What kind of founder builds a billion-dollar company around something anyone can use for free?
Matt Mullenweg, co-founder of WordPress and CEO of Automattic, joins Joubin Mirzadegan to reflect on two decades of building the platform that now powers over 43% of all websites through cycles of doubt, decline, and reinvention.
He also shares how Automattic aligns employees with its mission to democratize publishing and commerce through paid sabbaticals and remote work.
Guest: Matt Mullenweg, co-founder of WordPress and founder and CEO of Automattic
Connect with Matt Mullenweg
X
LinkedIn
Connect with Joubin
X
LinkedIn
Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com
Learn more about Kleiner Perkins
Today’s guest is Matt Mullenweg, Co-founder of WordPress, which powers over 43% of all websites on the internet, and founder of Automattic.
Our conversation explores the 2000’s internet, the early days of Automattic, and the decisions and philosophies that set them up for success 20 years later.
We talk open source software, why Matt’s such a big proponent of it, how Automattic built its business model as one of the first SaaS companies (that now owns companies like Tumblr and WooCommerce), and how AI is changing engineering.
Matt also shares how to build a community around your product, “Conscious Capitalism”, what he learned running one of the first distributed teams, and lessons on optimism from Walt Disney.
Thanks to Ramp for supporting this episode. It's the corporate card and expense management platform used by over 40,000 companies, like Shopify, CBRE and Stripe. Time is money. Save both with Ramp.
Sign-up for Ramp and get $250 here.
Timestamps:
(3:48) WordPress: Powering 43% of the internet
(8:30) Outcompeting Reid Hoffman’s startup in the early days
(14:03) Why open source wins over the long-term
(16:21) Business models in open source
(21:12) Starting Automattic in 2005, one of the first SaaS companies
(28:45) Spending most of Automattic’s Seed round on servers
(33:36) How to use Community + Word of Mouth for early growth
(38:38) Matt’s current situation with WP Engine
(43:30) How to give back in open source
(53:55) Best practices from 20 years of running a remote company
(59:59) Lessons on optimism from Walt Disney
(1:12:33) How AI is changing coding
(1:16:09) Automattic's internal employee secondary market
(1:23:51) How open source increases longevity
(1:26:08) Matt’s favorite classical thinkers
Referenced:
Automattic
Wordpress
Matt’s Blog
Bay Lights in SF
Innocence Project
Vesuvius Challenge
Plastic List
The Giving Pledge
DAFFY
Pessimist Archive
Matt's favorite quote from Rudy Francisco
Maintenance by Stuart Brand
We are as Gods by Stuart Brand
Marginal Revolution by Tyler Cohen
Follow Matt
Twitter
LinkedIn
Follow Turner
Twitter
LinkedIn
Subscribe to my newsletter to get every episode + the transcript in your inbox every week.
Today, I’m talking with Matt Mullenweg, the founder and CEO of Automattic and the public face of WordPress. Last year, Matt essentially went to war, publicly and in the courts, against a hosting company called WP Engine, and there’s been significant fallout at Automattic and the broader WordPress community.
It’s been a long, drawn-out saga. That said, Matt was willing to come on the show and talk through some of this thinking here, why he made some of the decisions he did, and also what he regrets about how some of this went down.
Links:
The messy WordPress drama, explained | Verge
Celebrating 20 Years of Automattic | Automattic
Matt Mullenweg: ‘WordPress.org just belongs to me’ | Verge
Automattic offered employees another chance to quit over | Verge
WordPress owner Automattic is laying off 16 percent of workers | Verge
Tumblr will move all of its blogs to WordPress | Verge
Beeper was just acquired by Automattic | Verge
Automattic acquires relationship manager Clay | TechCrunch
How WordPress and Tumblr are keeping the internet weird | Decoder
How to buy a social network, with Tumblr CEO Matt Mullenweg | Decoder
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Matt Mullenweg is the co-founder of WordPress, the open source platform powering a staggering 43% of the internet. He also serves as CEO of Automattic—the parent company of brands like WordPress.com, WooCommerce, and Tumblr—which is worth over $7 billion, with over 1,700 employees across 90 countries. In this episode, he discusses some of the most controversial topics surrounding WordPress, Automattic, and the broader open source community.
—
What you’ll learn:
• Matt’s response to public criticism
• Why products like Meta’s Llama are “fake open source”
• How his team is turning around Tumblr after acquiring it for just $3 million (after Yahoo bought it for $1.1 billion)
• Why he mortgaged his home to fund San Francisco’s iconic Bay Lights project
• Matt’s philosophy: “Don’t just build a product; build a movement”
• Why open source matters: “If the Founding Fathers were around today, they’d be open source advocates”
—
Brought to you by:
• WorkOS—Modern identity platform for B2B SaaS, free up to 1 million MAUs
• Vanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security.
