Guest: Clara Shih, CEO of Salesforce AI In 2020, Clara Shih quit Hearsay, the company she founded and ran for 11 years; in hindsight, she says “I probably should have quit a little bit sooner.” But at the time, she cared a lot — too much — about what everyone else thought. “There's a lot of guilt around leaving initially and feeling bad for feeling…

Guest: Marissa Mayer, CEO and Founder of Sunshine and former CEO of Yahoo When Marissa Mayer was first hired as the CEO of Yahoo, the company had lost nearly a quarter of its workforce in the preceding six months. Early on, she was chatting with employees in the cafeteria and one of them got her attention by smacking her tray. “Is it go time?” he a…

Ep. 28 Watermelon Sugar In this episode of "Cocktails with Friends," host Bob Cutler sits down with longtime bartender Courtney Meherg to discuss the development of several refreshing watermelon-based cocktails just in time for the summer season. Join them as they explore creative ways to incorporate watermelon into delicious beverages, perfect for…

Guest: Sarah Friar, former CEO of Nextdoor Sarah Friar has worked with some of the top leaders in Silicon Valley, including Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, Block CEO Jack Dorsey, and most recently Nextdoor founder Nirav Tolia, who just replaced her as CEO in May. And one of the things that sets top performers apart from the …

Guest: Stanislav Vishnevskiy, CTO and co-founder of Discord For many years, the conventional wisdom was the gaming was not social because it was something you usually did at home. “But people who play games are often the most social,” says Discord CTO Stanislav Vishnevskiy. “They’re spending 10, 20 hours with other people online, hanging out.” As a…

Podcast Description: "Cocktail with Friends - Novio's Radio (Summer Sippers)" This is a special episode of "Cocktail with Friends," where host Bob Cutler takes us on a joins the George Hale Ric Tyler Show to highlight some “summer sippers.” Main Topics Covered: Definition and history of spritzes Crafting a non-alcoholic spritz Exploring the role of…

Guest: Eoghan McCabe, CEO, Chairman, and Co-Founder of Intercom “We are not ready for the degree to which our world is going to change,” says Intercom CEO Eoghan McCabe, “in insane and incredible ways.” When he co-founded the company in 2011, the Irish-born entrepreneur was making it easier for companies to offer human customer service to their cus…

Episode Title: Deck Season at Birdie's In this episode of "Cocktails with Friends," Bob Cutler sits down with Matt Robinson to talk about their latest venture, Birdies—a new restaurant at the Bangor Municipal Golf Course. They discuss the importance of restaurant collaborations and how they crafted specialized cocktails for Birdies. Main Topics Cov…

Guest: Mark Cuban, co-founder of Cost Plus Drugs and costar, Shark Tank “I just love to compete,” says Mark Cuban. “And the day I stop is the day I’m dead.” Previously the co-founder of MicroSolutions and Broadcast.com, Cuban is probably best known to the public today for competing with the likes of Daymond John and Barbara Corcoran on the reality …

Guest: Taylor Francis, co-founder of Watershed One day when he was 13, Taylor Francis walked out of the movie theater, and he was pissed off. He had just seen Al Gore’s documentary An Inconvenient Truth and internalized a “generational call to arms, that my parents had screwed our generation” by causing the climate crisis, he says. 14 years later, …

Episode 24: Cinco with Superbird Introduction: Bob Cutler and guest Thomas Mauriello of Superbird talk tequila in this bonus episode of "Cocktails with Friends" for Cinco de Mayo. They talk about tequila, tattoos, and the cultural celebration of Cinco de Mayo. Main Topics Covered: The diverse forms and flavors of tequila from Superbird and Doladira…

Guests: Victor Riparbelli, CEO and co-founder of Synthesia; and Josh Coyne, partner at Kleiner Perkins When Victor Riparbelli wants to learn something, he’ll start with a YouTube video or a podcast: “I maybe buy the book on Amazon as like the fifth step,” the Synthesia CEO says. His company is trying to change the text-first (or text-only) way info…

