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The ERic RIES Show
Curated conversations
At the Long-Term Stock Exchange, we are dedicated to creating a world where businesses are empowered to achieve lasting impact and long-term prosperity.
To foster meaningful conversations, we curate conversations from an ecosystem of leaders, entrepreneurs, and visionaries.
The Eric Ries Show, a podcast produced by Founder and Chair of LTSE Services, Eric Ries, reflects our mission.
The show features thought-provoking conversations with world-class technologists, thought leaders, executives, and others who are working to create a new ecosystem of organizations committed to growth with purpose.
To foster meaningful conversations, we curate conversations from an ecosystem of leaders, entrepreneurs, and visionaries.
The Eric Ries Show, a podcast produced by Founder and Chair of LTSE Services, Eric Ries, reflects our mission.
The show features thought-provoking conversations with world-class technologists, thought leaders, executives, and others who are working to create a new ecosystem of organizations committed to growth with purpose.
Disclaimer: Information contained in this podcast was obtained in part from publicly available sources (including the Eric Ries Show) and not independently verified. The Long-Term Stock Exchange and its affiliated companies do not make any representations or warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy or completeness of the information and do not sponsor, approve, or endorse any of the content herein, all of which is presented solely for informational and educational purposes. Nothing herein constitutes an offer to sell, a solicitation to buy any security, or a recommendation of any security or trading practice.
Some portions of the podcast may have been edited for the purpose of length or clarity.
From the Eric Ries Show:
Inside UiPath’s $1.5B ARR Journey – Bootstrapping the company, hiring challenges, and the billion-dollar pivot (Daniel Dines)
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In this episode of The Eric Ries Show, I sit down with Daniel Dines, the Founder and CEO of UiPath, a company that started in robotic process automation (RPA) and is now making a bold shift into agentic AI. Dubbed “the boss of bots” by Forbes, Daniel has led UiPath from its humble beginnings to a $6.65 billion company that’s reshaping the future of automation.
Daniel’s journey is anything but conventional. After working as an engineer on SQL at Microsoft, he felt a pull toward something more creative—building his own product. That decision led him back to Romania, where he founded the company that would eventually become UiPath.
In our conversation today, we talk about the following topics:
• Why stepping out of your comfort zone is key to growth
• The Jack London book that changed Daniel’s life
• The benefits of bootstrapping vs. raising big VC money
• Why letting go is the hard part of a pivot
• How failure can unlock unexpected opportunities
• A case for mixing work and life to build a strong company culture
• Why empowering employees is good for business
• What Daniel learned from UiPath’s journey to IPO
• Daniel’s plans for his second stint as CEO
• Why Daniel is optimistic about the impact AI will have on the future of work
• And more!
—
Brought to you by:
• Wilson Sonsini – Wilson Sonsini is the innovation economy’s law firm. Learn more.
• Explo – Explo helps teams deploy customer dashboard portals. Get Started.
• Gusto – Gusto is an easy payroll and benefits software built for small businesses. Get 3 months free.
—
Where to find Daniel Dines:
• LinkedIn: https://x.com/danieldines
• X: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danieldines/
—
Where to find Eric:
• Newsletter:https://ericries.carrd.co/
• Podcast:https://ericriesshow.com/
• YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@theericriesshow
—
In This Episode We Cover:
(00:00) Intro
(03:11) Growing up in communist Romania
(10:00) The importance of breaking out of your comfort zone
(13:41) Joy as a sign you’re on the right path
(15:27) The Jack London book that made Daniel an entrepreneur
(16:40) The beginnings of UiPath
(18:50) Why writing code wasn’t enough for Daniel and why coding is creative
(22:22) UiPath’s values
(24:50) Why Daniel returned to Romania
(28:00) Advantages of bootstrapping
(30:50) Pivoting to become a product company from outsourcing
(33:27) An early password management product that didn’t work out
(34:55) The difficult pivot that led to the product that is UiPath now
(39:10) How the early failures led to the big opportunity
(41:37) Hitting product market fit
(43:50) Why Daniel hired misfits, and the characteristics he looked for in hires
(48:32) How Daniel protected UiPath's values and why he plans to renew the commitment
(54:00) The importance of empowering employees at all levels to provide feedback
(57:47) UiPath’s journey to IPO
(1:01:30) Why Eric thinks he didn’t prepare Daniel psychologically for the difficulty of IPO
(1:03:46) Synthetic volatility’s human cost
(1:07:01) Why Daniel stepped down as CEO and why he’s resuming CEO duties
(1:11:55) Daniel’s second stint as CEO: hiring people he likes and going all in on agentic AI
(1:18:20) The promise of open source
(1:19:24) Daniel’s thoughts on the future of work
(1:24:36) Lightning round
—
- UiPath: https://www.uipath.com/
- Martin Eden: https://www.amazon.com/Martin-Eden-Penguin-American-Library/dp/0140187723
- Narcissus and Goldmund: https://www.amazon.com/Narcissus-Goldmund-Hermann-Hesse/dp/0553275860
- He turned down $11 billion, here’s why | Craig Newmark (Craigslist Founder): https://www.ericriesshow.com/craig-newmark-craigslist/
- Robotic Process Automation (RPA): https://www.uipath.com/rpa/robotic-process-automation
- Seedcamp: https://seedcamp.com/
- The Single Best Interview Question You Can Ask: https://fs.blog/the-single-best-interview-question-you-can-ask/
- DeepSeek: https://www.deepseek.com/
- Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence: https://www.amazon.com/Dopamine-Nation-Finding-Balance-Indulgence/dp/1524746746
- Temporal: https://temporal.io/
- The flow state: the science of the elusive creative mindset that can improve your life: https://www.theguardian.com/science/article/2024/jul/20/flow-state-science-creativity-psychology-focus
- Genghis Khan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genghis_Khan
—
Production and marketing by https://penname.co/.