• Loom—The easiest screen recorder you’ll ever use
—
Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-creator-of-wordpress-opens-up-matt-mullenweg
—
Where to find Matt Mullenweg:
• X: https://x.com/photomatt
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattm/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/photomatt/
• Website: https://ma.tt/
—
Where to find Lenny:
• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com
• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/
—
In this episode, we cover:
(00:00) Introduction to Matt Mullenweg
(05:10) Matt’s career journey
(11:15) Bay Lights project and philanthropy
(17:28) How Matt got involved with open source
(23:25) Why products like Meta’s Llama are “fake open source”
(27:14) The future of open source and how to get involved
(35:25) Building a successful online community
(39:12) The WP Engine controversy
(50:24) Facing criticism and controversy
(55:29) Addressing community concerns
(01:08:29) Forking Advanced Custom Fields
(01:11:15) The role of social media and public perception
(01:16:43) Acquiring and reviving Tumblr
(01:24:25) Automattic’s acquisition strategy
(01:28:51) Final thoughts and future plans
—
Referenced:
• WordPress: https://wordpress.com/
• Automattic: https://automattic.com/
• CNET: https://www.cnet.com/
• Akismet: https://akismet.com/wordpress/
• Jetpack: https://jetpack.com/
• Toni Schneider on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonischneider/
• WooCommerce: https://woocommerce.com/
• Beeper: https://www.beeper.com/
• Day One: https://dayoneapp.com/
• Simplenote: https://simplenote.com/
• Pocket Casts: https://pocketcasts.com/
• Creative Commons: https://creativecommons.org/
• Audrey Capital: https://audrey.co/
• Stripe: https://stripe.com/
• SpaceX: https://www.spacex.com/
• Calm: https://www.calm.com/
• August: https://august.com/
• Daylight Computer: https://daylightcomputer.com/
• Keys Jazz Bistro: https://keysjazzbistro.com/
• Joomla: https://www.joomla.org/
• Drupal: https://new.drupal.org/
• Shopify: https://www.shopify.com/
• Wix: https://www.wix.com/
• Squarespace: https://www.squarespace.com/
• Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/
• Gravatar: https://gravatar.com/
• The Bay Lights: https://illuminate.org/projects/thebaylights/
• The Bay Lights 360: https://illuminate.org/the-bay-lights-360/
• Ben Davis on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-davis-sf/
• Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts: https://www.houstonisd.org/hspva
• Jack Dorsey: We’re Losing our Free Will to Algorithms: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_8NganZSFI
• Marc Andreessen: https://a16z.com/author/marc-andreessen/
• Bill Gurley on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billgurley/
• An inside look at X’s Community Notes | Keith Coleman (VP of Product) and Jay Baxter (ML Lead): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-x-built-the-best-fact-checking-system-on-the-internet
• Llama: https://www.llama.com/
• WordCamp US & Ecosystem Thinking: https://ma.tt/2024/09/ecosystem-thinking/
• As Wall Street Chases Profits, Fire Departments Have Paid the Price: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/17/us/fire-engines-shortage-private-equity.html
• WordCamp Asia: https://asia.wordcamp.org/2025/
• Justin Baldoni Hit with Defamation Suit as PR Teams Turn on Each Other over Blake Lively’s ‘It Ends with Us’ Smear Campaign Allegations: https://deadline.com/2024/12/justin-baldoni-defamation-lawsuit-publicist-blake-lively-1236241784/
• How WordPress Hot Nacho Scandal Shapes WP Engine Dispute: https://www.searchenginejournal.com/how-wordpress-hot-nacho-scandal-shapes-wp-engine-dispute/539069/
• Gutenberg: https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/
• ClassicPress: https://www.classicpress.net/
• Behind the founder: Marc Benioff: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/behind-the-founder-marc-benioff
• Mary Hubbard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maryfhubbard/
• Brian Chesky’s new playbook: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/brian-cheskys-contrarian-approach
• Founder mode: https://paulgraham.com/foundermode.html
• Cow.com: https://www.cow.com/
• David Karp on X: https://x.com/davidkarp
• Marissa Mayer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marissamayer/
• Alibaba: https://www.alibaba.com/
• WP Engine Tracker: https://wordpressenginetracker.com/
• Kumbh Mela: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumbh_Mela
—
Recommended book:
• Maintenance: Of Everything (in progress): https://books.worksinprogress.co/book/maintenance-of-everything/addenda/page/introduction
—
Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.
—
Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe
The recent controversy between WordPress and WP Engine put Matt Mullenweg (Co-Founder of WordPress, CEO of Automattic) under intense online scrutiny. In our conversation, he shared lessons from the controversy and managing through crisis, as well as this thoughts on the future of open source AI and more.
(00:00) Intro
(01:17) Controversy with WP Engine
(03:36) Understanding Open Source and Trademarks
(04:36) Automattic's Role and Contributions
(08:26) Navigating Legal Battles and Community Relations
(18:27) Leadership and Personal Resilience
(21:49) The Impact of Social Media on CEOs
(31:22) Future Outlook and Reflections
(32:42) Exploring the Quinn Model and Open Source Innovations
(33:17) The Evolution of AI Interfaces and User Interactions
(35:36) AI as a Writing and Coding Partner
(38:07) The Power of Open Source in AI Development
(40:00) Commoditizing Complements: A Business Strategy
(41:39) The Battle with Shopify and Open Source Models
(42:33) The Impact of Open Source on Market Dynamics
(43:55) USB-C Transition and Gadget Recommendations
(47:53) The Benefits of Sabbaticals
(53:34) The Future of WordPress and Automattic
(59:12) Employee Ownership and Liquidity Programs
(01:04:33) Conclusion and Final Thoughts
Executive Producer: Rashad Assir
Producer: Leah Clapper
Mixing and editing: Justin Hrabovsky
Check out Unsupervised Learning, Redpoint's AI Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@UCUl-s_Vp-Kkk_XVyDylNwLA
🎙 Listen to the show
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-logan-bartlett-show/id1606770839
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5WqBqDb4br3LlyVrdqOYYb?si=3076e6c1b5c94d63&nd=1
Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS9zb0hJZkhWbg
🎥 Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCugS0jD5IAdoqzjaNYzns7w?sub_confirmation=1
Follow on Socials
📸 Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/theloganbartlettshow
🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/loganbartshow
🎬 Clips on TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@theloganbartlettshow
About the Show
Logan Bartlett is a Software Investor at Redpoint Ventures - a Silicon Valley-based VC with $6B AUM and investments in Snowflake, DraftKings, Twilio, and 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.
Executive Producer: Rashad Assir
Producer: Leah Clapper
Mixing and editing: Justin Hrabovsky
Check out Unsupervised Learning, Redpoint's AI Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@UCUl-s_Vp-Kkk_XVyDylNwLA
🎥 Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCugS0jD5IAdoqzjaNYzns7w?sub_confirmation=1
Follow on Socials
📸 Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/theloganbartlettshow
📱 X - https://twitter.com/loganbartshow
🎬 Clips on TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@theloganbartlettshow
About the Show
Logan Bartlett is a Software Investor at Redpoint Ventures - a Silicon Valley-based VC with $6B AUM and investments in Snowflake, DraftKings, Twilio, and Netflix. In each episode of The Logan Bartlett Show, we sit down with the people behind today’s most important startups and extract the tactics, lessons, and frameworks they’ve learned the hard way. Conversations span hiring to GTM, product, growth, fundraising and everything in between - collectively forming the ultimate playbook to make you a better CEO, investor or board member.
