Hold on to your airpods because we’re switching up the format for the Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots podcast! Giant Robots is our pod about the business of great products and it’s getting a bit of a makeover.
Last year I joined Chad as a rotating host for the show and it’s been a blast. We conduct one-off interviews with founders and product leaders from every corner of the community with fascinating stories, inspiring missions, and great advice for you, our audience. But the time has come to shake things up.
Why change it?
You can learn more about why we’re trying something new in the latest mini-episode - Giant Robots v1.
What’s new?
Instead of stand-alone interviews, we’re going to follow founders from 3 different startups for an extended period of time. Every month, Chad and I will have a 1 on 1 about an important startup topic and then proceed to dig in with our founders about how they’ve addressed that topic in the episodes that follow.
We’ll be checking in on different goals the startups are working towards, and learn about the challenges that pop up along the way. For starters, we planned this season prior to the Coronavirus pandemic we now find ourselves in. I can only imagine how this has impacted our startups and how their plans and priorities have changed.
Some of the topics we’ll touch on include product roadmaps, collaboration and communication, goal setting, hiring and growth paths, budgeting, sales and partnerships, and customer success.
The founders we chose represent different industries, different stage companies, and different backgrounds. There’s no such thing as the perfect approach to building a company and there is no straight line to success. Through this founder squad we are looking forward to gleaning insights that can help us all in our day to day endeavors to create teams and products that leave a lasting, positive impact.
Meet the founders
You might be wondering who we have ~tricked~ invited to come along this new journey with us. Drum roll…
Alasdair McLean-Foreman, founder of Teikametrics
At a glance:
- Teikametrics is an e-commerce optimization platform designed for retailers on online marketplaces.
- Founded: 2011
- Known funding: ~$20M
- Employees: ~ 110
Courtney and Dr. Tye Caldwell, co-founders of Shearshare
At a glance:
- ShearShare is the first B2B marketplace that connects salon and barbershop owners to stylists to fill their empty space on demand.
- Founded: 2015
- Known funding: ~$3.6M
- Employees: < 10
Michael Sheeley, founder of Nurse 1-1 (formerly co-founder RunKeeper)
At a glance:
- Nurse-1-1 is a text and photo based chat platform for nurses, health systems, practices, and urgent care clinics.
- Founded: 2018
- Funding: unknown
- Employees: < 10
A new look
Speaking of makeovers, over the last year we’ve refreshed the thoughtbot brand, and the podcasts were no exception. We’re excited to share the new Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots look, complete with the cheery and accessible thoughtbot red, and GiantRobots.fm is revamped as well - give it a whirl!
One last thing
We really want you, the audience, to drive what topics we cover in this new season. Email us at hosts@giantrobots.fm or tweet at us @thoughtbot to tell us which topics you’re most interested in as well as any specific questions for us and the founders.