RJ Scaringe on "How I Built This" podcast

[Harvest]

I listened to it today during a long drive and thought it was a great interview. I've heard several other interviews with RJ and this one went into the most depth on the history of the company and particularly his own thoughts at different time points on what he might achieve and how to go about it. A couple of things that struck me: he was glad he didn't know how difficult it was going to be to launch a car company because that might have deterred him. And when times were financially difficult, he made an effort to not start thinking too much about Plan B's because he feels if you take your focus off Plan A then you never achieve Plan A. I thought that was instructive. It was also interesting to hear about how determined he was to form a company even when he was young and later his determination to launch a car company and why he got a Ph.D. to help make that a reality. Definitely a very thoughtful guy with a strong vision.

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[SACDFJC]

Thx for sharing this ... Nice I interview with RJ.

 

[ORFynder]

RJ really needs to hire marketing people. He's an interesting person. Half the difference between $TSLA and $RIVN is the "Steve Jobs" factor. This podcast is a prime example … why is it an audio pod-cast? For the time and effort required of the CEO, why not task an unpaid intern with an iPhone to video the interview, jump on an editing app and produce a long format video with b-roll and new footage from the factory, the R1S, the new vans, visuals from the Mercedes JV?

Initial vehicle quality is a real issue for Rivian. So is piss poor marketing.

I would disagree with you assessment with Rivian's marketing. I think there position around an "adventure vehicle" is brilliant positioning. Given the fact they have created a brand that has a high affinity, similar to Patagonia, in a short amount of time is highly desirable. I continue to be amazed by the community they have created that goes beyond just the vehicles. It's a community a lot of people want to be associated with. One of their main priorities in the near future will be profitability once they fine-tune their production. Given the 98K preorders they have publicly communicated, I don't think they need to create any substantial marketing demand/awareness as it will continue to grow organically.

 

[BrayBay]

Fantastic interview. RJ and team definitely have determination , those early years would have stopped many people.

I didn't really like the last segment though, it felt some questions were all over the place. I know Guy Raz always likes to ask "luck vs work" but jumping between topics like the Tesla lawsuit and being vegan seemed very abrupt.

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