{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Grit","title":"#147 Ex-Waze CEO & Founder of Post News, Noam Bardin: Hockey Sticks and Plateaus","html":"<iframe width=\"100%\" height=\"180\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" seamless src=\"https://share.transistor.fm/e/4a6bbd9a\"></iframe>","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":5387,"description":"Guest: Noam Bardin, founder of Post News\nOne of the “aha” moments that could sway a dubious Waze user, recalls former CEO Noam Bardin, was navigating around “all those idiots sitting in traffic... and you’re like, ‘I’m a genius.’” Now, at the social news app Post, Noam says the “aha” is avoiding partisan gridlock and paywalls. Social incumbents boost engagement by making users angry, while Post just wants you to read. “If we can remove friction and give you the right articles at the right time, so you feel smarter when you walk away,” he says, “that’s the aha moment.”\nIn this episode, Noam and Joubin discuss stories vs. execution, ROFRs, culture clash, timing an acquisition, corporate tags, fear of going bigger, joining big companies, mobile app retention, big tech monopolies, competing against Foursquare, and not optimizing for “culture warriors.”\n\nIn this episode, we cover:\nPutting your opinions out there (01:15)\nWaze almost sold to Facebook (06:10)\nGetting in the room with Google (13:04)\nHow the first Google deal fell apart (15:10)\nBack to Facebook — briefly (17:15)\nThe news begins to leak, and Google returns (20:26)\nGrinding for five years at a startup (23:57)\n“Hockey sticks” are never smooth (28:32)\nThe personal impact of volatility (31:37)\n“Everything is a mess in startups” (34:38)\nThe worst day of Noam’s life (38:22)\nHow Waze started, and how Noam joined (42:22)\nThe failure of Intercast Networks (45:07)\nBrave faces and “corp-speak” (48:33)\nIntegrating into Google’s culture (53:13)\nNo constraints and too much money (01:01:08)\nDefining metrics that matter (01:04:11)\nMaps and social (01:06:46)\nSilicon Valley’s worst invention: “Pivoting” (01:09:56)\nThe social news problem Post solves (01:14:51)\nMisinformation and authoritarianism (01:18:42)\nPost’s microtransactions (01:21:08)\nBeing misunderstood and the “aha” moment (01:23:58)\nWho Post is hiring and what “grit” means to Noam (01:27:09)\nLinks:\nConnect with NoamTwitter\nPost\nLinkedIn\nConnect with JoubinTwitter...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/jCea5f44KBONhOsyLyht9nXUrj2YBNfA6fc-kgyfWTM/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9zaG93/Lzk3NzAvMTY2Nzg2/MjQyOC1hcnR3b3Jr/LmpwZw.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}