Welcome to Billion Dollar Startup, where we bring you visionaries and disruptors who have started scaled, sold, or invested in a billion dollar startup, also known as a unicorn. We also feature tech founders who are building the next billion dollar startup. Billion Dollar Startup is a unique podcast sponsored by Dragon X Capital, the venture capital firm that concentrates on seed and early stage tech companies with the X Factor.

Today on the show, Dan Interviews Amanda Greenberg, the c e o and co-founder of balloon.io. Balloon is a platform that unlocks ideas, insights, and feedback from a team by eliminating groupthink and amplifying unheard voices. Amanda’s background in public health research and behavioral change campaigns for the EPA and C D C under Vice President Joe Biden. Let her to discover that the way we collaborate at work is fundamentally broken. With her expertise in behavioral science and technology, Amanda founded BALLOON to address these issues and make teams more productive, innovative, informed, and inclusive. Today, balloon’s platform is used by large enterprises, professional sports leagues and teams and scaling startups.

Dan Lok:
Welcome to Billion Dollar Startup. This is Dan Locke, the managing partner of Dragon X Capital, a venture capital firm where we invest in early NC stage companies. Today I am super excited to have the co-founder and CEO for Balloon, one of our active portfolio companies joining us. Amanda, welcome to the show.

Amanda Greenberg:
Awesome. Thanks so much for having me, Dan. I’m excited.

Dan Lok:
I want to first congratulate you for Making Inc. Right? Yeah. You know, founder 100, so congrats.

Amanda Greenberg:
Aw, thank you. Yeah, I’m so honored. It’s exciting, exciting to be on a list with such incredible, uh, female founders and entrepreneurs and just creative minds, so thank you.

Dan Lok:
You’re welcome. So maybe share with us about just the story of Balloon. How did you come up with the idea, and then kind of go through how did we get to, like, how do we get to where we are today?

Amanda Greenberg:
Yeah, awesome. So before founding Balloon, I was a public health researcher. So I was developing a national behavior change campaigns for, uh, federal agency, so E P A D O E C D C, et cetera. And it was really in that role that I discovered that are business tools and processes, so meetings, emails, slack surveys, focus groups, et cetera, et cetera. So all these things that we use and do in groups to work together, um, don’t address the way our brains actually work in groups. So how we as humans best share information, share ideas, share feedback, and how we make decisions. And what they don’t account for, of course, are these systemic deep-rooted organizational issues that cost companies billions. They’re really ubiquitous, um, from things like louder, more senior voices, dominating conversations, uh, people holding back their best ideas, their most valuable, authentic feedback, um, group think other costly cognitive biases, plaguing collaboration, plaguing decision making, and then just uninformed leadership.
Like leaders just don’t know what they don’t know and they don’t know how to get access to it. And so, um, identified that problem, experienced it in the workplace, and sought to build a product and a platform from the ground up that leveraged all the research for how you get the best, the most and the most diverse ideas, feedback and insights out of a group. So we first, you know, bootstrapped built kind of m v p of product, uh, obviously creating a new category, uh, got it out there, saw kind of what reception was, and really realized, uh, rather quickly that we really were unlocking something brand new in the market, largest untapped opportunity in the workplace. Um, and from there, we’ve built and grown and, and gotten to where we are today.

Dan Lok:
Hmm. The first couple years, what, what was that like?