Tap follow and enable notifications to stay ahead of the game.
Get our Business Monetization Playbook:
Episode 672: Sam Parr ( https://x.com/theSamParr ) and Shaan Puri ( https://x.com/ShaanVP ) talk to Matt Mullenweg ( https://x.com/photomatt ), the founder of WordPress and Automattic.
—
Show Notes:
(0:00) Turning down $200M at 24
(6:04) WordPress's 1000 days of irrelevance
(9:24) Turning a small South African company into $3B
(13:40) The battle of giants - WooCommerce vs Shopify
(18:37) Matt's Villain Arc
(30:07) Auditions > Interviews
(36:04) Putting every employee on the front line
(42:56) Matt on Deepseek
—
Links:
• Automattic - https://automattic.com/
• WordPress - https://wordpress.com/
—
Check Out Shaan's Stuff:
• Shaan's weekly email - https://www.shaanpuri.com
• Visit https://www.somewhere.com/mfm to hire worldwide talent like Shaan and get $500 off for being an MFM listener. Hire developers, assistants, marketing pros, sales teams and more for 80% less than US equivalents.
• Mercury - Need a bank for your company? Go check out Mercury (mercury.com). Shaan uses it for all of his companies!
Mercury is a financial technology company, not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group, Column, N.A., and Evolve Bank & Trust, Members FDIC
—
Check Out Sam's Stuff:
• Hampton - https://www.joinhampton.com/
• Ideation Bootcamp - https://www.ideationbootcamp.co/
• Copy That - https://copythat.com
• Hampton Wealth Survey - https://joinhampton.com/wealth
• Sam’s List - http://samslist.co/
My First Million is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by The HubSpot Podcast Network // Production by Arie Desormeaux // Editing by Ezra Bakker Trupiano
This is SaaStr's What's New series where our very own CEO and Founder, Jason Lemkin, sits down with the top CEOs and leaders in SaaS to discuss What's New, what's top of mind, and what every SaaS founder should be thinking about.
In today's episode, Jason sits down with Matt Mullenweg, CEO of Automatic and Co-Founder of WordPress on what's new at WordPress.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SaaStr hosts the largest SaaS community events on the planet.
Join us in 2024 at:
SaaStr Annual: Sept. 10-12 in the SF Bay Area. Join 12,500 SaaS professionals, CEOs, revenue leaders and investors for the world's LARGEST SaaS community event of the year. Podcast listeners can grab a discount on tickets here: https://www.saastrannual2024.com/buy-tickets?promo=fave20
SaaStr Europa: June 5-6 in London. We'll be hosting the 5th SaaStr Europa in London for two days of content and networking. Join 3,000 SaaS and Cloud leaders. Podcast listeners can grab a discount on Europa tickets here: https://www.saastreuropa2024.com/buy-tickets?promo=fave200
--------------
This episode is sponsored by: Northwest Registered Agent
When starting your business, it's important to use a service that will actually help you. Northwest Registered Agent is that service. They'll form your company fast, give you the documents you need to open a business bank account, and even provide you with mail scanning and a business address to keep your personal privacy intact. Visit https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/saastr to get a 60 percent discount on your next LLC.
Brought to you by Momentous high-quality supplements, Helix Sleep premium mattresses, and AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement.
Matt Mullenweg (@photomatt) is co-founder of the open-source publishing platform WordPress, which now powers over 40 percent of all sites on the web. He is the founder and CEO of Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com, WooCommerce, Tumblr, WPVIP, Day One, Texts, and Pocket Casts. Additionally, Matt runs Audrey Capital, an investment and research company. He has been recognized for his leadership by Forbes, Bloomberg Businessweek, Inc., TechCrunch, Fortune, Fast Company, Wired, University Philosophical Society, and Vanity Fair.
Matt is originally from Houston, Texas, where he attended the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and studied jazz saxophone. In his spare time, Matt is an avid photographer. He currently splits his time between Houston and San Francisco.
Please enjoy!
*
This episode is brought to you by Helix Sleep! Helix was selected as the best overall mattress of 2022 by GQ magazine, Wired, and Apartment Therapy. With Helix, there’s a specific mattress to meet each and every body’s unique comfort needs. Just take their quiz—only two minutes to complete—that matches your body type and sleep preferences to the perfect mattress for you. They have a 10-year warranty, and you get to try it out for a hundred nights, risk-free. They’ll even pick it up from you if you don’t love it. And now, Helix is offering 20% off all mattress orders plus two free pillows at HelixSleep.com/Tim.
*
This episode is also brought to you by AG1! I get asked all the time, “If you could use only one supplement, what would it be?” My answer is usually AG1, my all-in-one nutritional insurance. I recommended it in The 4-Hour Body in 2010 and did not get paid to do so. I do my best with nutrient-dense meals, of course, but AG1 further covers my bases with vitamins, minerals, and whole-food-sourced micronutrients that support gut health and the immune system.
Right now, you’ll get a 1-year supply of Vitamin D free with your first subscription purchase—a vital nutrient for a strong immune system and strong bones. Visit DrinkAG1.com/Tim to claim this special offer today and receive your 1-year supply of Vitamin D (and 5 free AG1 travel packs) with your first subscription purchase! That’s up to a one-year supply of Vitamin D as added value when you try their delicious and comprehensive daily, foundational nutrition supplement that supports whole-body health.
*
This episode is also brought to you by Momentous high-quality supplements! Momentous offers high-quality supplements and products across a broad spectrum of categories, and I’ve been testing their products for months now. I’ve been using their magnesium threonate, apigenin, and L-theanine daily, all of which have helped me improve the onset, quality, and duration of my sleep. I’ve also been using Momentous creatine, and while it certainly helps physical performance, including poundage or wattage in sports, I use it primarily for mental performance (short-term memory, etc.).
