WATCH: Youtube
There are only a few people in Silicon Valley who can be referred to with a mononym. Gokul Rajaram or just “Gokul” to us all is one of them. Gokul’s career accomplishments are the stuff of Silicon Valley legend. From helping create Google Adsense to driving Facebook ads and then Square and DoorDash, Gokul has done and seen it all. He is also a prolific investor in companies of all stages. More than all of that, Gokul is a friend and one of the people we call for advice often.
In this episode we cover it all. Gokul’s career. The current state of middle management and career advice for people in late stage companies. Founder Mode (!). Lessons learned from Zuck, Jack and Tony of DoorDash. Sriram and Gokul battle it out on the importance of titles. And much more. this was a blast, enjoy!
0:00 - Intro
1:10 - Meet Gokul Rajaram, on the Mount Rushmore of Silicon Valley
2:19 - Gokul's relationship with Aarthi and Sriram
4:00 - What is Founder Mode? And Zuck's Micromanagement
6:33 - Founder Mode Vs Management Mode
8:26 - Why Gokul disagrees with Paul Graham
10:56 - Learnings from Google’s Larry and Sergey
15:58 - What were early days at Google like?
18:58 - What makes a great CEO?
20: 42 - How to engage with high performing executives
25:45 - Why Gokul left Google to launch his own startup
28:53 - Chamath's Acquisition offer
31:30 - Fundraising advice for founders
34:13 - Gokul’s HOT take on AI startups
38:10 - The evolving consumer apps landscape
40:55 - Career Advice for young people
48:00 - When is the right time to start a company?
52:17 - Why titles don't matter
1:01: 45 - Why Gokul left Facebook to join Square
1:06:46 - Regret Minimization Framework
1:07:28 - Gokul's Best Bet - Doordash
1:13:18 - Doordash’s secret hiring process
1:16:11 - Sriram’s favorite interview question
1:17:30 - Gokul’s advice for first time founders
1:20:10 - Final Thoughts
