Eric Ries’ Post

Today, I’m joined by Ritu Narayan, the co-founder and CEO of Zūm, a recently crowned unicorn startup built to “modernize student transportation to make it safe, sustainable, and accessible for all.” The company began when Ritu noticed that the issues she faced as a working parent trying to find a reliable, trustworthy way to get her kids to and from school were widespread. It started working with individual schools, then pivoted to partnerships with public school districts. Zum now carries thousands of kids in thirteen states to and from school in its electric buses. Transparency, efficiency, and stakeholder equality are just a few of the things that make it both a beloved and successful company. Ritu and I talked about all of that, plus: 🔵 How Ritu came to entrepreneurship 🔵 Tackling an antiquated and entrenched RFP process for public schools 🔵 Scaling trust 🔵 How coming from the outside allowed the company to transform the industry 🔵 Being a woman engineer 🔵 Shifting from a B2C company to a B2B company 🔵 Zum’s values: customer obsession, doing things the right way, thinking big and executing meticulously, and building better communities. 🔵 How a clear mission makes alignment easier 🔵 Zum’s “Five Step People Program” to reinforce culture and behaviors You can listen to or watch the episode here: - YouTube: https://lnkd.in/gAVy8Qxc - Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gxMDyDwf  - Apple: https://lnkd.in/g6VTnXq8 Here are just a few takeaways from the conversation: The outsider perspective is a bonus. Needing to learn how an industry works from the ground up may seem like an obstacle, but it can actually help identify areas in need of reinvention. And, as in Zum’s case, leads to billions in contracts. Never get your strategy confused with your vision: “Ultimately we were really solving the problem for children and parents, no matter which way it went through,” Ritu explains. Don’t be afraid to pivot, no matter how insane it seems. Zum started off as a B2C company, but soon realized that reinventing as a B2C company was the way to make a bigger impact through a larger company that would be much more sustainable. Acting on customer feedback is key to growth: A culture that clearly values and responds to customer feedback is the foundation of any business that hopes to grow as quickly as Zum has, and it’s grounded in trust and satisfaction. Financial success and solving social problems go hand-in-hand: With the right structure, companies can scale the positive impacts for every stakeholder. All it takes is a conscious decision not to prioritize one over the other. A huge thank you to our sponsors. Without them, this podcast wouldn’t be possible: Mercury DigitalOcean Neo4j

Let’s not forget the good stuff going on, too. Happy 4th everyone 🇺🇸

Incredible lineup!

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

I've heard this from quite a few people, including CEOs

"I deeply believe that happy, well-rested employees are highly productive and highly insightful." -James Reinhart shared why he stuck with the 4-day work week after COVID on my latest episode, The Eric Ries Show. You can watch the entire episode here https://lnkd.in/gmyqPMrd