Podcast
Minus One
Hosted by South Park Commons · EN
A show about the winding journeys the world's most interesting people take to becoming great—and what they do when figuring out a question we all face: What's Next? Because before you launch at Zero, you have to figure out what to launch at Minus One. Hosted by South Park Commons Partner Aditya Agarwal and members of the SPC community.
15episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Anthropic Engineer on the Future of Coding with AI | Thariq Shihipar
2d ago00:46:55Tap to summarizeThariq Shihipar, a member of Anthropic's Claude Code team (and SPC alum), joins South Park Commons Partner Evan Tana to discuss what it takes to build at the frontier of AI, where the models, tools, and best practices are constantly evolving.Thariq traces his journey from a gaming startup to Anthropic after a chance text about Claude Code, shares why his team stopped using Plan Mode, explains concepts like capability overhang, harness engineering, and the underrated art of writing evals, and discusses why RAG is becoming an anti-pattern. He also breaks down how founders should think about building when the capabilities of AI systems are changing faster than anyone can predict.Thariq Shihipar: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thariqshihipar/ Evan Tana: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evantana/ South Park Commons: https://www.linkedin.com/company/southparkcommons/Apply to SPC: https://www.southparkcommons.com/applyChapters:(00:00:00) - From Startup Founder to Anthropic (00:03:33) - Building Better AI With Claude Code (00:07:21) - The Capability Overhang (00:12:17) - How Anthropic Builds AI Products(00:17:51) - Prompting Claude More Effectively (00:30:58) - How AI Is Changing Product Teams (00:41:11) - Advice for AI Founders
Transcribe →The Man Who Took India to the International Space Station | Shubhanshu Shukla
1w ago00:54:42Tap to summarizeWhat does it actually take to become an astronaut? Shubhanshu Shukla, the second Indian to travel to space after more than four decades, joins South Park Commons general partner Aditya Agarwal to share the answer. During Axiom Mission 4, Shukla became the first Indian aboard the International Space Station (ISS). An astronaut with ISRO and a Group Captain in the Indian Air Force, he shares what it takes to get there, from the intense selection process and psychological testing to a seven-day isolation challenge and other unexpected requirements candidates must meet.He also reflects on life in orbit, from speaking Hindi aboard the ISS for the first time to the disorientation, the overview effect, and the physical changes the human body experiences. Along the way, Shukla and Agarwal explore India’s space ambitions and what it takes to chase an outsized dream.Shubhanshu Shukla: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gagan-shux/ Aditya Agarwal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adityaagarwal3/ South Park Commons: https://www.linkedin.com/company/southparkcommons/Apply to SPC: https://www.southparkcommons.com/apply(00:00:00) - Introduction: Becoming Comfortable With the Uncomfortable(00:01:54) - Why Saying "Yes" Changed the Course of His Life(00:07:15) - What It Really Takes to Become an Astronaut(00:11:40) - The Physical, Medical, and Psychological Tests(00:15:21) - What It Feels Like to See Earth From Space(00:17:20) - Microgravity: How Space Changes Your Body and Mind(00:25:35) - The Pressure and Responsibility of Representing India in Space(00:28:29) - The New Space Economy and Why the Next Decade Will Be Different(00:35:03) - Advice for Entrepreneurs Building the Future of Space(00:44:19) - The Future of Human Space Exploration: Moon, Mars, and Beyond
Transcribe →Minus One to Space Gun | Nato Saichek
