The Mechanics and Psychology Behind The Social Dilemma

The Social Dilemma, a years-long passion project from Jeff Orlowski and the Exposure Labs team, just premiered on Netflix this past week, and to my amazement and delight it has quickly jumped onto the Top 10 list this weekend.

The film masterfully intermixes drama with sit-down interviews with myself and a dozen other former social media execs, in hopes of communicating the (often subconscious) consequences of the world’s growing dependence on social media for news and entertainment.

Let's be Transparent about Transparency

I am a big believer in transparency in business.

Done right, transparency promotes open and collaborative work environments. It fosters team trust and communication. And it promotes cultures where intellectual honesty and data-driven decisions supersede politics and excuses.

The Role of the Founder/CEO: You Have One Job

Most people have a certain image in their minds when they think of a founder/CEO.

They picture the boss in the corner office, standing behind her desk, gazing out over the city. They imagine someone calling all the shots, and everyone relying on their insight and wisdom — a visionary who is never wrong. They fear being grilled, berated, and guilted into working long hours — inevitable top-down command-and-control.

One Founder, Both Sides of the M&A Table

January, senior year, Stanford. Jeff Seibert and a couple of his friends start casually building collaboration software. Nothing fancy. Nothing serious. At least not until casual conversations turned into a seed round from DFJ and an official launch complete with TechCrunch coverage mere days before graduation. That’s one way to rocket launch a career.