How to get funded now: VCs Reid Hoffman, Aileen Lee, and Stacy Brown-Philpot, with Van Jones
Reid Hoffman, Stacy Brown-Philpot, and Aileen Lee are three of the most successful, legendary leaders and investors in Silicon Valley. (The term “unicorn” for a startup valued at a billion dollars? Well, Aileen coined that.) This power trio sat down with journalist Van Jones live onstage at the 2025 Masters of Scale Summit, October 8 in San Francisco, to share candid snapshots of the investor’s mindset during this time of rapid change. Learn why VCs have dramatically shifted the way they invest in entrepreneurs this year, how companies can stand out in the crowded AI space, their personal green lights or red flags, and how players on all sides can adapt.
Visit the Rapid Response website here: https://www.rapidresponseshow.com/
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How to raise $172M for the underinvested, with Stacy Brown-Philpot
After wildly successful stints at Google, as CEO of Taskrabbit, and on prominent boards, Stacy Brown-Philpot decided it was time to start her own venture capital fund. She talks with host Jeff Berman about how she raised $172 million for Cherryrock Capital, why she’s focusing on underinvested founders, and how she owes it all to a six-day silent retreat.
Read a transcript of this episode: https://mastersofscale.com
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Taskrabbit CEO Ania Smith isn’t afraid of AI robots replacing human labor
Today, I’m talking with Taskrabbit CEO Ania Smith. Taskrabbit is an interesting company; it’s known best for being a platform for hiring people to put together your furniture, so much so that Ikea acquired it in 2017. But Taskrabbit is still operating as a mostly independent company all these years later, and Ania is now in charge of maneuvering a fast-changing labor market during uncertain economic times and a potentially major AI disruption to the workforce on the horizon.
Help us plan for the future of Decoder by filling out a brief survey: voxmedia.com/survey. We’d really appreciate it. Thanks!
Links:
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky wants to build the everything app | Decoder
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi is okay with reinventing the bus | Decoder
Google’s Project Mariner | Google
Uber is testing a service that lets you hire drivers for chores | Verge
Taskrabbit CEO on using empathy in leadership | Fortune
Taskrabbit takes over on-demand moving service Dolly | GeekWire
Ikea integrates Taskrabbit booking service into checkout | Retail Dive
TaskRabbit to close its offices, go entirely remote | MarketWatch
IKEA has bought TaskRabbit | TechCrunch
Taskrabbit CEO: People will still power an AI workforce | Verge
Credits:
Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder
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Advice Line with Leah Solivan of Taskrabbit (September 2024)
Taskrabbit founder Leah Solivan joins Guy on the Advice Line, where they answer questions from three tech founders working to identify and grow their core customer base.
First we meet Kate in Los Angeles, who wants her digital greeting cards to stand out in app stores. Then Shahn in Australia, who’s rethinking user acquisition for his couples coaching app. And Allen in Hawaii, who’s wondering about product-market fit for his online platform that teaches kids to play instruments.
Thanks to the founders of Poppy Notes, My Love Your Love and Dynabuddy for being a part of our show.
If you’d like to be featured on a future Advice Line episode, leave us a one-minute message that tells us about your business and a specific question you’d like answered. Send a voice memo to hibt@id.wondery.com or call 1-800-433-1298.
And be sure to listen to Taskrabbit's founding story as told by Leah on the show in 2022.
This episode was produced by Kerry Thompson with music by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by John Isabella. Our audio engineer was Robert Rodriguez.
You can follow HIBT on X & Instagram, and email us at hibt@id.wondery.com. Sign up for Guy’s free newsletter at guyraz.com
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Advice Line: Reaching New Customers
This week, Guy is joined by Leah Solivan of TaskRabbit, Scott and Ally Svenson of MOD Pizza, and Holly Thaggard of Supergoop! to answer questions about reaching new customers from three early-stage founders in this special “mashup” episode of the How I Built This Lab Advice Line.
