Gain insights from the business of music, media, and culture. Trapital founder Dan Runcie and various experts break down the companies and moguls who start the trends that shape the business world. Learn more at https://trapital.co/pod
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Logan Bartlett is a Software Investor at Redpoint Ventures - a Silicon Valley-based VC with $6B AUM and investments in Snowflake, DraftKings, Twilio, Netflix. In each episode, Logan goes behind the scenes with world-class entrepreneurs and investors. If you're interested in the real inside baseball of tech, entrepreneurship, and start-up investing, tune in every Friday for new episodes.
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EP 101: Andrew Bialecki (CEO Klaviyo) on Building a $6B Software Company - Klaviyo’s Uncharted Path
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Before Andrew Bialecki took Klaviyo public and scaled the company to $6B, he bootstrapped it to over $1M in ARR. In our discussion, Andrew reveals his philosophies around fundraising, finding the best talent, cultivating entrepreneurship inside Klaviyo, scaling culture, and more. (00:00) Intro (01:13) Klaviyo's Bootstrap Beginnings (09:37) The Stra…
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Private equity firm KKR has been fascinating to watch in the music rights landscape. Just when you thought they were out, they get pulled back in! In this episode, we break down the past few years of KKR's deals with Chord Music, Kobalt, HarbourView Equity Partners. Why did they sell Chord Music? Why did they partner with HarbourView? What does it …
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EP 100: Jeremy Levine (Partner, Bessemer) Reflects on His Best and Worst Investments
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After 23+ years in venture capital, Jeremy Levine has thrived in many eras, taking risks on now-iconic companies like LinkedIn, Shopify, Yelp, Pinterest, and more. In our discussion, Jeremy shared stories behind these investments and the mindsets he’s developed along the way. We also explored how the VC landscape has evolved over the last 20 years …
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What Taylor Swift's Return to TikTok Means for Universal Music Group
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On April 11, Taylor Swift’s songs reappeared on TikTok despite the platform's ongoing dispute with her record label, Universal Music Group. This move was made in advance of the release of Taylor’s 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department. On this episode of Trapital, Tatiana Cirisano and I discuss why Swift and UMG don’t see eye-to-eye, com…
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EP 99: Garret Langley (CEO, Flock Safety) - The $4B Tech Startup Solving Crime with AI
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Garrett Langley is the CEO of Flock Safety, a $4B company helping solve 10% of US crimes with AI-powered tech. Garrett offers an in-depth look into Flock Safety’s ambitious vision to eliminate crime in America and all the operating lessons he’s learned along the way, including how to build a strong and motivated team, keep people accountable, and l…
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We've had plenty of conversations on Trapital about Diddy's business success, so we have to keep that same energy when outlook changes. On this episode, Zack O'Malley Greenburg and I talk about our initial reactions to the allegations surrounding Sean Combs, and we talk about the present state and future of the biggest businesses in his portfolio. …
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EP 98: Sanjit Biswas on Building to $20B: The CEO Behind One of The Fastest Growing Startups Ever
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In less than 8 years, Sanjit Biswas scaled Samsara from 0 to over $1B ARR. In our latest conversation, Sanjit shares all the lessons he’s learned about running a hyper-growth organization, including all the changes he’s made since growing and selling his first company Meraki to Cisco for $1.2B and going on to scale Samsara to $20B. A great episode …
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Do Music Festivals Have a Superstar Problem?
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Despite the all-time record highs for the live music industry, music festivals haven't quite had the same post-pandemic recovery. Several well-known festivals have closed up shop, and others have had slower than usual demand (even Coachella!) To break it all down, I'm joined by Tati Cirisano from MIDiA Research. Hope you enjoy! Make sure you check …
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EP 97: How Aravind Srinivas (Perplexity CEO) is Disrupting Google Search with AI
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One of the most preeminent AI founders, Aravind Srinivas (CEO, Perplexity), believes we could see 100+ AI startups valued over $10B in our future. In the episode, we discuss why Perplexity decided to compete with Google and Aravind shares predictions for the utopian future of artificial intelligence. He also discusses the differences between workin…
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Do Major Record Labels Still Have Brand Identity?
