Uploaded September 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago

---

The apps and websites we use every day depend on systems most of us never see.

Jay Kreps joins Joubin Mirzadegan to share how Confluent became the ‘central nervous system’ for companies like Expedia and eBay, letting them respond to business operations instantly.

They also break down why the myth of AI-driven efficiency falls short, and why building truly transformative companies takes far longer than most people expect.

Guest: Jay Kreps, Co-Founder & CEO of Confluent

Connect with Jay
X: https://x.com/jaykreps
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jaykreps

Connect with Joubin
X: https://x.com/Joubinmir
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/joubin-mirzadegan-66186854
Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com

​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins: kleinerperkins.com

Chapters:
(00:00) Trailer
(00:57) Introduction
(02:28) Joining Anthropic’s board
(11:11) Early Confluent lessons & layoffs
(21:45) Golden ticket to California
(30:27) Competing with AWS
(37:54) Surviving waves of change
(44:59) Lessons from the military
(51:04) Sprint vs. marathon
(1:02:41) Parenting, privilege & perspective
(1:16:29) Who Confluent is hiring
(1:16:57) What "grit" means to Jay
(1:17:10) Outro