May 27, 2024 • 39min

Kyle Vogt: A Problem Solver With A Purpose

Pattern Breakers

Kyle Vogt is a serial entrepreneur and technologist who has founded multiple successful companies, including Justin.tv, Twitch, and Cruise Automation. From an early age, Vogt was fascinated by robotics and autonomous vehicles, even attempting to retrofit his father's car as a teenager. After studying at MIT and participating in early autonomous vehicle competitions, Vogt went on to co-found live streaming platforms Justin.tv and Twitch. He later returned to his passion for self-driving technology by founding Cruise Automation, which was acquired by General Motors and is now a leader in autonomous vehicle development. In this episode of the Pattern Breakers podcast, host Mike Maples Jr. speaks with Vogt about his entrepreneurial journey, his approach to solving difficult technical challenges, and his vision for the transformative potential of autonomous vehicles. The conversation explores Vogt's experiences building multiple companies, his strategies for accelerating progress, and his perspectives on what it takes to create truly impactful technologies.

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Key Takeaways

Kyle Vogt has been passionate about robotics and autonomous vehicles since his teenage years, retrofitting his father's car to drive itself along highways in Kansas
At MIT, Vogt participated in the 2004 DARPA Grand Challenge, a pivotal event in autonomous vehicle development
Vogt was a co-founder of Justin.tv and Twitch, where he solved complex technical challenges around live video streaming
With Cruise Automation, Vogt returned to his passion for self-driving cars, initially with a retrofit product before pivoting to full autonomous vehicles
Vogt believes autonomous vehicles will dramatically improve safety and views human-driven cars as unethically dangerous in the long run
A key advantage of startups is the ability to compress time and move quickly by making many small decisions to accelerate progress
Building something truly impactful often takes a decade - founders should choose problems they can stay passionate about long-term
Perseverance and sustained effort over many years is crucial for creating transformative companies and technologies

Introduction

Kyle Vogt is a serial entrepreneur and technologist who has founded multiple successful companies, including Justin.tv, Twitch, and Cruise Automation. From an early age, Vogt was fascinated by robotics and autonomous vehicles, even attempting to retrofit his father's car as a teenager. After studying at MIT and participating in early autonomous vehicle competitions, Vogt went on to co-found live streaming platforms Justin.tv and Twitch. He later returned to his passion for self-driving technology by founding Cruise Automation, which was acquired by General Motors and is now a leader in autonomous vehicle development.

In this episode of the Pattern Breakers podcast, host Mike Maples Jr. speaks with Vogt about his entrepreneurial journey, his approach to solving difficult technical challenges, and his vision for the transformative potential of autonomous vehicles. The conversation explores Vogt's experiences building multiple companies, his strategies for accelerating progress, and his perspectives on what it takes to create truly impactful technologies.

Topics Discussed

Early Passion for Robotics and Autonomous Vehicles (06:13)

Vogt was fascinated by robots from an early age, seeing them as a way to automate tasks humans don't want to do or find unsafe
In middle school, Vogt became interested in BattleBots, learning about electronics, pneumatics, and hydraulics
On a road trip through Kansas, Vogt had the idea to make a car drive itself on the straight, empty highways
"I remember thinking, okay, surely I can just put a webcam here, point it at the road, and stick a motor on the steering wheel and have this thing kind of do this part of the driving for me."
At age 13, Vogt modified an electric toy car to drive autonomously using a webcam and motor

MIT and the DARPA Grand Challenge (08:07)

At MIT, Vogt participated in the 2004 DARPA Grand Challenge for autonomous vehicles
Vogt and other students modified a pickup truck with computers and sensors
Their steering system broke before the competition, but the experience solidified Vogt's interest
Vogt realized the technology wasn't quite ready yet, so he put autonomous vehicles on hold temporarily

Founding Justin.tv and Twitch (09:49)

Vogt connected with Justin Kan and Emmett Shear through an MIT mailing list
He was intrigued by the technical challenge of broadcasting someone's life 24/7
Vogt built a prototype camera system and moved to San Francisco to work on the project full-time
The founders all lived together in a small apartment, working intensely on the startup
"I would basically wake up around noon, program and hack on this camera system till, I don't know, two to four in the morning pretty much every day, you know, for weeks."
Vogt asked to be made a co-founder after joining slightly later, which helped solidify the team

