Lessons on building a unicorn used by 84% of the Fortune 100 | Emil Eifrem (Neo4j)

The Eric Ries Show

In this episode of The Eric Ries Show, I’m joined by Emil Eifrem, Co-Founder and CEO of Neo4j, an open-source graph database. Neo4j enables organizations to unlock the business value of connections, influences, and relationships in data.

In our conversation today, we talk about the following topics:

• The origin story of Neo4j and why they chose open source

• Open source as a means of production vs. distribution

• How open source fosters trust and transparency

• The pros and cons of doing business in the US

• Why Neo4j updated their values and changed their stance on military contracts

• What a Leader’s Guide is and how it keeps companies tied to their mission

• The challenges of implementing AI

• An explanation of RAG information retrieval and how it relates to LLMs

• And more!

—

Brought to you by:

Vanta – Automate compliance, manage risk, and prove trust—continuously. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Get $1,000 off⁠⁠⁠⁠.

• Gusto – Gusto is an easy payroll and benefits software built for small businesses. Get 3 months free.

Runway – The finance platform you don’t hate. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Learn more⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

—

Where to find Emil Eifrem:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emileifrem/

• X: https://x.com/emileifrem

—

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

(01:42) How Eric and Emil got connected

(07:35) The origin story of Neo4j

(13:38) Why Emil went with an open-source model

(20:25) The benefits of being open source as a means of distribution

(25:07) Why Emil has no regrets about going open-source

(26:50) How open source builds trust

(30:33) The difference in doing business in the US vs. Sweden

(35:34) How Neo4j got to product market fit and early struggles

(38:30) Why Neo4j declined the GSA schedule and why it was a mistake

(46:22) Emil’s thoughts on changing his position, reworking values, and recommitting

(51:40) Eric’s advice to avoid mission drift: A leader’s guide, and a two-way review

(1:00:04) The challenge of implementing AI—and the possibility of massive opportunity

(1:09:20) How Neo4j successfully implemented AI

(1:11:55) An explanation of IR (information retrieval) and how it’s relevant to AI

(1:22:44) What gives us trust in the AI system

—

You can find the transcript and references at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.ericriesshow.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

—

Production and marketing by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://penname.co/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Eric may be an investor in the companies discussed.