The Craft of Clear Ice in Cocktails Introduction: In this episode of "Cocktails with Friends," host Bob Cutler and Brian Hanson from Knickerbocker Ice talk about the world of ice in history and cocktails. Tune in as they explore the intricate process of making clear ice and its significance in elevating the cocktail experience. Main Topics Covered:…

Guest: Kat Cole, COO of Athletic Greens You can’t make smart decisions if you don’t know the truth — the “true truth,” as Athletic Greens COO Kat Cole puts it. “As you get bigger and you have success, innovator’s dilemma, you end up talking to yourself instead of really being rooted in what’s going on.” That’s why she has embraced the anxiety of th…

Guest: Anne Raimondi, COO and Head of Business at Asana Asana COO Anne Raimondi feels pressure to perform in her job “every day, all the time.” But that pressure doesn’t come from her fellow executives; she imposes it on herself, trying to think carefully about how much each of her decisions will impact her team. “I have a lot of privilege and choi…

In this episode of "Cocktails with Friends" host Bob Cutler takes us to Liquor Lab in Louisville, Kentucky. This episode features a conversation with Jeff Helion of Liquor Lab, diving into the world of cocktail classes and how they're making mixology accessible to everyone. Main Topics Covered: Introduction to Liquor Lab's mission and offerings. Th…

Guest: Sanjay Beri, CEO and Founder of Netskope “You can be waiting your whole life to do something, and then your life’s over,” says Sanjay Beri. After nine years at Juniper Networks, he left his comfortable job, moved his family to a house with a pricier mortgage, and launched the cloud security firm Netskope. His entrepreneurial story would make…

Guest: Scott McNealy, former CEO and co-founder of Sun Microsystems & co-founder of Curriki Scott McNealy never wanted to be CEO of Sun, and in his 22-year tenure before selling to Oracle, he knows there were times he failed to execute, or to rein in the once-iconic Silicon Valley firm’s worst impulses. But like his pro golfer son, Maverick, Scott …

Episode 22: The Things that Drive Us to Drink In this heartwarming and thought-provoking episode of Cocktails with Friends, Bob Cutler invites the extraordinary Dr. Kimberly Miner for a discussion that's as informative as it is inspiring. As they explore topics ranging from climate change to personal growth and the importance of STEM, the conversat…

Guest: Jyoti Bansal, CEO and co-founder of Harness Cisco bought Jyoti Bansal’s first company AppDynamics for $3.7 billion, making him a very wealthy man. But after two African safaris, a week of Michelin-starred meals in Tokyo, and more adventures all around the world, he realized that spending his money didn’t truly make him happy. After some soul…

Guest: Clint Sharp, CEO and co-founder of Cribl New employees are joining the remote data platform Cribl every week, and as the staff grows, CEO Clint Sharp has noticed a problem: He can’t file a bug report without a lot of caveats. When there were a handful of users, no one would bat an eye at the CEO posting a bug on Slack, but now he has had to …

Podcast Episode Description In this enriching episode of "Cocktails with Friends," host Bob Cutler has the pleasure of engaging with Christina Baker Klein, a New York Times bestselling author with deep ties to Maine. Over a Hemingway daiquiri, they explore the realms of novel writing, the meticulous process of research, and the profound influence o…

Guest: Glen Tullman, CEO of Transcarent Before he was CEO of Transcarent, Glen Tullman presided over the biggest digital health merger of all time: His previous company Livongo was acquired in 2020 by Teledoc for $18.5 billion. Over his decades of experience in health tech, he has developed saying: Hire low, fire high. When one of his friends was o…

Guest: Filip Kaliszan, CEO and co-founder of Verkada Great founders try to grow personally at least as fast as their companies do — but sometimes, says Verkada CEO Filip Kaliszan, that’s just not possible. By the time the company had about 200 employees, he says, “the scale of the business and the rate of the growth of the business ... outpaced my …

In this engaging episode of "Cocktails with Friends," host Bob Cutler sits down with Senator Susan Collins to celebrate Women's History Month. They delve into Senator Collins' roots in Caribou, Maine, her career, and the pivotal role models that shaped her journey. This conversation not only highlights Senator Collins' personal stories and achievem…