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Back in the day, each record label had a distinct consumer identity. In the 90s, you knew what to expect from an Interscope album. Def Jam, Jive, Uptown, Cash Money. They all had their own vibe, their own identity, their own brand. So... what the hell happened? In the episode, we talk about how music's landscape shifted, and took the consumer brand…
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EP 96: Tracy Young - After Selling Company for $875M Repeat Founder Emerges from Stealth and Shares Every Mistake She Made As A First-Time CEO
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This week, Tracy Young launched her second startup, TigerEye, from stealth mode. After selling PlanGrid to Autodesk for $875 million and working with YC for a couple of years, Tracy and her husband/co-founder decided to build the software they wished they’d had while building PlanGrid. In our conversation, Tracy unmasks her vision for TigerEye and …
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UMG vs TikTok, Kids’ Music, and Beyonce - Verizon (Trapital mailbag episode)
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It's time to dig into the mailbag again. I asked Trapital listeners to send me their most burning questions about the music industry. But this time we’re doing things a bit differently: you’ll be hearing the questions directly from our listeners. We dug into the TikTok vs. UMGc dispute, children’s entertainment media, and the Beyoncé - Verizon rela…
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Industry Episode with Zach Weinberg: Market Trends, Avoiding Hiring Bulls***ers, and Who Will Win In AI
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Zach Weinberg is the Co-Founder and CEO of Curie.Bio, which has raised over $500 million to combine early-stage investing in biotech and drug discovery copiloting. He is also the co-founder of Flatiron Health, which sold to Roche for $1.9B, and Invite Media, which sold to Google when he was 21. In the episode, Zach dives into the current venture ma…
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2023 was a big year for concert films. Taylor Swift's “Eras Tour” film became the highest grossing concert film of all time with nearly $270M in worldwide box office gross. Beyonce’s Renaissance film grossed over $44M. Was this just a Beyonce and Taylor thing, or will this continue? In this episode, I’m joined by Jimmy Stone, Founder of Alderbrook …
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EP 95: Tooey Courtemanche (CEO, Procore) Everything This Veteran CEO Would Tell Founders After Building To $11B
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Tooey Courtemanche has been the CEO of Procore for over two decades, bringing the company from $0 to over $1B ARR and a $11B+ valuation today. In my latest episode, we explore how Tooey built the #1 Construction Management Software company, including his strategies for maintaining a talented team, his mindsets for tough times, lessons from mentors …
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There’s been a lot of discussion (and concern) about the impact of generative AI on music and whether the industry is on the verge of another Napster moment. But according to Jessica Powell, CEO of AudioShake, it’s going to take a lot more than a text prompt to kill music as we know it. On today’s episode, Jessica and I did a dive deep into the ris…
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The Oscars: Hit Songs, All the Drama, and Tons of Money
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This episode is about Hollywood's biggest night, the Academy Awards. I’m joined by friend of the pod Zack O'Malley Greenburg to dive deep into the Oscars, how it compares to the Grammys, its relationship with music, the money spent on campaigns, the dramas, the major controversies, and some wild theories. 00:00 The money behind the Oscars 06:30 Why…
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EP 94: Niraj Shah (CEO, Wayfair) Building To $10B in Home Decor Revenue
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Niraj Shah is the Co-founder and CEO of Wayfair. In this episode, Niraj shares Wayfair’s journey from a collection of 250 sites generating $500 million in revenue to a single, unified brand achieving over $10 billion in online sales of home goods and furniture. He explains the challenges of overseeing a vast e-commerce platform with more than 10,00…
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Virgil Abloh: Off-White, Luxury, and Open-Source Fashion
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The late Virgil Abloh’s legacy lives on. From luxury rap to high fashion, his influence changed an entire industry, and several other adjacent ones. In this episode of Trapital, I’m joined by friend of the pod Zack O'Malley Greenburg. We broke down Virgil’s early years that shaped his future, his relationship with Kanye West, brands like Pyrex Visi…
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Parker Conrad: The Zenefits Redemption Story That Led to Rippling ($11B)
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In this memorable episode from our podcast archives, we revisit our conversation with Parker Conrad, Co-Founder of Rippling and former CEO of Zenefits. Parker opens up about his entrepreneurial path, detailing everything from fundraising challenges to his departure from Zenefits and the founding of Rippling. We also discuss the dynamics between VCs…
