>> From Sand Hill Road in the heart of Silicon Valley, it's theCUBE, presenting the People First Network, insights from entrepreneurs and tech leaders. (techno music) >> Hello everyone, I'm John Furrier, the co-host of theCUBE, founder of SiliconANGLE Media. We are here at Sand Hill Road at Mayfield for the 50th anniversary celebration and content series called the People First Network. This is a co-developed program where we're going to bring thought leaders, inspirational entrepreneurs, and tech executives to talk about their experiences and their journey around a people first society. This is the focus of entrepreneurship these days. I'm here with Navin Chaddha who's the managing director of Mayfield. Navin, we're kicking off the program. Tell us why the program, why People First Network, is this a cultural thing, is this part of a program, what's the rationale, what's the message? >> First of all I want to thank John, you and your team and theCUBE for co-hosting the People First Network with us. It's been a real delight working with you. Shifting to People First, Mayfield had had a long-standing philosophy that people build companies and it's not the other way around. We believe in betting on great people because even if their initial idea doesn't pan out, they'll quickly pivot to find the right market opportunity. Similarly, we believe when the times get tough, it's our responsibility to stand behind people. And the purpose of this People First Network is people like me were extremely lucky to have mentors along the way when I was an entrepreneur and now as a venture capitalist, who are helping me achieve my dreams, and Mayfield and me want to give back to other entrepreneurs by bringing in people who are luminaries in their own fields to share their learnings with other entrepreneurs. >> This is a really great opportunity and I want to thank you guys for helping us put this together with you guys. It's great co-creation. The observation I was seeing in Silicon Valley and certainly in talking with some of the guests we've already interviewed, and that'll be coming up on the program, is the spirit of community and the culture of innovation is around the ecosystem of Silicon Valley. This has been the bedrock of Silicon Valley, Mayfield, one of the earliest, if not the first, handful of venture firms hanging around Stanford, doing entrepreneurship, this is a people culture in Silicon Valley and this is now going global. So, great opportunity. What can we expect to see from some of the interviews, what are you looking for, and what's the hope? >> Yeah, so I think what you're going to see from the interviews is, we are trying to bring around 20 plus people and they'll be many Johns on the interview besides you. So there'll be John Chambers, ex-chairman and CEO of Cisco, there'll be John Zimmer, president and co-founder of Lyft, and there also will be John Hennessy, who'll be our first interview with him, from Stanford University. And jokes apart, there'll be like 20 plus other people who'll be part of this network. So I think what you're going to see is goings always don't go great. There's a lot of learnings that happen when things don't work out. And our hope is when these luminaries from their professions share their learnings, the entrepreneurs will benefit from it. As we all know, being an entrepreneur is hard, but sometimes, and many times actually, it's also a lonely road. And our belief is, and I strongly personally also believe in it, that great entrepreneurs believe in continuous learning and are continuously adapting themselves to succeed. So our hope is this People First Network serves as a learning opportunity from entrepreneurs to learn from great leaders. >> You said a few things I really admire about Mayfield and I want to get your reactions. I think this is fundamental for society. Building durable companies is about the long game and people fail and people succeed, but they always move on. They move on to another opportunity, they move on to another pursuit, and this pay-it-forward culture has been a key thing for Silicon Valley. >> It absolutely has been. >> What's the inspiration behind it from your perspective? You mentioned your experiences. Tell us a story of an experience you've had. >> Yeah, so I would say first of all right since we strongly believe people make products and products don't make people, we believe venture capital and entrepreneurship is about like running a marathon. It's not a sprint. So if you take a long-term view, have a strong vision and mission, which is supported with great beliefs and values, you can do wonders. And our whole aim, not only as Mayfield, but other venture capitalists, is to build iconic companies which are built to last, which beyond creating jobs and economic wealth, can give back to the society and make the world a better place to work, live, and play. >> You know, one of the things that we are passionate about at theCUBE and on SiliconANGLE Media is standing by our community, because people do move around. And I think one of the things that is key in venture capital now than ever before is not looking for the quick hit. It's standing by your companies in good times and in bad. Because this is about people, and you don't know how things might turn out, how a company might end up in a different place. We've heard so many entrepreneurs talk about that that the outcome was not how they envisioned it when they started. This is a key mindset for-- >> It absolutely is, right? Like, let's look at a few examples. One of out most successful companies is Lyft. When we backed it at Series A, it was called Zimride. They weren't doing what they were doing, but the company had a strong vision and mission of changing the way people transport and given that they were A+ people, as I mentioned earlier, the initial idea wasn't going to be a massive opportunity, they quickly pivoted to go after the right market opportunity. And hence again and again, right to me, it's all about the people. >> Navigating those boards is sometimes challenging and we hope that this content will help people, inspire people, help them discover their passion, discover people that they might want to work with. Really appreciate your support. And thank you for contributing your network and your brand and your team in supporting our mission. >> It's been an absolute pleasure, and we hope the viewers and especially entrepreneurs can learn from the journeys of many iconic people who have built great things in their careers. >> Navin, thank you so much, great vision. >> Pleasure. >> Yeah, it's a pleasure working with you, John. >> Okay, I'm John Furrier, stay tuned for more People First Network content as part of our ongoing open collaboration with Mayfield. Trying to get the brightest minds to share their stories, their experiences, with you. I'm John Furrier, thanks for watching. (techno music)