Parker Conrad's Billion Dollar Startup Lessons: Do unscalable things, then scale them (part 1)

Today we're going to hang out with Parker Conrad. He created Rippling. He's one of the best product-focused CEO's I've ever met. Today he's going to share some of the most hard-won startup lessons that I've ever heard. And he hasn't talked about it anywhere else.
Hear about his startup journey
☠️ Spending 7 years grinding it out on a startup that wasn't working
🧨 Finding product market fit by doing the unscalable
💎 Getting it right with Rippling: Using software to actually scale operations
Read the full transcript here: blog.garrytan.com/parker-conr...
Learn more about Rippling at rippling.com
Follow Parker on Twitter at / parkerconrad
I’m Garry Tan, venture capitalist and cofounder at Initialized Capital. We were earliest investors in billion dollar startups like Coinbase and Instacart, and we’re spending time with some of our best founders to learn the secrets of their success and see the future they’re building. I’m doing my own run-and-gun one man KZbin channel with no staff or crew - we're going for raw and unfiltered, not perfect.
Please like this video and subscribe to my channel if you want to see more videos like this!

[@andresbf830]

"Start with the problem that you have and look for the right way to solve it, rather than technology searching for a solution" "Make something people want, do unscalable things, and actually scale it" This is so elegantly well said, and so fundamentally true ... Thank you Garry and Parker! ♥️🚀

[@ArnoldGelacio]

A solution in search of a problem... exactly what I did as an engineer trying to start my first startup many many years ago. I know better now. Looking forward to learning YC ways in Startup School.

[@nickel]

Been a few years since I last saw you but glad to see you're putting KZbin content out now, just subscribed! :)

[@owenlee9474]

Thank you 😊 have been working at my "startup" for 4 years now. Learning alot from your channel to make it work

[@ec-becomesuccessfulbrand8839]

What's Your Startup, Friend?. We'll love to support you!

[@kesavakirupadinakaran2250]

Truly appreciate this type of content, Garry. :)

[@towersroofinginc422]

Another great video! Thank you for including the transcript, for some reason youtube is not working for me right now.

[@lakshaithani268]

Great insights from Parker Conrad. Thanks Garry for bringing this content to us!!

[@GarryTan]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@waltondornisch7662]

So very smooth, so educational

[@fyodorio]

Nice, clever, and practically wise guy, kudos 👍

[@jonyeazel]

Love your channel Gary. Really high level stuff.

[@Redant1Redant]

“Me and 40 engineers and no one else “ (!). Uh, that 41people. That’s a huge team!

[@GarryTan]

Yes it’s unusual. $17M seed round. But that’s what happens when you build a unicorn in 24 months for your 2nd startup, then leave and have the ability to do it again without any of the prior mistakes.

[@stopinvadingmyprivacy8375]

Love Parker and am a customer. Have met him in person and was super impressed. Hope someone close to him can advise him to take better care of his health -- his weight has ballooned and I'm genuinely worried for him! Take care of yourself, friend. We want you to stick around.

[@alexjahani2853]

preparing for an interview at rippling right now and rly appreciating these videos!

[@rjyoungling220]

Watching this again. So much useful information here. (Also, started learning how to code cuz of you.)

[@GarryTan]

Great to hear! It will pay off massively.

[@mohamedabdul633]

This channel is the great place for people like me who's looking to start a startup. Thanks

[@GarryTan]

That’s my hope!

[@sandieman]

Finally solid video storytelling in San Francisco!

[@zando5108]

its great listening to each of these origin stories!

[@YoannBuzenet]

I'll definitely be there next week !

[@TheMiningStore]

appreciate these... especially the transcript!

[@GarryTan]

Thanks for watching!

[@GarryTan]

Rev.com captions

[@leeackerson2579]

Parker is absolutely right, not only do most startups not follow their business plan, many don't actually end up in the exact same business they started out in. I once talked with the principal at a large VC firm and he told me they once did a study of all the startups they had invested in over a 7 year period and NONE of them really followed the business plan they had originally brought to the VC.

[@GarryTan]

Oh interesting. I think our pivot rate is maybe 25%

[@rajatbansal512]

Wish this was longer man. Amazing stuff!!

[@GarryTan]

Luckily there is Part 2!

[@rajatbansal512]

@@GarryTan Ya saw that but I wish there were more joe rogan style 3 hours conversation with silicon valley guys , that would be amazing. .

