OV | BUILD

Francesca Krihely knows developers. Many VCs and startup pundits suggest that the key to success is simply winning the “hearts and minds” of developers in the community. One problem: developers are notoriously allergic to traditional marketing. So, what's the secret? Francesca wrote the developer experience playbook at companies like MongoDB and Snyk, and now she is sharing her best practices with the BUILD community.

Francesca says that data is good for more than analysis and modeling. It can lead to more customer empathy. And don't miss what makes Queens the best borough in NYC.

2020 was a big year for SaaS. From IPOs to record-breaking quarters to huge M&A deals, there was no shortage of activity. But how did the average SaaS company fare in 2020? Was the breakneck growth experienced by Zoom, Shopify, and Snowflake common to the rest of the industry? Or did COVID have a bigger impact on software than the standard press headline would suggest? OpenView surveyed 1,200 software companies for our annual SaaS Benchmarks study. This year's survey revealed the impact of COVID-19 on software companies, and some of the results may surprise you. In this episode of BUILD, we hear from the masterminds behind the report, OpenView's own Kyle Poyar and Sean Fanning.

The secret to product-led sales is realizing the customer and the vendor have the same shared goal: more usage and more success with the product. And don't miss a description of the many wonders found in Chardon, OH and North Andover, MA.

Sales models are not one size fits all. There are key differences between traditional enterprise sales, high-volume inside sales, and product-led sales. In her 30 years of experience, Leandra Fishman has led teams in all of these environments. In this episode of BUILD, we unpack these different models and how to apply best practices of the past to a modern product-led sales model.

Leandra learned one big thing leading sales at Twilio and SendGrid: let developers build. You can't be overly prescriptive when you are selling building blocks. And don't miss the good things that come to you when hitchhiking in Australia.

AJ never meant to start a company. He was building websites as a freelancer, but was frustrated with the popular website platforms. They were far too complex, so AJ built Carrd as the easiest way to make one-page websites. It launched on Product Hunt and took off faster than AJ had ever expected. Now with 800k users, it's much more than a side project. And AJ has become much more than a freelancer. He's a founder, even if it happened by accident. Tune in to hear AJ's advice on what to do when your side project takes off with users and takes on a life of its own.

AJ reveals how to win Product Hunt and why he loves Naval Ravikant. Also, don't miss pro tips about his hometown of Nashville.

2020 was a year of change and redefinition across the board for software companies. Yamini Rangan is HubSpot's Chief Customer Officer, and she believes that when customers are struggling to adapt to change, the concept of “growth” itself needs to be redefined if your goal is to truly put customers first. Hear her advice for how to practice customer empathy by embracing the “customer-in, NOT function-out” approach to org design and GTM strategy.

Yamini points to navigating uncertainty and building resilience as the most important job of a leader. It's always true, but especially so today. And don't miss her experience of growing up in the cotton mill hub of Southern India.

David Cancel read 50 books in 2020, and he reveals his absolute favorites on this episode of BUILD. Tune in to hear which popular book influenced Drift's approach to company culture, and which author is helping David plan for life after COVID-19. David Cancel is best known for being a serial founder and product visionary from his track record with Drift, HubSpot, and beyond.

David's favorite book of 2020 was about Minecraft, and he read it for a special reason. He also reveals his two favorite books of all time. And don't miss how being from The Bronx can help you at the airport.

Join OpenView's Khira Gabliani, Kaitlyn Henry, and Casey Renner for honest conversations with the female leaders at PagerDuty, Microsoft, Puppet, and more. They've led teams through IPOs and built product led growth companies that change the way we work. Now, they're sharing their wisdom with you. If you're ready, let's start BUILDing To Boss.

Over the course of her 30+ year career, Edna has developed a premise: security is an inherently human challenge. Humans create and must safeguard the security integrity of technology. Hear how she balances this with the opportunities of living in a hyper-connected world.

Lisa Campbell is Autodesk's CMO, so she knows that marketing is always evolving. Hear what it takes to reimagine a design company, the role cross-functional teams play in getting things done, and how she balances the difficult tradeoffs between current needs and future impacts when setting marketing strategy.

Krista Anderson-Copperman has led two customer support teams through successful IPOs, first at Salesforce and then at Okta. At both companies, she was instrumental in building the SaaS playbook for customer success. Tune in and find out what Krista has to say about that and her time as Board Director at Drift and Advisor at Gainsight.

Merline Saintil has led teams at Intuit, Yahoo, PayPal, Adobe, Joyent, and Sun Microsystems. Now, she serves on the board of directors at a combination of five public and private companies – Alkami Technology, ShotSpotter, Inc., Banner Bank, Lightspeed HQ, GitLab, and most recently she was appointed to Evolv Technology's Board of Directors. . She's constantly thinking about how companies can address and be prepared for cybersecurity threats. Today, Merline shares these insights, her advice for first time managers, and what it means to send the figurative elevator back down.

Puppet CEO, Yvonne Wassenaar, credits three fundamental attributes for becoming a CEO: curiosity, connection, and agility. Whether it's her path from CIO to CEO, how Puppet has evolved its go-to-market strategy, or why it's so important to have professional role models, Yvonne has a story for it and is sharing it today. And, don't miss the advice she gives founders looking to use open source as part of their business.

Anne DelSanto has seen it all. She's currently an independent board member for five public and private companies in the tech space: Axonius, Traction on Demand, Juniper Networks, New Relic, Inc., and Advanced Energy. Before, she led cross-functional teams at IBM, Oracle, and Salesforce. She knows what it takes to build deeper employee engagement and how vital it is for a company's success. Today she's sharing these tips as well as the key areas product-led growth founders need to focus if they want to succeed. 

Tech companies love a good framework, and there seems to be frameworks abound for every aspect of company building except diversity, equity, and inclusion. Enter Just Work, a book from Radical Candor's Kim Scott. Kim is launching a company with the same name led by Trier Bryant. It's all about recognizing, attacking, and eliminating workplace injustices. In this episode, she draws on her experiences leading DEI efforts in The United States Air Force, Goldman Sachs, Twitter, and beyond to share tangible steps the tech ecosystem can take to improve DEI.

Take it from Andrea: go-to-market strategies are not one size fits all. But, no matter where you are in your go-to-market strategy, learning how to prioritize your time is always one of the biggest challenges. Find out how she decides which ones Cyral should focus on and which to leave behind. Plus, learn the nuances of selling to a security audience and how to position your product and messaging to really build trust.

