Challenging Big Ideas

This episode is brought to you by:

Dell Technologies. Upgrade your business during Dell Technologies’ Black Friday in July event. Get savings of up to 50% off and take your office with you with Windows 10 Pro. To learn more, call a Dell Technologies Advisor at 877-ASK-DELL or check out the deals at https://www.dell.com/en-us/work/shop/deals.

Vanta. Vanta has built software that makes it easier to get and maintain your SOC 2, HIPAA or ISO 27001 reports at a fraction of the typical cost. Founder’s Field Guide listeners can redeem a $1k off coupon at vanta.com/patrick. 

[00:03:15] - [First question] - How he won the Battlecode tournament at MIT twice

[00:06:43] - A few key insights that helped him win the tournaments

[00:08:34] - Lessons learned at MIT and the road to starting Amplitude

[00:13:57] - A typical customer experience when using Amplitude 

[00:17:17] - How their platform extrapolates key data points in user data that others don’t

[00:19:03] - His most productive mistakes made while building the company 

[00:21:10] - The strange history of equity and his thoughts on how it should be used 

[00:28:08] - The recent changes in the vesting schedule for newly issued equity 

[00:29:59] - Lessons learned from working with some of the best investors out there

[00:36:20] - His thoughts on the IPO process and going public writ large

[00:41:04] - The role the SEC plays and his perspective on SPACs 

[00:44:01] - Differences in direct listings compared to traditional IPOs 

[00:48:36] - His thoughts on dual-class structures and corporate governance 

[00:50:11] - Hopes for Amplitude as he looks five years into the future

[00:52:03] - The potential value unlock of smart software for end-users  

[00:55:08] - The kindest thing that anyone has ever done for him