# Cisco Systems & Urban Decay: Sandy Lerner (2018)

- Show: [How I Built This](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this)
- Published: 2021-05-10
- Length: 55m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-05-10-cisco-systems-urban-decay-sandy-lerner-2018

## Summary

Sandy Lerner, co-founder of Cisco Systems and later founder of Urban Decay, recounts her journey from Stanford graduate student to tech pioneer and cosmetics entrepreneur. She details the early days of building networking hardware in her living room, the struggle to secure venture capital from skeptical investors, and the hostile takeover of Cisco by CEO John Morgridge that led to her ousting. Lerner explains how she reinvented herself by launching the punk-aesthetic makeup brand Urban Decay and establishing a sustainable farm in Virginia.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-05-10-cisco-systems-urban-decay-sandy-lerner-2018#t=0) Introduction: Sandy Lerner's Early Life and Education
- [9:20](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-05-10-cisco-systems-urban-decay-sandy-lerner-2018#t=560) Stanford Networking and the Birth of Cisco
- [21:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-05-10-cisco-systems-urban-decay-sandy-lerner-2018#t=1260) Bootstrapping Cisco and Securing Venture Capital
- [32:16](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-05-10-cisco-systems-urban-decay-sandy-lerner-2018#t=1936) The Hostile Takeover and Ousting from Cisco
- [44:06](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-05-10-cisco-systems-urban-decay-sandy-lerner-2018#t=2646) Founding Urban Decay and the Cosmetics Industry
- [50:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-05-10-cisco-systems-urban-decay-sandy-lerner-2018#t=3001) Sustainable Farming and Philanthropy

## Topics

- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)
- [Fundraising & investors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/fundraising)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Growth, exits & acquisitions](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/growth-exits-and-acquisitions)

## Most relevant to

founders before launch, early-stage companies, companies scaling up, large enterprises

## Mentioned

- Cisco Systems (company)
- Urban Decay (product)
- Stanford University (company)
- Sequoia Capital (company)
- Don Valentine (other)
- John Morgridge (other)
- Len Bosack (other)
- PetNet (product)
- LVMH (company)
- Nordstrom (company)
- Neiman Marcus (company)
- Ayrshire Farm (company)
- Chatton House Library (other)
- Jane Austen (other)

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- [The Rise and Fall of DEC](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2022-06-14-the-rise-and-fall-of-dec) (Oxide and Friends)
- [Theranos, Silicon Valley, and the March Madness of Tech Fraud](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2021-09-21-theranos-silicon-valley-and-the-march-madness-of-tech-fraud) (Oxide and Friends)
- [Competing with Tech Giants: Approaches and Challenges with Morgan Teachworth of Cisco](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/over-the-air/2023-03-02-competing-with-tech-giants-approaches-and-challenges-with-morgan-teachworth-of-c) (Over the Air)
- [Ep. 23 | Arduino Co-founder Massimo Banzi on How Arduino Took the World by Storm](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/moores-lobby/2021-04-29-ep-23-arduino-co-founder-massimo-banzi-on-how-arduino-took-the-world-by-storm) (Moore's Lobby)

## Citing this page

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