Building a Career Around What You Love: A Fireside Chat with Bill Gurley & Malcolm Gladwell
In a world where we’ll spend 80,000 hours at work, how do we choose a career we won’t regret?
Join NYU Stern’s Berkley Center for Entrepreneurship for a fireside chat featuring Bill Gurley, general partner at Benchmark and one of Silicon Valley’s most influential venture capitalists, in conversation with famed journalist and author Malcolm Gladwell.
The discussion is inspired by Gurley’s new book, Runnin’ Down A Dream, a candid and deeply personal exploration of how people build meaningful, high-performance careers rooted in curiosity, craft, and purpose rather than prestige or perceived safety. Drawing from Gurley’s own journey and stories spanning business, sports, music, and creator culture, the conversation will examine why so many people experience career regret and how to design work that actually lasts.
Gladwell, author of Revenge of the Tipping Point, will moderate a wide-ranging conversation on ambition, mentorship, fulfillment, and how we rethink success at a moment shaped by burnout, economic uncertainty, and rapid technological change.
Both books will be available for purchase prior to the event, and Bill Gurley will sign copies following the fireside chat.
Whether you are just starting out or re-evaluating what matters next, this conversation offers a rare opportunity to reflect on work, purpose, and how great careers are really built.
Please note that this event is open to external NYU guests. If you are an external guest please put "N/A" when the registration fields ask for your Net ID and N number.