Spencer Rascoff

And it turns out it's pretty hard to sell software into these industries.

And we have a dynamic of

If you actually want to go and change these industries, it's easier to do it from the inside and actually partner with the companies themselves the way that we do here.

And then on the finance side, folks from Blackstone, TPG, GTCR, HIG, some of the very best firms.

And I think part of what we've been able to do at Longlink is by...

focusing on this core mission from day one, it's a pretty exciting mission, which is basically bring AI to the real world and help drive the mythical AI GDP growth.

You know, that's what's been able to attract, bring people together.

But I do think there's a distinct advantage in having a singular focus and being purpose-built for our strategy.

I think if you're an existing software company, you have your own set of vested interests around your existing customer base, and are you then competing with your customers?

I think it could get a little tricky.

Some people, I'm sure, will navigate that and find great acquisitions to do, but I think we have a strong advantage in our focus.

Startups are hard. Hang in there, everybody.

Startups are hard. Hang in there, everybody.

As a kid, I watched a lot of entrepreneurship and that was inspiring to me and helped encourage me and my path to entrepreneurship.

As a kid, I watched a lot of entrepreneurship and that was inspiring to me and helped encourage me and my path to entrepreneurship.

Two of my companies, Hotwire, which had a crisis two years in, and then Zillow that had a crisis two years in with the financial crisis. My next company, Picasso, also had this crisis, which was the pandemic. Founders of startups who are listening to this, if you want a simple, safe, stable job, go do something else. That is not what startups are.

Two of my companies, Hotwire, which had a crisis two years in, and then Zillow that had a crisis two years in with the financial crisis. My next company, Picasso, also had this crisis, which was the pandemic. Founders of startups who are listening to this, if you want a simple, safe, stable job, go do something else. That is not what startups are.

Being provocative helps drive virality, and that's certainly one of the ways that Zillow grew.

Being provocative helps drive virality, and that's certainly one of the ways that Zillow grew.

I was always interested in entrepreneurship and business. I was the kid that would bake cookies and sell them on my street, that would get tracing paper and trace artwork because I wasn't a good artist, but I could trace things and sell those tracings to my parents' friends. So I was always hustling and trying to create businesses and make money. And I saw a lot of entrepreneurship all around me.