Their products are third-party tested (Informed-Sport and/or NSF certified), so you can trust that what is on the label is in the bottle and nothing else. If you want to try Momentous for yourself, you can use code Tim for 20% off your one-time purchase at LiveMomentous.com/Tim. And not to worry, my non-US friends, Momentous ships internationally and has you covered.
*
[00:00] Start
[05:12] The Argentine Dr. Mullenweg.
[08:15] Open source.
[10:19] Secret hiring.
[12:59] Matt is always on tour.
[15:14] Texts.
[17:39] How Matt chooses his next project(s).
[21:51] Building a digital Berkshire Hathaway.
[29:01] Why Matt’s excited about messaging.
[32:03] How Matt discovers companies he buys.
[32:53] RIP, Charlie Munger.
[33:28] Worthy rereads.
[37:10] My reflections on blogging, writing, and podcasting.
[48:55] Tyler Cowen’s inimitable style.
[49:42] Matt’s high school economics competition.
[57:05] Cables.
[57:59] AI spellcasting and community.
[1:01:09] Developments that will amaze the future.
[1:04:51] AI-proofing jobs.
[1:07:23] Why Matt’s optimistic about future generations.
[1:12:17] Data Liberation Front.
[1:14:12] More open app stores.
[1:18:53] Invisible tools (and weapons) of competition.
[1:23:40] Online security advice for the layman.
[1:26:21] WordCamp Asia.
[1:32:12] Taking a sa-Matt-ical.
[1:45:25] Rethinking nuclear energy.
[1:47:20] Rethinking psychedelics risks.
[1:57:59] Rethinking breathwork.
[2:02:05] Coping with depression.
[2:15:16] Rethinking TikTok.
[2:16:40] Blogging: absurd and beautiful.
[2:18:40] Rethinking Vienna sausages.
[2:19:57] Pocket ranch.
[2:21:36] Answering ancient emails.
[2:22:45] The curse of the ultra-critical eye.
[2:25:51] Rethinking meditation.
[2:28:38] Bacterial dentistry.
[2:32:06] Pocket party.
[2:32:55] Parting thoughts.
*
For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.
For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors
Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.
For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.
Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.
Follow Tim:
Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss
Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss
YouTube: youtube.com/timferriss
Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferriss
Past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren Aronofsky, Margaret Atwood, Mark Zuckerberg, Peter Thiel, Dr. Gabor Maté, Anne Lamott, Sarah Silverman, Dr. Andrew Huberman, and many more.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
This week we brought Matt Mullenweg, the CEO of Automattic and co-founder of WordPress onto the show, along with Kishan Bagaria, the founder of Texts.com. Automattic bought all-in-one messaging app Texts.com for $50 million back in October. Well, we had questions, not only about the deal, but also the state of the written word online.
A few notes before you hit play. First, Automattic is more acquisitive than you thought. A look at its history of purchases is critical context for our conversation. And, second, TechCrunch uses WordPress. We in fact are WordPress VIP customers. Neither fact is news, and of course had no bearing on our choice to bring Mullenweg and Bagaria on the podcast, but felt worth noting all the same.
Alright, sit back, hit play, and have some fun with us! We’re back on Friday with our news roundup!
Connect with Equity on X and Threads @EquityPods, and keep up with all of TechCrunch's podcasts @TechCrunchPods on TikTok.
For episode transcripts and more, head to Equity’s Simplecast website.
Equity drops at 7 a.m. PT every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. TechCrunch also has a great show on crypto, a show that interviews founders and more!
Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Kara and Scott discuss the investigation into what Jim Jordan knew about sexual abuse at Ohio State, Jon Stewart and Apple parting ways and a tough road ahead for Tesla's Cybertruck. Then, how the Supreme Court's latest ruling impacts the White House and social media companies. Plus, companies and CEOs continue to struggle with how to address the Israel-Hamas War, as some employees push back. Our Friend of Pivot is Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg who reveals his company's latest acquisition. Follow Matt at @photomatt
Follow us on Instagram and Threads at @pivotpodcastofficial.
Follow us on TikTok at @pivotpodcast.
Send us your questions by calling us at 855-51-PIVOT, or at nymag.com/pivot.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
We have to talk about Twitter, right? Elon Musk bought it. He’s making all these changes, and he’s realizing that content moderation decisions are quite complicated, especially when the stakes are high.
But talking about Twitter in a vacuum seems wrong. There are lots of other social networks and community-based products, and they all have basically the same problems: some technical (you have to run the service), some political (you have to comply with various laws and platform regulations around the world), and some social (you have to get millions of users to post for free while making sure what they post is good stuff and not bad stuff).
So, we’re doing something a little different this week. First, I’m talking to Matt Mullenweg, who is the CEO of Automattic, which owns WordPress, the blog hosting platform, and Tumblr, the social network, which he purchased from Verizon in 2019. Then, Verge deputy editor Alex Heath and I are going to break down a bunch of what Matt told me and apply it to Twitter to see what we can learn.
Okay, Matt Mullenweg, CEO of Tumblr, followed by Alex Heath. Here we go.
Links:
How WordPress and Tumblr are keeping the internet weird
GPL - General Public License
Verizon is selling Tumblr to WordPress’ owner
Kanye West suspended from Twitter after posting a swastika
‘Martin Scorsese’s lost film’ Goncharov (1973), explained
Yahoo acquires Tumblr in $1.1 billion cash deal, promises 'not to screw it up'
Verizon is selling Tumblr to WordPress’ owner
Turnaround Definition
Welcome to Tumblr. Now Go Away.