First, Erin from Alameda, California wants to introduce users to an online divorce platform so the legal process isn’t any harder than it has to be. Then, Kaveh in San Diego seeks to bring his olive oil beyond the farmers market and into kitchens nationwide. And finally, Erik from New Jersey offers on-the-go medical kits to make travel prep that much easier.
Thank you to the founders of Hello Divorce, aficio22 and JetSet Meds for being a part of our show.
If you’d like to be featured on a future Advice Line episode, leave us a one-minute message that tells us about your business and a specific question you’d like answered. Send a voice memo to hibt@id.wondery.com or call 1-800-433-1298.
To hear our guests’ previous episodes:
TaskRabbit: Leah Solivan | Advice Line with Leah Solivan
MOD Pizza & Seattle Coffee Company: Scott and Ally Svenson | Advice Line with Scott and Ally Svenson
Supergoop!: Holly Thaggard | Advice Line with Holly Thaggard
This episode was produced by Chris Maccini with music by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by John Isabella. Our audio engineers were Gilly Moon and Robert Rodriguez.
You can follow HIBT on X & Instagram and sign up for Guy's free
newsletter at guyraz.com.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Advice Line with Leah Solivan of Taskrabbit
Taskrabbit founder Leah Solivan joins Guy on the Advice Line, where they answer questions from three tech founders working to identify and grow their core customer base.
First we meet Kate in Los Angeles, who wants her digital greeting cards to stand out in app stores. Then Shahn in Australia, who’s rethinking user acquisition for his couples coaching app. And Allen in Hawaii, who’s wondering about product-market fit for his online platform that teaches kids to play instruments.
Thanks to the founders of Poppy Notes, My Love Your Love and Dynabuddy for being a part of our show.
If you’d like to be featured on a future Advice Line episode, leave us a one-minute message that tells us about your business and a specific question you’d like answered. Send a voice memo to hibt@id.wondery.com or call 1-800-433-1298.
And be sure to listen to Taskrabbit's founding story as told by Leah on the show in 2022.
This episode was produced by Kerry Thompson with music by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by John Isabella. Our audio engineer was Robert Rodriguez.
You can follow HIBT on X & Instagram and sign up for Guy's free newsletter at guyraz.com.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The vital question Taskrabbit founder Leah Solivan wished she asked investors
A pioneer in the gig economy, Leah Solivan joins host Jeff Berman to share scale lessons from founding Taskrabbit. Hear how a need for dog food on a snowy night grew into a global business acquired by IKEA. She also reveals how her experience as an entrepreneur is shaping her next act as an early-stage investor.
Leah has a new podcast of her own in the works: Breaking Precedent
Read a transcript of this episode: https://mastersofscale.com
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See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Taskrabbit’s Stacy Brown-Philpot — Keep humans in the equation
You may think that to scale you need to cut humans out of the equation. The opposite is true. You can harness the power of the “human cloud” to solve almost any problem — as long as you keep the word “human” in the equation. That’s what former TaskRabbit CEO Stacy Brown-Philpot champions for this community of people who work with each other, teach each other, and continually learn from each other.
"All-Star Episodes" are part of a special series designed to center some of the most timely — and timeless — business wisdom in the Masters of Scale feed. These episodes best encapsulate the kind of transformative, unconventional insights you hear in the series. Have an idea for an All-Star Episode from our library? Let us know at hello@mastersofscale.com.
Read a transcript of this episode: https://mastersofscale.com/
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See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
TaskRabbit: Leah Solivan
One snowy night in Boston, Leah Solivan ran out of dog food for her 100-pound yellow lab. She wondered: shouldn’t I be able to resupply Kobe without going to the store? That was the origin of TaskRabbit, an online errand service that matches users with “taskers” to do deliveries and other chores. When Leah left her IBM job to start coding the service, the peer-to-peer economy was still in its infancy. But she saw that three important developments—mobile, location services, and social media—were about to converge. She recruited errand-runners from Craigslist, and took an expensive gamble on a 15-minute meeting with Tim Ferriss to get advice and investors. After some management hiccups and a difficult rebranding, TaskRabbit sold to IKEA in 2017.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Rapid Response: TaskRabbit's Stacy Brown-Philpot: “A pandemic doesn’t see money.”
