Inspired with Alexa von Tobel
00:28:09 · Alexa von Tobel, Garrett Langley
[00:28:09] S2: By this year, 2025, Flock has surpassed 300,000,000 of ARR and with nearly 70% year over year growth, which is... I always like to say here at Inspired, we like to look for companies that as they get bigger, they get better. And actually, their scale ramps and their scaffolding is strong enough so that as they get more precise, the product is really nailed what it does. That she can grow faster. And you're doing that. What's helping you scale that quickly? [00:28:42] S0: Yeah. I mean, I think the number one thing is the products of work. I was talking to a chief of police in a small, small town in Indiana, and he was like, you know, our our contracts, you know, put most of the risk on us, not our customer. And he was like, mister Langley, you must be incredibly confident that your products are gonna work. And I'm like, yeah. I've just... I've seen it time and time again. When a city fully embraces technology, fully embraces Flock, the results don't happen in months. They happen in hours. And this is a transformation of both the culture inside the police department, the impact in the city, and we just hold so dearly as a company that, like, everyone deserves the right to be safe. And today, that's not the case. And and the combination of technology and really good people and really good policy, we can build that future together.
00:28:42 · Garrett Langley, Alexa von Tobel
[00:28:42] S0: Yeah. I mean, I think the number one thing is the products of work. I was talking to a chief of police in a small, small town in Indiana, and he was like, you know, our our contracts, you know, put most of the risk on us, not our customer. And he was like, mister Langley, you must be incredibly confident that your products are gonna work. And I'm like, yeah. I've just... I've seen it time and time again. When a city fully embraces technology, fully embraces Flock, the results don't happen in months. They happen in hours. And this is a transformation of both the culture inside the police department, the impact in the city, and we just hold so dearly as a company that, like, everyone deserves the right to be safe. And today, that's not the case. And and the combination of technology and really good people and really good policy, we can build that future together. [00:29:35] S2: One question I... I've been sort of dying to ask you. If you think about the future, the next decade, you are probably one of the people in this country and maybe even the world who has a lot of clarity on what could be possible. And clearly, you have a really wonderful value system, which is like, I agree. Everyone should be able to move through this world and feel physically safe. Like, that that feels like a pretty basic human right. What is one belief that you have about the future that people would consider bold or even controversial that you can see super clearly?
00:30:14 · Garrett Langley
[00:30:14] S0: This is maybe not too bold, but I think capitalism solves most of the problems we're talking about. When you when you look at some of the countries that I've studied and say, what went wrong? Right? Where did things fall apart? And you look at it, and when this bedrock of safety disappears, capitalism tends to fall with it. And when that starts to happen, then people's future prospects goes down, which actually increases crime, which start this downward spiral. And so something I feel so strongly about is that we have this new project called Thriving Cities Fund where we invest in local entrepreneurs. It's not a nonprofit. You know? This is not a donation. I just believe so much that the the solution to our crime problem in America is jobs, is economic mobility. It's this just core belief that if you worked very, very hard, you can you can achieve so much in this country. And I I hope we never lose that because it's allowed me to do what I've been able to do in my life, and I hope the same will be true for my kids.
00:31:15 · Alexa von Tobel, Garrett Langley
[00:31:15] S2: I think you and I have a similar philosophy, which is that in so many ways, what AI is doing is getting rid of really taxing, boring, mundane, honestly, thankless jobs. It is enabling people to do more human jobs. And in many ways, it will create more jobs and more surface area. And so I don't fear AI. I actually fear not being absorbed fast enough in ways where it unlocks this this this better future in so many ways. One last thing I wanna ask before I go to the quickfire round. You have a big job, and, like, what you guys do matters. And there's a lot of stress in that because I backed a lot of companies, and sometimes I'm like, oh, this company is making, you know, music. Like, music isn't killing anybody. Right? It's like [00:32:15] S0: Yeah. [00:32:15] S2: Like, you run akin to doctors and surgeons because you really are this incredible layer that when what you're doing works well, you save lives. I... And that... That's a... That's pretty incredible. Any sort of mentality, philosophy that the company has that that sort of helps keep you guys steady just given that there will be a mistake. Things aren't perfect. You you could be 99.9% perfect. How do you think about leading people through that?
00:32:15 · Alexa von Tobel, Garrett Langley
[00:32:15] S2: Like, you run akin to doctors and surgeons because you really are this incredible layer that when what you're doing works well, you save lives. I... And that... That's a... That's pretty incredible. Any sort of mentality, philosophy that the company has that that sort of helps keep you guys steady just given that there will be a mistake. Things aren't perfect. You you could be 99.9% perfect. How do you think about leading people through that? [00:32:50] S0: I mean, we've had this very long standing cultural norm, and we tweaked the words here and there, but it's effectively do the work. And we have to remind ourselves, to to your point, Alexa, I think we actually have an easy job. We write code. We sell things. We design circuit boards. Our customers are the ones that... Who's working on the first night of Hanukkah? Our customers. Who's working on Christmas Eve? Our customers. New Year's Day? Our customers. July 4? Our customers. Like, our customers don't get a day off. And in your lowest moment, we expect them to be the highest. And so we just try to always go back to, like, our job is so easy in comparison to our customer's job. Just like go do the work. And so I think we've built a culture that doesn't complain and works really hard because of that.
00:32:50 · Garrett Langley, Alexa von Tobel
[00:32:50] S0: I mean, we've had this very long standing cultural norm, and we tweaked the words here and there, but it's effectively do the work. And we have to remind ourselves, to to your point, Alexa, I think we actually have an easy job. We write code. We sell things. We design circuit boards. Our customers are the ones that... Who's working on the first night of Hanukkah? Our customers. Who's working on Christmas Eve? Our customers. New Year's Day? Our customers. July 4? Our customers. Like, our customers don't get a day off. And in your lowest moment, we expect them to be the highest. And so we just try to always go back to, like, our job is so easy in comparison to our customer's job. Just like go do the work. And so I think we've built a culture that doesn't complain and works really hard because of that. [00:33:39] S2: That is really beautifully said, which is on our worst day. We need them to be their best. That's really well said. Garrett, I wanna end on a quick fire round just because you're a really wise guy who's done a lot of good things. Is there a book of any kind that you recommend to people? So just first thing that comes to mind quick answers. Is there a book that you... That changed your life in any way?