Guest: Wade Foster, CEO and co-founder of Zapier When Wade Foster and his co-founders launched Zapier, he was 24, and doubted himself constantly. He consulted mentors like Paul Graham and Jay Simons, studied entrepreneurs like Jeff Bezos and Steve Jobs, and also took inspiration from an unlikely source: Actor and martial artist Bruce Lee. “[He] had…

Guest: Kim Scott, author of Radical Candor: Be a Kickass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity and Radical Respect: How To Work Together Better After her first management book Radical Candor became a worldwide bestseller, Kim Scott found herself giving talks to all kinds of companies about how they could apply her advice and build a stronger, kinder cu…

Aaron Smith has known Bob's wife Annie Longer than he has called Bob a friend. Maybe that is why he is friends with Bob to begin with? Considered one of Maine's best craft cocktail creators Smitty knows his way around a bar. Smitty has moved from the bar, to beer distribution and now leads Central Maine division for Martingnetti. In this episode we…

Guest: Daniela Amodei, President and co-founder of Anthropic With a reported valuation of as much as $18 billion, Anthropic has the resources to be one of the dominant AI companies in Silicon Valley; however, it was conceived as a public benefit corporation and always tries to strike a balance between hypergrowth and responsibility. Anthropic’s fla…

Guest: Dev Ittycheria, CEO and President of MongoDB When you think about who you were and the decisions you made two, or four, or eight years ago ... how do you feel? Dev Ittycheria, the President and CEO of MongoDB, says he’s embarrassed about certain things he did — and that’s a good thing. “If you’re not [embarrassed], that means you’re not real…

In celebration of Black History Month, Bob sits down with Jackie Summers. Jackie is the owner and personality behind Sorel - a hibiscus liquor. This liquor is not only delicious but tells a story of our collective history with a nod to Jackie's history. Featured Cocktail: Jackie & Hyde 1.5 ounces Wyoming Whiskey Private Stock "Cocktails With Friend…

Guest: Frank Slootman, CEO and Chairman of Snowflake and author of Amp It Up Snowflake CEO Frank Slootman doesn’t recall a time in his childhood where new achievements were celebrated — because, according to his father, putting everything into your work and “leaving it all on the field” was the only choice. “The problem with it,” Frank says, is tha…

Guest: Jason Kelly, CEO and co-founder of Ginkgo Bioworks Almost everyone in the second generation of biotechnology entrepreneurs, says Ginkgo Bioworks CEO Jason Kelly, works in that field because of one thing: Jurassic Park. The Michael Crichton novel-turned-Steven Spielberg movie captured both the wonder and beauty of bioengineering, and the chal…

When you make a cocktails with your friends that ingredient that is often overlooked is the music. You can't give just anyone the AUX cable and expect the party to last a few cocktails. Don't worry, technology does not allow us to mix a cocktail for you at home but it does allow us to take control of your music. Check out my playlist of my favorite…

Guest: John McMahon, author of The Qualified Sales Leader: Proven Lessons from a Five Time CRO A hell of a lot of people work in sales. But until recently, says five-time CRO and The Qualified Sales Leader author John McMahon, it was rare for colleges and universities to offer a sales degree. Salespeople had to learn on the job from experienced coa…

Guest: Angela Duckworth, professor at the University of Pennsylvania and author of Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance “There’s got to be a cost” when you pursue your passions, says University of Pennsylvania professor Angela Duckworth; in fact, the word “passion” comes from the Latin word for “suffering.” But that doesn’t mean that gritty …

A new friend, some great cigars and a cocktail to highlight the smoke. It must be a conversation with Anthony Simonelli from My Cigar Pack. Bob & Anthony discuss the responsibilities of a Cigar Ambassador, how cigars fit into the cocktail culture and what 2024 is going to bring us from My Cigar Pack & Cigar Yard. Use WHISKEY10 with your next purcha…