Rashida Hodge works at the intersection of AI and customer success. During her 18 years at IBM, she led teams in strategic partnerships, product management, go-to-market, and business operations. She now heads up the customer success Azure data and AI team at Microsoft. In this episode, Rashida's giving advice to AI's future leaders, talking about representation in tech, and sharing her predictions for the future of AI.

Jeanne DeWitt Grosser was hired to scale the sales team at Stripe, which meant that she had to become smarter about customer segmentation. Throughout her career, Jeanne's relied on strong partnership with the data science organization. In this episode of BUILDing To Boss, we unpack how Stripe leveraged product-led growth to scale a sales org with a repeatable process. Plus, hear what Jeanne has to say about revolutionizing the idea of personalization in sales outreach. Hint: it's more than just personalization tokens in mass emails.

On the final miniseries episode of BUILDing To Boss, PagerDuty CMO Julie Herendeen reveals how she thinks about the role of marketing at a tech company. Find out how the company has changed since she joined PagerDuty and they became a public company, advice she gives to other marketers, and whether she'd recommend getting an MBA. Plus, hear what she thinks the next 5 years will look like for product-led growth companies.

Lauren was tasked with building out Mailchimp's first growth team. Growth is inherently cross-functional, so you need to get things done through other teams. And other teams don't always share your priorities. Lauren soon realized that growth is a game of influence, but she had a secret weapon: her background as a marketer.

When Lauren started at Mailchimp, nobody was working on conversion. Hear about her experiment that led to a whopping 33% conversion increase. Plus, learn about the 230 year old national celebrity still living in Cape Elizabeth, Maine.

Zeplin is an emerging powerhouse in the design ecosystem. There's just one catch: you can't design anything in Zeplin. Founder/CEO Pelin Kenez had the unique insight that designing beautiful components, screens, and interactions is only the first step of a long journey. The success of a product is heavily dependent on the delivery of the design, which is much harder than it seems.

It often seems that product marketing is the least understood aspect of marketing. Many people are even confused by the definition of product marketing - what is it, exactly? In this episode, Astha Malik takes these challenges head on and gives us a masterclass on the role and impact of product marketing at all stages of company development. And if you're hiring for PMM roles, you won't want to miss her recruiting advice.

Astha shares what traits make for a great product marketing hire (hint: it's all about the customer) and tips on how to land your first board director role. Plus, find out what she loves most about her hometown of Delhi, India.

Atlassian is a company driven by its principles and values. Jürgen Spangl (CXO) has been a leader at Atlassian since 2012, and he says these values impact everything at the company. This even includes how they approach meetings. Hear how structured sparring sessions and dedicated journey mapping exercises lead to better collaboration and better outcomes.

Jürgen says designers need to stop trying so hard to be innovative and different. Creativity is obviously important, but you shouldn't always reinvent the wheel. The key is to apply clear patterns and get things done. Plus, learn about the famous markets found in his hometown in Austria!

Ben knows app stores. Privy is one of the most popular apps on the Shopify app store with nearly 25,000 reviews. Most companies focus on building the app itself, but distribution is just as important. Ben walks Blake through how to get traffic to your listing, and how to convert that traffic into a happy customer base.

CMOs own all the marketing, right? Wrong. CEOs need to be all-in on marketing too. But how? Hear about Ben's working relationship with Privy's former CMO, Dave Gerhardt, on this episode of BUILD with Blake Bartlett.

Paige built and scaled platform and developer marketing at Slack. The success of the Slack App Store and the like showed her what works (and what doesn't) with developer programs. She shares her playbook for attracting and engaging developers to build great stuff for your app store or marketplace.

Developer-focused roles are popping up everywhere. But what do all these roles do, exactly? Paige walks us through the biggest differences between developer relations and developer marketing, and how to build your team.

Ed is a really great VC. He backs founders from “Day 1” long before there's a product. Even better, Ed happens to love PLG just as much as I do. We discuss the differences in backing PLG startups at different stages.

It's tempting as a founder to skip steps. Either because you're eager to ship, or because you unknowingly lack visibility on key aspects of your business. Ed tells us why wiring up analytics from Day 1 is critical.

Hila is a uniquely talented growth leader. Specifically, she has led growth functions in both B2C and B2B contexts. There are many similarities, but also many differences. And one thing is clear today: B2B is taking its cues from B2C best practices as the PLG movement takes over the SaaS world.

Growth teams aren't one size fits all. Hila talks about the importance of setting up a growth team that fits your growth model.

Kyle built Figma's sales team from scratch. When he joined, company culture was established and PLG was already driving hypergrowth. Learn how Kyle integrated sales into Figma's culture, and got the whole company cheering for the next gong.

What is the role of sales in a product launch? Hear how Kyle helped make Figma's launch of FigJam a smashing success.

Founders typically own product in the early days. It's only fitting, as the product is the manifestation of your entrepreneurial vision. But soon enough you need to hire a product team. Nikita says that happens sooner than you think. Listen in for her ultimate guide on how to build your company's first product team.

Nikita has built exceptional product teams. Hear how her personal hiring framework draws a key distinction between the role and the person.

Are you struggling to recruit today? Postscript has skillfully navigated the myriad talent market challenges by leading with culture. The key focal points for the company's culture are transparency and authenticity. Nailing these attributes can create a virtuous cycle of employee engagement and referrals for your company too.

Gen Z thinks about work differently. How exactly do they evaluate new companies and roles? And how should your company adapt?

The key to customer centricity is empathy. But where does empathy come from? Actual knowledge of your customer, their pain and their goals. Everyone on your team shares responsibility in developing this knowledge. But most companies delegate this to user research, annual surveys or maybe the founder's gut. It's not enough.

Hubert shares what it means to have product objectives support company goals, why that's so important, and how to watch out for the challenges that come with it.

Godard credits much of G2's success to the practice of Conscious Leadership across the management team. It's a framework that helps leaders build trust and create conscious cultures. Learn how Godard discovered it during a time of leadership difficulty, and how he implements it today.

Mindfulness and meditation are two hot topics today. G2 makes this an intentional focus for its entire team, not just a personal practice. And it's working.