Solving Technical Challenges at Justin.tv/Twitch (13:56)

Vogt developed a reputation for "hero coding" the company out of difficult problems
He created a custom Linux-based video encoder and protocol to stream video over multiple cellular networks
Vogt built a globally distributed live video network to dramatically reduce bandwidth costs
He learned about peering agreements between networks to further reduce costs
These innovations allowed Justin.tv/Twitch to make live video streaming profitable

Founding Cruise Automation (19:56)

In 2013, Vogt revisited autonomous vehicles, believing the technology had advanced enough
Initially focused on a highway autopilot retrofit product for specific car models
Built a working highway autopilot system in just 4 months
Pivoted to full self-driving technology as Uber and Lyft grew, showing the potential for robotaxis
"We just started going straight for that. This is a pivot about a year and a half in. I started going straight for that and never looked back."

The Importance and Impact of Autonomous Vehicles (25:28)

Vogt believes human-driven cars will be seen as unethically dangerous in the future
Compares the kinetic energy of a fast-moving SUV to dynamite
Questions the practice of giving teenagers control of such dangerous machines
Argues that autonomous vehicles will be safer and more enjoyable for passengers
"20 years from now, the people who are against AVs, for better or worse, they're going to be looked back upon like arms dealers. There are people who profit and get benefit from carnage."
Criticizes society's complacency with the high number of traffic fatalities

The Importance of Technological Progress (29:50)

Vogt argues that the U.S. has lost focus on progress for its own sake
Believes society should prioritize advancements that improve quality of life and economic opportunity
Suggests focusing on progress could lead to breakthroughs in space travel, nuclear energy, supersonic flight, and self-driving cars
"If we just focused on that for a couple decades, we'd be back into things like space travel, nuclear energy, supersonic flights, self driving cars."

Optimizing Time and Accelerating Progress (31:26)

Vogt defines the problem as making the most progress in the least amount of time
Early strategy was simply working more hours than competitors
Evolved to constantly asking "How can we get this done today instead of next week?"
Gives examples of creative solutions to save time, like using couriers for parts or buying multiple 3D printers
Emphasizes that many small time-saving decisions compound to create significant advantages
"If you can do that dozens of times per month or over the course of a year, you just basically invent time."

Startup Advantages Over Large Companies (34:43)

Startups can do things that aren't scalable, like having people work around the clock
Less bureaucracy allows for faster decision-making
Large companies rely on processes that make it difficult to deviate or innovate quickly
Advises entrepreneurs to exploit their ability to pivot and move quickly

Advice for Founders (35:36)

In your 20s, it's possible to push extremely hard, but balance becomes more important later
Building something truly impactful often takes a decade
Choose problems you can stay passionate about for 10+ years
Ensure you can sustain yourself financially and emotionally for the long haul
Perseverance is crucial - don't give up
"You cannot discount the compounding output of making good decisions and grinding day by day for a decade."

Conclusion

Kyle Vogt's journey from tinkering with robotics as a teenager to founding multiple successful technology companies demonstrates the power of long-term passion and perseverance. His experiences at Justin.tv, Twitch, and Cruise Automation highlight the importance of solving difficult technical challenges and constantly seeking ways to accelerate progress. Vogt's vision for autonomous vehicles goes beyond just creating a successful company - he sees it as a crucial step in improving safety and quality of life for society as a whole.

The conversation emphasizes several key lessons for entrepreneurs:

Choose problems you can remain passionate about for a decade or more
Look for creative ways to compress time and move faster than competitors
Be willing to pivot and pursue bigger opportunities when they arise
Recognize that building truly impactful technologies often takes many years of sustained effort
Don't underestimate the compounding effect of making good decisions day after day

Vogt's story serves as an inspiration for founders tackling ambitious technical challenges and working to create transformative technologies. His emphasis on the importance of technological progress for its own sake is a reminder of the positive impact entrepreneurs can have on society when they pursue bold visions over the long term.