These are the things many CEOs encounter but few talk about - here you have a seat at the table. At The Browser Company we’re building a new browser, Arc. Every week our CEO Josh, and our team, share real-time updates on what’s working, what’s not, and our biggest questions — especially right now, as we imagine Arc. Send Josh thoughts anytime on joshm@thebrowser.company.
Josh reflects on a rollercoaster week at The Browser Company and what will be remembered as a critical moment in our company’s history. Looking forward, he then shares his process for writing a vision for Arc 2.0 and a peak at what’s coming next.
This episode wraps up our 10 week podcast series (for now). In the meantime, reach out to us at josh@thebrowser.company (mailto:josh@thebrowser.company) - and we’ll see you on the internet!
Chapters:
00:00 - A rollercoaster week
01:05 - Moments in company history
02:10 - Arc 2.0 vision document
03:28 - Clarifying the future vs. assuming you don’t know
04:50 - Learning from the past five years
06:42 - The final episode
07:48 - Time to dig in
08:50 - Celebrating our team
09:40 - Emails to josh@thebrowser.company (mailto:josh@thebrowser.company)
11:00 - See you on the internet!
19 Sept 2024TRANSCRIPT
Five companies inspiring our work right now
As Josh gears up to head to a founder’s retreat this week, he reflects on the other companies he’s currently inspired by. From media and everyday tools to AI and tech, each company, founder, and team provides a different motivator for Arc and its future. As always, please send your thoughts to joshm@thebrowser.company.
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:15 Spending a week offsite
01:08 Finding inspiration from other companies
02:15 1- OpenAI & Anthropic
02:25 Articulating a singular mission
04:18 2 - Cursor
04:29 Feedback from Mark Zuckerberg
05:30 Pairing power and familiarity
06:29 3 - The New York Times
07:10 Brand and experience applied across verticals
08:30 4 - Apple Notes & Apple Podcasts
09:00 A simple interface with more under the surface
09:14 Pouring joy into the details
10:21 5 - Perplexity
11:10 Different beliefs about the space
11:30 Absolute relentless focus
12:25 Shoutouts and thank yous
12 Sept 2024TRANSCRIPT
Describing Arc’s value and service
Inspired by a listener email, Josh explores how to talk about Arc not in its technical form, but instead as a unique value and service. He reflects on how brands like Peloton, Uber and Apple have positioned their products beyond their tangible use - and what that can look like for Arc going forward.
Chapters:
00:00 - Feeling inspired
00:22 - One thing on Josh’s mind
01:30 - How to explain Arc 2.0
05:30 - Positioning of Peloton, Uber and Apple
08:11 - What is the equivalent explanation of Arc 2.0?
09:31 - Send your ideas to joshm@thebrowser.company (mailto:joshm@thebrowser.company)
11:06 - Inspiration from a listener email
5 Sept 2024TRANSCRIPT
Repositioning the entire company towards one goal
In this episode of Imagining Arc, Josh focuses on his responsibility as a CEO to staff and resource a team around one singular goal. He reflects on three key inflection points in the business - switching from Electron to Swift, building Windows on Swift, and nailing a prototype for Arc Search - and how those big decisions throughout Browser Company's history have set us up for building Arc 2.0 today.
We love hearing from you at joshm@thebrowser.company.
Chapters:
00:00 - How do you staff and resource towards one goal?
00:40 - Recapping one the most inspiring All Hands ever
00:56 - Welcoming a dear friend to Browser Company
02:17 - A talk for the ages from Ben, Alexandra and Samir
03:26 - Moving the entire company to Arc 2.0?
04:04 - 3 inflection decisions and a trip down memory lane
04:36 - Switching from Electron to Swift
06:13 - Building Windows in Swift
07:30 - Prototyping 30-50 Arc Searches
10:02 - Being held back by novelty tax
11:15 - Brainstorming the Dinner Party Test in Paris
11:38 - “Saving you 1,000 clicks”
12:10 - We are going to do your busy work for you
12:34 - Taking room to dream a little bit
13:42 - From two pods to repositioning the company
15:05 - Texas Hold Em and taking the risk
16:27 - Shoutouts and emails - joshm@thebrowser.company
In this episode:
Our original bet on Swift for Windows (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOMQiMxh5Bc)
Our decision to build in Swift over Electron (https://youtu.be/izZqmklAOiY?feature=shared&t=125)
Welcoming Cemre to The Browser Company (https://x.com/gem_ray/status/1830999599646917054)
29 Aug 2024TRANSCRIPT
Three product decisions and one big question
In this week's episode, Josh shares three big product decisions we've made – and asks for your thoughts on our most pressing question: how should we share this journey with the 99% of Arc members who aren’t listening to this podcast? How can we best bring our members along as we work towards getting an early version of Arc 2.0 in your hands?
From solidifying our value proposition, to defining our tab management principles, and building a technical architecture focused on performance – things are moving, momentum is building, the team is dreaming…. and we just want to know how much, how little, or even what you want to hear as we work towards this reimagined Arc.
Chapters
00:28 Three decisions we made this week
00:40 Solidifying our value proposition
02:09 Betting on a technical architecture for performance
04:05 Committing to our tab management system
06:00 Same team, same dream
06:32 Remember switching from Facebook to Instagram?
07:47 What we need your help on
09:51 How to share before there’s something to see
11:12 What would you want to hear and why?