Work With Us / Twitter – Automattic
Tumblr will sell you two useless blue check marks for $8
Elon Musk is laying off even more Twitter workers
Welcome to hell, Elon
Why “Go Nuts, Show Nuts” Doesn't Work in 2022
How America turned against the First Amendment
About – SHOSHANA ZUBOFF
A Framework for Moderation
First Amendment - Freedom of Religion, Speech, Press, Assembly, and Petition | Constitution Center
America’s Favorite Flimsy Pretext for Limiting Free Speech
Brandenburg v. Ohio
Elon Musk says Tim Cook told him Apple ‘never considered’ removing Twitter - The Verge
The Twitter Files - Matt Taibbi
Elon Musk’s promised Twitter exposé on the Hunter Biden story is a flop that doxxed multiple people
Twitter Blue is back, letting you buy a blue checkmark again
Transcript:
https://www.theverge.com/e/23270126
Credits:
Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
It was produced by Creighton DeSimone and Jackie McDermott and it was edited by Callie Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Our Editorial Director is Brooke Minters and our Executive Director is Eleanor Donovan.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Matt Mullenweg is the Founder of Automattic, the force behind WordPress, Tumblr, WooCommerce, Jetpack, Longreads, Simplenote, Pocket Casts, and more. What started as a simple open-source blogging platform, Matt has turned into one of the most significant internet properties of our generation, now powering over 43% of sites on the internet. Alongside Automattic, Matt also invests through Audrey Capital and has backed the likes of Stripe, SpaceX, Gitlab, and Sendgrid to name a few.
In Today's Episode with Matt Mullenweg We Discuss:
1.) The Origins of WordPress:
How did Matt start the for-profit, Automattic, as a 19-year-old, having been a lead developer for WordPress?
What were the clearest signs to Matt in the early days that WordPress could change the world?
What does Matt know now that he wishes he had known at the beginning of WordPress?
2.) Matt Mullenweg: The Essence of Leadership:
What does high performance mean to Matt? How has that changed over time?
What does truly great listening mean to Matt as a leader today? Where do many get this wrong?
How does Matt approach decision-making today? What are the two types of decisions?
What are Matt's biggest insecurities in leadership today? How have they changed over time?
3.) Matt Mullenweg: The Person:
Why does Matt have insecurities around his body? How do those insecurities manifest?
What did Matt learn about himself in the pre-grieving process before his father's passing?
How does Matt assess his own relationship to risk today?
How does Matt think through his relationship to money today? Has it changed?
4.) WordPress: The Company:
Why did Matt decide it was the right decision to buy Tumblr? Why did Matt make himself the CEO earlier this year?
With many strong cashflow businesses within Automattic, how does Matt think through the balance between growth and profitability?
Why does Automattic not have any emails within the company? How do 2,000 people communicate so effectively?
Items Mentioned in Today's Episode:
Matt's Favourite Book: Principles by Ray Dalio
Matt Mullenweg turned his early passion for blogging into a flourishing business and an unshakeable idea: that users should be able to share and tweak the code that powers their websites, and that most of those tools should be free to use. As far back as college, Matt was collaborating with far-flung fellow-coders to make blogging less clunky and more elegant and intuitive. Around 2005, he pitched the idea for WordPress.com to his bosses at CNET, but they turned him down, so he launched the idea on his own, eventually tucking the service into a nascent umbrella company called Automattic. Today—after many twists and turns—the company has nearly 2000 employees and a valuation of $7 billion; and WordPress powers more than 40% of the websites on the internet.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Matt Mullenweg is the CEO of Automattic, the company that owns WordPress.com, which he co-founded, and Tumblr, the irrepressible social network it acquired from the wreckage of AOL, Yahoo, and Verizon. Matt’s point of view is that the world is better off when the web is open and fun, and Automattic builds and acquires products that help that goal along.
Links:
Exclusive: Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg on what’s next for Tumblr
Verizon is selling Tumblr to WordPress’ owner
Automattic, owner of Tumblr and WordPress.com, buys podcast app Pocket Casts
Gutenberg
Tumblr Shop
Why Apple’s new privacy feature is such a big deal
Taylor Swift's Tumblr
Tumblr will ban all adult content on December 17th
How Tumblr Became Popular for Being Obsolete
Basecamp CTO David Heinemeier Hansson and Rep. David Cicilline on Apple's monopolistic app store fees
Inside Sonos' decision to sue Google - and how it won
After the porn ban, Tumblr users have ditched the platform as promised
The Trauma Floor: The secret lives of Facebook moderators in America
Vox Media adds The Coral Project
Transcript:
https://www.theverge.com/e/22741898
Credits:
Decoder is a production of The Verge, and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Today’s episode was produced by Creighton DeSimone and Jackie McDermott. Research was done by Liz Lian. It was edited by Callie Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Our Sr Audio Director is Andrew Marino and our Executive Producer is Eleanor Donovan.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Brought to you by Eight Sleep’s Pod Pro Cover sleeping solution for dynamic cooling and heating, Wealthfront automated investing, and Tonal smart home gym. More on all three below.
Matt Mullenweg (@photomatt) is a co-founder of the open-source publishing platform WordPress, which now powers more than one-third of all sites on the web. He is the founder and CEO of Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com, WooCommerce, Tumblr, WPVIP, Day One, and Pocket Casts. Additionally, Matt runs Audrey Capital, an investment and research company. He has been recognized for his leadership by Forbes, Bloomberg Businessweek, Inc., TechCrunch, Fortune, Fast Company, Wired, Vanity Fair, and the University Philosophical Society.
Matt is originally from Houston, Texas, where he attended the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and studied jazz saxophone. In his spare time, Matt is an avid photographer. He currently splits his time between Houston and Jackson Hole.
For my first interview with Matt, way back in 2015, go to tim.blog/matt.
Please enjoy!
*
This episode is brought to you by Eight Sleep! Eight Sleep’s Pod Pro Cover is the easiest and fastest way to sleep at the perfect temperature. It pairs dynamic cooling and heating with biometric tracking to offer the most advanced (and user-friendly) solution on the market. Simply add the Pod Pro Cover to your current mattress and start sleeping as cool as 55°F or as hot as 110°F. It also splits your bed in half, so your partner can choose a totally different temperature.
And now, my dear listeners—that’s you—can get $250 off the Pod Pro Cover. Simply go to EightSleep.com/Tim or use code TIM at checkout.
*
This episode is also brought to you by Wealthfront! Wealthfront pioneered the automated investing movement, sometimes referred to as ‘robo-advising,’ and they currently oversee $20 billion of assets for their clients. It takes about three minutes to sign up, and then Wealthfront will build you a globally diversified portfolio of ETFs based on your risk appetite and manage it for you at an incredibly low cost.
