From Fired CEO to Billion-Dollar Exit: How Lukas Biewald Turned Failure into the Future of AI
Lukas Biewald has been shaping the future of AI for nearly two decades. In this episode of The Eric Ries Show, we explore how his early passion for the board game Go, his hard-won lessons as a founder, and his focus on alignment and culture helped him build Weights & Biases into a trusted toolmaker in machine learning.In our conversation, we discuss: • Lessons Lukas drew from Go about pattern recognition, persistence, and the power of computation• The hard-won lessons Lukas took from CrowdFlower about timing, focus, and staying in the wrong role too long• How Lukas created his own unpaid internship at OpenAI to sharpen and expand his technical skills• The pain point that inspired Lukas and his cofounders to build Weights & Biases• Practical ways Lukas kept his board aligned• Why caring deeply about your product and users beats clever hacks and pitch decks every time• How W&B’s ‘Year in Review’ showed that delight can be a moat in enterprise software• Why the CoreWeave deal feels fundamentally different for Lukas than the sale of CrowdFlower• And much more!—Where to find Lukas Biewald: • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lbiewald/• X: https://x.com/l2k• Website: https://lukasbiewald.com/—Where to find Eric:• Newsletter:https://ericries.carrd.co/ • Podcast:https://ericriesshow.com/ • YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@theericriesshow —In This Episode We Cover:(00:00) Intro(02:05) How Go shaped Lukas’s view of AI(08:32) How large language models actually work, and why they still feel mysterious(12:58) Why AI’s abilities force us to rethink what intelligence means(14:55) Key lessons from Lukas’s time at CrowdFlower(23:59) What Lukas gained from teaching AI and interning at OpenAI(28:28) Weights & Biases initial product(30:06) How Lukas and his cofounders turned a pain point into a company(32:18) What Lukas learned about the reality of raising money(34:30) The non-negotiables in startup building (37:00) Why genuine care outperforms every other growth strategy(39:11) How caring about AI research and delighting users created W&B’s moat(43:47) How a contrarian culture helped W&B preserve its ethos as it scaled(47:00) The challenges of being a middle manager and how to identify the right bold ideas(55:07) How Lukas knew W&B had achieved real traction(56:36) How Lukas built alignment and transparency with his board(59:05) Why the acquisition of W&B feels less stressful than Lukas’s previous company(1:03:09) Why Lukas believes skepticism about AI is premature—You can find episode references at https://www.ericriesshow.com/—Production and marketing by Pen Name.Eric may be an investor in the companies discussed.
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How to move beyond bureaucracy, not waste talent, and innovate faster | Michele Zanini & Gary Hamel
Bureaucracy was once a breakthrough. Today, it’s become a costly drag on innovation, human potential, and business impact. In this episode of The Eric Ries Show, I sit down with Gary Hamel and Michele Zanini, authors of Humanocracy, to explore how organizations can move beyond outdated management models and unlock true human thriving.Hamel and Zanini have spent years researching and advising some of the world’s most forward-thinking companies. Together, we make the case for replacing top-down control with systems that maximize contribution, creativity, and ownership at every level.We dive into how to rethink management from first principles, why employee engagement is at historic lows, and what leaders can do to build organizations that unlock the full potential of their people.—Where to find Gary Hamel: • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garyhamel/• X: https://x.com/profhamel• Website: https://www.garyhamel.com/Where to find Michele Zanini: • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelezanini/• X: https://x.com/michelezanini• Website: https://www.michelezanini.com/—Where to find Eric:• Newsletter:https://ericries.carrd.co/ • Podcast:https://ericriesshow.com/ • YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@theericriesshow —In This Episode We Cover:(00:00) Intro(02:02) The importance of human-invented management concepts(04:20) How Gary came up with core competencies (07:15) The benefits of bureaucracy (a brief history of labor and management)(13:00) The General Motors near-bankruptcy story(15:00) Why management is the greatest human concept, but due for reinvention (23:20) Outlier companies with unconventional structures(24:00) Why management needs new paradigms and principles(29:55) The lost opportunity of Mary Parker Follett’s management philosophy(35:45) The dominance of ‘left-brained’ leadership in management philosophy(38:52) Core ideas behind Humanocracy (55:44) Tips for building healthy, efficient organizations (1:03:36) The overlooked lessons from outlier companies like Vanguard(1:12:21) What Harvard Law’s startup study reveals about founder control(1:15:55) Why unlocking human potential is a CEO’s core mission(1:19:42) Advice for founders on avoiding the pitfalls of bureaucracy(1:22:15) Why every great company is driven by a great purpose(1:27:00) Examples of companies operating from first principles (1:31:14) Why productivity matters, and how it’s linked with bureaucracy —You can find episode references at https://www.ericriesshow.com/—Production and marketing by Pen Name.Eric may be an investor in the companies discussed.
