Crucible Moments

Palo Alto Networks ft Nir Zuk & Nikesh Arora - The Grudge That Transformed Cybersecurity

In the early 2000s, the cybersecurity industry was dominated by incumbents focused on high margins, not innovation. Nir Zuk tells the story of how, frustrated by this stagnant culture, he set out on his own with a radical idea: the Next-Generation Firewall. His vision was to unify dozens of security functions into a single, intelligent platform delivered via cloud—an approach everyone thought was crazy. Palo Alto Networks started as a disruptive startup with Nir sporting a "Check Point Killer" vanity license plate, and grew to dominate cybersecurity. We explore the crucible moments that defined its path: the controversial decision to insist on being a new kind of "firewall" vs. a “firewall helper,” the challenge of scaling a hyper-growth company, and the critical pivot from building everything in-house to current CEO Nikesh Arora’s aggressive acquisition strategy that remade the company for the cloud era. Nir, Nikesh, and the core leadership team offer a masterclass in product conviction, strategic transformation, and the courage to disrupt yourself before the market does it for you. Featuring: Nir Zuk, Nikesh Arora, Lee Klarich, Rajiv Batra, Mark McLaughlin, Jim Goetz, Asheem Chandra  Hosted by: Roelof Botha, Sequoia Capital

Bolt ft. Markus Villig - From Bootstrapping in Estonia to a Global Leader in Mobility

At 19, Markus Villig borrowed €5,000 from his parents to fix Estonia's broken taxi system. What happened next defied every conventional startup playbook.  Markus started by making fleet dispatch software for local taxi companies. But when it became clear they weren’t embracing the on-demand revolution, he pivoted the business to ride-hailing for drivers, competing directly against what had been his core customer. The product took off in Estonia. But when Bolt's first expansion into Western Europe nearly bankrupted the company, Markus and team made another counterintuitive pivot: they built a data model that pointed to African cities no one else was targeting. They launched in Johannesburg remotely with a university student and a credit card. While investors warned against emerging markets, Bolt's data proved them wrong. This episode chronicles Bolt's inflection points to become the number-one ridehailing and delivery app across much of Europe, Africa and the Middle East by treating expansion as "a portfolio of bets" and staying ruthlessly pragmatic about what works. Featuring: Markus Villig, Jevgeni Kabanov, Pavel Karagjaur, Andrew Reed Hosted by: Roelof Botha, Sequoia Capital

Supercell ft Ilkka Paananen - How an Early Pivot Led to ‘Clash of Clans’ and ‘Brawl Stars’

Founder and CEO Ilkka Paananen set out to create a different kind of game company—one where the game development teams would have decision-making power, not upper management. Ilkka recalls the early decision to scrap their first game and the entire cross-platform strategy that had landed them a Series A financing in order to make a counterintuitive pivot and focus exclusively on mobile. The decision launched one of gaming's most remarkable success stories: By obsessing over quality and treating failures as learning opportunities, Supercell created enduring hits like “Clash of Clans,” “Hay Day,” and “Brawl Stars,” and defined a new standard for mobile gaming. But success brought new challenges. By 2023, Supercell had slipped from the top 10 mobile publishers for the first time in a decade. Ilkka reveals how the company reinvented itself yet again to set a record-breaking year in 2024, and discusses Supercell’s future in the AI era. Featuring: Ilkka Paananen, Maya Hoffree, Joost van Dreunen Hosted by: Roelof Botha, Sequoia Capital

Zipline ft Keller Cliffton - Reinventing Delivery with Instant Drone Transport

In 2014, Keller Cliffton made an audacious pivot: shut down his robotic toy company and rebuild it as an autonomous drone delivery system for life-saving medical supplies. Investors were skeptical: The team knew nothing about drones, healthcare, or logistics. But they pushed forward anyway. This is the story of Zipline's journey from near-death to delivering blood to remote hospitals in Rwanda, battling volatile weather and regulatory hurdles, and eventually becoming a global leader in autonomous delivery: This year Zipline began delivering household items directly to front doors with its new Platform 2 in the US for the likes of Walmart and Chipotle. From fixing broken launchers at 3 AM before the Rwandan president's visit to winning unprecedented FAA approval, Zipline's founders bet everything—multiple times—on their vision. Their story proves that if you just keep going, even when everyone's written you off, you can build something truly transformational. Host: Roelof Botha, Sequoia Capital Featuring: Keller Cliffton, Keenan Wyrobek, Ryan Oxenhorn, Maggie Jim, Alfred Lin

Crucible Moments Season 3: Coming October 23

Previously on Crucible Moments, we explored the inflection points that shaped some of the most significant names in technology. Now, we're returning for a brand new season. Join us as leaders from Stripe, Zipline, Palo Alto Networks, Klarna, Supercell and more share what it's actually like to navigate the make-or-break decisions, early stumbles and leaps that turn scrappy startups into market defining forces. Hosted by: Roelof Botha, Sequoia Capital