Smart investing should not feel like a rollercoaster ride. Let the professionals do the work for you. Go to Wealthfront.com/Tim and open a Wealthfront account today, and you’ll get your first $5,000 managed for free, for life. Wealthfront will automate your investments for the long term. Get started today at Wealthfront.com/Tim.
*
This episode is also brought to you by Tonal! Tonal is the world’s most intelligent home gym and personal trainer. It is precision engineered and designed to be the most advanced strength studio on the market today. Tonal uses breakthrough technology—like adaptive digital weights and AI learning—together with the best experts in resistance training so you get stronger, faster. Every program is personalized to your body using AI, and smart features check your form in real time, just like a personal trainer.
Try Tonal, the world’s smartest home gym, for 30 days in your home, and if you don’t love it, you can return it for a full refund. Visit Tonal.com for $100 off their smart accessories when you use promo code TIM100 at checkout.
*
In Antarctica, even your neatest scotch is served on the rocks — and you have to take it with you when you’re finished. [06:12]
How we’re dealing with perpetual daylight and zero access to the internet. [08:26]
For anyone who hasn’t caught his past appearances and mentions on this show, who is Matt Mullenweg, and what keeps him busy when he’s not camping on Antarctican sea ice? [11:12]
What our morning immersed in the “patient” landscape of Antarctica has been like so far. [13:56]
Why a total solar eclipse needs to be experienced firsthand to understand why it’s such a big deal. [17:15]
Antarctican skin care and rollicking penguin imitations. [20:52]
What’s happened in Matt’s world since the last time we talked on this podcast? How does he keep each day interesting? [24:30]
What Matt has found most helpful for enduring the grieving process since his father passed away. [26:36]
You probably have a smartphone. Here’s why you should use it to record some of the time you spend with loved ones when you have the chance, and what you might talk to them about. [32:25]
Podcast tech spec updates since our last conversation that make recording possible at any temperature on Earth. [34:39]
As Matt says, “You can’t spell ‘Tim’ without ‘TMI.’” That’s why I’m going to talk about the time I sampled my own urine. [40:04]
We each answer the question posed by a card from the Holstee Reflection Deck: “What is one fear you would like to conquer?” [42:13]
Strange comfort I derived from a recent existential revelation, and where I found it. [50:48]
Next card: “If a crystal ball could tell you the truth about your life, the world, or anything else, what would you want to know?” [1:00:29]
Another card: “If you knew that in one year you would die suddenly, what would you change about the way you’re living now? Why?” [1:08:35]
At the time of this conversation, what would I put on my billboard? [1:19:20]
New card: “What are two things still on your bucket list?” [1:19:38]
We need more billionaires exploring the oceans and the non-Western worlds of ritual and myth with the same exuberance as the ones currently exploring space. [1:26:39]
Would I clone my dog Molly? Matt shares his own experience with getting to know a cloned animal after its genetically identical predecessor passed away. [1:38:49]
More bucket list items. [1:43:12]
Why Matt doesn’t curse, and what he does when he gets really angry. [1:43:42]
The next card: “Do intentions matter more or less than actions?” [1:47:29]
The last card: “What are you grateful for right now?” [1:52:07]
Parting thoughts. [1:55:07]
*
For show notes and past guests, please visit tim.blog/podcast.
Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.
For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.
Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.
Follow Tim:
Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss
Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss
Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss
YouTube: youtube.com/timferriss
Past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Margaret Atwood, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren Aronofsky, Balaji Srinivasan, Sarah Silverman, Dr. Andrew Huberman, Dr. Michio Kaku, and many more.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
My guest today is Matt Mullenweg, co-founder and CEO of Automattic, the company on top of the open-source project WordPress that Matt helped start. Today, WordPress powers 40% of all the websites in the world. Our wide-ranging conversation covers the state of the internet when Matt first started WordPress, the symbiotic relationship between open source and proprietary projects, and how the most successful companies are really master world builders. I hope you enjoy this great conversation with Matt Mullenweg.
For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.
-----
This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus has built the most extensive primary information platform available for investors.
With Tegus, you can learn everything you’d want to know about a company in an on-demand digital platform. Investors share their expert calls, allowing others to instantly access more than 10,000 calls on Affirm, Teladoc, Roblox, or almost any company of interest. All you have to do is log in. Visit tegus.co/patrick to learn more.
-----
This episode is brought to you by Vanta. Vanta has built software that makes it easier to both get and maintain your SOC 2 report, at a fraction of the normal cost. Founder’s Field Guide listeners can redeem a $1k off coupon at vanta.com/patrick.
-----
Founder's Field Guide is a property of Colossus Inc. For more episodes of Founder's Field Guide, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.
Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.
Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus
Show Notes
[00:03:15] – [First question] – What the internet felt like when he first started building Wordpress
[00:05:11] – What was wrong with his impression of the internet then
[00:06:50] – Being a connoisseur of things overlooked
[00:08:34] – How permission less publishing and open source software shaped the internet
[00:12:30] – Balance between centralization and decentralization and where we are in the cycle
[00:14:08] – The cycle between direct-to-consumer and having intermediary
[00:16:32] – New opportunities and challenges of the internet today
[00:18:49] – Potential of cryptocurrency to enable big changes on the internet
[00:21:22] – The idea of distributed work via the internet and the utopia of it
[00:21:38] - Sam Harris podcast with Matt Mullenweg
[00:24:31] – Advantage of having a team distributed across geographies and timezones
[00:26:46] – What he learned from the Amazon’s API mandate
[00:29:12] – Landmines of distributed work
[00:31:13] – Interesting lessons learned building Wordpress
[00:34:55] – Company building as world building
[00:35:52] – Lessons from Microsoft on platform building
[00:38:53] – Key ingredient to world building within your company
[00:41:09] – Lessons from Wix and Shopify
[00:42:23] – How to decide what to do next in resource and capital allocation
[00:47:00] – How to engage with other stakeholders in a platform business
[00:50:06] – The continued connectivity created by the internet
[00:53:14] – Kindest thing anyone has done for him
#420: Books I've Loved — Matt Mullenweg | Brought to you by Audible.
