The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch 20VC: Twilio's Jeff Lawson on What It Takes To Create a Tribe, How To Create Anti-Fragile Organisations Through Decentralised Decision-Making and Why Values Are Nice But Principles Are Better
Jun 28, 2021
Jeff Lawson, Founder and CEO of Twilio, shares his journey in tech, revealing the pivotal moments that led to Twilio's inception. He dives into the essence of leadership, emphasizing the evolution of his style and the role of storytelling in connecting with teams. Lawson discusses creating a strong company culture, likening it to building a tribe, and the importance of decentralized decision-making for organizational resilience. He candidly addresses vulnerability in leadership and its power to foster trust and authenticity within teams.
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Twilio's Origin
- Jeff Lawson, reflecting on his entrepreneurial journey before Twilio, realized his ventures shared common threads.
- They leveraged software for better customer experiences and struggled with integrating communications, sparking Twilio's aha moment.
Leadership as Tribe Building
- Effective leadership involves defining desired behaviors and creating frameworks for others to understand and reinforce them.
- Companies, like tribes, thrive on shared symbols, heroes, and rituals, shaping identity and purpose.
Org Chart Revelation
- Jeff Lawson recalls a moment of frustration when Twilio had 30 employees and the flat organizational structure wasn't working.
- Drawing the org chart with investors Albert Wenger and Fred Wilson revealed the issue, highlighting the need for evolving leadership.