Founders often have strong opinions and extreme perspectives. In the early days, this is good because it leads innovators to start companies. But as a team scales, leaders need to adopt an open mindset. Prashanth describes how this approach has led Stack Overflow to huge success by embracing counterintuitive strategies. Key Takeaways:[3:18] What does Prashanth mean exactly by non-dualistic leadership?[5:02] Prashanth shares examples of non-dualistic leadership.[7:40] Prashanth shares his thoughts about the statement “strong opinions loosely held.”[10:22] Prashanth shares examples of some best practices and commonly accepted ideas that he had thought about differently.[16:41] How does Prashanth think about the risk and mitigating the risk of a consensus-seeking approach?[19:10] What are some sort of starting points for those trying to put this approach into practice?Mentioned in this episode:Sign up for OpenView's weekly newsletterPrashanth Chandrasekar, CEO at Stack OverflowStack OverflowFollow Blake Bartlett on Linkedin. Podcast produced by OpenView.View our blog for more context/inspiration.OpenView on LinkedinOpenView on TwitterOpenView on InstagramOpenView on Facebook

Stack Overflow's mission is to empower the world to develop technology through collective knowledge. Prashanth describes how his personal story connects to this big mission, and how his team works to make this vision a reality.Mentioned in this episode:Sign up for OpenView's weekly newsletterPrashanth Chandrasekar, CEO at Stack OverflowStack OverflowFollow Blake Bartlett on Linkedin. Podcast produced by OpenView.View our blog for more context/inspiration.OpenView on LinkedinOpenView on TwitterOpenView on InstagramOpenView on Facebook

What does marketing look like in a PLG model? Marketers know that PLG changes things, but does it change everything? Sara makes the case for finding the right balance between novel strategies and long-standing best practices for PLG marketers. Mentioned in this episode:Sign up for OpenView's weekly newsletterSara Varni, CMO at AttentiveAttentiveFollow Blake Bartlett on Linkedin. Podcast produced by OpenView.View our blog for more context/inspiration.OpenView on LinkedinOpenView on TwitterOpenView on InstagramOpenView on Facebook

The Great Resignation is scary for many companies. But Sara sees it as an opportunity, not a threat. Hear her advice for how to lead your team in 2022 and beyond.Mentioned in this episode:Sign up for OpenView's weekly newsletterSara Varni, CMO at AttentiveAttentiveFollow Blake Bartlett on Linkedin. Podcast produced by OpenView.View our blog for more context/inspiration.OpenView on LinkedinOpenView on TwitterOpenView on InstagramOpenView on Facebook

Yac started as an agency side project. But after winning a big Product Hunt hackathon, investors started tweeting at them. In a few days, Justin and Jordan were now startup co-founders, and those tweets turned into a $400k seed round. Hear how Yac made Twitter their best channel for everything, and how you can create real community online.Key Takeaways:[2:10] How did Jordan and Justin go from So Friendly to starting Yac?[3:18] Are Jordan and Justin in a tech hub?[4:02] What was it like to build Yac?[7:00] Justin talks about how Yac certainly got bigger than expected.[7:47] Justin and Jordan speak about the $400,000 tweet.[11:06] Justin and Jordan initially felt it was unreal to get funded for Yac.[12:33] Justin and Jordan started the trend of remote meetings prior to the pandemic.[12:53] Did the origin of Yac feel like a product-market fit?[13:42] Justin and Jordan explain how Twitter played a big role in the second phase of developing Yac.[16:03] Jordan shares how they kept connecting through Twitter.[17:45] How did Jordan and Justin make Twitter work for them?[21:28] Be genuine, be nice, and keep doing it.[22:26] Jordan talks about Emilio, a key member of Yac.[25:59] Real is what converts.[26:35] What does community mean for Jordan and Justin?[30:52] When you have a hidden agenda, everybody knows.Mentioned in this episode:Sign up for OpenView's weekly newsletterJordan Walker, Co-FounderJustin Mitchell, Co-Founder and CEOYacFollow Blake Bartlett on Linkedin. Podcast produced by OpenView.View our blog for more context/inspiration.OpenView on LinkedinOpenView on TwitterOpenView on InstagramOpenView on Facebook

Yac started as an agency side project. But after winning a big Product Hunt hackathon, investors started tweeting at them. In a few days, Justin and Jordan were now startup co-founders, and those tweets turned into a $400k seed round. Hear how Yac made Twitter their best channel for everything, and how you can create real community online.Mentioned in this episode:Sign up for OpenView's weekly newsletterJordan Walker, Co-FounderJustin Mitchell, Co-Founder and CEOYACFollow Blake Bartlett on Linkedin. Podcast produced by OpenView.View our blog for more context/inspiration.OpenView on LinkedinOpenView on TwitterOpenView on InstagramOpenView on Facebook

Most startups and VCs focus on headcount growth. Success is often measured in how many times your headcount has multiplied. Scaling your people and talent deliberately requires balancing four factors: culture, structure, talent acquisition, and management systems. Hear how Beth has tackled this at Chime, one of the fastest growing fintech companies on earth. Key Takeaways:[2:34] The focus usually is on the number of hires; is this the right direction?[4:35] Blake and Beth explain why faster is good, but it's not the only thing.[5:27] What is a model for scale for the people in talent function and why do you need one?[6:00] Beth shares the example of Nike and their use of a model to scale.[7:17] Beth talks about a model with four pillars: culture, structure, talent, and management systems and process. She starts explaining what culture looks like in this model.[8:02] Beth dives deep into the concept of structure.[9:00] Beth shares about talent.[10:03] What are management systems and processes about?[11:34] Beth explains why there has been a big misunderstanding of what culture is.[15:08] Beth expands on why the ideal structure doesn't matter if you have everything else in place.[16:50] Structure goes hand-in-hand with culture; it is about clarity, communication, and collaboration.[18:14] Beth shares her philosophies and strategies on talent.[20:42] Beth talks about retention and the great resignation.[22:50] Beth tells more about management systems and processes.[25:20] Beth shares what Survey Champions are about.[26:11] Beth shares her perspective on where to begin building a model to scale.Mentioned in this episode:Sign up for OpenView's weekly newsletterBeth Steinberg, SVP of People and Talent at ChimeChimeFollow Blake Bartlett on Linkedin. Podcast produced by OpenView.View our blog for more context/inspiration.OpenView on LinkedinOpenView on TwitterOpenView on InstagramOpenView on Facebook

Career paths today look less like a ladder and more like a checkerboard. You go somewhere to acquire a skill, even if it's a non-linear move on your resume. This is especially true for Gen Z. Hear how to leverage talent development to attract more top candidates to your squares on the checkerboard. Mentioned in this episode:Sign up for OpenView's weekly newsletterBeth Steinberg, SVP of People and Talent at ChimeChimeFollow Blake Bartlett on Linkedin. Podcast produced by OpenView.View our blog for more context/inspiration.OpenView on LinkedinOpenView on TwitterOpenView on InstagramOpenView on Facebook