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From Blacksmith to Billionaire: The Making of Patagonia’s Ethos
Patagonia has always been different. While so many companies lose their way when profits come before people, the planet, or even their own products, Patagonia continues to stay true to its values.In today’s episode of The Eric Ries Show, I speak with journalist David Gelles, author of Dirtbag Billionaire, his new book about founder Yvon Chouinard. We explore how Chouinard built Patagonia with an ethos of quality and conservation, how he resisted the corrupting pull of profit-at-all-costs, and why he ultimately gave the company away to protect its mission.We talk about what Patagonia’s story reveals about the possibility of building ethical companies that not only survive but thrive. And we make the case for putting strong protections in place from the very beginning, so that a company’s purpose can endure long after its founder is gone.—Where to find David Gelles:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidgelles/• X: https://x.com/dgelles• Substack: https://davidgelles.substack.com/• Website: https://davidgelles.com/—Where to find Eric:• Newsletter:https://ericries.carrd.co/ • Podcast:https://ericriesshow.com/ • YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@theericriesshow —In This Episode We Cover:(00:00) Intro(02:30) Why Patagonia remains so little understood despite its visibility(05:47) How Yvon Chouinard resisted the corrupting influence of wealth(07:48) How Yvon’s rural upbringing shaped his enduring ethos(11:51) The pivotal moments that revealed a market for Yvon’s high-quality gear(16:17) Yvon’s partnership with Tom Frost and the expansion from climbing gear into apparel(18:06) How a local river fight sparked Yvon’s lifelong activism(21:32) Why Patagonia was able to resist the corporate pressures that erode values(27:46) David on what corruption meant to Yvon and his uncompromising philosophy(30:03) LTSE and alternative structures that protect values(33:48) A short history of shareholder primacy and general incorporation(36:03) Yvon’s aversion to conventional business culture(37:44) Doug Tompkins’s contrasting path from luxury to large-scale conservation(40:33) Yvon’s behind-the-scenes funding of Tompkins Conservation(42:19) Patagonia’s values of quality and conservation and the movements it spurred(51:11) Tony’s Chocolonely’s ethical approach to chocolate and influence on supply chains(52:34) How Yvon structured succession to protect Patagonia’s values(1:02:33) Examples of foundation-owned companies: Grundfos and Zeiss (1:03:47) A case for building protective structures from day one(1:06:06) Why mission-aligned, ethical companies don’t get as much press(1:10:04) The long-term value of taking the harder road(1:16:25) What financial reporting teaches us about prioritizing ethics(1:22:03) Why every company must define its own purpose (1:24:59) Final reflections on why companies can be run with values and integrity—You can find episode references at https://www.ericriesshow.com/—Production and marketing by Pen Name.Eric may be an investor in the companies discussed.
