Shyam Sankar

It's like everything that went wrong, that was free clothes I got to have. But it was also really a privilege to grow up in the shadow of the Space Coast. Orlando is close enough that in elementary school, you would file out to the courtyard to watch the shuttle launch. You would wake up Saturday mornings to a double sonic boom of the shuttle reentering.

And it gave you a visceral sense of scientific progress, American prosperity, what we can do collectively when we put our mind to it. Wow.

And it gave you a visceral sense of scientific progress, American prosperity, what we can do collectively when we put our mind to it. Wow.

And it gave you a visceral sense of scientific progress, American prosperity, what we can do collectively when we put our mind to it. Wow.

He is my hero.

He is my hero.

He is my hero.

At a pretty early age, because my dad, in some sense, you could say, was also an entrepreneur. And he was always encouraging me to think about these things. And I worked at his pharmacy in Orlando as a child in high school. I started programming. 11th grade, I started programming professionally and kept doing that.

At a pretty early age, because my dad, in some sense, you could say, was also an entrepreneur. And he was always encouraging me to think about these things. And I worked at his pharmacy in Orlando as a child in high school. I started programming. 11th grade, I started programming professionally and kept doing that.

At a pretty early age, because my dad, in some sense, you could say, was also an entrepreneur. And he was always encouraging me to think about these things. And I worked at his pharmacy in Orlando as a child in high school. I started programming. 11th grade, I started programming professionally and kept doing that.

I actually dropped out of Cornell for a hot minute there to build a company and try to get going with it. But I've always been dabbling in these sorts of efforts. And I knew that ultimately I wanted to be part of creating something new, being part of an early founding team.

I actually dropped out of Cornell for a hot minute there to build a company and try to get going with it. But I've always been dabbling in these sorts of efforts. And I knew that ultimately I wanted to be part of creating something new, being part of an early founding team.

I actually dropped out of Cornell for a hot minute there to build a company and try to get going with it. But I've always been dabbling in these sorts of efforts. And I knew that ultimately I wanted to be part of creating something new, being part of an early founding team.

And really, the reason I went from Cornell to Stanford in 2003 can be hard to remember, but even Google didn't recruit on the Cornell campus. Most of my technical classmates, unfortunately, went into consulting and banking. There's nothing wrong with it, but it's not the same thing as creating.

And really, the reason I went from Cornell to Stanford in 2003 can be hard to remember, but even Google didn't recruit on the Cornell campus. Most of my technical classmates, unfortunately, went into consulting and banking. There's nothing wrong with it, but it's not the same thing as creating.

And really, the reason I went from Cornell to Stanford in 2003 can be hard to remember, but even Google didn't recruit on the Cornell campus. Most of my technical classmates, unfortunately, went into consulting and banking. There's nothing wrong with it, but it's not the same thing as creating.

And so I had to find some way, some mechanism to get to the West Coast to be with a bunch of other people who really thought of building as the primary purpose of their life's mission. So within two months of being at Stanford, I had a full-time job as the fifth employee at a startup called Zoom with an X that did international money transfer. It was seed funded by Peter Thiel.

And so I had to find some way, some mechanism to get to the West Coast to be with a bunch of other people who really thought of building as the primary purpose of their life's mission. So within two months of being at Stanford, I had a full-time job as the fifth employee at a startup called Zoom with an X that did international money transfer. It was seed funded by Peter Thiel.

And so I had to find some way, some mechanism to get to the West Coast to be with a bunch of other people who really thought of building as the primary purpose of their life's mission. So within two months of being at Stanford, I had a full-time job as the fifth employee at a startup called Zoom with an X that did international money transfer. It was seed funded by Peter Thiel.

And my interviews were with Rolof Botha and Keith Reboy, who are founding members of the PayPal mafia. And that's how I kind of got started in that world.