logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2021
30 m

Rapid Response: When to build the compan...

Waitwhat
About this episode

Chris Urmson has had to take a different approach in building his company Aurora, which develops self-driving technology. As opposed to creating and iterating a product with a handful of people, and then building a company around that product, Urmson says he’s had to do the opposite. “Given the scale of the problem we're trying to solve and the complexity and breadth of it, we really had to build the company almost ahead of the product,” he says in this interview with Rapid Response host and editor-at-large Bob Safian. Urmson is determined to transform transportation as it is today – a goal that has and will continue to require a great amount of energy and investment upfront, he says. However, if he’s able to pull it off, “the benefit and impact that we'll have socially and economically will be profound.”

Read a transcript of this interview at: mastersofscale.com

Subscribe to the Masters of Scale weekly newsletter: https://mastersofscale.com/subscribe

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Up next
Today
How a summer job grew into an ice cream empire, with CEO Ben Van Leeuwen
Van Leeuwen Ice Cream is one of the fastest growing dessert brands in the country. It’s known for its seriously delicious classic flavors and its wacky collaborations. (Kraft Mac and Cheese ice cream, anyone?) Co-founder and CEO Ben Van Leeuwen talks with Jeff Berman to reveal ho ... Show More
32m 44s
Jul 8
PBS fights for its future, with President & CEO Paula Kerger
PBS President & CEO Paula Kerger joins Rapid Response to take us inside the organization’s financial reality if federal funding is stripped, and how she’s battling to protect iconic programming — from Frontline to Sesame Street. Kerger shares the role of corporate philanthropy in ... Show More
27m 7s
Jul 3
How Baby2Baby stepped up as LA wildfires raged, with co-CEOs Norah Weinstein and Kelly Sawyer Patricof
Devastating wildfires tore through Los Angeles at the start of 2025. Nonprofit Baby2Baby was on the ground leveraging its deep knowledge of how to respond to natural disasters to help families in need. Co-CEOs Norah Weinstein and Kelly Sawyer Patricof joined host Jeff Berman on s ... Show More
36m 16s
Recommended Episodes
Jul 2023
When trucks drive themselves with Chris Urmson of Aurora
Chris Urmson is one of the founding fathers of the autonomous vehicle industry. He participated in three DARPA self-driving vehicle challenges before joining the team that launched Google’s self-driving car project, which later became Waymo. Eventually though, Chris saw an opport ... Show More
40m 1s
May 2020
How I Built Resilience: Live with Stewart Butterfield and Steve Holmes
Slack's co-founder Stewart Butterfield wonders what the future of work will look like for his 12 million customers. Springfree Trampoline's co-founder Steve Holmes says the company has seen a 300 percent increase in demand for its products. These conversations are excerpts from o ... Show More
21m 41s
May 2021
87. Preparing for future growth: A conversation with Simon Pryce of Ultra Electronics
Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 32:40) >  As the former CEO of BBA Aviation and a senior executive at GKN, Simon Pryce has led organizations that grew rapidly through acquisitions. Now, as the CEO of Ultra Electronics, a British company that develops technology fo ... Show More
32m 40s
Feb 2023
Dan Rose - How Stunning Founders Operate - [Invest Like the Best, EP.316]
My guest today is Dan Rose. Dan is the chairman of Coatue Ventures and has one of the most interesting collections of experiences of anyone I’ve talked to. He spent 20 years at Amazon and Facebook in their early days, working closely with Jeff Bezos, Andy Jassy, Mark Zuckerberg, ... Show More
1h 13m
Jan 2023
Miles Grimshaw - The DNA of Software Companies - [Invest Like the Best, EP.312]
My guest today is Miles Grimshaw. Miles is in his early thirties and is a General Partner at Benchmark. His experience and success belie his age. He was an early investor in Segment, Benchling, and Airtable, all before they had 30 employees. I have learned a ton from Miles about ... Show More
1h 12m
Apr 2024
Less competition, more creation with Renée Mauborgne
Best-selling author and economics professor Renée Mauborgne thinks that too many entrepreneurs focus on the wrong things—consumed with making their companies outperform one another as they fight for a greater share of a crowded market space. But what if entrepreneurs focused on c ... Show More
29m 12s
Aug 2023
Relentless curiosity, radical accountability, and HubSpot’s winning growth formula | Christopher Miller (VP of Product, Growth and AI)
Brought to you by Vanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security | Sidebar—Catalyze your career with a Personal Board of Directors | Merge—A single API to add hundreds of integrations into your app—Christopher Miller serves as the VP of Product for Growth and AI at HubSpot. Having ... Show More
1h 31m
Aug 2022
Building a Product Improvement Loop — Darrell Stone, Citizen
On the podcast I talk with Darrell about going from zero to an 8-figure ARR in just 18 months, building a product improvement loop combining user research and A/B testing, and why expecting failure is one of the keys to success.Top Takeaways 📈 Going from 0 to an 8-figure ARR in ... Show More
45m 57s
Apr 2024
Musk’s Cheaper EVs Calm Fears Over Tesla Strategy
Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF. Bloomberg Technology Co-Host Ed Ludlow discusses Tesla easing concerns about disappointing earnings results and diminished growth by vowing to launch less-expensive vehicles as soon as late this year. Bloomberg ... Show More
51m 37s
Oct 2022
Jason Droege - Building Uber Eats - [Invest Like the Best, EP.300]
My guest today is Jason Droege, a venture partner at Benchmark. Jason’s had a long entrepreneurial career, which most recently culminated in building and leading Uber Eats. He joined Uber in 2014 with a blank piece of paper to grow the business beyond ride sharing. Within six yea ... Show More
1h 5m