Everyone wants to be a platform, but be careful what you wish for. Platform go-to-market is radically different from application go-to-market. It requires a whole different framework and a special focus on solutions. Devang describes the platform GTM frameworks he developed at Twilio and Snorkel AI.Mentioned in this episode:Sign up for OpenView's weekly newsletterDevang Sachdev, Vice President of Marketing at Snorkel AISnorkel AIFollow Blake Bartlett on Linkedin.Podcast produced by OpenView.View our blog for more context/inspiration.OpenView on LinkedinOpenView on TwitterOpenView on InstagramOpenView on Facebook

Your product's story is really the story of your customers. Listen to Devang's straightforward framework for successful product storytelling.Mentioned in this episode:Sign up for OpenView's weekly newsletterDevang Sachdev, Vice President of Marketing at Snorkel AISnorkel AIFollow Blake Bartlett on Linkedin.Podcast produced by OpenView.View our blog for more context/inspiration.OpenView on LinkedinOpenView on TwitterOpenView on InstagramOpenView on Facebook

PLG changes the customer journey. A customer advances by taking actions directly in the product, which means product analytics are paramount to PLG success. Jesus Requena tells the story of how he built the PLG analytics stack at Unity, and the unexpected insights it uncovered. He shows you how embracing product analytics can change your company's go-to-market results.Mentioned in this episode:Sign up for OpenView's weekly newsletterJesus Requena, Vice President of Growth Marketing at FigmaFigmaUnityFollow Blake Bartlett on Linkedin.Podcast produced by OpenView.View our blog for more context/inspiration.OpenView on LinkedinOpenView on TwitterOpenView on InstagramOpenView on Facebook

PQLs are a hot topic, but they are very tricky to define and implement correctly. Jesus helps clarify and illustrate the role of PQLs in a broader PLG analytics stack.Mentioned in this episode:Sign up for OpenView's weekly newsletterJesus Requena, Vice President of Growth Marketing at FigmaFigmaUnityFollow Blake Bartlett on Linkedin.Podcast produced by OpenView.View our blog for more context/inspiration.OpenView on LinkedinOpenView on TwitterOpenView on InstagramOpenView on Facebook

Product-led sales is selling to companies that already use your product. How hard can that be? Very hard, it turns out. PLG companies need to think about sales in a fundamentally different way in order to succeed. Alex has dedicated his career to solving this problem, and he shares his expertise with us.To hear this interview and more like it, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, our website, or search for BUILD with Blake Bartlett in your favorite podcast player.Mentioned in this episode:Sign up for OpenView's weekly newsletterAlex Bilmes, Founder and CEO at EndgameEndgameFollow Blake Bartlett on Linkedin.Podcast produced by OpenView.View our blog for more context/inspiration.OpenView on LinkedinOpenView on TwitterOpenView on InstagramOpenView on Facebook

PLG companies are raising larger rounds than ever, at higher prices than ever. Seeing this prompts two BIG questions. Why is this happening? What are these companies going to do with all that cash? Alex works directly with these companies and their GTM teams, and tells us what he has been seeing.To hear this interview and more like it, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, our website, or search for BUILD with Blake Bartlett in your favorite podcast player.Mentioned in this episode:Sign up for OpenView's weekly newsletterAlex Bilmes, Founder and CEO at EndgameEndgameFollow Blake Bartlett on Linkedin.Podcast produced by OpenView.View our blog for more context/inspiration.OpenView on LinkedinOpenView on TwitterOpenView on InstagramOpenView on Facebook

Founders often obsess over product, and for good reason. It's hard to have a good business with a terrible product. May Habib argues that is only half the solution for founders. It's equally important to obsess over product distribution. After all, it's hard to achieve and maintain hypergrowth with terrible distribution.Mentioned in this episode:Sign up for OpenView's weekly newsletterMaya Habib, CEO at WriterWriterFollow Blake Bartlett on Linkedin.Podcast produced by OpenView.View our blog for more context/inspiration.OpenView on LinkedinOpenView on TwitterOpenView on InstagramOpenView on Facebook

GPT-3 is a deep learning language model from OpenAI, and it has taken the developer world by storm. May Habib is the Co-Founder and CEO of Writer, an AI writing assistant for teams, and she unpacks what GPT-3 is and why it's so promising for SaaS companies.Mentioned in this episode:Sign up for OpenView's weekly newsletterMaya Habib, CEO at WriterWriterFollow Blake Bartlett on Linkedin.Podcast produced by OpenView.View our blog for more context/inspiration.OpenView on LinkedinOpenView on TwitterOpenView on InstagramOpenView on Facebook

Hypergrowth is hard. Sustaining hypergrowth is even harder. Leaders need to constantly bring new talent into the organization to avoid plateaus. The tricky part? New talent almost always entails changing roles for existing team members. Peter says the answer is to embrace the pain of difficult conversations to maintain speed.Key Takeaways:[2:54] What makes hypergrowth hard for a startup leader?[5:48] Anticipating plateaus to guide company success, and answering "What could go wrong?"[9:42] The time to anticipate plateaus is when things are going really well.[13:56] Early indicators of problems, and staying ahead to scale talent with the organization] [17:07] Adding specialized talent rather than replacing people[20:02] How to approach tough conversations[24:51] Choosing the pain of difficult conversation, and the context of delivering bad news[27:32] Understand what you're good at and be proactive in finding talent who can do the things you don't like to doMentioned in this episode:Sign up for OpenView's weekly newsletterPeter McKay, CEO of SnykSnykFollow Blake Bartlett on Linkedin. Podcast produced by OpenView.View our blog for more context/inspiration.OpenView on LinkedinOpenView on TwitterOpenView on InstagramOpenView on Facebook

A company is only as good as its people. And if a company is growing fast, then it's only as good as the last hire. CEOs should set the tone by striving to be the top performing recruiter at the company.Key Takeaways:[0:10] "People, culture is the top job for a CEO."Mentioned in this episode:Sign up for OpenView's weekly newsletterPeter McKay, CEO of SnykSnykFollow Blake Bartlett on Linkedin. Podcast produced by OpenView.View our blog for more context/inspiration.OpenView on LinkedinOpenView on TwitterOpenView on InstagramOpenView on Facebook

Many SaaS startups are launched out of services companies. Yaw was running an agency building apps, and kept seeing a consistent pain point in his ecommerce clients' workflows. So he built a SaaS product to address the need, and boom

