Ep. 186: Ryan Panchadsaram, Technical Advisor to John Doerr, Chair of Kleiner Perkins, & Co-Author of Speed & Scale

Today's guest is Ryan Panchadsaram, Technical Advisor to John Doerr, Chair of Kleiner Perkins, & Co-Author of Speed & Scale. Speed & Scale is a new book that offers an unprecedented global plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions before it's too late. Ryan joined Kleiner Perkins in 2016 to focus on venture-stage companies across the firm and serves as technical advisor to John Doerr, Chair of Kleiner Perkins. During the Obama Presidency, Ryan was the Deputy Chief Technology Officer for the United States. At the White House, Ryan helped shape how federal agencies can use an $80 billion budget to deliver on their missions in a more effective, design-centric, and data-driven way. Before working in the public sector, he co-founded Pipette, a digital health startup acquired by Ginger.io, an MIT Media Lab spin-off using big data and machine learning to improve the world's health. In addition, Ryan worked at Microsoft and Salesforce.com in product and engineering roles. He holds a degree in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from the University of California, Berkeley. I was looking forward to sitting down with Ryan because he's been on MCJ's guest wishlist for some time. First, Ryan and I dive into his new book, Speed & Scale, that he co-authored with John Doerr, his role as John's technical advisor, and how he assesses potential investments for Kleiner Perkins. We also explore the misconception that climate investors have to sacrifice returns for impact, the importance of policy and innovation, and why social justice and the climate crisis are interwoven. This is a fantastic episode, and Ryan is a great guest. Enjoy the show! You can find me on twitter @jjacobs22 or @mcjpod and email at [email protected], where I encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests. Episode recorded November 15th, 2021