Jun 1100:42:26Tap to summarizeNato Saichek, cofounder and CTO of Longshot Space, joins South Park Commons Partner Jonathan Brebner to explain why rockets won the space race for the wrong reasons—and why a 15-kilometer space gun may be the most rational path to cheap access to orbit. Nato traces Longshot's origins from garage experiments with his cofounder Mike Grace, through building the world's largest operational cannon, to a first-principles reimagining of launch economics. He explains why $4 trillion in rocket investment locked civilization into a local optimum, how aerospace-grade hardware can be replicated for $5 in parts, and what it actually feels like to shoulder the weight of a deeply unconventional bet.Nato Saichek: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natosaichek/ Jonathan Brebner: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-brebner/ South Park Commons: https://www.linkedin.com/company/southparkcommons/Apply to SPC: https://www.southparkcommons.com/applyChapters:(00:00:00) - The 15-Kilometer Space Gun (00:06:27) - The History of Space Guns and Why the Idea Was Abandoned (00:09:33) - Why Rockets Aren’t the Best Solution (00:18:39) - The Story of Longshot Space (00:22:09) - Nato On Leaving His Dream Job (00:28:25) - Fundraising for an Unconventional Idea(00:39:36) - The Perks of Having a Cofounder
Transcribe →Why Great AI Companies Are Moving Beyond Tools | Amit Jain (Luma AI)
May 2100:40:08Tap to summarizeAmit Jain, cofounder and CEO of Luma AI, joins South Park Commons Partner Finn Meeks to explain why the most defensible AI companies aren't just building tools—they're developing systems that can understand and simulate the world.Amit traces Luma's path from a free 3D capture app designed to gather training data, through an early bet that video generation was finally viable, to the unified model architecture powering Luma Agents today. He explains why most AI products still break at execution, why foundation labs blur the line between product and research, and why they are the blueprint for the companies of the future.Amit Jain: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gravicle/ Finn Meeks: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finn-meeks/ South Park Commons: https://www.linkedin.com/company/southparkcommons/Apply to SPC: https://www.southparkcommons.com/applyChapters:(00:00:00) - Apple's LiDAR work seeded Luma's founding vision (00:05:05) - A free app was secretly a data collection operation (00:06:49) - H100s made video generation stop feeling impossible (00:10:00) - Most definitions of "world model" are simply wrong (00:14:37) - Why unified models beat pure video scaling (00:20:03) - Luma Agents and the end-to-end creative production loop (00:23:00) - The knowledge gap no model can close alone(00:29:34) - Blowing James Cameron's mind in five minutes (00:31:16) - Why consumer video generation failed—and who it's actually for (00:35:23) - Product and research aren't two things at a foundation lab
Transcribe →The AI Cybersecurity Crisis Is Here | Nikesh Arora (Palo Alto Networks CEO)
Apr 3000:49:27Tap to summarizeNikesh Arora, CEO of Palo Alto Networks, joins South Park Commons partner Aditya Agarwal to discuss the cybersecurity crisis currently unfolding—and why AI is both the threat and the only viable solution.Nikesh traces his own unlikely journey from Google's Chief Business Officer to leading one of the world's most critical cybersecurity companies with no prior cybersecurity experience, shares what Masayoshi Son taught him about risk, and explains why most founders are too de-risked before they ever start building. He also breaks down why the same AI models writing code today will soon expose decades of hidden vulnerabilities at a scale no IT team is prepared to handle.Nikesh Arora: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikesh-arora-02894670/ Aditya Agarwal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adityaagarwal3/ South Park Commons: https://www.linkedin.com/company/southparkcommons/Apply to SPC: https://www.southparkcommons.com/applChapters:(00:02:41) - Big problems vs. fast wins (00:05:08) - Joining Google(00:08:28) - Larry Page's product obsession (00:10:00) - He read every hiring packet himself (00:13:14) - What Silicon Valley gets wrong about Masa Son(00:15:45) - Successful founders never wish they took less risk (00:17:00) - Joining Palo Alto knowing nothing about cybersecurity (00:19:30) - What incumbents got wrong when ChatGPT launched (00:22:31) - Security was never built into AI (00:25:00) - No enterprise knows what's running inside its stack (00:30:27) - AI finds bad code faster than humans ever could(00:34:27) - The only way to fix the chaos is more AI (00:37:05) - AI won't just automate work—it raises the floor(00:39:43) - Foundation models vs. specialized stacks(00:43:16) - Why communication is 30% of the job at scale(00:45:00) - What makes a great founder
