What Justin Kan Thinks About Basically Everything

Erik is joined by Justin Kan (@justinkan), founder of Atrium, Twitch and others, as well as Anuj Abrol (@nujabrol), Justin’s Chief of Staff and Erik's co-host for this episode.

Justin talks about the wisdom he’s gained over the past few years after selling Twitch and founding Atrium. He explains why it’s important to stay humble, not get too attached to any particular outcome for your startup and why he wishes that someone had told him ten years ago that no amount of accomplishment will create lasting happiness.

They discuss Atrium and the services for startups space more broadly, including some ideas for “Atrium for X” startups. He explains how he came to the idea for Atrium and why he raised funds for the company when he could have bootstrapped it himself. They also cover the fundraising process more broadly and why Justin insists he isn’t that great of an investor.

Justin also talks about his time as a “Snap star,” how Silicon Valley has changed, and what he’s learned from Paul Graham, Sam Altman, Michael Seibel and others.

Quotable Lines From This Episode

“I used to spend a lot of time thinking about, how I am going to be remembered and thought about and optimize the way people thought about me but I don’t care anymore. However you think of me today, as someone who's been an entrepreneur and had some success, maybe you think I’m really smart, it doesn't matter. In 10, 20, 50 years it will fade away and you probably won’t remember me at all. That’s okay, it’s just part of life.”

“Startups in general are a great vehicle for your own personal growth and development, to learn new skills, to learn what it’s like to lead a big organization, to see if you can do it — if you deserve to at all — it’s not a foregone conclusion.”

“You build up these castles in your mind about things that are going to bring satisfaction… none of those things will ever build any lasting long-term happiness. Even if you accomplish them and build a great reputation, it’s going to fade. The sooner you accept that, the happier you’ll be. I wish someone had told me that ten years ago.”

Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform.

Check us out on the web at villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.

Venture Stories is brought to you by Village Global and is hosted by co-founder and partner, Erik Torenberg. Colin Campbell is our audio engineer and the show is produced by Brett Bolkowy.

Release date

Lydbog: 26. februar 2019