Tien Tzuo | A Founder's Journey: From Zero to $1.5B

Tien Tzuo has been at the epicenter of Silicon Valley innovation for three and a half decades. In 1990, Tien was hired by Oracle. Eight years later, he joined Salesforce as employee #11. In 2007, he co-founded Zuora, a company he has been running since its creation. Tien and his team grew Zuora from an idea to a company that was valued at $1.5B when it was acquired in early 2025.

In this interview, Tien shares why great startups need to have a visionary who is supported by leaders who can manage both relationships and execution. He dispels the Genius/Jerk myth so often associated with leaders like Steve Jobs, he shares what he has learned about selecting exceptional talent, and Tien discusses how the lessons he has learned about founders apply to other businesses and in our personal lives too. He closes the interview by sharing what fills him with optimism and what mistakes humans are making today that the people of 2075 will look back at in disbelief.

Tien currently serves as CEO of Zuora (NYSE:ZUO), a company he co-founded in 2007 and took public in 2018. Under Tien's leadership, Zuora has emerged as the leading evangelist of the Subscription Economy -- the idea that all industries are shifting to a customer-centric, subscription-based business model. He is also the author of "SUBSCRIBED: Why the Subscription Model Will Be Your Company's Future - and What to Do About It". His second book, “Founders, Keepers: Why Founders Are Built to Fail, and What It Takes to Succeed,” was released in June 2025.