led to pivotal lessons and perseverance. 00:04:01 Identifying untapped market needs drives successful startup ventures. 00:07:06 Scaling a business faster than engineering support can hinder growth. 00:07:27 Manual processes hinder automation and increase error rates. 00:08:01 Pushing boundaries and challenging limitations fosters company growth. 00:08:47 Overexpansion without addressing underlying issues can lead to downfall. 00:09:00 Monitoring and adjusting growth strategies prevent rapid decline. 00:10:14 Maintaining healthy gross margins is crucial for investor confidence. 00:11:04 Building a software-centric company eliminates manual errors and ensures stability. 00:11:56 Strategic investment and focus on software development drive success. 00:12:49 Aligning product development with market needs ensures sustained growth. 00:14:19 Prioritizing solving real problems over technology leads to startup success. By YouSum Live