[@kushalkamra3803]

Thanks Garry 👍

[@edguerrera8944]

Have a feeling decentralization of large business and creating similar companies with more sustainable honorable practices you name it big Pharmaceutical is crashing hard big food and personal favorite big oil is why we started Hemp Fuel Group 2017 👊

[@GarryTan]

Lots to do isn't there?

[@playgemji]

Useful video indeed. Love the YC stories.

[@GarryTan]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@nuperspektive]

Best channel on KZbin 🔥🔥🔥

[@brandonxochoa]

Applying tech solutions to my CPG!

[@thenewschoolpodcastwithchr7]

Hey Garry, I LOVE your youtube channel and am so impressed that it's a one man shop. I recently launched a podcast (also doing all the work) and am looking into taping videos as well for future episodes. I am confused how you get close ups for you and your guests and two person shots. Are you bringing three cameras to achieve this?

[@PeterSu]

Gl with the podcast! Most likely is 3 cameras on tripods (wide, shot of host, shot of guest).

[@juliusurban8575]

Great Video! I would love to hear the content on the go. Any plans on releasing the Audio as a Podcast?

[@GarryTan]

I decided to do transcripts on my blog, instead and focus on video.

[@jagathbn8483]

Hey Tan, Your videos are far more informative than every other videos ever seen!! Keep Going!! I am really greatful to you contribution here. Thanks, Jagath

[@GarryTan]

I appreciate that!

[@matthewl.5085]

Parker doesn't want to be interrupted 😂

[@GarryTan]

LOL yes sorry, this was one of my earlier interviews and I wasn't as good at just letting people talk :-)

[@ahmedbehairy9040]

Great content Garry, quick q though; When do you go lean and when do you go the Rippling-way?

[@GarryTan]

Lean for the first time. Fat if you have been successful before.

[@andresbf830]

yes, lean until you find product-market fit, and once you find it, all-in , right?

[@GarryTan]

Andrés BF Arguably fat when you think you have a lot of competitors and want to eat their lunch.

[@nranand]

Great video Gary and Patrick is awesome. But do you think he could have raised $17m upfront seed round as a first time founder? i.e. If he didn't do zenefits.

[@GarryTan]

Probably not! He built Zenefits from zero to $70M annual revenue in less than 2 years so that helped a lot.

[@kumodee1]

Came here from Linkedin

[@FaisalWirakusuma]

Time to go productive, Garry!

[@GarryTan]

Yes, ALWAYS!

[@mxmoritz]

🚀 Looking forward to part 2! Great opportunity to subscribe and hit that 🔔 so I won't miss it 😂

[@GarryTan]

Thank you!

[@tonymendestv]

Let the dude speak ! LOL 😝

[@GarryTan]

Haha sorry

[@afriday11]

Raise $17m, hire 40 engineers, release it and customers will flock to use your product… exactly the opposite to the YC way. That said, rules are meant to be broken.

[@GarryTan]

Advanced techniques not meant for broad use but there is no one size fit all path to PMF

[@anukrw]

Mate you REALLY need to stop interrupting him. Just some constructive criticism.!

[@GarryTan]

This was one of my first interviews. I have gotten better since.

[@nexovec]

This channel getting so little attention is a total joke

[@GarryTan]

All in good time, friend!

[@nexovec]

​@@GarryTan Considering your production quality and virality of entrepreneurship videos globally, I'm certain that you're getting demoted by the Algorithm unjustly based on something totally irrelevant. Consider trying out different thumbnail, title and description styles, instead of sticking to the usual stuff, might help. Cheers!

[@jamesclerkin9918]

@@GarryTan it’s amazing u give this content away for free

[@ReflectionOcean]

By YouSum Live 00:01:09 Rippling automates admin work for seamless employee life cycles. 00:02:25 Initial startup failures led to pivotal lessons and perseverance. 00:04:01 Identifying untapped market needs drives successful startup ventures. 00:07:06 Scaling a business faster than engineering support can hinder growth. 00:07:27 Manual processes hinder automation and increase error rates. 00:08:01 Pushing boundaries and challenging limitations fosters company growth. 00:08:47 Overexpansion without addressing underlying issues can lead to downfall. 00:09:00 Monitoring and adjusting growth strategies prevent rapid decline. 00:10:14 Maintaining healthy gross margins is crucial for investor confidence. 00:11:04 Building a software-centric company eliminates manual errors and ensures stability. 00:11:56 Strategic investment and focus on software development drive success. 00:12:49 Aligning product development with market needs ensures sustained growth. 00:14:19 Prioritizing solving real problems over technology leads to startup success. By YouSum Live