How She Scaled & Sold Her Startup in 5 Years | EP 99

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Join us as Lisa, CEO of Gather (formerly Icebreaker), shares her incredible journey of building a company from the ground up. Discover how a product initially called Icebreaker evolved into Gather, navigating the challenges and opportunities presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, and how it found its niche in connecting remote teams and fostering meaningful conversations. Lisa dives into the importance of emotional intelligence in leadership, the dynamics of co-founder relationships, fundraising strategies, and the valuable lessons learned from building and successfully exiting a company. Founder's Journey: Follow Lisa's path from starting Icebreaker to successfully selling Gather.

Strategic Pivoting: Learn how the company adapted its focus during changing market conditions.

Fundraising Insights: Get a candid look at attracting investors and navigating different funding rounds.

Team Dynamics: Understand the importance of co-founder relationships and emotional intelligence in leadership.

Acquisition Lessons: Discover key takeaways and challenges from the M&A process, including a major mistake.

[00:00] Intro

[02:44] Building the MVP and Early User Validation

[06:00] The Unexpected Boost from COVID-19

[13:11] Land and Expand Strategy: New Hire Onboarding Success

[18:01] Pivoting to Productivity and Product Adaptation

[30:27] Fundraising Journey: Pre-Seed, Seed, and Series A Rounds [37:25] Emotional Intelligence as a Differentiator in Leadership

[42:43] Navigating Co-founder Conflicts and Operating Frameworks [50:24] The Rules of Venture Money and Different Exit Paths

[56:20] Learning from M&A Mistakes: A Major Misstep