First Block: Interview with Garrett Lord, Co-Founder and CEO of Handshake

In this episode of First Block, Garrett Lord, the co-founder and CEO of Handshake, shares his founding story and the journey of building his company. He discusses the initial struggles, including living out of a car while trying to sign up universities, and the resilience required to overcome the fear of failure. Garrett emphasizes the importance of talent density and creating a strong company culture, even suggesting erring on the side of being "too over the top" about expectations to encourage self-selection. He also delves into the creation of Handshake AI, a company within a company, and the need for founders to adapt and acquire new skills as their company evolves, balancing micro-interest with empowering executives. Garrett advises early-stage founders to focus on talent and culture, and to "go big" in their ventures, especially in the current AI-driven economy.