#167 CEO StockX, Scott Cutler: Detroit’s First Unicorn

Guest: Scott Cutler, CEO of StockX

What’s the point of climbing a mountain, or heli-skiing in the Swiss Alps, or biking in the Tour de France? StockX CEO Scott Cutler has done all three, and for him, the answer is momentary perspective. “When you’re descending, you don’t see, but you know what is above,” he says. “You have experienced and have seen what you saw at the peak and you take that with you into the next experience.” He stressed that the pleasure of being at the top is a fleeting incentive to do it again, not the destination; in life, and in our careers, he argues, the journey is about continually facing new challenges and getting brief glimpses from the top.

In this episode, Scott and Joubin discuss out-of-touch VCs, the challenges of marketplaces, Josh Luber, Dan Gilbert, almost missing flights, gaining perspective, scary blackberry bushes, work-family balance, daily workouts, sleeping on planes, e-commerce in the U.S. vs. China, and digital ownership.

In this episode, we cover:

• Special shoes (01:07)
• Scott’s past jobs at the NYSE, StubHub, and eBay (05:47)
• Detroit and frequent flying (10:02)
• Over-optimizing your time (15:25)
• Why do you climb a mountain? (18:00)
• Scott’s childhood and his own kids (22:39)
• Routines and energy (30:15)
• StockX and the future of e-commerce (36:52)
• Going public (43:24)
• SPACs and NFTs (46:21)
• What’s next? (50:11)
• Persistence (52:06)
• Who StockX is hiring (54:34)

Links:

• Connect with Scott
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
• Connect with Joubin
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com 
• Learn more about Kleiner Perkins
• This episode was edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm