Dustin Moskovitz is the co-founder and founder of two era-defining companies: Meta, which ushered in social media as we know it, and Asana, a collaborative project management platform that has been a huge success in the SaaS space. His entrepreneurial experience alone makes him an endless source of knowledge and insight. But he’s also become a very significant philanthropist, where his commitment to putting people first finds another expression. On this episode of the Eric Ries Show, I spoke with Dustin, who is also a long-time friend, about: 🔵 How he uses AI and views its future 🔵 Why he founded a collaboration platform 🔵 How he applied the lessons of Facebook to building Asana 🔵 Why taking care of your mental health as a founder is crucial for the company as a whole 🔵 His thoughts on the evolution of Facebook 🔵 The importance of alignment with investors 🔵 His philanthropic work 🔵 And so much more You can listen to or watch the episode here: - YouTube: https://lnkd.in/gVRwDXbc - Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gzy2-kH3 - Apple: https://lnkd.in/gd7vGJPg Meanwhile, here are a few takeaways from our conversation: 1. People will always tell you you’re about to fail. Ignore them. The world is hostile to new things, and there will always be someone who says your idea is terrible. Let your own judgment be your guide. If you see something working, that’s all the validation you need. After experiencing naysayers at Facebook, Dustin went into building Asana with “entrepreneurial armor” that allowed him to place his observations about the product over the opinions of others about its potential. 2. Managing your own psychology is a huge part of leadership. If the founder or founders aren’t grounded and balanced, the company will suffer. Do whatever it takes to keep both feet on the ground and process difficult feelings and challenges instead of compartmentalizing or repressing them. 3. Stave off energy vampires. Invest in clear communication and a coherent culture in order to prevent the drain that comes with conflict and misunderstanding. Clear assignments and clear due dates create clear expectations. So does a shared understanding of work and culture priorities. Asana is not only run this way, but provides users with tools for making it happen and for communicating well if issues do arise. 4. Be trustworthy. Life and business involve many repeated interactions. Your reputation will catch up with you eventually so if you make bad compromises in the short-term, whatever success you find in that moment will be replaced by far bigger problems down the road. Be a good partner to everyone you come into contact with. Lastly, a huge thank you to our sponsors. Without them, this podcast wouldn’t be possible: Mercury DigitalOcean Neo4j
Being trustworthy is a straightforward but key point. Also getting on with people even if you wouldn’t normally get on with them socially. There’s a difference between collaboration for the greater good and doing so because you just want to make friends. Thanks Eric Ries
Digital Marketer | SEO Content Writer | Copywriter: Driving Results Through Strategic Digital Marketing, Compelling Content, and SEO-Optimized Copy.
3wThank you for giving some highlights of the podcast as I don't have enough patience to sit and listen. I love reading and I learn better that way. You and Dustin have deep insight do you think the social media platforms era has ended? As I see threads not taking off. Does the world need another social media platform? I have a few ideas about social media platforms. Are these ideas worth exploring?