Ronit Batra

Growth Eng @ Listen Labs

[kuz @kylekuzma]

I will be breaking my silence soon & going on TBPN to discuss the future of AI, autonomous defense, robotics and biotech and energy infrastructure

@sama, let me know if you want to meet after. We are still in the early innings of American Dynamism. Much to discuss 🤝 🎥

[Arsenal @Arsenal]

BUKAYOOOOOO!

[Ronit Batra @_RonitB]

OH MY GOD IT WAS WORTH IT

[Ronit Batra @_RonitB]

He should’ve been a wizard💔💔

[Ronit Batra @_RonitB]

Let's Goooooo

[Sonith @_sonith]

My conversation with @immad, CEO and co-founder of @mercury.

Immad's story is so unique yet largely underdiscussed. His father owned a mechanic shop and his mom was a teacher. After immigrating to the US, he spent nearly a decade pivoting before finally selling his first company for 45M. We dug into the sheer pain tolerance required to pivot constantly and still find sources of motivation, something many early-stage founders don't hear about enough.

From there, Mercury got off the ground — but with a unique twist. Immad generally doesn't work weekends and has still built one of the most successful fintechs. This goes entirely against Twitter hype that promotes working every waking hour, and Immad's clarity on this topic was refreshing. He feels like he's "playing the bonus levels" and is still just getting started.

Mercury is now worth multiple billions of dollars with 500M+ in recurring revenue, 10 consecutive quarters of profitability, and still growing 40% YoY. I hope you enjoy this conversation, Immad's clarity on company building, and learning about his life.

PS. As quite the ending, Immad & I tried Habanero hot sauce off his conference room table!

Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
2:11 Growing Up in Pakistan And Moving to London
6:37 "Yelp For London" and Early Entrepreneurial Endeavors
10:45 Pivoting From Flash Games to Mobile Ad Networks
12:15 Selling a Company After 8 Years of Pivoting
16:42 Thank You to Macroscope and Timeless Partners
17:56 Meeting His Wife Through Facebook
19:09 Finding Your Life’s Work
22:35 The Origins of Mercury
26:44 The Importance of Design at Mercury
27:37 How Mercury Landed Its Initial Customers
29:12 Raising Mercury's Seed Round
31:09 The Choice to Not Work Weekends
34:58 Immad's Best Startup Ideas
36:15 Are There Moats with AI?
38:05 Mercury’s 10-year vision
39:50 From Angel Investing to Formalizing a New Fund
42:13 Paul Graham's Influence
44:33 Parenting Philosophy
46:01 Sources of Happiness
46:52 Immad & I Taste Hot Sauce Off a Conference Table!

[Ronit Batra @_RonitB]

this is sick

[Sonith @_sonith]

My conversation with @kayvz, co-founder of Macroscope and Periscope.

We talk about selling for $120M pre-launch to @dickc at Twitter, turning down @elonmusk, getting trolled by Kobe Bryant and much more.

His family immigrated to the Bay Area from Iran and he grew up an aspiring filmmaker. With a push from his mom, however, he toured and eventually got admitted to Stanford.

This led to a series of software startups with his best friends and eventual acquisitions from Blackboard and Twitter. He led product there and eventually (graciously) turned down Elon to co-found Macroscope.

Kayvon is an incredible storyteller, family man, & product mind. And while his accomplishments are many, he's an even better person.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
1:54 Fleeing the Iranian Revolution to California
4:32 How Gaming Sparked a Career in Tech
8:28 Growing Up With 12 Kids
12:32 Pissing Off an Apple Exec with a Jailbroken iPhone 4:29 From a Cardboard Sign to Winning Emmys
19:20 Building Software While Skipping Class
20:53 Selling $100k Apps to Best Buy & HP
22:32 Getting Acquired Over a Spam Call
27:03 The Importance of Passion
34:21 The Origins of Periscope
39:20 Scott Belsky Invented "Teleportation"
43:20 Six Months of Failed Designs
47:33 Selling to Twitter Before Launching
54:07 Trolled by Kobe Bryant
57:41 Turning Down Elon Musk
01:01:54 Founding Macroscope
01:10:21 His Two Most Consequential Life Decisions

[frank golden @goldensthoughts]

we've found our best interns always crash on their sister's nyc couch... scrappy mofos i tell ya

[Ronit Batra @_RonitB]

@_sonith The sagun incident

[Ronit Batra @_RonitB]

@_sonith Chatty

[shoob. @shoooobb]

art of wall. @JohnWall ❤️

[Ronit Batra @_RonitB]

@jakemalasek Bro you need to leave

[Ronit Batra @_RonitB]

@_sonith @HudsonJung391 Let’s gooo

[Ronit Batra @_RonitB]

@_sonith sendyyyyyy

[Wahoo Global Takeover @WahooGlobal]

Georgia Tech: “Undefeated in conference play, wow this is a breeze! Haynes for Heisman!”

Virginia Cavaliers Subplot:

[Ronit Batra @_RonitB]

@_sonith bro this song sucks

[Virginia Cavaliers @VirginiaSports]

🗣️ WAHOOS STAY POPPIN

@TheoVon called it

#GoHoos

[Virginia Football @UVAFootball]

𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝟓 🎥 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐩

#GoHoos 🔶⚔️🔷

[Ryan Hammer🔨 @ryanhammer09]

COURT (FIELD) RUSH GRADE: 10/10

NO NOTES. THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE. The speed is something I’ve never seen before in my life. Go off UVA 🫡

[Virginia Football @UVAFootball]

𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐬.

’95 Throwbacks 🔥

#GoHoos 🔶⚔️🔷

[College Basketball Headquarters @CBBheadquarters]

🔙 Way Back Wednesday 🔙

2018–19 Virginia Cavaliers
🎯 Star Players: Kyle Guy, Ty Jerome, De’Andre Hunter
🔥 Supporting Cast: Mamadi Diakite, Braxton Key, Kihei Clark
🧑‍🏫 Coach: Tony Bennett
📈 Record: 36–3 (16–2 ACC)

⸻

🧵 Their journey that season ⬇️

[Hoop Herald @TheHoopHerald]

Nasty short clock set used by Virginia coach Tony Bennett

(Via @John_Zall 🎥)