How Linear’s Karri Saarinen is Redefining What Scale Looks Like | S2Bonus | Spotlight On | AccelVC

Most Y Combinator graduates and Forbes’ Top 50 AI companies use Linear’s project management suite to build their software. It's no accident that this purpose-built tool is beloved by engineers for its quality and ease of use. But the company’s path to success hasn’t followed the same hyper-growth playbook its founders experienced in their previous roles at Airbnb, Uber, and Coinbase—and that’s entirely by design. In this bonus episode of Spotlight On Season 2, Karri Saarinen, CEO and Co-founder of Linear, joins host Miles Clements to share the unique principles that have fueled the company's rise. Karri shares why prioritizing quality doesn’t mean perfectionism, how to raise funding when you don’t need cash, how Linear disrupted an existing category and continues to grow through a relentless focus on end-user needs, what most product teams get wrong about intuition, why he thinks scaling should be about building the highest functioning team instead of the biggest organization—and how his hiring strategy reflects that belief. Whether you’re a first-time founder, an established executive, or just care about building great products, we’re sure you’ll find some inspiration from our conversation with Karri. #vc #venturecapital #founder #entrepreneurs #tech #CEO #linear #startupstories #startups Season 2: Hear from Chainalysis, Crowdstrike, Monte Carlo, Klaviyo, Linear, Wonder, and more on this season of Spotlight On. Established and rising leaders across both private and public sectors discuss the challenges and opportunities of building companies in today’s rapidly changing technology landscape. Spotlight On: Spotlight On examines the technology shaping our world. Highlighting a new topic each season, company builders at all stages of company growth will share their learnings, challenges, and breakthroughs. Accel: Accel is a global venture capital firm that is the first partner to exceptional teams everywhere, from inception through all phases of private company growth. Atlassian, Bumble, CrowdStrike, Fiverr, Flipkart, Freshworks, Qualtrics, Scale, Segment, Slack, Spotify, Squarespace, Tenable, and UiPath are among the companies Accel has backed over the past 40+ years. We help ambitious entrepreneurs build iconic global businesses. Featured: Karri Saarinen, CEO and Co-founder of Linear; Miles Clements, Host Conversation Highlights: 00:00 – Introduction to Linear's vision and purpose 01:17 – The importance of simple strategies executed well 03:00 – Most project management tools are built for the wrong end user 05:20 – Why achieving profitability and fundraising are both a part of Linear’s strategy 09:50 – The 'Linear way' and what product teams get wrong about intuition 19:04 – To achieve both speed and quality, abandon perfectionism 22:37 – Allowing customer feedback to guide product design roadmaps 28:15 – The role of taste in hiring practices and team culture 31:27 – Three practices for hiring only high-performers 37: 30 – Thinking about scale as a function of performance instead of size 42:37 – What’s next for Linear Connect With Us: Website: https://www.accel.com/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/accel-vc Twitter: https://twitter.com/accel How Linear’s Karri Saarinen is Redefining What Scale Looks Like | S2Bonus | Spotlight On | AccelVC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0Yq2fcfq2Y