E5: Bringing Fun Back to Finance: Redesigning Business Modelling with Runway’s Siqi Chen, CEO

Get an inside look at Runway - the visually stunning finance platform that's breaking conventions and captivating users with its approach to making finance fun again. In this interview, founder and CEO Siqi Chen shares the arduous 3-year journey of iterating on the product from its inception during a meeting with the a16z team, working alongside early design partners, and the key inflection points that transformed Runway into what it is today. He emphasizes the importance of storytelling, having the data from different company functions centralized and in communication with each other, and fostering a culture where work, and finance in particular, is genuinely fun. Whether you're in finance or appreciate great product design, this is a must-watch episode. This show is a part of the Turpentine podcast network. Learn more: www.turpentine.co --- SPONSORS: Attio is the next generation of CRM. It’s powerful, flexible and easily configures to the unique way your startup runs, whatever your go-to-market motion. The next era deserves a better CRM. Join ElevenLabs, Replicate, Modal and more at https://bit.ly/attioturpentine --- Recommended Podcast: Company Breakdowns Each episode of Company Breakdowns dives into S-1s and series B-and-beyond companies, interviewing founders and investors to break down the companies. First episode is on Rubrik - which just IPO'd. Coming up this season: Databricks, Reddit + more, Spotify Apple 📈 ECON 102 W/ NOAH SMITH - Keeping econ entertaining - Noahpinion author Noah Smith and Erik Torenberg break down business news and politics every week. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Mos4VE3figVXleHDqfXOH Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/id1753399812https://podcasts.apple.com/id1753399812 --- This show is produced by Turpentine: a network of podcasts, newsletters, and more, covering technology, business, and culture — all from the perspective of industry insiders and experts. We’re launching new shows every week, and we’re looking for industry-leading sponsors — if you think that might be you and your company, email us at [email protected]. --- LINKS MENTIONED: Runway Financial: https://runway.com/ Sandbox VR: https://sandboxvr.com/ X/SOCIAL: @sashaorloff (Sasha) @blader (Siqi) @runwayco (Runway) TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Introduction to Runway and Siqi Chen (01:30) Background and Inspiration for Runway (08:25) Challenges and Pivot during COVID-19 (12:29) Raising Capital and Product Iteration (14:57) Sponsor: Attio (16:25) Balancing Feature Parity and Novelty (17:30) arly Design Partners and Customers (19:36) Building an Audience and Storytelling (23:01) Mission and Vision of Runway (26:13) Convincing Users to Leave Excel (38:05) Demo of Runway (41:45) Development and Design Process (42:49) Product Features and Future Plans (44:43) Company Culture and Team (46:45) Future of Runway