13:24 Doing right by our members
14:02 Shoutouts and thanks
21 Aug 2024TRANSCRIPT
Overcoming doubt: Finding inspiration in feature explorations and family feedback
Today’s episode of Imagining Arc is about doubt—the doubt that creeps in for CEOs of any company, the moments that counter it, and how it all relates to this exact moment of imagining Arc.
As the summer wraps up and he moves back to Brooklyn after moving during Covid, Josh reflects on why we started The Browser Company back in 2019, what has changed over the last five years, and the conviction that remains the same. From the team’s latest experiments with New Tab homepages, to iterations on Arc Search’s onboarding, and an unexpected contribution from his father, this episode touches on how to remain inspired, driven, and have fun – even in the face of uncertainty.
As always, if you have any questions or feedback, send them to joshm@thebrowser.company.
Mentioned on this episode:
Browser Company values: https://thebrowser.company/values/
Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
01:18 - The hardest part of being a founder: doubt
04:25 - Looking back to day 1 of Browser Co
06:01 - Getting inspired from building Arc 2.0
07:00 - Finding energy in New Tab Page explorations
08:15 - Seeking feeling in animations and interactions
09:10 - Remaining relentless in moving the numbers
10:10 - Having fun and why we do the work
11:50 - Special shoutout to Josh’s Dad
12:30 - Tell us your Arc fantasy - joshm@thebrowser.company
14 Aug 2024TRANSCRIPT
Focusing on the only thing that matters: our board recap
Fresh off the board call, Josh shares a recap of the board's feedback on our current top three questions. From how early to ship Arc 2.0, to weighing familiar interfaces, breaking down false binaries between growth and monetization, and focusing on the only thing that matters—building a leapfrog browser for a better way to use the internet.
Touching on the complexities of growth, monetization, and building a product users cannot imagine living without, this episode dives deep into the journey of reimagining Arc — and why the team is currently finding inspiration in Pixar's "Encanto" for this next phase.
Chapters
(00:00) Intro and why I almost didn't record this episode
(01:13) The Board’s responses to our three questions
(03:12) Ship early, ship often (even if embarrassing)
(05:30) Packing power in familiar interfaces
(09:35) Optimizing for growth or monetization
(12:28) Finding inspiration in Encanto
(15:06) Shoutouts and responses - joshm@thebrowser.company
Links:
Casita Video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4pATZd8M4Y), the purest form of how we hope Arc 2.0 feels to you.
6 Aug 2024TRANSCRIPT
Three things we're asking our board this week
In this episode of "Imagining Arc," Josh dives into our upcoming board check-in call and the creative tensions we're currently working through at The Browser Company: when and how to ship Arc 2.0? How do we keep Arc simple but also non-incremental? Should we optimize for growth or monetization?
Alongside prep for our board call, Josh shares one thing that's going well, one thing that isn't, and one thought on his mind this week at The Browser Company.
(00:00) Intro
(1:25) Preparing for our board call
(5:17) You can't fake it at your board meetings
(7:30) The one thing we need advice on
(8:00) #1 - How and when should we ship Arc 2.0?
(11:50) #2 - Staying simple but breaking through?
(13:35) #3 - Optimizing for growth or monetization?
(14:50) Monetization as a form of trust and test of value
(17:35) One thing that's going well, one thing that's going poorly
(18:25) We can make APIs out of any application?
(23:20) We need to speed up our enterprise security features?
(26:00) Is Arc a window or a mirror?
(27:40) Responses to your thoughts! Reach out to joshm@thebrowser.company
30 Jul 2024TRANSCRIPT
In search of Arc’s value proposition
Coming out the noise, the dinner party test, and doing less? Josh shares his biggest question right now: how do we pick the central value proposition for Arc — and shape Arc around that.
Mentioned in this episode
The Internet Computer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0160IirdL4), The Browser Company's very first YouTube video expressing the vision for Arc
Notes on a Roadtrip (https://thebrowser.company/values/#assume), our values at The Browser Company
I want a President (https://whitney.org/collection/works/62454), the art piece referenced by Josh that inspired his writing on the why behind Arc
23 Jul 2024TRANSCRIPT
Where are all the new features?
What does Arc’s beloved Sidebar have in common with the Apple I? A few things (we hope). Josh explains why we haven’t shipped anything new in a while, and what we mean by taking a Blank Page Approach to our beloved browser this summer.
(0:00) Intro
(0:10) Where are all the new Arc features?
(0:40) Summer is for stability & performance
(1:10) Reflecting on a year since Arc 1.0
(1:40) The vision for Arc
(2:20) Arc today is too complicated
(2:40) Taking a blank page approach
(4:00) From the Apple I to the Macintosh (we hope)
(4:40) The purest version of Arc
(5:05) Sidebar or topbar?
(6:00) More of what you love
(6:20) Our promise to you
(7:00) joshm@thebrowser.company
Inside a recent episode
Developing a vision for Arc 2.0
Published 27 Sept 2024 · Transcript excerpt
[…] Where are we going? How do we want it to feel? Why is that valuable? Why is that unique? Why can only we do it? Why do we want to do it? And it's, you know, these sort of vision documents I will be honest are hard for me and they're hard for me in a surprising way because I'm a dreamer and if you've listened to this podcast as far as you probably know that I know we are dreamers. So it's not that I don't like thinking about the future. It's actually probably one of the most fun parts and most rewarding parts of this job for me. But the purpose of a vision doc isn't really for you. It's for the people that you work with that need a guidepost that need inspiration that need clarity about the work that they do every day and why they show up and why we're all here and how that translates down is the decisions we make. […]
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