Emmett Shear is the co-founder of Twitch, one of the most influential platforms in recent history. From its humble beginnings as a gaming streaming platform to becoming a cultural phenomenon, Twitch has redefined the way we connect, entertain, and build communities online.
The episode is packed with stories from Emmett’s 16-year tenure as CEO and his journey to founding the company. Emmett shares product frameworks he used to grow and retain streamers, how he learned to not suck at management, and why he thinks remote is bad for most tech start-ups. Emmett also shares insights from being part of the very first batch of YC-founded startups in 2005 alongside Sam Altman and Paul Graham. Finally, Emmett shares what he’s most scared about when it comes to AI.
(0:00) Intro
(1:46) Welcome Emmett Shear
(8:03) Products leading to Twitch
(18:19) Justin.tv
(28:10) Getting growth
(32:40) Cultivating the community for the streamer
(39:02) Google acquihire
(47:05) Declining value to more money
(54:16) Changes in levels of abstraction
(1:00:13) Management lessons
(1:08:52) Remote work debate
(1:17:49) Mentors and coaching
(1:28:24) Ambitions of the founder
(1:36:53) Back to YC
(1:44:45) AI Concerns
(2:03:28) Being a techno optimist
(2:17:44) Turning 40
Mixed and edited: Justin Hrabovsky
Produced: Rashad Assir
Executive Producer: Josh Machiz
Music: Griff Lawson
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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.