Amanda Greenberg:
Yeah, <laugh>, it was pretty, I mean, it was pretty brutal. I think every entrepreneur has those, you know, those first few years story where, uh, you’re really trying to get things off the ground, you’re trying to get some momentum, you know, I always think about it like the world is kind of existing and moving in its motion, and you’re just trying to like insert yourself in it, this kind of motion that’s already happening. And so there of course, is gonna be tons of friction, tons of nos the world likes operating the way it operates. Um, and so it was, it was, you know, it was challenging. We, uh, were really creating something brand new. Um, we knew there was something there. We had such, uh, deep conviction and what we were building. We knew how huge the opportunity is and was. And so that really, uh, created kind of really a lot of grit and a lot of push and a lot of drive to get to where we are.
And, um, you know, I still say we’re just getting started. There’s so much we wanna build and grow and do. Um, but yeah, those first few years are, are always so challenging. So many nos. You don’t have a lot of social proof. You don’t have the yeses yet. You know, people are thinking, what are, oh, you know, what are they doing? They were, they were doing well on this other path. Yeah. Like, what is this thing? And you know, we get emails now and little notes now from people in the, you know, in the early days who were like, oh, okay, you really we’re working on this thing and this really became a thing, and now I get it. Um, so yeah, it’s, it’s brutal I think, for everyone the first few years.

Dan Lok:
Well, Amanda, can you maybe share an example just for our audience? What is, what, what are some of the problems that balloon solves specifically for organizations? And then we won’t talk about some of the clients that you are, we are already working with and we have some fake name clients that we Yeah,

Amanda Greenberg:
Yeah. So in terms of, um, the problem, so there’s obviously all these systemic deep-rooted problems, and we experience them, and everyone sees them every single day in their workplace. When working in a group, you know, meeting where there’s louder, more senior voices dominating conversations, it’s hard to like unlock what’s actually in people’s minds. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, because of a lack of psychological safety in the workplace. Um, you know, people hold back their best ideas, their most valuable, authentic feedback because they don’t feel creatively empowered. Mm-hmm. Um, and then there’s also just logistical challenges where one person can talk at a time in a meeting, their meetings are covered with also anchoring bias, you know, where the first idea confines or limits or influences the rest. Mm-hmm. So how do you make sure that you’re getting everyone’s initial input? How do you make sure you’re bringing more people into the conversation and unlocking that collective intelligence of your team, especially in today’s world where managers and leaders are trying to do so much more with less, and they really need a competitive advantage. Yes. And how do you just tap into more from people and what they have to give and create an environment where they feel comfortable and confident providing that. Mm-hmm.

Dan Lok:
<affirmative>. And then, uh, how long did it take for you to get the first kind of corporate client, like the big name client?

Amanda Greenberg:
Yeah, we got our initial, um, one of our initial customers fairly quickly. So within, I would say the first 11 months as a two person founding team. Yes. Uh, bootstrapped. Yes. And that was a Fortune 50 company. Yes. And so we built first version of product, my co-founder and CTO O Yes. Noah built that first version of the product, you know, got us something that we could sell and test in the market. And they had, um, a bunch of use cases right out the gate, you know, retrospectives, brainstorming, focus groups, market research, et cetera. Um, and so we leveraged kind of our, our network and a lot of grit, like a lot of push to get that initial meeting. We said that we, um, had a bunch of meetings lined up there, but we didn’t, we flew across the country just to meet with them, um, to, you know, just appear bigger and really get that deal done. Mm-hmm.

Dan Lok:
Mm-hmm. And then from, from today, what are, who are some of the clients that we have today?

Amanda Greenberg:
Yeah, so some of our, some of our customers include, um, Amazon, aws, um, TruCar, US Cellular, the New York Mets, uh, Medtronic, et cetera, et cetera. So lots of incredible, uh, names. Uh, also very, we’re a very horizontal industry agnostic products. So, um, we have large enterprise customers, we have scaling startups, we have professional sports teams and leagues, which I’m really excited about the work we’re doing in sports. Um, but really, uh, yeah, really horizontal, really flexible product.

Dan Lok:
And Amanda, do you find that in the beginning, this is kind of an education sale, right? We need to educate the, the organization to use it and then educate their, the team members to use it. Uh, initially, w was there a challenge just to introduce this to the team members, kind of get them immersed, get used to the platform, Hey, why are we using this? Like, why do we need balloon? And how does that work? Like, talk to us about maybe even the onboarding process. That would be, that would be great.