Guest: David Cancel, founder and former CEO of Drift; founder of Rey After HubSpot acquired his company Performable in 2011, David Cancel became his acquirer’s Chief Product Officer — and didn’t give any thought to how long he’d be in that role. When he started eyeing the exit a few years later, he was told that wasn’t an option: HubSpot had alread…

Guest: John Doerr, chairman of Kleiner Perkins After Kleiner Perkins chairman John Doerr first invested in Google — $12.8 million for 13 percent of the company — he told co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin that they needed to hire a CEO to help them build the business. After they took meetings with a variety of successful tech execs, they came b…

Have A Friend, Call A Friend. We fire up the CWF Hotline to help some of our friends with their Holiday Cocktail needs. Dr. Meghan Anderson, Danny Williams, Matt Bollinder, Matty Robinson, Coach Gaddy & Annie. Happy Holidays From Cocktails With Friends Featured Cocktails: Meghan Anderson - Recovery Cocktail - Hot Toddy Hot Toddy - Using Hot Tea 2 o…

Guest: Shlomo Kramer, founder and CEO of Cato Networks Shlomo Kramer has founded three companies to date — Check Point, Imperva, and most recently Cato Networks — and taken the first two public, with plans to do the same with Cato. By any measure, he is a successful entrepreneur, but he defines “success” as “a burden you need to shake off every day…

Sitting across from her at a poker table Bob is outmatched and in a rough spot. But, sharing a cocktails and conversation in the studio? Bob has big slick suited and a chance with his longtime friend Stacey Sullivan to discuss her life as a For Profit Poker Player. Stacey started playing cards with her grandparents with money from her piggy bank. S…

A barrel strength wheated bourbon is something that many of us would put miles on our car to ensure we secured a bottle. Well the team at Cocktail With Friends was able to pick a barrel of barrel straight wheated bourbon. This wheated bourbon pick was designed to be used in spirit forward whiskey cocktails. Allowing for a balance and flavor from fi…

Guest: Arvind Jain, Founder and CEO of Glean, and Mamoon Hamid, partner at Kleiner Perkins “I’m an engineer, so I have doubts about everything,” says Glean founder and CEO Arvind Jain. Well ... almost everything. Since launching Glean in 2019, he has held to the belief that “all of us are going to have really powerful AI assistants” in the future. …

Sipping cocktails made with the most prestigious whiskey brand in the world doesn't have to be pretentious. The Macallan can be showcased in a cocktail that allows the work of the team at the distillery shine. Evan Baugh, The Macallan's New England representative joins Bob in this week of Cocktails with Friends. We craft an Old Fashioned made with …

Guest: Scott Cutler, CEO of StockX What’s the point of climbing a mountain, or heli-skiing in the Swiss Alps, or biking in the Tour de France? StockX CEO Scott Cutler has done all three, and for him, the answer is momentary perspective. “When you’re descending, you don’t see, but you know what is above,” he says. “You have experienced and have seen…

Just in time for the 25th Bob sits down with Robert Haynes, co-founder of Hoste Cocktails. Robert cut his teeth behind the bar in some of Chicagoland's best cocktails bars before creating a luxury RTD brand. Hoste Cocktails creates RTD Old Fashioned & Gin Martini options for that person on your list that deserves something exceptional. Created to a…

Guest: Brian Long, former CEO of Attentive and author of Problem Hunting: The Tech Startup Textbook Brian Long’s most recent company, Attentive, was originally designed to help clients communicate with their distributed workforce — but about six months in, he and his co-founder realized that that business would not grow as quickly as they had hoped…

‘Tis the season to step out of your comfort zone, try something new after all it is Christmas season. In this episode of Cocktails With Friends Bob sits down and steps way outside of his lane with the co-founder of Ballotin Whiskey, Paul Tuell. Paul and his wife own a company that bottles quality whiskey, it just happens that the whiskey is flavore…

Guest: Spencer Rascoff, co-founder and former CEO of Zillow + co-founder and general partner at 75 & Sunny When terrorists attacked the US on 9/11, Hotwire co-founder Spencer Rascoff and his colleagues had to put their own trauma aside and “spring into action” — the travel site had sold tens of millions of dollars’ worth of non-refundable flights a…