Minus One

As AI models become more powerful, safety is emerging as one of the defining challenges of our time. 
Rahul Patil, CTO at Anthropic, joins SPC Partner Ankit Chowdhary to discuss why they prioritize AI safety above all else, how the company thinks about building reliable and trustworthy AI models, and the tradeoffs between speed, scale, and responsibility in the age of exponential growth. Rahul also shares his journey growing up in Bangalore, how he first fell in love with computer science, and advice for young builders navigating the current tech landscape. 
This conversation was recorded on the 17th of February, 2026. 
Rahul Patil: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahul-patil-a0944836/ 

Ankit Chowdhary: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ankitcc/ 

South Park Commons: https://www.linkedin.com/company/southparkcommons/

Apply to SPC: https://www.southparkcommons.com/apply

CHAPTERS:
(00:00:00) - Introduction + Rahul’s Core Philosophy
(00:01:18) - Early Life: Falling in Love with Computer Science
(00:03:07) - The “Minus One” Mindset: Curiosity Over Competition
(00:05:24) - Chasing Exponential Trends and Scaled Impact
(00:09:22) - Building for Dependability (Not Just Speed)
(00:12:03) - Startup Tradeoffs: Speed vs. Safety (And Why It’s a False Choice)
(00:18:17) - Why He Joined Anthropic (AI as the Biggest Shift Yet)
(00:29:08) - Scaling Laws, Breakthroughs, and What Builders Should Do Now
(00:42:20) - What Keeps Him Up at Night: The Next 100 Years in 5

Elad Gil, investor and author of High Growth Handbook, sits down with South Park Commons Partner Aditya Agarwal to challenge some of Silicon Valley’s favorite startup myths. He talks about why you might not actually need a cofounder, why data alone isn’t much of a moat, and how the strongest companies build real defensibility while others quietly fall behind.
Elad also walks us through his approach to exit hygiene, what the Slack vs. Teams battle says about the power of incumbents, and why some of the worst advice in Silicon Valley isn’t directed at struggling startups but the ones already winning. 
Elad Gil: https://x.com/eladgil 
Aditya Agarwal: https://x.com/adityaag 
South Park Commons: https://www.linkedin.com/company/southparkcommons/
Apply to SPC: https://www.southparkcommons.com/apply

Chapters:(00:01:31) - Approaches to starting a company in the age of AI(00:05:03) - The cofounder fallacy (00:06:22) - Winning is the only startup culture that matters(00:08:00) - Why more markets are open right now than ever before(00:10:14) - The oligopoly market (00:21:13) - Product surface area beats data as a real competitive moat(00:24:12) - The failure mode no one discusses: bad advice for working companies(00:32:11) - How many Jensen Huangs are hiding in plain sight right now?(00:40:08) - Pre-scheduling exit conversations as annual board hygiene(00:43:54) - Why micromanagement is actually underrated

Grant Lee, cofounder and CEO of Gamma, joins South Park Commons General Partner Jonathan Brebner to discuss how his AI storytelling platform is taking on PowerPoint and Google Slides. Grant shares how Gamma survived the Silicon Valley Bank collapse, how they stayed lean while scaling to a $2B valuation, and why he believes “different beats better” when competing against entrenched incumbents. He also gets into the role of storytelling in product, hiring, and growth—and why publishing content (and pushing through "cringe valley") might be the most underrated thing a founder can do.
Grant Lee: https://www.linkedin.com/in/grantslee/ 
Jonathan Brebner: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-brebner/
South Park Commons: https://www.linkedin.com/company/southparkcommons/

Apply to SPC: https://www.southparkcommons.com/apply

Chapters:
(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:02:41) - The Frustration With Slides That Sparked Gamma
(00:04:02) - Reuniting With Co-Founders From Optimizely
(00:08:46) - The Real Competition: Behavior Change
(00:10:37) - The ‘Bet the Company’ Moment and the SVB Crisis
(00:14:43) - Why Gamma Built a Lean Team and Hires Slowly
(00:17:49) - Why Storytelling Is a Core Founder Skill
(00:20:51) - How Gamma Balances AI Automation With Human Creativity
(00:23:40) - Why Founders Must Survive “Cringe Valley”
(00:31:17) - Building Gamma for Prosumer and Enterprise Growth

When Tony Xu cofounded DoorDash 13 years ago, he was rejected by more than 100 investors. Today, it’s a $70B+ behemoth dominating the delivery industry. 
Tony joins SPC General Partner Aditya Agarwal to reveal how DoorDash won the delivery war and answer the burning question of whether AI agents pose a threat to his company. He also shares why customer obsession became the company’s guiding principle, the challenges of digitizing the physical world, and how startups today can build competitive advantages in the age of AI. 
Tony Xu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/xutony/ 
Aditya Agarwal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adityaagarwal3/
South Park Commons: https://www.linkedin.com/company/southparkcommons/

Apply to SPC: https://www.southparkcommons.com/apply
Chapters:
(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:01:00) - Becoming a founder
(00:11:48) - Implementing AI and customer obsession
(00:18:22) - Is AI a threat to DoorDash?
(00:21:29) - Digitizing the physical world
(00:25:31) - Company culture and values
(00:31:33) - Tony’s unpopular business opinion
(00:37:42) - How to stay curious and motivated
(00:39:31) - Preparing children for the new age
(00:42:47) - Audience Q&A

In 2018, Andrew Yang warned that automation would destabilize society by displacing millions of jobs. Eight years later, he says the crisis is no longer hypothetical—"you're already seeing it."
Andrew joins his early mentor, SPC General Partner Mark Jacobstein, and Aditya Agarwal to unpack where we go from here: what UBI looks like in practice, why white-collar workers are more exposed than he originally thought, why tech founders should get more involved in politics (but not necessarily run for office), and why his new company Noble Mobile will pay you to spend less time on your phone.
Andrew Yang: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewyangvfa/
Aditya Agarwal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adityaagarwal3/
Mark Jacobstein: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markjacobstein/
South Park Commons: https://www.linkedin.com/company/southparkcommons/
Apply to SPC: https://www.southparkcommons.com/apply
Chapters:
(00:02:30) - Andrew’s origin story
(00:08:56) - His 2018 AI warning
(00:12:00) - Spotting trends earlier than other people
(00:18:22) - Getting into the political arena rather than sitting on the sidelines
(00:21:56) - The #1 most impactful way to change politics right now
(00:27:19) - Noble Mobile: less doom scrolling, lower monthly bills
(00:34:41) - His updated take on AI job losses and Universal Basic Income
(00:39:09) - Human dignity and meaning in an AI world