Welcome to Axis ProRata, a podcast that takes just 10 minutes to get you smarter on the collision of tech business and politics.

I'm Dan Premack. On today's show, what we learn from the congressional grilling of Google's CEO and Uber's IPO takes a giant step forward.

But first, some self-reflection. So it's been a bit over two years since I decided to join Axios, after a career with

established media brands like Reuters and Fortune.

And I remember at the time talking about my decision over drinks with a friend who isn't at

all in this business, but who sometimes reads my stuff.

I think out of a sense of obligation.

And he was pretty confused.

He asked, don't most startups fail before citing a whole list of potential

pitfalls, which included, among other things, launching at what seemed to be a market peak,

Facebook, he reminded me, launched out of a recession in 2004, and then he asked if it was too late

for me to change my mind. So my response to him then and to those who ask similar

questions now was twofold. First, I happened to really like and respect the founders and long

ago concluded that who you work with is easily as important as where you work. And second,

I had indeed covered startups for a very long time and figured it was my turn to walk the walk and also kind of gain a deeper,

more visceral understanding of what it takes to launch a new business. So the bottom line,

a lot of the cliches about startups, like being able to move faster and be more experimental,

are true. And so is the driving pressure to iterate and grow and the centrality of hiring smart

because doing the opposite could be catastrophic. Also true are a lot of the complications

around things like raising venture capital and managing early social media characterizations

that can quickly become canon. So this morning, I want to dive deeper into this with

Evelyn Rusley, a former top

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