In this episode of the Entrepreneurial Thought Leader Seminar at Stanford (ETL), Ravi Balani interviews Garrett Lord, the co-founder and CEO of Handshake. Garrett shares the origin story of Handshake, driven by his personal experiences and a desire to democratize access to opportunities for students from all backgrounds. He discusses the challenges of building a three-sided marketplace, the strategic decision to target universities first, and the hustle required to get initial traction. Garrett also reflects on co-founder relationships, the importance of mission-driven work, and overcoming dark moments, such as early fundraising struggles. He emphasizes the value of talking to customers, continuous learning, and adapting to new challenges, even as the company scales and explores new business opportunities in the AI space.