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“AI Will Break the Internet” — Cloudflare CEO’s Big Prediction
What if your company’s mission turned out to be bigger than you imagined?In this episode of The Eric Ries Show, I speak with Matthew Prince, co-founder and CEO of Cloudflare, now a $70 billion company defending 20% of all internet traffic. We trace how Cloudflare’s mission wasn’t declared at the start, but discovered through a series of principled decisions, from protecting journalists and activists to making encryption free for everyone.We also explore today’s urgent challenges: how AI’s shift from search engines to answer engines threatens the web’s business model, why creators must be compensated, and what a sustainable, human-centered internet could look like.This is a conversation about technology, power, and what it means to build with principle.—Where to find Mathew Prince: • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mprince/• X: https://x.com/eastdakota—Where to find Eric:• Newsletter:https://ericries.carrd.co/ • Podcast:https://ericriesshow.com/ • YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@theericriesshow —In This Episode We Cover:(00:00) Intro(02:44) Cloudflare’s history of blogging (08:06) How Cloudflare got involved in safeguarding democracy (14:30) How Matthew learned Cloudflare would make enemies(16:42) Why Cloudflare stopped charging for encryption (18:36) How a series of principled decisions led to Cloudflare’s mission(26:24) Why a clear mission makes recruiting and building a company easier(32:00) Cloudflare’s culture of psychological safety around failure (34:18) Lessons from Cloudflare’s mission and scrappy early team(44:27) Why scale and valuation didn’t shake Cloudflare’s mission(50:12) How the shift from search to answers is reshaping the internet(1:01:00) Why we need a new business model to compensate content makers (1:03:48) Matthew’s vision for a sustainable future of creators and AI(1:06:26) How supporting creators sustains both the internet and Cloudflare’s mission(1:09:57) Lessons from Spotify on supporting creators(1:12:26) How Cloudflare handles its civic responsibility with transparency—You can find episode references at https://www.ericriesshow.com/—Production and marketing by Pen Name.Eric may be an investor in the companies discussed.
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Inside Vercel: The $3B giant that’s changed coding forever
In this episode of The Eric Ries Show, I’m joined by Guillermo Rauch, CEO and founder of Vercel—a company powering the front end of the internet for brands like OpenAI, Nintendo, Chick-fil-A, and many more. Guillermo’s journey began far from Silicon Valley, in Argentina, where a Red Hat Linux CD changed the course of his life.We talk about how open source gave him a way in—and why he still believes it’s the ultimate growth engine for companies and careers. Guillermo shares what he learned from building developer tools used by millions, and how Vercel became the go-to platform for the AI era.In our conversation today, we talk about the following topics: • How open source paved the way for Guillermo’s career• The case for open source as a growth strategy• What makes Silicon Valley special, and how online communities can unlock similar opportunities• The gap between how elite companies ship software and how most others do• How Vercel became the go-to for AI startups• The future of the web: agents, AI clouds, and software 2.0• Guillermo’s take on vibe coding and why it’s more than just prompts to code• How recursive founder mode helps Vercel stay fast while scaling• The challenge of keeping Vercel open, fair, and resistant to abuse• And much more!—Where to find Guillermo Rauch: • X: https://x.com/rauchg• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rauchg/• Website: https://rauchg.com/—Where to find Eric:• Newsletter:https://ericries.carrd.co/ • Podcast:https://ericriesshow.com/ • YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@theericriesshow —In This Episode We Cover:(00:00) Intro(01:31) Guillermo’s early encounter with open source and how it shaped his path into tech(08:44) Guillermo’s early contributions to the open source community (11:03) Why Guillermo ditched Linux for Mac OS(12:28) Guillermo’s contributions to MooTools(13:40) How Guillermo landed his first real job before even graduating high school(15:07) Guillermo’s early startups and the origins of his entrepreneurial drive(18:40) How moving to Silicon Valley ignited his ambition to found a company(23:45) The story of Vercel—and how it started with an open source project, Next.js(31:40) Open source’s impact on talent creation (33:46) Why building the harder thing up front makes everything easier downstream(36:30) What Google got right with Chrome—and how open sourcing it changed the game(39:55) What companies like OpenAI, Nintendo, and Chick-fil-A use Vercel for(43:57) Why so many AI startups are building on Vercel(51:52) What recursive founder mode is(58:17) How Guillermo finds value-aligned founders (1:02:03) Why nearly everyone at Vercel uses AI, without being told to(1:04:50) Using Bezos’s Day 1 mindset to fight bureaucracy and move fast(1:09:56) Vercel’s approach to vibe coding and AI safety(1:11:32) Guillermo’s thoughts on immigration (1:15:37) Why Vercel fights to keep its platform open, fair, and safe for everyone—You can find episode references at https://www.ericriesshow.com/—Production and marketing by Pen Name.Eric may be an investor in the companies discussed.
Founder, entrepreneur, and best-selling author of The Lean Startup Eric Ries discusses how to build profitable companies for the long-term benefit of society. Ries talks with world-class technologists, thought leaders, executives, and others working to create a new ecosystem of trustworthy organizations with limitless potential for growth and a deep commitment to purpose. Together, they uncover the tools and methods to ensure the next generation of companies are designed to maximize human flourishing for generations.
Ireland