Ever wonder what it's like to get a call from Elon Musk, wanting to buy your company?
In this episode, Sasha sits down with serial entrepreneur Chris Bakke to find out. Chris is the co-founder behind several successful startups, including Laskie, which was acquired by Elon Musk's X, and Interviewed, acquired by Indeed. Chris shares insights on: building a content-driven growth strategy as a founder that's led to his 200k+ follower base, navigating the M&A process and negotiating a deal directly with Musk, transitioning from founder to his current role in building X's job search platform, and much more.
This show is a part of the Turpentine podcast network. Learn more: www.turpentine.co
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Recommended Podcast: Company Breakdowns
Each episode of Company Breakdowns dives into S-1s and series B-and-beyond companies, interviewing founders and investors to break down the companies. First episode is on Rubrik - which just IPO'd. Coming up this season: Databricks, Reddit + more,
Spotify
Apple
📈 ECON 102 W/ NOAH SMITH - Keeping econ entertaining - Noahpinion author Noah Smith and Erik Torenberg break down business news and politics every week.
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Mos4VE3figVXleHDqfXOH
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/id1753399812https://podcasts.apple.com/id1753399812
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This show is produced by Turpentine: a network of podcasts, newsletters, and more, covering technology, business, and culture — all from the perspective of industry insiders and experts. We’re launching new shows every week, and we’re looking for industry-leading sponsors — if you think that might be you and your company, email us at erik@turpentine.co.
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X/Twitter:
@sashaorloff (Sasha)
@chrisjbakke (Chris)
@turpentinemedia
TIMESTAMPS:
(00:00) Chris Bakke Intro
(02:49) Laskie and what got Chris excited about it
(04:03) Content as a growth strategy
(07:29) How Chris found his content voice
(12:50) What’s the next thing in content
(19:32) Best practices as a founder to set up M&A as a future path
(24:36) Getting Indeed as a partner, investor, and acquirer of Interviewed
(26:51) Laskie’s M&A Story
(29:13) How Chris ended up talking to Elon about Laskie and Twitter recruiting
(35:11) What Chris would’ve done differently at Indeed
(37:12) Common mistakes and misconceptions during the M&A process
(45:00) Chris’ most memorable X post, not of his own
(46:22) Wrap
"Tech Finance" with Sasha Orloff: B2B Fintech | AI | Finance Tech