Venture Everywhere: “Note to Self – Josh Mohrer with Jenny Fielding”

Podcast: Venture Everywhere
Host: Everywhere Ventures
Guest: Josh Mohrer (Wave, ex-Uber)
Date: April 30, 2024

Episode Overview

This episode features Josh Mohrer, an operator-turned-founder best known for scaling Uber’s New York office and now the solo creator of Wave—a simple yet powerful audio-to-text summary app. Host Jenny Fielding delves into Josh's journey from analytical student and eBay seller to high-growth operator, and finally to a “zero to one” founder going against the grain of VC norms. The pair cover Josh’s lessons from Uber and Levels, how ChatGPT unlocked his technical ambitions, his contrarian approach to building and scaling Wave, and what motivates him at this stage of his career.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

Josh’s Unconventional Technical Journey

• Background:
  • Analytical by nature; studied math, early exposure to computers (00:55)
  • Technically “adjacent” but didn’t originally code—focused on e-commerce (01:10)
  • Early hustling: sold things on eBay, enjoyed tinkering (04:47)
• Breakthrough with ChatGPT:
  • “ChatGPT…was sort of a paradigm shift for me…I could ask every question I would ever think of.” (02:52)
  • Enabled him to build usable software despite previous false starts at learning to code

Lessons from Uber and Levels

• Joined Uber at employee #30 globally, GM for New York (01:48)
• Learned the importance of simplicity and identifying the real “magic moment” in technology (08:33)
• Levels taught him process: how to incrementally and asynchronously build—skills now informing his solo creator approach (12:19)

Identifying the Market Gap for Wave

• Noticed a lack of simple, usable, mobile-first real-world meeting recorders vs. a surplus of web/Zoom products (06:56)
• Focus on making an “app for everyone” rather than “changing the way a billion people record audio” (08:17)
  • “The world is very big...if I need to find 10,000 people who agree with me and will pay, that is a drop in the bucket...” (08:33)
• Pursuit of the “magic moment” for users:
  • “The first time you see a computer summarize text, that is a magic moment.” (10:11)
  • With AI, most people have still not experienced real-time summarization outside the tech bubble (10:20)

Building, Launching, and Iterating Solo

• Lean, One-Person Team:
  • “There’s no structure, just me.” (12:04)
  • Handles everything: product, customer support, growth, development
• Early Build Lessons:
  • Personal anecdotes about app failures (like losing a friend’s eulogy recording) and learning server-side logic the hard way (13:52)
  • “It was really just like a year of having these problems…just banging my head against the wall.” (14:50)
• Technical Strategy:
  • Stresses orchestration over line-by-line coding—stringing together open-source tools and AI helpers (15:50)
  • “The real challenge…is making all the parts fit together that already exist.” (16:39)

Contrarian Approach to Growth, Scale, and Funding

• No Team, No Fundraising:
  • Happy to grow at a “comfortable pace,” iterate, and avoid unnecessary infrastructure (17:10)
  • “This is just an extreme version of Lean, which I think is cool.” – Jenny (17:33)
• Defining Success:
  • Transparent about progress: 2,000 paying subscribers, ~$40k MRR (Monthly Recurring Revenue) (18:41)
  • Iterating upward as customer base grows, ready to add help now that volume warrants it (19:42)
  • “My mom’s impression is that now I am a retiree…But…this is a real thing.” (18:50)
• Opting Out of Traditional VC:
  • Able to self-fund thanks to Uber; acknowledges privilege but intentionally stays independent (21:46)
  • “What I have done so far is a VC failure and yet it’s one of the most exciting things I’ve ever done in my life.” (24:39)
  • Sees Wave as a business, not a startup gunning for unicorn status (24:50)
  • “The more people, the more investor dollars…the higher the bar for success is.” (24:39)
  • Ultimate customer-centricity: “The only people I have to please are the customers.” (30:26)

Product Philosophy & Future Vision

• Laser focus on simplicity and polish, especially for a non-technical, real-world-heavy demographic (20:41)
• Don’t need to “change the world”—just serve a subset of users extremely well (08:33, 11:09)
• “All I gotta say is life’s most important moments happen away from your desk.” (25:57)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On ChatGPT Unlocking His Coding Journey:
  “ChatGPT, as funny as it sounds, was sort of a paradigm shift for me because there was now sort of a thing that I could ask every question I would ever think of.” – Josh (02:52)
• On Product Simplicity vs. AI Hype:
  “With AI we’re talking about such leaps and sometimes you just can’t record on your phone…sometimes those very basic things are hard to do.” – Jenny (08:17)
• On the Magic Moment of Technology:
  “Really good tech creates this magic moment really right away…for Uber, it’s the push a button and a car shows up…The first time you see a computer summarize text, that is a magic moment.” – Josh (08:41, 10:11)
• On Building Solo:
  “There’s no structure, just me.” – Josh (12:04) “I like the surprise on everyone’s face when I say I did all the coding.” – Josh (19:39)
• On Measuring Success Differently:
  “What I have done so far is a VC failure and yet it’s one of the most exciting things I’ve ever done in my life.” – Josh (24:39) “The only people I have to please are the customers…if they like what I’m doing and it works for them, then I win. And that’s the whole game.” – Josh (30:26)
• Personal Superpower:
  “If you think about this as a bit the opposite, it’s like I’m much more known for my work on the business side, but I’ve figured out the engineering stuff and now have this business.” – Josh (27:24)
• On True Motivation:
  “I’ve really always felt I never did the zero to one thing…I was the one to end guy and I’ve really never been the zero to one guy. I really would like to do that.” – Josh (29:05)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Josh’s Tech Story/Bio: (00:55–03:59)
• Market Need for Simple AI Apps: (06:39–11:09)
• Solo Building, Learning from Mistakes: (12:07–17:10)
• Philosophy on Growth, Funding, and Opting Out of VC: (17:36–25:57)
• Personal Motivation, Superpower, and Resilience: (26:11–30:26)
• Speed Round (Books, Hacks, Favorite Places): (31:47–33:02)

Speed Round Highlights

• Favorite Podcasts:
  • Making Sense with Matt Harris, Smartless, All In – “I’m a basic tech guy, I’m not afraid to say that.” (31:59)
• Where Would He Live for a Year?
  • Santa Monica or Tel Aviv (32:26)
• Productivity Hack:
  • “Text messaging myself. … Or can I use Wave?” (32:32)
• Where to Find Wave:
  • “Find Wave at Wave Co or in the App Store if you search for Wave AI.” (32:48)

Final Thoughts

This episode is a refreshingly candid look at startup building without the VC treadmill. Josh Mohrer’s story is both an argument for simplicity—both in product and organization—and a reminder that the “magic moment” in tech often lies in serving a basic need for a specific cohort, without unnecessary scale or hype. If you’re interested in founder psychology, lean building, or thoughtful approaches to bringing AI into everyday life, it’s a must-listen.

Find Wave:

• Wave Co
• App Store: Search “Wave AI”

Learn more about Everywhere Ventures:

• Everywhere.vc
• LinkedIn: Everywhere VC
• Substack: Founders Everywhere