How do you become the best of the best—the top performer in your field? Dr. Julie Gurner, an acclaimed executive coach and once likened to Billions’ Wendy Rhoades by The Wall Street Journal, shares her insights on what it takes to excel at the highest level. In this episode, Dr. Gurner joins hosts Sterling Snow and Tyler Hogge to explore the mindsets, strategies, and leadership styles that empower people to perform at their peak.

Episode Highlights:

00:00 Meet Dr. Julie Gurner and her unique approach to executive performance

05:47 The fine line between "good crazy" and "bad crazy" in high achievers

08:44 Rule-bending: When it drives success and when it derails progress

15:16 How confidence and aggression play into leadership styles

18:56 Evolving roles: Adapting leadership from a startup’s early days to maturity

24:18 The power of vulnerability: Why CEOs should own their weaknesses to build balanced teams

27:43 Helping others lean into their unique strengths for maximum impact

33:17 Identifying "great" talent vs. "good" talent: What sets true excellence apart

40:23 The importance of positive self-talk and why leaders should never downplay themselves

47:01 Reframing failure: How top performers see setbacks as learning, not defining moments

Whether you're a startup founder, entrepreneur, or aspiring leader, this episode is packed with actionable takeaways to help you break through personal and professional barriers. Dr. Gurner’s guidance is invaluable for anyone striving to reach the top in a fast-paced, high-stakes environment.

Follow Dr. Gurner Here:

X: https://x.com/drgurner

Newsletter: drgurner.substack.com

Web: drgurner.com

"Joining a company as early as possible, right after achieving product-market fit, offers the greatest career advantage." – Jack Altman

Jack Altman epitomizes the true "Investor-Operator." As the co-founder and former CEO of the multi-billion-dollar startup Lattice, and now a full-time investor with his $150 million venture fund, Alt Capital, Jack has successfully navigated both sides of the entrepreneurial journey. It’s clear he excels in every aspect, and we were thrilled to have him on the show.

In this episode, we delve into Jack’s career trajectory, from his early days in tech to how he gained the insight to launch Lattice. Jack shares the invaluable lessons he’s learned from building and scaling Lattice to a Series F company, and how those experiences have shaped his approach to investing.

Here’s a breakdown of what we covered:

1:20 – How Jack got into tech and landed at a fast-growing startup

5:30 – Joining an early-stage company vs. starting your own: which provides better learning?

11:30 – The launch of Lattice and pivoting to achieve product-market fit (PMF)

14:14 – How to recognize when you’ve found PMF

19:20 – Best practices for scaling companies: “If your product won’t be used 10 years from now, you’ll never build a lasting, valuable SaaS business.”

21:15 – Jack’s early fundraising mistakes and what he’d do differently

24:30 – The top three traits every founder needs

30:15 – Transitioning to investing: "My hobby is other startups"

39:20 – How being a founder prepares you to be an investor

42:40 – How to become a Level 6 investor (Link to Tweet)

46:20 – Why point solutions won’t cut it—compound startups will generate the biggest returns

51:45 – Investing in AI and the rise of ‘killer apps’

58:54 – Investment strategies: should you aim to create returns by incubating or seed funding?

1:04:00 – Recap with Tyler & Sterling

For more on Alt Capital, visit altcap.com.

Check out Jack’s hierarchy of investors on X (formerly Twitter).

Discover more insights from Investor-Operators on the IO Podcast:

YouTube: @IO-Podcast

X: @IO__podcast

TikTok: @io_podcast

In this episode, Tyler Hogge & Sterling Snow sit down with David George, General Partner at a16z, where he leads the growth investing practice. Since joining in 2019, David has been at the forefront of investments in companies like Coinbase, Databricks, Figma, Robinhood and Instacart. Prior to a16z, David was at General Atlantic, where he invested in iconic brands like Airbnb, Opendoor, Slack, Crowdstrike, and Uber. David shares his unique insights into growth investing and his predictions for the future.

Chapters:

01:15 David's Path to Venture

05:30 What Makes Andreessen Horowitz Different

10:30 What He Looks For When Making Growth Investments

21:15 Focus On Inputs Not Outputs

29:30 How They Source Investments

35:10 "On TAM, Ignore the Research Reports". Here's What To Look For Instead

44:30 What It Takes To Go Public: The Three Things A Company Needs

48:56 Where AI Is Going And How He's Investing

1:01:23 Episode Takeaways

Connect With David & a16z

https://x.com/DavidGeorge83

https://a16z.com/growth/