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The rise and fall of the Yeezy brand is a Hollywood screenplay in the making. But this is less like the movie AIR, and more like The Wolf of Wall Street. To break it all down, I'm joined by Zack O'Malley Greenburg, who covered the Yeezy business through his reporting at Forbes. Together, we explore Kanye West's partnerships with Nike, Adidas, and G…
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The Rise of Las Vegas Concert Residencies
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From gamblers paradise to entertainment mecca, on this episode of Trapital, we take a trip to Las Vegas and how its coveted residencies have evolved over time, the economics of how they work, and predictions for the future. I’m joined by Tati Cirisano from MIDiA Research. We explore the Las Vegas’ origin with mob ties, the ground-breaking 2003 Celi…
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EP 93: Filip Kaliszan (CEO, Verkada) AI Security Cameras to $3.5B Company
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Filip Kaliszan is the Co-Founder and CEO of Verkada, one of the fastest-growing private companies out there today. In the episode, Filip discussed many of the first principles decisions he has made in growing Verkada into a $3.5B business that employs over 2000 people. He also dives deep into their 2021 hack, what it was like dealing with that cris…
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We hear a lot about superfans and how important they are for an artist, but we rarely see any data to quantify how valuable they actually are. In this episode, I'm joined by Will Page, author of Pivot and former chief economist at Spotify, to break down his most recent report, Soundcloud Rockonomics. We discuss the company’s Fan Powered Royalties, …
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This episode is about music's biggest night. But we’re not interested in who should win. This is about the business behind the show and everything surrounding it. We break down how the show makes money for CBS and the Recording Academy despite the viewership decline, the massive For Your Consideration business, the campaigning required to win an aw…
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EP 92: Mike Volpi (Partner, Index Ventures) Top AI Investor Predicts How The AI Wave Will Play Out
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Mike Volpi is a top AI investor and GP at Index Ventures, where he’s invested in companies such as Confluent, Scale AI, Sonos, and many others. In our discussion, Mike reveals the frameworks he uses for making investment decisions and his predictions on the trajectory of the AI wave. He also shares stories from his early career at Cisco, what made …
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EP 91: How George Kurtz Built A $65B+ Company - The CrowdStrike Story
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George Kurtz is the CEO of CrowdStrike, a $65B+ public cybersecurity company. In this episode, George reveals the surprising intricacies of paying ransom and discusses how CrowdStrike is dealing with increasing cybercrime in the age of AI. We also talk about CrowdStrike’s early days, including how the company found product market fit and the operat…
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How Insurance Ads Became the Industry Standard
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It's been over 10 years since State Farm's first Chris Paul - Cliff Paul ad. It's been over 20 years since GEICO first introduced the gecko. These ads from insurance companies have been the biggest ad campaigns and their impact continues to grow. I'm joined by Dr. Marcus Collins, who helped develop the Chris Paul - Cliff Paul campaign during his ti…
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EP 90: Eric Vishria (General Partner, Benchmark Capital) Behind The Scenes of Benchmark’s Boldest Bets
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Eric Vishria and I both got into venture in 2014 and both focus on enterprise software. In episode 90, we discuss Eric’s unique approach to investments and what he looks for in founders and companies. We go back and forth on his model versus mine, as well as Eric's background, having grown up in Memphis and graduating from Stanford at 19 years old …
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Radio is the music format with nine lives. Despite all of the new evolutions in AI, streaming, and short-form video, radio continues to live on; and will do so for several more years. In this episode, I’m joined by a friend of the pod, Tati Cirisano from MIDiA Research. We dive into radio’s impact in music over the years, current cutbacks and layof…
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Best of 2023: 15 Untold Stories From Tech’s Inner Circle
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It’s been a wild year for The Logan Bartlett Show, starting with a rebranding and ending with our 50th episode of the year. We’ve pieced together the top 12 most unforgettable moments from 2023, including our favorite wacky untold stories from tech’s inner circle & the most profound insights of 2023. (0:00) Intro (1:30) Satish and Scott (Partners, …
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Can New Superstars Ever Surpass Current Superstars?