Amanda Greenberg:
Yeah. So I think it was something that’s been one of our big learnings Yes. Over the years from kind of starting point to where we are now, which is, there is a learning part. You know, it’s, it’s a brand new platform, brand new category that we call insight mobility, uh, where we’re enabling insights to move freely, um, across the enterprise. And so when you’re, you know, inserting kind of something new, introducing something new into a company, and you want to really empower that initial champion so they’re not doing all of the onboarding or they don’t absorb a bunch of extra work. And so, um, one of the things that we have since rolled out are facilitated flights and flights are the collaboration experience on Balloon. And we actually have, one of our team members will facilitate a flight with that leader and with, um, the other team members who are gonna be using Balloon.
And so they get kind of the full, um, experience. They’re able to really quickly see the value and the power of the platform. They all feel empowered to ask questions. And what we’ve found is that it’s a huge, uh, just growth strategy as well within a company, a big expansion strategy, because there’s of course all these other leaders within that initial flight and they say, oh, can I use it this way? Can I use it that way within my team? And so then they feel empowered to bring it to their team, but it is something new. I think we were naive at the beginning about how new it was and how much you need to make sure that people feel empowered and confident when using your platform. Um, and that you’re really onboarding in a very deliberate, um, thoughtful way. Mm-hmm.

Dan Lok:
<affirmative>, because I think getting them sign up is one thing, but getting them using it. Cuz once they use it, we know they will experience They love it. Yeah. They love the impact. They’re like, wow. Usually the, the organization’s like, Hey, why didn’t we use this before <laugh>?

Amanda Greenberg:
Yeah. Right. Like, we gotta used this for this other use

Dan Lok:
Case a ago. Yeah. Why did we used this before? Right? Yes. Yeah. And, and do you find that, um, with your go-to-market strategy, has it changed over time or in the beginning it was very, very precise, like, Hey, these are the companies that we want to help. Or did it change over over time?

Amanda Greenberg:
I don’t know if it necessarily changed. I think it definitely evolved is what I would say. Like, we always knew that we wanted balloon to be horizontal. Yes. We wanted it to be industry agnostic. Yes. I think we got more specific about which industries we were targeting first. And I think that even in our wildest dreams, there were in industries that were interested in us and use us who we didn’t necessarily envision at first. Mm-hmm. So, um, I think a great example of this is, uh, professional sports teams. Yes. So we were featured in, uh, the Ringer and obviously, you know, a sports publication. And we had, uh, operations, baseball operations and assistant, uh, GMs reach out to us. And they were, you know, they were asking, can we use this for scouting? Can we use this for drafting? And that was a use case that we hadn’t originally, um, envisioned.
And so I think that, uh, through our customers and through, um, companies envisioning ways to bring our product to them, I would say that our go-to-market expanded, it evolved. Um, you know, we’re always focused on getting an initial market leader within an industry using us, really building that partnership, developing a testimonial and a case study that we can then use to bring on others within that same industry. Um, you know, we’ve been really deliberate as well in creating a customer advisory board, which I would highly recommend any startup or growing company do, because you just bring your customers so close to you and they really are helping to, um, inform the next stages of the company. They’re telling you in a very honest way what they like, what they don’t like, what they need more of all those different pieces

Dan Lok:
Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And also now I know, uh, balloon, we work with different influencers, some big things, influencers. Yes. Talk to us about that.

Amanda Greenberg:
Yeah. So we always envisioned, um, I think this is part of that evolution and expansion we always envisioned, um, having the high, you know, getting the highest quality information on balloon, how do you unlock it? And of course, one of the requirements of unlocking highest information, best idea, highest quality information, best ideas from a group or a team or a company, is high quality questions. And making sure that the questions are asked in a really deliberate, thoughtful, research backed way. And so we thought there’s no better way to do that than to bring in leaders and experts and researchers to co-create templates, um, in product. So we’ve done partnerships with Adam Grant and Daniel Pink and Ariana Huffington, um, Annie Duke, we just launched her flight cohort. Um, and so this is translating those different frameworks into question sets on balloon that leaders can use, um, and either edit and customize to make more applicable to their teams or companies. But it also, um, alongside just driving better outcomes for customers and unlocking higher quality information, it also just contributed to greater brand credibility, not only for us across kind of the industry in terms of who we were partnering with, but also for the initial champions bringing us into a company. Because when they’re introducing a new product that’s brand new, you know, and they can say, Hey, look, we’re doing this flight template by Adam Grant, or we’re doing this flight template by Daniel Pink. There’s a lot of credibility there. Um, yeah. So we’ve been