Services-based startups are often dismissed as unscalable “body shops.” But agencies and consultancies are often where product ideas hatch. Yaw reveals his pro tips for how to identify *which* product ideas are worth building as an agency.Key Takeaways:[0:08] Advice for an agency, consultancy, or freelance operation on knowing which idea to go after and buildMentioned in this episode:Sign up for OpenView's weekly newsletterYaw Aning, Cofounder and CEO of MalomoMalomoSubscribe to Blake Bartlett on YouTube. Podcast produced by OpenView.View our blog for more context/inspiration.OpenView on LinkedinOpenView on TwitterOpenView on InstagramOpenView on Facebook

There is a dearth of good advice on how to sell or exit your startup. Most people use outdated slogans like “companies are bought, not sold” but offer little practical advice to navigate a daunting M&A process. Andrew has sold two software companies previously, and now is building MicroAcquire, the founder-friendly marketplace for selling startups. He shares everything he knows about selling companies.Key Takeaways:[1:17] Andrew talks about Bizness Apps—his first company—and the experience of being a founder[3:01] What selling his first company was like for Andrew[4:09] Paths available to folks considering selling their startup outside huge IPOs and unicorn acquisitions[6:25] What does it take to sell the company?[8:35] The role of marketing in telling the story of your company for someone else to believe in and buy the company[10:39] Addressing myths about selling, and the reality that founders aren't trained to sell their businesses[16:03] Understanding why you want to sell, and setting it up for success[18:33] What is MicroAcquire, and how can startup founders leverage the service?Mentioned in this episode:Sign up for OpenView's weekly newsletterAndrew Gazdecki, CEO of MicroAcquireMicroAcquireSubscribe to Blake Bartlett on YouTube.Podcast produced by OpenView.View our blog for more context/inspiration.OpenView on LinkedinOpenView on TwitterOpenView on InstagramOpenView on Facebook

Founders often shoot themselves in the foot when it comes to running an M&A process. Andrew points out the most common mistakes he's seen, and how to avoid them.Key Takeaways:[0:23] The Biggest Mistake Founders Make Selling Their BusinessMentioned in this episode:Sign up for OpenView's weekly newsletterAndrew Gazdecki, CEO of MicroAcquireMicroAcquireSubscribe to Blake Bartlett on YouTube.Podcast produced by OpenView.View our blog for more context/inspiration.OpenView on LinkedinOpenView on TwitterOpenView on InstagramOpenView on Facebook

Every PLG business will eventually have to build for the enterprise. Why? Bottom up adoption can indeed go “all the way up”...to the C-level of large organizations. But to get that 6- or 7-figure contract, you'll need to beef up the product for the big leagues. Annie has gone through the journey at Glassdoor, and now at Calendly. She shares her playbook with us in today's episode.Calendly is an OpenView portfolio company. For a full portfolio list please visit ov.vcKey Takeaways:[2:10] What it looks like for PLG businesses to embrace enterprise[4:42] Three components that make adopting enterprise easier said than done[7:49] How to tackle the PLG plus enterprise transition in terms of people [17:00] Maintaining simplicity and the end user experience as a philosophical north star[19:51] Trades offs of embracing enterprise products from the PLG standpoint, and how to manage them[22:57] Building solutions for personas and horizontal platforms[28:06] Platforms and opting into layers of complexity[30:01] Foundational step number one to building towards enterpriseMentioned in this episode:Sign up for OpenView's weekly newsletterAnnie Pearl, Chief Product Officer at CalendlyCalendlySubscribe to Blake Bartlett on YouTube.Podcast produced by OpenView.View our blog for more context/inspiration.OpenView on LinkedinOpenView on TwitterOpenView on InstagramOpenView on Facebook

A product professional's role changes dramatically over time as a company and product scales, and as the individual develops additional skills and experiences. Annie says you need to “product manage” your own career as a PM in this highly dynamic environment.Calendly is an OpenView portfolio company. For a full portfolio list please visit ov.vcKey Takeaways:[0:13] What it's like for Annie to product manage her career as a PMMentioned in this episode:Sign up for OpenView's weekly newsletterAnnie Pearl, Chief Product Officer at CalendlyCalendlySubscribe to Blake Bartlett on YouTube.Podcast produced by OpenView.View our blog for more context/inspiration.OpenView on LinkedinOpenView on TwitterOpenView on InstagramOpenView on Facebook

John built the global sales team at Canva, which allowed the company to expand further into the enterprise. He walks us through everything a PLG founder needs to know about adding a top-down motion to a bottom-up, product-led foundation. When should PLG companies do this? Why is it necessary? What is the strategy? And how do you do it IRL? Key Takeaways: [4:35] Repeatability in enterprise customers and understanding where these deals stall out[8:01] Stall points in enterprise spending and getting purchase approval[10:30] Embracing a top-down motion for PLG companies[14:17] Combining bottom-up and top-down to scale business using customer success stories[17:24] Communicating to executives the story of what software adoption saves[20:24] A broader context and story of how the platform improves customer lives[22:47] How the data component can make or break sales efforts[27:40] Where is adoption happening and using data to determine who gets involved[30:10] How to get the entire company working with salesMentioned in this episode:Sign up for OpenView's weekly newsletterJohn Eitel, Former Global Vice President of Sales & Success at CanvaCanvaSubscribe to Blake Bartlett on YouTube.Podcast produced by OpenView.View our blog for more context/inspiration.OpenView on LinkedinOpenView on TwitterOpenView on InstagramOpenView on Facebook

Adding a top-down sales motion is a make-or-break moment for PLG companies. If it's done right, it can make you the next big thing in your category. If it's not done right, it can break your team and ultimately compromise your position in the market. The answer? All-in commitment from the founders and key leaders. Enterprise PLG is a team sport!Key Takeaways:[00:06] The most common mistakes John sees PLG founder make when adding sales to a bottom-up or self-service motion [02:15] The hidden subtext to be helpfulMentioned in this episode:Sign up for OpenView's weekly newsletterJohn Eitel, Former Global Vice President of Sales & Success at CanvaCanvaSubscribe to Blake Bartlett on YouTube.Podcast produced by OpenView.View our blog for more context/inspiration.OpenView on LinkedinOpenView on TwitterOpenView on InstagramOpenView on Facebook

Cliff is the Founder CEO of Speechify. He's also a “full-time” YouTuber, with an awesome channel that features startup advice, life hacks, and self-improvement philosophy. He explains the why and how behind his personal brand strategy on YouTube, and we dive deep into one of my favorite videos of his, “28 Rules for Turning 28.”Key Takeaways:[02:45] Meet Cliff, CEO of Speechify, and his YouTube channel[06:31] Connecting with an audience, and thinking "will this be interesting to someone?"[08:15] 28 Rules for Turning 28[12:27] Rule #10: Lead with Love[15:55] Rule #22: Speed is critical[21:36] How to begin writing your own rules for your ageMentioned in this episode:Sign up for OpenView's weekly newsletterCliff Weitzman, Founder & CEO of SpeechifyCliff's YouTube video, 28 Lessons for Turning 28SpeechifySubscribe to Blake Bartlett on YouTube.Podcast produced by OpenView.View our blog for more context/inspiration.OpenView on LinkedinOpenView on TwitterOpenView on InstagramOpenView on Facebook