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Music has several big new stars with tons of talent, but will they ever have a year as big as Taylor Swift and Beyoncé in 2023. Both women have been commercially successful for decades and continue to dominate the charts even to this day. They came up in a different time, which works to their advantage. But what does this mean for the streaming and…
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EP 89: Jay Kreps (CEO, Confluent) on Confluent’s Resilient Rise to Software Behemoth
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In the episode, Confluent CEO Jay Kreps dives into Confluent's transformation from a LinkedIn spin-out to a publicly traded company. He discusses the challenges of turning an open-source project into a thriving commercial venture and the bold decision to launch a second product while the first was thriving. Additionally, Jay opens up about his tran…
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Why Celebrity Fast Food Meals Took Off
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It’s been 3.5 years since McDonald’s Travis Scott meal, and we still see new celebrity fast food meals all the time. In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Marcus Collins, author of “For the Culture,” as we explore how fast food chains like McDonald's bounced back to its partnerships with influential artists and musicians. Marcus and I discuss McDonald…
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EP 88: Nikesh Arora: The CEO that Revolutionized Palo Alto Networks To ~$100B
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Nikesh Arora became the CEO of Palo Alto Networks with no cybersecurity domain expertise and has grown the company from $18B to nearly $100B in under 6 years. In the episode, we discuss some of the greatest learnings from revolutionizing Palo Alto Networks into a powerhouse, his celebrated M&A strategy, and stories from his wide-ranging career path…
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Adidas: Sneakers, Hip-Hop and Culture
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Adidas has one of the most insane backstories of any major apparel company. From its ties to the Nazi party, and its turbulent relationship with Kanye West, to its partnerships with Hip-Hop, and its influence in soccer, we cover it all. We also talk about the brands rise, its strongest years, Beyoncé, Ivy Park, and why celestial star power isn't al…
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EP 87: Luis von Ahn (CEO, Duolingo) on The Marketing Formula that Propelled Duolingo to 500M Users
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Luis von Ahn is the CEO and Co-Founder of Duolingo, the world’s #1 language learning application. In the episode, Luis shares the marketing formula they use to drive rapid user growth, including the backstory of Duolingo’s famous owl mascot that has become a viral internet sensation. Luis also dives into the A/B testing and product gamification exp…
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It’s hard to imagine what music would be like today without YouTube. The platform has done more to lower the entry barriers to music creation and distribution than any other platform. From the early days when acts like Soulja Boy harnessed the raw power of YouTube to drive their careers, to modern narratives like NBA YoungBoy mastering Creator cult…
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Why Music is a $40+ Billion Industry
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How much money does the music industry really make on an annual basis? The answer is not as straightforward as you think. Most of the outlets that publish figures only report on one side of the business. But since 2014, former Spotify chief economist and author Will Page has made it his job to answer this question in his annual report on global mus…
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EP 86: Christian Chabot (Co-Founder Tableau) on Operating Lessons From Scaling Tableau to $15.7B
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Christian Chabot (Co-Founder, Tableau) dives into the journey from bootstrapping Tableau in the early days to eventually IPOing and selling to Salesforce for $15.7B. Christian shares the biggest operating lessons from scaling Tableau and thoughtful insights for founders, especially those in the business software industry. (0:00) Intro (0:55) Christ…
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Reebok: Sneakers, Hip-Hop, and Missed Opportunities