Dan Lok:
Excited. Right. Initially

Amanda Greenberg:
Helps. Yes, totally. It’s so powerful, um, especially for a startup.

Dan Lok:
Yes. And let’s say a a, a startup founder listening to this, watching this, uh, how did you get the first initial, because these are big names, these are like world class thought leaders. How did you get, get your foot in the door? How did you get them to say yes? Like what, what, what, what did you do?

Amanda Greenberg:
Yeah, so this was a big push. Uh, I always say it’s, uh, be persistent, but not annoying, which is, uh, advice given to me.

Dan Lok:
It’s a fine line.

Amanda Greenberg:
<laugh>. Yeah, there’s a fine line, very fine line. So I think always be very polite. Um, but also very persistent. You know, some of these, to get some of these, um, some of these individuals on board, you know, it, it was 30 to 40 emails, you know, huge level of push, um, to get those initial yeses. So I think that’s one thing is just being really, really persistent. And I can even look back and to get, you know, to get to some of these, it took so many different paths and so many intro requests, just trying to find the right path and keeping them updated and like, just a big, big push. So I think that’s one piece is just you have to be really persistent, really polite, um, highlight what’s in it for them, which is, you know, making their frameworks widely applicable to companies and bringing it down.
And that was a big selling point Yes. For these partnerships for different individuals. And then I think also, um, you know, making it a really light lift, making it the lightest lift imaginable for someone mm-hmm. <affirmative>, because these individuals are so busy, they have so many competing, uh, demands on their schedules and on their timing. And so when you have an opportunity to make it a light lift for them and show them, you know, how great you are with a quality of the work your team does, um, and you make it hard for them to say no, then yes. Um, and that’s been, that’s been the trick. And also I think getting, you know, you get one, then you get two, then you get three, and they really start to, the

Dan Lok:
First one is the

Amanda Greenberg:
Hardest. The first one’s really the hardest. You get the first one is the hardest. It’s so hard. Yeah. And you get so much feedback too, though, right? Like, you’re getting in front of them and you can hear, Hey, what are their holdups? What can we make easier for the next pitch? Et cetera. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> one first one’s the hardest

Dan Lok:
Idea. And then, and then you can leverage the first one. Hey, yeah. You know Adam in it, right? You know, he’s, she’s already in it. Oh, maybe I should be in it.

Amanda Greenberg:
Yeah, exactly.

Dan Lok:
Now, now I assume it’s get, it gets a lot easier

Amanda Greenberg:
Now. A lot easier. Yeah. And we’re more confident we know the approach, we know the process.

Dan Lok:
Totally. Are you think of adding even more thought leaders is a part of the plan?

Amanda Greenberg:
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, we want every thought leader on balloon as a template creator. We want this to be the highest quality question set for group discussions that are only available on balloon. Um, and we also want to get more broad too. You know, we want to, uh, bring in different industries, really specific experts as well for different buyer types, um, is something we’re working on. And we also are building, um, customer created templates as well. So we have customers in there who are building their own templates and also building their expertise in their area that can be used within their own company or beyond, um, with other leaders. So,

Dan Lok:
So let’s say within a company, there’s a cohort or there’s a team here. The, the, the collaboration, it’s doing great. They have a set of questions, a certain process, Hey, why don’t we use it for this division? Or for exactly that part of the companies, well, or, or the international division, who knows, right?

