Seven ‘Pivots’ Later, Warmly Finally Found Its Stride. CEO Max Greenwald Covers What He Wishes He Knew At The Beginning, and More…

Hunter Walk
4 min readMar 16, 2024

I met Max when he was in undergrad and visiting SF as part of Princeton’s annual TigerTrek. Then years later we reconnected at Google (where he was a Product Manager) for a GV BBQ. It was so much fun catching up that soon after as he started Warmly I was fortunately given the opportunity to angel invest. Since that time the company has evolved and grown, but even more so, Max has done the same! And I’ve gotten to see him figure out what kind of leader he wants to be. One who is currently building his company in public [ie sharing a bunch of data, progress, and even setbacks, that a startup founder might normally not disclose]. Recently I asked him to join me for Five Questions where we could talk a little bit about his journey.

Hunter Walk: Your startup Warmly recently turned four years old. If 2024 Max could magically whisper one learning, or piece of advice, into the ear of 2019 Max, what would it be?

Max Greenwald: I would whisper: You will pivot, probably multiple times. Don’t stress over making anything perfect, or answering every email. Focus maniacally on tossing a ton of spaghetti at the wall and if there is any inkling of PMF you feel it. Keep searching until you feel it. Looking back I see…

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Hunter Walk

You’ll find me @homebrew , Seed Stage Venture Fund w @satyap . Previously made products at YouTube, Google & SecondLife. Married to @cbarlerin .