Wish I Knew

Stories from audacious leaders on why taking risks leads to growth.

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Wish I Knew is about the revelatory, life-changing "aha" moments that founders, CEOs and leaders discover along their business journeys and why taking risks leads to growth.

Presented by Bessemer Venture Partners

Sarah Friar: Career lessons on community, conviction, and capital from Nextdoor’s CEO

Sarah Friar, Nextdoor

From consultant to investor to CFO to CEO, Sarah Friar has a business acumen rivaled by few others. Today, Sarah Friar is at the helm of Nextdoor, the social network that services over 300,000 neighborhoods globally. Nextdoor unites neighbors in matters of utility and community. On Wish I Knew, she shared why you should pay attention to what you both love and hate about your job, why strong conviction in a market thesis can buoy you through hard times, and why it’s never a bad time to raise money. She shares how she navigated her career and trusted her intuition to make smart decisions along the way.

Dave Rogenmoser: Top building lessons for aspiring entrepreneurs and how to gain momentum in the AI revolution

Dave Rogenmoser, Jasper

Dave Rogenmoser landed at the helm of the AI revolution in what felt like the blink of an eye. In 2021, Dave co-founded Jasper, an AI writing tool for marketers. Just 18 months later, it became a unicorn company. Today it has a valuation of $1.5 billion. On Wish I Knew, we sat down with Dave, CEO & Co-Founder of Jasper AI, where he cautioned against painting your products into a corner, gave his insight on listening to the presence (or absence) of initial traction, and shared why hiring an executive recruiter was the highest ROI decision he ever made.

How one CEO transformed his fascination with space into a billion-dollar rocket company

Pete Beck, Rocket Lab

Many companies claim they’re a rocketship—but few mean it literally. As a young child growing up in New Zealand, Pete Beck, CEO of Rocket Lab, spent a lot of time stargazing. His fascination in space inspired a passion-driven career of building a billion-dollar rocket company. Today, Rocket Lab touts the highest launch success rate of any rocket company in history—and was the first private company in the southern hemisphere to go to space. In this conversation, he shares founder lessons on how to build an unlikely business, driven by passion.

Lessons from a deeply courageous career in healthcare and public service

Andy Slavitt, Town Hall Ventures

Andy Slavitt’s resume has always reflected his mission: to help people get the healthcare they need. On Wish I Knew, he shares why the most profound experiences of his life have all been risks. With Steven Kraus, Partner at Bessemer, Andy recounts stories of his career in public health, government, and entrepreneurship. He shares why naiveté can be an asset to new entrepreneurs, the lessons from kindergarten that CEOs would be wise to heed, and why handling crises is the best way to build your confidence as a leader.

How the CEO of Cameo turned celebrity obsession into a unicorn business

Steven Galanis, Cameo

Capitalizing on everyday people’s obsession with celebrity, Cameo became a unicorn company within five years of its founding and grew at a rate surpassing even some of tech’s biggest success stories. On Wish I Knew, we sat down with CEO of Cameo Steven Galanis where he shares the biggest mistake he sees aspiring entrepreneurs make, what he wished he knew during his entrepreneurial journey, and the values that keeps him motivated during tough times.

How Twitter's CEO jumpstarted a social media revolution

Dick Costolo

Still touted as one of the most influential social media platforms of modern day, Twitter has taken the digital world by storm ever since its founding in 2006. And it was Dick Costolo — CEO of Twitter from 2010 – 2015 — who blazed the trail for Twitter’s ubiquity and ultimately, success. But on today’s episode, we’ll hear how with great power comes very great responsibility, for better or for worse.

The woman who cracked the code to the business of love

Shan-Lyn Ma, Zola

There’s no time of life quite like the months leading up to your wedding day: The preparation. The anticipation. And perhaps most of all, the monetization. Shan-Lyn Ma, the founder and co-CEO of Zola, realized all of these things back in 2013, and used her expertises of product and eCommerce to shake up and transform the wedding business forever.

A Stanford professor's masterclass on rewriting your failures

Tina Seelig

For most, there’s no such thing as a conventional entrepreneurial journey: And Tina Seelig is no exception. From working in neuroscience, to writing seventeen books, to launching her own small business ventures, Tina has done it all. And today, as a professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, she’s teaching her students about one very important topic: What she wish she knew on her own business journey.

Why being thrown out of offices may mean you're onto something huge

Eric Baker, Viagogo

As the founder of the event ticketing giants StubHub and Viagogo, Eric Baker sent shockwaves across the tech industry after being ousted from StubHub, but then later acquiring it once more with a $4.05 billion cash buyout. It took nearly two decades, but Eric is finally getting the final word on his full circle journey.

How a Fortune 500 exec ignited her own startup

Carolyn Childers, Chief

Carolyn Childers cut her professional teeth at the best-of-the-best companies, between investment banking and big businesses. But when faced with the challenge of straying from a traditional corporate path to start her own company, founding her business — Chief — became her biggest move yet.

How Walt Disney’s protege disrupted entertainment

Jeffrey Katzenberg, WndrCo
Sujay Jaswa, WndrCo

At Disney, Jeffrey Katzenberg learned how to tell amazing stories, and ultimately, to dream big. On this show, you’ll learn what happens when his limitless dreams didn’t go as planned, with the rise — and very public fall — of his multi-billion-dollar entertainment venture, Quibi. And he’s joined by his right-hand man, Sujay Jaswa, the former CFO of Dropbox, who will talk about the latest with their venture capital firm, WndrCo.