Eric may be an investor in the companies discussed.
Show Notes
In this episode of The Eric Ries Show, I sit down with Daniel Dines, the Founder and CEO of UiPath, a company that started in robotic process automation (RPA) and is now making a bold shift into agentic AI. Dubbed “the boss of bots” by Forbes, Daniel has led UiPath from its humble beginnings to a $6.65 billion company that’s reshaping the future of automation.
Daniel’s journey is anything but conventional. After working as an engineer on SQL at Microsoft, he felt a pull toward something more creative—building his own product. That decision led him back to Romania, where he founded the company that would eventually become UiPath.
In our conversation today, we talk about the following topics:
• Why stepping out of your comfort zone is key to growth
• The Jack London book that changed Daniel’s life
• The benefits of bootstrapping vs. raising big VC money
• Why letting go is the hard part of a pivot
• How failure can unlock unexpected opportunities
• A case for mixing work and life to build a strong company culture
• Why empowering employees is good for business
• What Daniel learned from UiPath’s journey to IPO
• Daniel’s plans for his second stint as CEO
• Why Daniel is optimistic about the impact AI will have on the future of work
• And more!
—
Brought to you by:
• Wilson Sonsini – Wilson Sonsini is the innovation economy’s law firm. Learn more.
• Explo – Explo helps teams deploy customer dashboard portals. Get Started.
• Gusto – Gusto is an easy payroll and benefits software built for small businesses. Get 3 months free.
—
Where to find Daniel Dines:
• LinkedIn: https://x.com/danieldines
• X: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danieldines/
—
Where to find Eric:
• Newsletter:https://ericries.carrd.co/
• Podcast:https://ericriesshow.com/
• YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@theericriesshow
—
In This Episode We Cover:
(00:00) Intro
(03:11) Growing up in communist Romania
(10:00) The importance of breaking out of your comfort zone
(13:41) Joy as a sign you’re on the right path
(15:27) The Jack London book that made Daniel an entrepreneur
(16:40) The beginnings of UiPath
(18:50) Why writing code wasn’t enough for Daniel and why coding is creative
(22:22) UiPath’s values
(24:50) Why Daniel returned to Romania
(28:00) Advantages of bootstrapping
(30:50) Pivoting to become a product company from outsourcing
(33:27) An early password management product that didn’t work out
(34:55) The difficult pivot that led to the product that is UiPath now
(39:10) How the early failures led to the big opportunity
(41:37) Hitting product market fit
(43:50) Why Daniel hired misfits, and the characteristics he looked for in hires
(48:32) How Daniel protected UiPath's values and why he plans to renew the commitment
(54:00) The importance of empowering employees at all levels to provide feedback
(57:47) UiPath’s journey to IPO
(1:01:30) Why Eric thinks he didn’t prepare Daniel psychologically for the difficulty of IPO
(1:03:46) Synthetic volatility’s human cost
(1:07:01) Why Daniel stepped down as CEO and why he’s resuming CEO duties
(1:11:55) Daniel’s second stint as CEO: hiring people he likes and going all in on agentic AI
(1:18:20) The promise of open source
(1:19:24) Daniel’s thoughts on the future of work
(1:24:36) Lightning round
—
- UiPath: https://www.uipath.com/
- Martin Eden: https://www.amazon.com/Martin-Eden-Penguin-American-Library/dp/0140187723
- Narcissus and Goldmund: https://www.amazon.com/Narcissus-Goldmund-Hermann-Hesse/dp/0553275860
- He turned down $11 billion, here’s why | Craig Newmark (Craigslist Founder): https://www.ericriesshow.com/craig-newmark-craigslist/
- Robotic Process Automation (RPA): https://www.uipath.com/rpa/robotic-process-automation
- Seedcamp: https://seedcamp.com/
- The Single Best Interview Question You Can Ask: https://fs.blog/the-single-best-interview-question-you-can-ask/
- DeepSeek: https://www.deepseek.com/
- Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence: https://www.amazon.com/Dopamine-Nation-Finding-Balance-Indulgence/dp/1524746746
- Temporal: https://temporal.io/
- The flow state: the science of the elusive creative mindset that can improve your life: https://www.theguardian.com/science/article/2024/jul/20/flow-state-science-creativity-psychology-focus
- Genghis Khan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genghis_Khan
—
Production and marketing by https://penname.co/.
Eric may be an investor in the companies discussed.
Disclaimer
The information is provided for informational and educational purposes only, and nothing contained herein should be construed as investment advice, either on behalf of a particular security or an overall investment strategy. Information about the company is provided by the company, or comes from the companies’ public filings and is not independently verified by LTSE. Neither LTSE nor any of its affiliates makes any recommendation to buy or sell any security or any representation about the financial condition of any company. Statements regarding LTSE-listed companies are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Investors should undertake their own due diligence and carefully evaluate companies before investing. Advice from a securities professional is strongly advised.
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