TaskRabbit remains open for business, says CEO Stacy Brown-Philpot. As the magnitude and severity of the pandemic became clear – and as workers across the U.S. were furloughed and services cut – TaskRabbit leaned into the work they do: providing services to those who need them and empowering Taskers with new opportunities for income, including virtual tasks, and Tasks for Good, which connects vulnerable individuals in need with local volunteer Taskers. TaskRabbit was founded during the 2008 financial crisis and then and now, says Stacy, the business remains a necessity, for the community, and for the gig economy. Interviewed by editor Bob Safian.
Read a transcript of this episode: https://mastersofscale.com
Subscribe to the Masters of Scale weekly newsletter: https://mastersofscale.com/subscribe
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Keep humans in the equation, w/TaskRabbit's Stacy Brown-Philpot
You may think that to scale you need to cut humans out of the equation. The opposite is true. You can harness the power of the "human cloud" to solve almost any problem — as long as you keep the word “human” in the equation. That's what TaskRabbit CEO Stacy Brown-Philpot championed for this community of people who work with each other, teach each other, and continually learn from each other. With cameos by DeLashea Strawder (Mosaic Youth Theater in Detroit) and Whitney Johnson (Author, Build an A-Team).
Read Build an A-Team: Play to Their Strengths and Lead Them Up the Learning Curve by Whitney Johnson
Read a transcript of this interview at: https://mastersofscale.com/stacy-brown-philpot-keep-humans-in-the-equation-masters-of-scale-podcast/
Subscribe to the Masters of Scale weekly newsletter: https://mastersofscale.com/subscribe
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Keep humans in the equation, w/TaskRabbit's Stacy Brown-Philpot
You may think that to scale you need to cut humans out of the equation. The opposite is true. You can harness the power of the "human cloud" to solve almost any problem — as long as you keep the word “human” in the equation. That's what TaskRabbit CEO Stacy Brown-Philpot championed for this community of people who work with each other, teach each other, and continually learn from each other. With cameos by DeLashea Strawder (Mosaic Youth Theater in Detroit) and Whitney Johnson (Author, Build an A-Team).
Read Build an A-Team: Play to Their Strengths and Lead Them Up the Learning Curve by Whitney Johnson
Read a transcript of this interview at: https://mastersofscale.com/stacy-brown-philpot-keep-humans-in-the-equation-masters-of-scale-podcast/
Subscribe to the Masters of Scale weekly newsletter: https://mastersofscale.com/subscribe
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Recode Decode: Stacy Brown-Philpot, CEO, TaskRabbit
TaskRabbit CEO Stacy Brown-Philpot chats with Recode's Kara Swisher about how her company and others are changing the definition of work. During her previous stint as TaskRabbit's COO, Brown-Philpot oversaw a major shift in how the company defines itself and made its service far more reliable, at the cost of a yearlong restructuring and employee layoffs. She discusses what's next for the sharing economy and why consolidation may be ahead. Brown-Philpot also talks about being one of the few black female CEOs in tech, and what can be done at all levels of a company to improve the diversity conversation.
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a16z Podcast: Getting That First Board Seat
When you're going for a board interview -- especially when it's your first board seat -- you're actually not supposed to go into it advocating for yourself and trying to convince people that you're a good operator, as you might in a job interview. So what does the board interview involve then? Is all the common advice we hear about getting on boards (e.g., "don't talk about strategy") really true?
TaskRabbit COO Stacy Brown-Philpot, who was just announced to the HP Inc board (in Hewlett Packard's first major board shuffle since it split into two companies), answers these questions and shares other interesting nuggets from her experience getting her first board seat. She also shares why she went for a public board, as well as what other factors you should consider -- and really matter -- when considering board service. Joining her is Matt Levy, who manages a16z's board and mentor talent network as part of the executive talent team. For more resources on boards, see http://a16z.com/tag/board-matters-series/.
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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
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