Building a Successful Startup in Two Years

David Yaffe shares the story of how he left Google to start his own company, Arbor, which focused on connecting publishers and marketers. In just two years, Arbor experienced exponential growth, reaching critical mass by covering 40% of the US unique users. The company's success was driven by the right market timing, a strong team, and a solid business model. After receiving multiple acquisition offers, Arbor was ultimately acquired by LiveRamp in a nine-figure exit. The negotiation process was challenging, with several offers being turned down before the final one was accepted. The acquisition required a rapid sprint to prepare the company for due diligence and finalize the deal. With the successful exit, Yaffe faced the challenge of adjusting to a new goal and purpose in life while exploring new ventures like estuary.dev, a company focused on making real-time data infrastructure accessible and easy to implement.