We Expected to Talk About Winning

We closed our inaugural AGM in San Francisco in September 2026 with Stephen Curry and Aneel Bhusri, in a conversation led by Divesh Makan, a founding partner of ICONIQ.

Aneel is the co-founder, CEO, and Chair of Workday, and a board member of the Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation. Stephen is a Penny Jar investor, a 12-time NBA All-Star, a four-time NBA champion, and an Olympic gold medalist.

We expected them to talk about winning. They ended up talking about joy. Some of our favorite takeaways:

Focus. Aneel told founders to lock in on what matters most: employees and customers. The bottom line matters (we are investors, after all), but if you lose sight of why you’re building, the balance sheet will suffer. Stephen’s version: name the distractions, and build an internal dialogue that holds the boundaries.

Trust. Leading takes trust in your team and in yourself. Aneel talked about staying open and curious, which builds confidence and raises the bar for the people around you. Stephen went back to 2014, when trusting the front office helped settle the uncertainty around a new coach named Steve Kerr. That season ended with his first championship. Listen to your gut, and to the people you trust. Sometimes they’ll change it.

Perseverance. It took Aneel three years to sign Workday’s first customer. Today Workday serves more than 11,500 organizations, including over 65% of the Fortune 500. Stephen wasn’t highly recruited out of high school. His fuel is preparation: “No matter the outcome, I know my process was right, and that ultimately leads to success.”

Joy. Aneel: “Be ambitious and hungry, but in a way that people will enjoy working with you.” He believed it when he founded Workday 20 years ago, and he’s doubling down in his re-founding era. Stephen, entering his 18th NBA season, still plays with the grin of his 7-year-old self: “I appreciate what I get to do, not what I have to do in life. My focus comes out of that intentional joy.”

To play, to build, to lead: hard things, and a privilege. Focus, trust, and perseverance get you through them. None of it lasts without joy.