Inside BuildForever: Naveen Gavini, Former Pinterest CPO, on Launching Extra and Building for Joy

Today the hosts sat down with one of the pioneers of the early 2010s social media era, Naveen Gavini, ex-CPO of Pinterest and one of the company’s first 10 employees. They talk about the rise of social media and what he’s up to now (hint: he’s going back into the consumer tech space).

If you've ever wondered why people say Pinterest maintained taste vs. Facebook and Instagram, Naveen explains the product decisions that intentionally led to that:

• Ordering the algorithm by saves instead of likes
• Not importing your contacts from Facebook
• Inspiration as a guiding principal over pure engagement

Naveen was sitting at the dinners in the early 2010s when early Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter employees in Silicon Valley debated the ethics of the algorithm and foresaw the world we now live in, where social media and algorithms are shaping the next generation.

The hosts ask Naveen what those employees saw coming, what they didn't, and why companies diverged in morals during this time. They also dive into what it was like to help take a company public. Fun fact, Pinterest’s IPO was exactly 7 years before today. Historically IPO access was limited to employees and investors, but now anyone can make money on a private company going public because of Kalshi’s IPO markets. This link gives you $10 when you trade $10: https://kalshi.com/sign-up?referral=getthecheck.

They also dig into his new company, BuildForever, which is launching Extra, a consumer email product. Email is kind of dead. The hosts can't remember the last time they checked theirs (besides Maya, who's insane and goes through her promos inbox). Extra is rethinking email to be about your personal life and is focused on creating a delightful experience around it.

They also get into the email application competitive landscape and why Extra is going to fill a gap not addressed by hyper productivity apps like Superhuman or Notion Mail. This is a true consumer product, one that long term can actually be proactive in your inbox, like "we saw you're going to NY, here's a hotel we knew you would like."

Naveen is offering Get the Check listeners a free code to download the app today, even though it isn't publicly out yet. The first 50 people who download it from the App Store and use code GETTHECHECK become Extra’s first users. Here's the link! If you try it, let us know what you think :)

00:00 Meet the ex-CPO and 10th employee at Pinterest

00:27 Being the first person to think Pinterest should be an app

04:00 What Pinterest did differently than IG and FB

11:52 Why Pinterest prioritized values over engagement

14:14 Why you don't notice Pinterest ads

16:19 From engineer to CPO

23:55 Saves versus likes on social media

27:32 Taking a company through IPO

34:58 Deciding to start a company after every says not to…

36:27 Email needs a consumer angle

38:59 Introducing Extra

47:01 Monetizing in consumer social