Interview with David Barrett, CEO and Founder of Expensify. Meet him and his team in person next month at Under the Radar.

1. What are three words that describe your company?
Very, very weird.

2. If your company was a movie, which one would it be and why?
Ocean’s 11. There are so many moving parts it’s hard to tell from the outside what’s going on, until it suddenly comes together and something amazing happens.

3. What three things should we know about your company?
1) We’re not running a choir, we’re performing an opera.
2) It takes fewer people, but those people need to be fantastic.
3) So we’re always hiring, but very slowly, and very carefully.

4. If you could give a TED Talk, what would it be about?
You know, I’ve never watched a single TED talk.

5. What Hollywood star would play your CEO?
I will accept nothing less than Goerge Clooney.

6. What one piece of advice would you give to other entrepreneurs?
Don’t ask for advice, just do your best and trust your instincts. Ultimately you’re an entrepreneur because you think you’re smarter than the next guy — either that’s true, and you’ll win, or it’s not, and you’ll fail.  But don’t let others push you away from what you think is the right path: it’s better to fail on your own merits, then fail by doing something you think is wrong — and being right.

7. Which other internet startup do you respect the most?
DropBox, Yammer, Evernote.

8. Who’s the most impressive founder you’ve ever met and why?
So hard to decide. I have huge respect for different aspects of many people, even if not impressive overall.

9. Which industry would you like to disrupt the most?
Expense management, naturally.

10. Who’s the most visionary developer you’ve ever encountered? (startup and big company)
John Carmack of id Software.  Unquestionably the best programmer (of a particular type) in the world and a true genius.

11. What’s the first website you check out every day?
Google News, then Slashdot.

12. If you could have dinner with any living person in the world, who would it be?
Drew Barrymore.  Even my wife has a crush on her.

13. What’s the first thing you’ll do when you make your first billion dollars?
You wouldn’t believe me, so you’ll just need to wait and see.

14. What’s your theme song?
“Le Singe Bleu” on the “L’Apocalypse des animaux” album by Vangelis. Lacking that would obviously be “Billionaire”.

15. If you ran a startup book club, what would be the first MUST READ book?
Innovator’s Dilemma, hands down.

16. What is your favorite “just for fun” blog?
BoingBoing.  I read it less and less, but I always enjoy it.  Though I find its politics tedious on occasion.

17. Whose Twitter feed inevitably makes you laugh?
Twitter is a waste of time.  Unless you’re following @expensify, which is awesomely insightful.

18. What food has your startup required to fuel itself?
We take the team overseas every year for a month, and currently we’re all in Vietnam.  So this month I’d vote Pho, but in past years it’s been Spaetzle (not because we were in Germany, just that Filipino food is horrible so we ate mostly German), Tandoori chicken, street tacos, kebabs, or coconut curry.

19. What’s the biggest misconception about founding a startup?
That it’s a clean sprint from start to finish.  In reality, it’s a marathon.  Through the fog.  With no idea where the other runners are, or even if there are any, and no idea how long until you reach the finish line — assuming it exists at all.  While being attacked by wolves.

20. What’s been your favorite moment since starting your company?
There are so many good moments (and so, so many bad).  But I’d have to say the single best was convincing my co-founder to join.

See Expensify present at Under the Radar November 10th, 2011 or fund them here:
@expensify
https://www.expensify.com/
http://www.facebook.com/Expensify