LIFTOFF LIVE - Startup Stories from Inspiring Founders

LIFT99 Presents: LIFTOFF LIVE

Jevgeni Kabanov is the founder and previous CEO of Zeroturnaround. Zeroturnaround is a startup which built revolutionary developer tools like Jrebel and Xrebel. 10 years after it's founding, Jevgeni grew Zeroturnaround to being one of Estonia's most successful startups. Zeroturnaround exited to Roguewavesoftware in what is said to be Estonia's largest acquisition deal after Skype. LIFTOFF's goal is to share the stories of exceptional startup founders. Create authentic, actionable conversations around what it takes to build a great startup. LIFTOFF is a live show hosted by Avery Schrader, the founder and CEO of Modash, an influencer marketing software helping marketers to more easily collaborate with influencers. https://www.modash.io/ LIFTOFF is brought to you by LIFT99, Estonia's startup hub. LIFT99 is rapidly expanding across Central Eastern Europe after having raised 2.3 million dollars to build a Skillsharing Platform for Founders. https://www.lift99.co/ 2:30 What is Zeroturnaround 7:30 The impact of Skype on the Estonian startup scene 9:30 First experience with venture capital and growing a startup 11:00 Having a startup idea stolen 13:00 Raising startup money for the first time with Zeroturnaround 16:25 From being a technical founder to becoming a CEO 18:30 What does a CEO actually do? Jevgeni fixes toilets 25:00 A startup or a software factory? Releasing many products. Choosing a niche for a startup 28:30 The crazy content and startup culture of Zeroturnaround. The power of being whimsical. 42:00 Startup mistakes and how to avoid them. Lean Startup Method. Applying scientific method as a startup founder. 46:50 Startup acquisitions can be messy. Exiting Zeroturnaround twice, going to court. Negotiating startup acquisitions. 54:00 Leaving the startup that he founded. Startup CEO is an incredibly difficult job. 56:45 How much did Zeroturnaround exit for? 57:30 Startupwiseguys Venture fund partner. The future of Jevgeni Kabanov. After the interview, it was announced that Jevgeni joined Taxify as the Chief Product Officer. It was a great show and we are so happy to continue adding amazing founders to the lineup of LIFTOFF interviews.

LIFT99 Presents: LIFTOFF LIVE