Amanda Greenberg:
Yeah, exactly. So even locking some of those templates within companies is something we’re working on as well. So if there’s an area that, you know, has an expert, like an innovation team mm-hmm. <affirmative>, and they want everyone within the company to be using this framework for innovation, how do you make that available to everyone? Um, everyone there?

Dan Lok:
Yes. And do you see that in the ns, like during, let’s say during, during covid, right? When, when covid happened, did it impact balloon or uh, did you ha did you have to pivot or did you not have to pivot, just kind of staying on course, Hey, this is what we’re doing, this works. We don’t need to change a, change a thing.

Amanda Greenberg:
Yeah. I would say that we didn’t have to pivot. I think we became, um, more relevant in many ways. Yes. I think the, um, pitch because of

Dan Lok:
The remote nature

Amanda Greenberg:
Yeah. The remote nature, the, um, hybrid nature. I think, um, the need for teams to figure out new ways of working and thinking became so important. And how do you engage people who are, um, distributed and remote? How do you bring them into the conversation? And also the number of meetings skyrocketed, you know, at the height of the pandemic everyone was having meeting after meeting, after meeting. And how do you kind of streamline those different processes? So I think we became much more relevant. Our, our vision as a brand and as a company is to never be trendy. You know, we built this to align with the research and the science for how you, uh, get the most out of a group or a team of people. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> and those biases and those dynamics and those different, um, problems and challenges never change. You know, the baseline is always the same. And, um, covid and people being distributed and, you know, a huge pandemic, uh, really highlighted these challenges for people and teams.

Dan Lok:
And I think also when working with remote, I remember when Covid happened, the, a lot of just entrepreneurs found us reach out to me and kind of the, the, in terms of, oh, how, how, how do we work now? Like most of my team members, they’re in the off in an office. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> now they’re working remote. I don’t know how to lead the team. I don’t know how to manage them. Right. They, are they sharing ideas? Are they working like the synergy or all of that? And I, I’m fortunate because I’ve been doing remote before. Remote was even a thing probably 15, 16 years ago.

Amanda Greenberg:
Wow. Yeah. Yeah.

Dan Lok:
A long time ago. Yeah. Um, and so when it happened, it wasn’t like, oh, I don’t know what to do. It’s like, we’ve been doing this. I have an office, but also working remote for a long time. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. But I think for balloon, a lot of companies, they will see the value of, like from, I think before Covid it was more like, and correct me if I’m wrong, it’s like, oh, it’s, it’s, it’s, it’s good. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, it’s a nice idea. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> versus during Covid or after Covid, okay, we need this in this

Amanda Greenberg:
Summer, we need this. Right?

Dan Lok:
Yeah. Like, this is not a nice to have. It’s kind of like a must have. Yes. Did you see that?

Amanda Greenberg:
Yeah, absolutely. And I think our, you know, we saw with our existing customers as well, they expanded, they doubled down on like the technology on mm-hmm. <affirmative>, what they were using and doing. And it became just so a why now? It just so mission critical. Um, and even, even now with so much uncertainty, what we’re seeing is teams need a competitive advantage. Like, they want to win, they need a way to do that. And they need a way to, to leverage, to leverage their team.

Dan Lok:
And they need to learn from each other faster, collaborate faster. Yes. Be able to work together faster, to be more efficient. Right? Yes. Yeah. That is the competitive advantage.

Amanda Greenberg:
Totally. Yes. There’s no time or room or space for a lack of knowledge sharing. Hmm.

Dan Lok:
Now, Amanda, looking back so far, what we’ve built, and by the way, I do wanna ask cuz uh, I do get this question a lot cuz you work with your husband, right?

Amanda Greenberg:
Yes, I do. Yes. Okay. My co-founder.

Dan Lok:
Yes. The co-founder. And, and I’ve coached so many entrepreneurs. Now I work with my wife Jenny as well, right? Yes. We we’re together almost 24 7 for many, many years. Yes. Uh, cuz usually a couple business part, either it’s phenomenal or it’s a disaster. Right. <laugh> totally. <laugh>. Totally. So what was that like, uh, in the beginning? Did you guys argue? Like, how, how did you manage that?