Transcribe →How Replit Is Enabling a New Wave of Million-Dollar Founders | Amjad Masad & Haya Odeh
Apr 2300:50:21Tap to summarizeAmjad Masad and Haya Odeh, cofounders of Replit, join South Park Commons Partners Aditya Agarwal and Ruchi Sanghvi to share what it really took to build one of AI’s most important platforms, and how it’s now enabling a new wave of million-dollar founders.Amjad breaks down why traditional ideas like ICP are breaking down in the age of AI, what’s actually changing under the hood of modern models, and why we may be reaching the limits of prompting. Haya shares the origin of “Seek Pain”—Replit’s most counterintuitive cultural principle—and how a relentless focus on what’s not working drives better products, faster learning, and stronger teams.Amjad Masad: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amjadmasad/ Haya Odeh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haya-odeh-b0725928/ Ruchi Sanghvi: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rsanghvi/ Aditya Agarwal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adityaagarwal3/ South Park Commons: https://www.linkedin.com/company/southparkcommons/Apply to SPC: https://www.southparkcommons.com/applyCHAPTERS:(00:00:00) - Coming to America broke (and building anyway)(00:04:27) - Early Replit proof points kept the mission alive(00:07:02) - Cloud vs. local: why security tips the scales(00:10:09) - Execute daily, predict quarterly(00:11:35) - The 2023 roadmap Replit just finished executing(00:16:01) - Agent 4 and the end of context amnesia(00:22:01) - The death of the ICP(00:24:47) - What actually changed in AI models December 2024(00:28:52) - "Seek Pain"—Replit's most counterintuitive cultural value(00:34:55) - Why consultants are the most mispriced AI-era hire(00:38:00) - Co-founding with your partner—the honest answer(00:43:25) - Make micro-predictions or get left behind by AI(00:45:19) - Raising kids in a world you can't predict
Transcribe →Anthropic CTO on AI Safety in the Age of Exponential Growth | Rahul Patil
Apr 900:44:42Summary readyAs AI models become more powerful, safety is emerging as one of the defining challenges of our time. Rahul Patil, CTO at Anthropic, joins SPC Partner Ankit Chowdhary to discuss why they prioritize AI safety above all else, how the company thinks about building reliable and trustworthy AI models, and the tradeoffs between speed, scale, and responsibility in the age of exponential growth. Rahul also shares his journey growing up in Bangalore, how he first fell in love with computer science, and advice for young builders navigating the current tech landscape. This conversation was recorded on the 17th of February, 2026. Rahul Patil: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahul-patil-a0944836/ Ankit Chowdhary: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ankitcc/ South Park Commons: https://www.linkedin.com/company/southparkcommons/Apply to SPC: https://www.southparkcommons.com/applyCHAPTERS:(00:00:00) - Introduction + Rahul’s Core Philosophy(00:01:18) - Early Life: Falling in Love with Computer Science(00:03:07) - The “Minus One” Mindset: Curiosity Over Competition(00:05:24) - Chasing Exponential Trends and Scaled Impact(00:09:22) - Building for Dependability (Not Just Speed)(00:12:03) - Startup Tradeoffs: Speed vs. Safety (And Why It’s a False Choice)(00:18:17) - Why He Joined Anthropic (AI as the Biggest Shift Yet)(00:29:08) - Scaling Laws, Breakthroughs, and What Builders Should Do Now(00:42:20) - What Keeps Him Up at Night: The Next 100 Years in 5
SummaryElad Gil: Silicon Valley’s Most Dangerous Startup Advice