Welcome to another episode of The Tim Ferriss Show, where it is my job to sit down with world-class performers of all different types—from startup founders and investors to chess champions to Olympic athletes. This episode, however, is an experiment and part of a shorter series I’m doing called “Books I’ve Loved.” I’ve invited some amazing past guests, close friends, and new faces to share their favorite books—the books that have influenced them, changed them, and transformed them for the better. I hope you pick up one or two new mentors—in the form of books—from this new series and apply the lessons in your own life.
Matt Mullenweg (@photomatt) is the founding developer of WordPress, the open-source software used by over 35% of the web. Matt is also the CEO of Automattic, which is now the force behind WordPress.com, Jetpack, and many other products.
Having built his own 1200-person company with no offices and with employees scattered across 68 countries, Matt examines the benefits and challenges of distributed work and recruiting talented people around the globe on Distributed, which you can find on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Please enjoy!
You can find all books from this episode in the show notes.
“Books I’ve Loved” on The Tim Ferriss Show is brought to you by Audible! I have used Audible for many years now. I love it. Audible has the largest selection of audiobooks on the planet. I listen when I’m taking walks, I listen while I’m cooking… I listen whenever I can. Audible is offering Tim Ferriss Show listeners a free audiobook with a 30-day trial membership. Just go to Audible.com/tim and browse the unmatched selection of audio programs. Then, download your free title and start listening! It’s that easy. Simply go to Audible.com/tim or text TIM to 500500 to get started today.
***
If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference in helping to convince hard-to-get guests.
For show notes and past guests, please visit tim.blog/podcast.
Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (“5-Bullet Friday”) at tim.blog/friday.
For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.
Interested in sponsoring the podcast? Please fill out the form at tim.blog/sponsor.
Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.
Follow Tim:
Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss
Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss
Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss
YouTube: youtube.com/timferriss
Past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren Aronofsky, and many more.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Sam Harris speaks with Matt Mullenweg about the evolution of distributed work. They discuss the benefits of working from home, the new norms of knowledge work, relevant tools and security concerns, the challenges for managers, the importance of written communication, the necessity of innovating in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, delivery networks as critical infrastructure, economic recovery, and other topics.
If the Making Sense podcast logo in your player is BLACK, you can SUBSCRIBE to gain access to all full-length episodes at samharris.org/subscribe.
The first in a series of special episodes with tools you need RIGHT NOW | Suddenly, many of us are remote workers. As companies radically reimagine their day-to-day in response to the pandemic, we all need to know what Matt Mullenweg has learned: How to thrive as a successful remote team. As founder of Automattic (creators of WordPress etc.), Matt runs a 1,000-person team that’s almost entirely remote. How do they do it? Matt shares his best practices here. It won't sound like our typical episodes. This is just Reid and Matt, sharing insights on how to run fully distributed teams that build culture and trust — and succeed.
Read a transcript of this episode: https://mastersofscale.com/rapidresponse/
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.
As the popularity of remote working continues to spread, workers today can collaborate across cities, countries and even multiple time zones. How does this change office dynamics? And how can we make sure that all employees, both at headquarters and at home, feel connected? Matt Mullenweg, cofounder of Wordpress and CEO of Automattic (which has a 100 percent distributed workforce), shares his secrets.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Automattic just bought Tumblr from Verizon for reportedly 3 million dollars. CEO of Automattic Matt Mullenweg sits down with The Verge's Julia Alexander and Nilay Patel for this emergency episode of the Vergecast to share what his plans are for the micro-blogging platform.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Matt Mullenweg, the co-founder of WordPress, talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about how the blogging platform has evolved in the 13 years since it launched, powering a huge number of websites that included AllThingsD and an earlier version of Recode.net. Mullenweg also talks about WordPress' recent acquisition of a mobile journalism startup, the Atavist; how he manages 750 employees without an official corporate office; and why "every tech company should have an editorial team."
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
In today's episode, I interview WordPress security lead Aaron Campbell.
Today's episode is sponsored by Dolby. One of the most important things you can do for your application is ensure that the quality of your audio is strong. You already know Dolby and sound quality go hand-in-hand. Check out how Dolby can help you at spec.fm/dolby.
WordPress powers 27% of the web, with sites big and small leveraging the popular platform. Developer Ptah Dunbar, also known as “Pirate”, gives us a tour of the platform, its thriving community, and the realities of being employed as a WordPress developer.
Show Links
Partner with Dev & CodeNewbie! (sponsor)
Squarespace
WordCamp
Wix
Codeland Conf
Codeland 2019
Ptah Dunbar
WordPress, BuddyPress and bbPress core contributor and web strategy consultant.