Cliff has a secret learning strategy: recruit the best people in the world at a skill to personally train you. It's easier than you think. They're just a DM away. Check out this quick pro tip and try it out yourself!Key Takeaways:[00:34] Rule 25 — How to find the best people in the world at a skillMentioned in this episode:Sign up for OpenView's weekly newsletterCliff Weitzman, Founder & CEO of SpeechifyCliff's YouTube video, 28 Lessons for Turning 28SpeechifySubscribe to Blake Bartlett on YouTube.Podcast produced by OpenView.View our blog for more context/inspiration.OpenView on LinkedinOpenView on TwitterOpenView on InstagramOpenView on Facebook

“Community” is a major buzzword today, and for good reason. Community creates leverage, and lots of it. Gonto ran marketing and growth at Auth0 for 7 years before the $6.5 billion acquisition by Okta. He cuts through the buzzword noise to give us his perspective and playbook on why (and how) to win with a community strategy.Key Takeaways:[00:27] Overview — Building a community[02:24] Defining community, and why is it trending[04:56] Creating communities through open source products, enterprise solutions, and other methods[08:55] How to identify members to target if you're building from scratch[13:31] Tapping into existing communities and identifying communities to target[21:17] Doing research with a user, interviewing developers, and engaging on Twitter[26:30] What does a community team look like, and who owns the effort in a PLG company?[30:02] KPIs and measuring the business value of building communityMentioned in this episode:Sign up for OpenView's weekly newsletterMartin Gontovnika, Co-Founder and General Partner at HyperGrowth PartnersHyperGrowth PartnersSubscribe to Blake Bartlett on YouTube.Podcast produced by OpenView.View our blog for more context/inspiration.OpenView on LinkedinOpenView on TwitterOpenView on InstagramOpenView on Facebook

A lot of PLG talk is focused on operational strategies and tactics. But what does PLG mean for the CEO of a company? What should your mindset be? How do you address common objections you might hear from your team (especially if transitioning to PLG for the first time).Key Takeaways:[00:04] Fully supporting product level growth[00:39] Investing in sales, self-service, and not optimizing for the local maximum[02:27] KPIs and linking to revenue[03:18] Growth teams need support and buy-inMentioned in this episode:Sign up for OpenView's weekly newsletterMartin Gontovnika, Co-Founder and General Partner at HyperGrowth PartnersHyperGrowth PartnersSubscribe to Blake Bartlett on YouTube.Podcast produced by OpenView.View our blog for more context/inspiration.OpenView on LinkedinOpenView on TwitterOpenView on InstagramOpenView on Facebook

Harini leads customer success at AWS, which is arguably the most important enterprise technology vendor today. She says customer success needs to play proactive offense more than reactive defense. By starting with your customer's customer, you can align your strategic initiatives with your customers' to achieve win-win outcomes. Key Takeaways:[ 00:07 ] Overview of episode[ 02:47 ] What customer centricity means to Harini[ 06:44 ] Customer success as offense vs. defense[ 15:50 ] How customer success should partner with other teams, and should they partner with customer success?[ 22:54 ] How to get a good interface between CX and product, and correctly prioritizing what needs built[ 27:27 ] What you can do to move from defense to offense in your CX org

Everyone today claims to be an expert in their social media profile. But truly being a world-class expert requires extremely narrow focus. Harini argues that range and breadth is just as important, but often overlooked today.

PLG breaks traditional SaaS top of funnel. Why? Trusty channels like content marketing, email nurture and in-person events don't translate to PLG. Kyle has identified what works for PLG leaders like Zapier, Figma and Calendly, and shares a new top of funnel playbook built for the PLG era.Conversation highlights:[01:54] Problems PLG companies face when it comes to top of funnel[04:16] Thinking about building for the end user, and building to be discovered[08:19] Full empathy and finding solutions to user problems, the customer perspective[11:33] SEO and Organic Search: How to get discovered and what things folks should focus on bringing to their business[12:57] What SEO best practices should PLG companies consider15:15[] Opportunities for PLG businesses and the RFP template[16:13] Viral loops in products, and what they look like[22:11] What role community plays in top of funnel for PLG businesses[24:42] What app stores and distribution channels look like for users[27:05] Where should folks get started

Kyle is a one-man content machine. If you follow him on LinkedIn or subscribe to his Substack, you know this is true. How does Kyle approach content? What is his personal brand strategy? How did he win at Substack?

Let's face it. Statistically, your current team is not likely to be your future team. It's incredibly rare for any single leader to stay with a company through multiple phases of growth. As a board member and advisor to companies like Asana, Krista's job is to assess teams and help CEOs determine who's gonna make it and who isn't. What she looks for to determine this may surprise you. Conversation highlights:[00:09] Intro — Meet Krista[02:11] Having a team for the future[05:09] Common traps people fall into when building their teams[10:15] Addressing and assessing whether or not you have a team for the future[12:37] Lean on others, and learning what your business should be solving for[15:03] Characteristics to look for in future-proofing your team: passion and curiosity[19:24] Embracing and loving change[22:31] Finding the truth and not just hearing the right answer[25:29] The challenge of scale and growing teams with the business[27:33] A good starting point for looking at teams and defining if they're tomorrow's team

Krista was CCO at Okta for 6 years, and held a similar role at Salesforce before that. But this is a relatively new role at large software companies. What does it mean exactly? And what makes for a good CCO? Conversation highlights: [01:20] What is the Chief Customer Officer[02:22] The glue between an organization and its customers

Katie has been Chief People Officer at HubSpot since 2017. She has helped the company grow to thousands of employees globally. Katie outlines her top priorities in today's uncertain macro environment — both for existing employees and for recruiting new talent. Must listen for any leader today!Conversation highlights: [01:40 - 03:04] What is happening in the talent markets given the macroeconomic environment[03:04 - 03:58] Is top talent pronounced more in one area or industry than another?[04:01 - 05:47] Three factors leaders should be thinking about in regard to existing talent inside their organization[05:56 - 08:32] Great storytelling is important right now especially, and the idea of cartoon clarity[08:33 - 14:05] Prioritization in the age of downsizing, focusing on what matters most[15:02 - 19:12] What people need to keep top of mind for their current team: transparency and communication around decisions[19:17 - 22:24] Switching gears to recruiting and new talent[22:26 - 24:52] Screening for adaptability in the hiring process[24:54 - 29:56] Creating culture after the covid new normal

Katie shares the advice she'd give a friend or family member who is deciding to stay in a role or recruit for a new one. Most of the advice today is focused on leaders and companies. Katie's advice for you, the employee, is fresh and spot on.