Mar 2600:44:16Tap to summarizeElad Gil, investor and author of High Growth Handbook, sits down with South Park Commons Partner Aditya Agarwal to challenge some of Silicon Valley’s favorite startup myths. He talks about why you might not actually need a cofounder, why data alone isn’t much of a moat, and how the strongest companies build real defensibility while others quietly fall behind.Elad also walks us through his approach to exit hygiene, what the Slack vs. Teams battle says about the power of incumbents, and why some of the worst advice in Silicon Valley isn’t directed at struggling startups but the ones already winning. Elad Gil: https://x.com/eladgil Aditya Agarwal: https://x.com/adityaag South Park Commons: https://www.linkedin.com/company/southparkcommons/Apply to SPC: https://www.southparkcommons.com/applyChapters:(00:01:31) - Approaches to starting a company in the age of AI(00:05:03) - The cofounder fallacy (00:06:22) - Winning is the only startup culture that matters(00:08:00) - Why more markets are open right now than ever before(00:10:14) - The oligopoly market (00:21:13) - Product surface area beats data as a real competitive moat(00:24:12) - The failure mode no one discusses: bad advice for working companies(00:32:11) - How many Jensen Huangs are hiding in plain sight right now?(00:40:08) - Pre-scheduling exit conversations as annual board hygiene(00:43:54) - Why micromanagement is actually underrated
Transcribe →What Gamma ($2B Unicorn) Learned that Most Founders Get Backwards | Grant Lee
Mar 1200:35:37Tap to summarizeGrant Lee, cofounder and CEO of Gamma, joins South Park Commons General Partner Jonathan Brebner to discuss how his AI storytelling platform is taking on PowerPoint and Google Slides. Grant shares how Gamma survived the Silicon Valley Bank collapse, how they stayed lean while scaling to a $2B valuation, and why he believes “different beats better” when competing against entrenched incumbents. He also gets into the role of storytelling in product, hiring, and growth—and why publishing content (and pushing through "cringe valley") might be the most underrated thing a founder can do.Grant Lee: https://www.linkedin.com/in/grantslee/ Jonathan Brebner: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-brebner/South Park Commons: https://www.linkedin.com/company/southparkcommons/Apply to SPC: https://www.southparkcommons.com/applyChapters:(00:00:00) - Intro(00:02:41) - The Frustration With Slides That Sparked Gamma(00:04:02) - Reuniting With Co-Founders From Optimizely(00:08:46) - The Real Competition: Behavior Change(00:10:37) - The ‘Bet the Company’ Moment and the SVB Crisis(00:14:43) - Why Gamma Built a Lean Team and Hires Slowly(00:17:49) - Why Storytelling Is a Core Founder Skill(00:20:51) - How Gamma Balances AI Automation With Human Creativity(00:23:40) - Why Founders Must Survive “Cringe Valley”(00:31:17) - Building Gamma for Prosumer and Enterprise Growth
Transcribe →We Asked DoorDash’s CEO If AI Competitors Scare Him
Feb 2600:50:58Tap to summarizeWhen Tony Xu cofounded DoorDash 13 years ago, he was rejected by more than 100 investors. Today, it’s a $70B+ behemoth dominating the delivery industry. Tony joins SPC General Partner Aditya Agarwal to reveal how DoorDash won the delivery war and answer the burning question of whether AI agents pose a threat to his company. He also shares why customer obsession became the company’s guiding principle, the challenges of digitizing the physical world, and how startups today can build competitive advantages in the age of AI. Tony Xu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/xutony/ Aditya Agarwal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adityaagarwal3/South Park Commons: https://www.linkedin.com/company/southparkcommons/Apply to SPC: https://www.southparkcommons.com/applyChapters:(00:00:00) - Intro (00:01:00) - Becoming a founder(00:11:48) - Implementing AI and customer obsession (00:18:22) - Is AI a threat to DoorDash? (00:21:29) - Digitizing the physical world(00:25:31) - Company culture and values (00:31:33) - Tony’s unpopular business opinion (00:37:42) - How to stay curious and motivated (00:39:31) - Preparing children for the new age (00:42:47) - Audience Q&A
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