Amanda Greenberg:
Yeah, I think we, I feel really fortunate. I think, and I know you can relate to this, Dan, I think it’s just really works. And when it works, I think it is a really big competitive advantage. Yes. Because you just know all the complimentary parts of each other. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> and, you know, I think that Noah and I know each other so well. I mean, we grew up together. We’ve known each other since we were five and six years old. Wow. Um, so we really just know how to work and operate together. Yeah. And I can’t imagine founding a company with anyone else. You know, I think married or not, Noah and I are great co-founders mm-hmm. <affirmative>, and we always think about that. You know, we feel so fortunate that we get to do this together because it’s so, we’re so complimentary. I think, um, it’s really important to have a co-founder who is, um, really complimentary in terms of skillset, but really aligned in terms of principles and core values around work ethic and around drive and around goals. And so I think, um, you find a lot of those things in marriage as well. Yes. Um, so I think it’s a natural, a natural

Dan Lok:
And, and I think nothing like helps a couple better to be, if you guys are building something together, grow together. Right. Because I’ve seen couple where totally, let’s say, let’s say husband or wife, they’re building a company, being a being an entrepreneur, right? Yeah. And then the other one is just, you know, doing something else. Oh,

Amanda Greenberg:
Totally. Yeah. Oh, I think it would be so hard.

Dan Lok:
It would be hard. Like, why are you working so hard? Why are you like traveling? Like, why are you not spending time with me? And like all of that, one of the one of the saying I have is I said, you will only be as successful as your spouse allows you to be.

Amanda Greenberg:
Oh gosh. Yes. Oh my gosh. It’s so true. Yes.

Dan Lok:
And in this case, you guys are on the same page growing together Yes. And complimentary skills.

Amanda Greenberg:
Totally. Yes. Like that’s awesome. Such a good point. Yeah, it’s such a good point.

Dan Lok:
Uh, so what advice would you have for young founders if thinking about they’re just getting started now, being a founder, running a company, uh, what would you say to them?

Amanda Greenberg:
I would say first, don’t wait. Like, there’s never gonna be a perfect time. Um, you just have to jump in because you’re gonna learn so much, so quickly and you really will get in your way, your own way if you wait. So I think, and I, you know, I think that I, that’s how I am to this day as a company. You know, let’s launch it. Let’s get it out there. We’re gonna learn so much. We’re we gotta get going. We gotta learn, learn, learn. Um, so I think that that’s the number one piece. You know, time is a huge advantage. So getting something out there quickly and being really brave and brazen and how you launch things, um, I think is really important. And then I also think, you know, grit is so important. You have to really push through everything. There’s endless obstacles, <laugh>, um, endless.
Yes. And you just have to be able to handle it. And, um, someone told me that entrepreneurship is like a journey in, you know, it’s just a journey and to learning so much about yourself and how fast you have to level up as a person and really, uh, learn so much about yourself and adjust and, um, improve is humbling at times. Um, but I think that there’s nothing greater. I, I I just think there’s nothing greater than seeing, uh, your vision come to life and seeing customers and companies and people use something that you built and you imagined and you pushed forward. Um, and so I say, you know, just do it. You have to jump in. Um, but I think picking something, not even picking something, I always say that like, balloon chose us. You know, we didn’t really choose balloon. Yes. You have to really have such a, a core passion about what you’re building and that gets you through everything. Um, and it, it really just, people can feel that. They can sense that and they know it.

Dan Lok:
Yes. Yes. And whenever we talk to founders, and of course we, we get pitch deck all every day. Oh. The time
Founders looking for funding. And, but the first thing I think we look for is the clarity on the vision, but also is there a personal story? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, like, we want know, why are we, why are you doing this? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, right? We want to hear like, why are you doing this? Uh, if there’s some personal connection with, Hey, I wanna solve this problem because of something personal happening their lives mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And unfortunately, sometimes it could be a problem, sometimes it could be a tragedy, right? Mm-hmm. <affirmative> something significant in their lives mm-hmm. <affirmative> and, Hey, I want to do something about this problem mm-hmm. <affirmative>, and I’m not gonna let it go until this is solved.