Mark was CRO at HubSpot for 9+ years. He built the successful sales-led GTM playbook that helped the company scale to nearly $100M ARR. Then he shifted gears and helped pioneer PLG at HubSpot, effectively disrupting the original GTM playbook he built at the company. Hear Mark walk through the full story on how HubSpot became PLG, and how you can transition to PLG at your company.Conversation Highlights:[3:18] Hubspot's PLG story: How it began[7:08] The complexity of adding a free product, and maintaining your revenue[13:28] Through the PLG lens: What was the starting point, and how Hubspot made self-service work within the CRM space[18:41] The intricacies of forming a new pricing tier[28:39] Disrupting yourself before someone else does[31:26] Advice from Mark: What is the first step? And how long after that can we expect to see some results?

Mark is now a VC at Stage 2 Capital, and also teaches a class at Harvard Business School called “Decoding Growth in Silicon Valley.” It focuses on applying the best practices from B2C growth to B2B GTM playbooks. Today on BUILD, he gives us the key organizational and strategic “must-have” pillars in order to embrace the future of B2B growth and win with PLG.

Alex is big on TikTok under the handle @legaltechbro. He has quickly become one of the biggest influencers in the entire legaltech industry. How? 15 second video skits poking fun at the legal profession. It's a counterintuitive strategy on its face, but it's working in a big way. Alex lays out his journey and his playbook.Conversation Highlights: [00:10 - 01:36] Introduction to Alex Su [01:40 - 03:11] Alex Su's personal brand and strategy for his channel @legaltechbro [03:11 - 05:50] Going from a lawyer, to sales, to a content creator with a ton of influence [05:51 - 07:12] The video that blew up [07:12 - 09:41] Speak to the things you care about and that they care about [09:43 - 11:26] Resonating authentically vs thought leadership [11:33 - 13:49] Relating to friction, and layering in what a company does by focusing on the problem [13:50 - 15:37] How does @legaltechbro fit into Alex's daily role at Ironclad [15:37 - 18:02] How does making a TikTok turn into community dinners and connectivity in the buyer's journey? [18:03 - 20:04] Connecting in a genuine human way on social [21:03 - 24:50] What's the business value, budget, and the ROI? Answering the skeptic's questions. [24:50 - 27:18] Considering content's effect on inbound marketing [27:19 - 29:35] Exploring ideas, realizing when nobody is doing the idea it may be brilliant [29:37 - 32:27] Where to begin? Select the right platform for your audience.Mentioned in this episode:Sign up for OpenView's weekly newsletterAlex Su, @legaltechbroIroncladTikTokLinkedInTwitterSubscribe to Blake Bartlett on YouTube.Podcast produced by OpenView.View our blog for more context/inspiration.OpenView on LinkedinOpenView on TwitterOpenView on InstagramOpenView on Facebook

Today's shorter episode is a follow up to my longer conversation with Alex Su, Head of Community at Ironclad. In that conversation, we talk about his TikTok channel @legaltechbro and how he developed a personal brand strategy that compliments Ironclad's community-focused GTM strategy. So if you haven't heard that yet, go check it out now. In today's episode, we dive into TikTok more specifically and why you shouldn't overlook this huge new channel.Mentioned in this episode:Sign up for OpenView's weekly newsletterAlex Su, @legaltechbroIroncladTikTokLinkedInTwitterSubscribe to Blake Bartlett on YouTube.Podcast produced by OpenView.View our blog for more context/inspiration.OpenView on LinkedinOpenView on TwitterOpenView on InstagramOpenView on Facebook

Chris is CRO at Snowflake and has been leading sales there for 9 years. He's helped grow from $0 to $1B+ ARR. He's clearly a software sales legend. So how is Chris coaching his reps and leaders during today's recessionary environment? What should you change about your sales playbook in order to keep winning in a down market? This is the perfect episode for sales reps, sales leaders, and founders/CEOs who are looking for advice on how to navigate selling in a downturn. Key Takeaways: [01:58 - 03:52] The mindset and action plan of a great sales reps in a recession[03:52 - 05:37] A passion and conviction for what you're selling[05:42 - 07:09] Addressing specific challenges of today, adding value, saving money[07:16 - 10:29] Understanding customer pain in difficult macro environments, solving for competitor gaps[10:34 - 13:03] Don't waste people's time, have a genuine conversation[13:06 - 15:27] The business value of Snowflake's model[15:28 - 18:42] Increasing sales, driving cost savings and business value[19:38 - 26:34] How sales reps and leadership should be thinking about success[26:35 - 31:27] Pipeline generation and sales success[31:26 - 32:45] It's easy to blame others[32:45 - 36:27] Dealing with smaller budgets and cultivating empathy and problem solving[36:27 - 39:14] Preparing for 2023 budgets and planning differently

Chris was Snowflake's first sales hire, and he built the commercial business from $0 to $1B+ ARR. What is the optimal relationship between a VP Sales and the Founder/CEO during this journey?Many sales leaders solely focus on hitting their number. That's certainly important, but sales also plays a pivotal role in product strategy by acting as the voice of the customer. The goal is to achieve a collaborative push-pull relationship with founders and sales leaders that drives more customer value.