In this week's episode, Matt Mullenweg of WordPress joins us to tell us how he built the organization that powers 27% of the internet and more importantly, what it was like going to the same high school as Beyoncé. The gang also tells us why the site nav changed colors. We also learn what programming languages are used on the weekends most and what programming languages college students use the most. Finally, Joel tries to Stump Alex Miller while the TSA watches.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
My first live podcast in New York City was recorded at the 92nd Street Y to a sold-out crowd of about 900 people. This episode comes from The Random Show segment of the evening when I took the stage with Kevin Rose and Matt Mullenweg. Kevin Rose (@KevinRose) has been my partner in crime for many things. He's one of the best stock pickers in the startup world, the co-founder of Digg and Milk, a general partner at Google Ventures, and CEO of Hodinkee. Matt Mullenweg (@photomatt) is most associated with a tool that powers more than 25% of the entire Web: WordPress. He's also the CEO of Automattic, which is a multi-billion dollar, fully distributed startup. We talk about lots of things -- including setting goals and New Year's resolutions. I hope you enjoy! Show notes and links for this episode can be found at www.fourhourworkweek.com/podcast. This podcast is brought to you by Rhone Apparel. Dozens -- maybe even hundreds of you -- have asked me: "What shirts are you wearing in your recent YouTube videos?" They're a very specific set of shirts from Rhone. I'm packing for a trip for seven to ten days, and I would say half of what I'm going to pack is from Rhone. These are the most comfortable shirts (and Rhone stocks way more than shirts) that I have ever worn -- at least for active wear. But you can even sneak them into a business casual event or dinner if you're a Long Island kid like me. Rhone has minimal branding, so you don't feel like you're walking around with some sort of billboard on your chest. They come with pure, melted-down silver in the fabric -- anti-odor technology so you don't smell like a musk ox halfway through the day. I love Rhone's shirts, pants, and shorts, and I've been wearing them pretty much every day for the past few weeks. Luckily, there's no risk in trying them out: free shipping and a 100-day return policy should help you decide if they're worth it. Plus, listeners get an exclusive 15% off for using the code TIM at checkout and a special holiday bonus. Find 'em at rhone.com/tim. This podcast is also brought to you by Wealthfront. Wealthfront is a massively disruptive (in a good way) set-it-and-forget-it investing service, led by technologists from places like Apple and world-famous investors. It has exploded in popularity in the last two years and now has more than $2.5B under management. In fact, some of my good investor friends in Silicon Valley have millions of their own money in Wealthfront. Why? Because you can get services previously limited to the ultra-wealthy and only pay pennies on the dollar for them, and it's all through smarter software instead of retail locations and bloated sales teams. Check out wealthfront.com/tim, take their risk assessment quiz, which only takes two to five minutes, and they'll show you for free exactly the portfolio they'd put you in. If you want to just take their advice and do it yourself, you can. Or, as I would, you can set it and forget it. Well worth a few minutes: wealthfront.com/tim.
***
If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference in helping to convince hard-to-get guests. I also love reading the reviews!
For show notes and past guests, please visit tim.blog/podcast.
Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (“5-Bullet Friday”) at tim.blog/friday.
For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.
Interested in sponsoring the podcast? Visit tim.blog/sponsor and fill out the form.
Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.
Follow Tim:
Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss
Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss
Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss
YouTube: youtube.com/timferriss
Past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren Aronofsky, and many more.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Matt Mullenweg (@photomatt) is most associated with a tool that powers more than 25% of the entire Web: WordPress. He's also the CEO of Automattic, which is a multi-billion dollar, fully distributed startup. Matt loves tea, tequila, and Chicken McNuggets. His first time on the show went over so well that you've all been asking for a round two. So in this episode, he answers your most popular questions. Please enjoy! Show notes and links for this episode can be found at www.fourhourworkweek.com/podcast. This podcast is brought to you by Vimeo Business. Vimeo Business has all of the prior benefits of Vimeo Pro, including VIP support. Whether you make videos for a living, run your own company, or simply want to amp up your video marketing, Vimeo Business is here to help. It has more than 280 million creators and viewers worldwide and makes it easier to share your videos with a global audience and connect with professional video makers to bring your stories to life. Vimeo Business allows you to upload up to five terabytes and store your videos in one secure place, add up to 10 team members to your account for easy collaboration, and gather feedback with seamless review tools. You can even add clickable calls to action and capture email addresses directly in the player, which can help you generate leads and drive conversion for whatever you're trying to optimize, such as a newsletter or a sales page. Check out vimeo.com/tim10 to save 10 percent on Vimeo Business. This podcast is also brought to you by Wealthfront. Wealthfront is a massively disruptive (in a good way) set-it-and-forget-it investing service led by technologists from places like Apple. It has exploded in popularity in the last two years and now has more than $2.5B under management. Why? Because you can get services previously limited to the ultra-wealthy and only pay pennies on the dollar for them, and it's all through smarter software instead of retail locations and bloated sales teams. Check out wealthfront.com/tim, take their risk assessment quiz, which only takes 2-5 minutes, and they'll show you for free the exactly the portfolio they'd put you in. If you want to just take their advice and do it yourself, you can. Well worth a few minutes to explore: wealthfront.com/tim.
***
If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference in helping to convince hard-to-get guests. I also love reading the reviews!
For show notes and past guests, please visit tim.blog/podcast.
Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (“5-Bullet Friday”) at tim.blog/friday.
For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.
Interested in sponsoring the podcast? Visit tim.blog/sponsor and fill out the form.
Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.
Follow Tim:
Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss
Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss
Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss
YouTube: youtube.com/timferriss
Past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren Aronofsky, and many more.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Matt Mullenweg, the creator of WordPress and the CEO of Automattic, joined the show to talk about the past, present, and future of WordPress. We talked about the role of JavaScript for WordPress, their new REST API, Calypso, and more.
Join the discussion
Changelog++ members support our work, get closer to the metal, and make the ads disappear. Join today!
Sponsors:
DigitalOcean Block Storage – Use the code CHANGELOG to get a $10 hosting credit when you create a new DigitalOcean account
Rollbar – Put errors in their place! Full-stack error tracking for all apps in any language. Get the Bootstrap plan free for 90 days. That’s nearly 300,000 errors tracked totally free. Members can get an extra $200 in credit.
Pulse – Realtime cloud and infrastructure monitoring with visualization and alerting so you can monitor your blind spots.
Featuring:
Matt Mullenweg – Website, X
Adam Stacoviak – Website, GitHub, LinkedIn, Mastodon, X
Jerod Santo – Website, GitHub, LinkedIn, Mastodon, X
Show Notes:
Dance to Calypso
Introducing the New WordPress.com
Automattic
The Story Behind the New WordPress.com
State of the Word 2015
Simplenote
The Year Without Pants by Scott Berkun
Beautiful Code
The Pragmatic Programmer
Steve Krug - Advanced Common Sense
Dave Winer - Scripting News
Joel Spolsky on Software
Scott Berkun
George Orwell - Politics and the English Language (1946)
Something missing or broken? PRs welcome!
Matt Mullenweg is the Founder of Wordpress. In this episode we talk about daily rituals, how he started Wordpress, how being a successful CEO early on has affected his relationships, how he thinks about hiring, investing, and evaluating people. Edited by Alex Kontis Praise to @photomatt Criticism to @eriktorenberg
.jpg?width=400){kind=small}