Amanda Greenberg:
Right? Yeah.

Dan Lok:
Then that’s what we want to hear,

Amanda Greenberg:
Right? Yes. It’s obsession. Yeah.

Dan Lok:
Yeah. It, it’s some sort of obsession because we know how tough it is. <laugh>.

Amanda Greenberg:
Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Yeah. You get it.

Dan Lok:
Yeah. We know how hard it is. If it’s not an obsession, it it ain’t gonna work. Yeah. Six months. Are you into it? Oh man, this is too hard. <laugh>. Yeah. Done. Done. I like, why am I doing this? Yeah. Why am I emailing a thought leader 50 times? <laugh>. Yeah. Right. Why do I need to count on fly for meeting that may not turn out to be anything. Yeah, right. It has to be an obsession. It, it must be. Yeah. Totally. Yeah. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, Amanda, what are, what are maybe some of the fears you have as a C E O?

Amanda Greenberg:
Ooh, that’s, that’s such a great question, Dan. I have to think about it. I think, um, some of the fears, right? Some of the fears I have, I think, uh, my, my greatest fear I, not my greatest fear, but one of my fears is that, um, I don’t want us to ever get in our own way of building balloon into what it could be, uh, you know, and what it will be. And so I think that that’s a really important piece is just, uh, I always challenge myself to be thinking as big and as aggressively as I can and to not get cut up in other things, you know, uh, a minute problem or a today problem or an hour problem, but really be focused on planting the seeds, fertilizing the seeds so that you can really have the big impact. And so that’s something I would say that I’m always challenging myself in. And so I think that that’s probably the base of that is some fear, um, in terms of, uh, operation because I, you know, I think that, uh, what we’ve built and the impact of the product and the vision and all of it’s there, and so I think really bringing that and scaling it, um, is a, is a key driver.

Dan Lok:
Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So living. So last question. What’s your vision for Balloon in the next three years?

Amanda Greenberg:
Ooh. Okay. I love it. I love it, Dan. Um, so our vision is to be used by every team and company in the world that we’re the first place they go when they need ideas, feedback, insights, information out of a group, kind of independent of that use case that we have unlocked the highest quality, most true data set in the world, um, with the best ideas, the best feedback that can fuel better decisions, fuel better products, uh, fuel better outcomes. So just a broad ubiquitous everywhere company that’s driving tons and tons and tons of value. Um, and, you know, I think that we’ll know when we really hit that goal, when a company looks foolish to not use balloon, you know, it’s like you’re not using Balloon. Yeah, exactly. You’re not using balloon. What are you thinking? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Um, yeah. So that’s our, that’s our vision.

Dan Lok:
I, I love it. I love it. And for our, uh, let’s say any organization, if they want to learn more of a balloon, uh, what’s the best way to do that?

Amanda Greenberg:
Yeah, you can, uh, sign up for a [email protected], um, and we’ll get you all set up.

Dan Lok:
Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And if, uh, we have founders, if they wanna get in touch with you, what’s the best way to, to connect?

Amanda Greenberg:
Yeah, you can, uh, I mean, you can email me directly. I’m really open in that way, [email protected]. Um, also, uh, you know, message me on, on Twitter, I’m at AK Greenberg there, um, and then LinkedIn as well.

Dan Lok:
Well, thank you. Thank you, Amanda. Thank you for being on the show and keep up the good work.

Amanda Greenberg:
Awesome. Thank you so much for having me, Dan. I loved it.

Dan Lok:
Thank you. Thank you.

We appreciate you joining us for this episode of Billion Dollars Startup. Be sure to rate, review and subscribe to the show and visit dragon x.com for more resources based on today’s topic, as well as for access to previous episodes. That’s dragon x.com. Thank you for listening.