B2B marketers usually overlook brand in their marketing mix. Brand marketing is only for CPG companies, right? Raj makes the case that brand marketing is not optional, if you want to win your category.But brand marketing isn't just buying a Super Bowl ad. Before you think about channels, you need to define your brand identity and build awareness. Done right, brand marketing can become an infinitely scalable strategy to drive growth.Key Takeaways: [01:19 - 04:05] What exactly is brand marketing? And why is it important?[04:06 - 05:41] Why we should dive deep into brand[05:41 - 07:36] Differentiation in branding, infinitely scalable[07:39 - 11:38] When to start thinking about brand, SEO, and the funnel[13:36 - 15:36] Determining your mission and values, brand attributes[15:36 - 17:26] Speaking ways that is consistent with identity[17:28 - 19:45] Balancing different brand attributes in messaging[19:47 - 21:04] House of brands or a branded house[22:08 - 25:31] Amplifying brand marketing and the channels of choice[25:38 - 28:58] Tracking efficacy in print and non-digital formats with modern tools[28:58 - 30:47] Where to take action on Raj's adviceMentioned in this episode:Sign up for OpenView's weekly newsletterRaj Sarkar, CMO & AdvisorLinkedInTwitterSubscribe to Blake Bartlett on YouTube.Podcast produced by OpenView.View our blog for more context/inspiration.OpenView on LinkedinOpenView on TwitterOpenView on InstagramOpenView on Facebook

Raj says that most of the PLG advice out there today is missing a key foundational point: data. Many PLG companies still rely on traditional sales & marketing software that keeps data in silos. The key to winning in PLG starts with your data infrastructure, and wiring it up early helps you scale later.Mentioned in this episode:Sign up for OpenView's weekly newsletterRaj Sarkar, CMO & AdvisorLinkedInTwitterSubscribe to Blake Bartlett on YouTube.Podcast produced by OpenView.View our blog for more context/inspiration.OpenView on LinkedinOpenView on TwitterOpenView on InstagramOpenView on Facebook

Okta's CMO for 5+ years, Ryan Carlson, says marketing's guiding light should be the company mission and values. Marketing's job is to tell the story of the company, not to merely promote the product or drive leads into the top of a funnel. Authentic marketing is rooted in the BIG questions. Why does this company exist? Who should care about that and why?Today's episode will help you:Understand this strategic approach to marketingSee the impact strategic marketing has on your audienceHow to hire mission/values-aligned marketersLeverage Ryan's playbook for company storytelling by working directly with customersKey Takeaways: [00:19 - 03:37] Introduction to Ryan Carlson, and thoughts on company culture in the world of marketing[03:44 - 06:53] What should define culture is the mission, values, and vision[06:54 - 10:00] Imparting importance, and showing why culture mattered at Okta[10:02 - 13:32] Authenticity, avoiding hyperbole and marketing BS[13:43 - 16:10] Who do you hire to marketing leadership to operate more authentically?[16:13 - 18:18] Hiring true believers, and avoiding a "customer's wrong" mentality with product market fit[19:26 - 22:45] Understanding why people like the product and the people behind it[22:48 - 25:40] Combining pen to paper with mission, values, and vision[25:42 - 28:27] Storytelling and presentations, how they impact retention[28:30 - 32:26] Story and history of your company is different[32:32 - 35:37] Figuring out if a company operates by its values as a candidateMentioned in this episode:Sign up for OpenView's weekly newsletterRyan Carlson, Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer at WizLinkedInTwitterSubscribe to Blake Bartlett on YouTube.Podcast produced by OpenView.View our blog for more context/inspiration.OpenView on LinkedinOpenView on TwitterOpenView on InstagramOpenView on Facebook

Every startup wants to create a category. This is often a mistake. Or at least it's prioritized too early by many founders and marketers. Ryan Carlson, longtime CMO at Okta, explains why this falls flat with customers and what to do instead.Key Takeaways: [00:31 - 01:53] A noted skeptic on category creation[01:54 - 02:15] Everybody wants to be a category creator[02:16 - 03:19] Focus on how they're better than the alternativeMentioned in this episode:Sign up for OpenView's weekly newsletterRyan Carlson, Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer at WizLinkedInTwitterSubscribe to Blake Bartlett on YouTube.Podcast produced by OpenView.View our blog for more context/inspiration.OpenView on LinkedinOpenView on TwitterOpenView on InstagramOpenView on Facebook

Culture at a startup is always tricky, but there's one common mistake founders should avoid at all costs. It's the desire to make everyone happy all the time. Patrick says this leads to a “culture of accommodation” which ultimately ends up not working for anyone. Hear Patrick's journey as a founder to define the culture at ProfitWell, and how you can do the same at your startup.Episode Highlights[00:03 - 01:31] Episode intro: Patrick Campbell[01:59 - 04:04] What is the role and importance of company culture in today's market environment?[06:39 - 10:26] The culture of ProfitWell and the journey to get there[12:15 - 16:26] The most charitable interpretation[17:23 - 20:08] ProfitWell values and four principles[20:21 - 23:16] Speaking their mind, being human in the most charitable way[21:11 - 23:16] Values and principles must have trade-offs[23:16 - 25:41] Here's how we operate, transparency in hiring[25:46 - 32:10] Advice for making culture something more than theoretical, a real experienceMentioned in this episode:Sign up for OpenView's weekly newsletterConnect with Patrick on LinkedInFollow Patrick on TwitterSubscribe to Blake Bartlett on YouTube.Podcast produced by OpenView.View our blog for more context/inspiration.OpenView on LinkedinOpenView on TwitterOpenView on InstagramOpenView on Facebook

Patrick says work-life balance is the wrong framework. It's more about work-life fit and finding what suits you best. This is especially true for startup founders, where your work is often all-consuming.Episode Highlights[00:32 - 02:30] Thoughts on work/life balanceMentioned in this episode:Sign up for OpenView's weekly newsletterConnect with Patrick on LinkedInFollow Patrick on TwitterSubscribe to Blake Bartlett on YouTube.Podcast produced by OpenView.View our blog for more context/inspiration.OpenView on LinkedinOpenView on TwitterOpenView on InstagramOpenView on Facebook

Alex MacCaw is the founder of Clearbit and Reflect, and his journey with each company has been wildly different. Clearbit took more of a “classic” startup approach—raising VC money, hiring hundreds of people, and working from an office in SF. In 2020, he charted a new course by replacing himself as CEO at Clearbit, selling all his possessions and living full-time on a sailboat in the Atlantic. And now he's building his new company Reflect in with a totally different approach —building a fully remote & asynchronous “lifestyle” company that decidedly eschews VC money and the other common hallmarks of a tech startup. Alex shares everything he's learned as a founder and why he believes building startups should not be one-size-fits-all. Blake and Alex talk through: (7:07) Pros/Cons of being asynchronous by design(09:01) Why Alex doesn't believe in remote work for large companies(10:11) Remote work pitfalls(14:21) When to replace yourself as CEO(15:52) How to find your zone of genius(18:31) When do startups hire a CFO or COO?(21:14) #1 piece of advice for founders(24:14) Things to know before you found a startup (B2B vs. B2C)(27:27) Why not raise venture capital(28:28) When startups should (or shouldn't) raise venture capital(29:40) How Reflect started crowdfunding(39:14) What AI and ChatGPT is good for(44:13) Best time to start a company(46:20) Not all startups need VC funding(47:16) Advice for VCs from a founder