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20VC: Discord's Jason Citron on Why Everything We are Taught About Hiring & Management is BS | Do Richer Founders & Gamer Founders Make Better Founders? | Never Before Told Moments Behind Scaling to 200M Users

Nov 25, 2024

Jason Citron, Co-founder and CEO of Discord, shares eye-opening insights from scaling the platform to $14.5 billion. He challenges conventional hiring practices, claiming experienced executives could hinder growth. The discussion reveals the surprising truth behind effective leadership styles and highlights the unique advantages gamer founders hold. Citron recounts pivotal moments from his journey, including the decision to decline a $12 billion Microsoft offer and his strategy for communicating with early users, reshaping the company's trajectory.

50:33

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Jason Citron

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Quick takeaways

Jason Citron emphasizes that traditional hiring practices, such as bringing in experienced executives, can stall company growth and hinder innovation.

The podcast discusses how gaming fosters essential leadership skills like adaptability and problem-solving, which can significantly benefit entrepreneurial success.

Jason's shift from delegation to hands-on management revealed the importance of clearer communication and accountability in achieving effective product strategy.

Deep dives

Management Mistakes During Rapid Growth

The journey of expanding from 200 to 1,000 employees highlighted significant management challenges. The CEO realized that hiring numerous executives and delegating tasks led to stagnation within the company. This experience prompted a reevaluation of established management practices, revealing that terms like 'empowerment' and 'alignment' often masked deeper systemic issues. Ultimately, it became evident that effective management requires active involvement rather than distant delegation.

Intro

4min

Gaming Insights for Leadership

4min

Lessons from Discord: Founding and Leadership Insights

20min

Navigating the Future of Gaming and AI

17min

Redesigning Education for Real-World Skills

2min

Rethinking Meetings and the Future of Energy

2min

Lessons from Building Billion-Dollar Businesses and the Role of Automation

3min

Jason Citron is the Co-Founder and CEO of Discord, a voice, video and text platform for friends playing games. Jason has raised $1BN for the company and was able to scale to 200M users. Prior to co-founding Discord, Jason founded OpenFeint, the biggest social mobile gaming platform, which sold to GREE in 2011 for $104 million.

In Today’s Episode with Jason Citron We Discuss:

1. Leadership Lessons That are Total BS:

Hiring: Why does Jason believe hiring experienced executives is the worst thing you can do for your company? What did he learn by doing it?
Culture: Why does Jason believe that empowerment and alignment are total BS? How does Jason empower people when they are told what to do vs choose what to do?
Strategy: What does Jason believe is the most effective way to drive and implement the strategy?

2. The Untold Moments Behind Scaling to 200M Users:

Why did Jason offer to give investors their money back at one point? What was the hardest round to raise and why?
Why did Jason turn down the chance to sell to Microsoft for $12BN?
What one single change in how Jason communicated with the first 100 users changed the trajectory of the entire company?
What do most founders think they know about product market fit that they do not?

3. The Makings of a Unicorn Founder:

Does Jason believe that richer founders make better founders?
Why does Jason believe that entrepreneurs who play video games have a higher chance of being successful in the future?
What single trait does Jason believe he has that has made him such a successful founder? Does Jason ever have imposter syndrome? When?

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