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It wasn’t that long ago that Reebok was head-to-head with the biggest athletic apparel companies in the world. In 1989, Reebok sales had exceeded Nike. In 2001, Reebok’s two biggest stars, MVPs Shaquille O’Neal and Allen Iverson, faced off in the NBA Finals. In 2003, two of hip-hop’s biggest stars, 50 Cent and Jay Z, had their own Reebok sneakers. …
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EP 85: Alexandr Wang (Scale AI CEO): The 26-Year-Old Powering the AI Industry
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Alexandr Wang is a Co-Founder and CEO of Scale AI and one of the youngest self-made billionaires. At 19, he dropped out of college to found Scale AI and has since scaled it into one of the most important companies in the world of artificial intelligence today ($7B). In this episode, Alexandr shares the insights that are driving Scale AI, prediction…
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The Trapital Report 2023 is here! In this episode we break down a few big takeaways from the report on streaming, live music, the state of hip-hop, and the most valuable songs in the world. I’m joined by David Boyle from Audience Strategies, who first reached out to me about working on this report and we’ve been working together ever since. We have…
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Behind The Scenes - Every Podcast Mistake We’ve Made In 85 Episodes
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In this episode, Logan sits down with producer Rashad Assir for a deep dive into the journey so far, including all the funny stories, mistakes, and insights from the last 85 episodes of The Logan Bartlett Show. If you’re interested in seeing behind the scenes, or if you’re a creator looking to build something, this episode is for you. We’ll be back…
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EP 84: Dev Ittycheria’s Leadership Lessons From Scaling MongoDB to $25B
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Dev Ittycheria is the president and CEO of MongoDB, his third public company as CEO. In this episode, Dev discusses his take on AI, the importance of hiring, how to build an A-plus culture, and many other leadership lessons from scaling MongoDB to $25B. Overall, a really fun conversation with one of the absolute best operators in tech. (0:00) Intro…
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Apple’s Impact on Music: From iPods to AirPods
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Apple has been the most influential company in music in the 21st century, and music was the major driver behind Apple’s comeback. Join us for a deep dive on where Apple was before its music journey, the impact of iTunes, Steve Jobs, iPod, U2, iPhone, Apple Music, Drake, Taylor Swift, Frank Ocean, and a whole lot more. I’m joined by friend of the po…
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EP 83: Silicon Valley Legend Claire Hughes Johnson Unveils Her Best Operating Advice
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Claire Hughes Johnson is known as one of the top operators in Silicon Valley. Claire shares the most interesting lessons and stories from her time as COO of Stripe and as an early senior executive at Google. We discuss leadership versus management, how to have difficult conversations with members of your team, lessons she's learned from hiring thou…
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No new episode this week. We’re working hard on this year’s Trapital Report, which is out at the end of October! Make sure you’re signed up for our email newsletter to get the report once it’s live. Next week we’re back with another deep dive episode. Listen to this brief episode for a few hints! Talk to you next week.…
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EP 82: Dario Amodei’s AI Predictions Through 2030
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Dario Amodei is the Co-Founder and CEO of Anthropic. In the episode, we discuss detailed predictions on the AI industry for 2024, 2025, and beyond. Dario discusses his days at OpenAI, leaving to start Anthropic, why he doesn’t like the term AGI, what AI developments he’s most excited about right now, and much more. Overall, an enlightening conversa…
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Pandora: a 3-1 Lead in Music Streaming
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This episode is all about Pandora Music. In the post-iPhone era, Pandora was the early favorite in music streaming. We break down its decade-long journey to get there, its rise in popularity, IPO, SiriusXM, and how and why it got beat by other competitors. I’m joined by friend of the show, Tati Cirisano from MIDiA Research. Here’s what we discussed…
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