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Rob speaks to Raj, the founder of Shazam, who sold his company to Apple for a reported $400 million. Raj talks about building Shazam, including the fact that it took 15 years to become profitable! From raising over $150 million across multiple funding rounds to navigating an 18 month exit process, Raj's gives his thoughts and experiences on entrepreneurship, investment philosophy, and leadership.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Shazam took 15 years to reach profitability before selling to Apple for $400 million. Raj and his partners raised over $150 million across multiple funding rounds, showing the importance of investor patience and founder persistence in tech startups.
- When pitching to investors, focus on ‘magical thinking’ which is projecting your vision clearly until others believe it. Spend time having multiple conversations and look for investors who genuinely connect with your story.
- Building a successful exit takes time, Shazam's sale involved a nine month transaction period plus another nine months for regulatory approval. Clean, transparent deal structures are preferable to complexity.
- The most vital trait for entrepreneurs is being mentally fluid, knowing when to pivot, learning faster than the market by processing new information and paying attention to weak signals is essential.
- Leadership isn't about micromanagement but setting up problems for your team to solve rather than dictating solutions. This allows smarter team members to develop innovative approaches.
BEST MOMENTS
"I like to call myself a tech for good investor so I try to invest in companies which are aiming to make a difference in the world... It's very rewarding in the sense of intellectual stimulation. I'm not quite sure if it's going to be rewarding financially, the jury is out."
"The market is constantly moving. You have new technology, new opportunities, competition, new products being launched. Your job as an entrepreneur is to learn faster than the market."
"If you are a parent and your kid is starving, you're short of food, are you going to give up on that kid? Never. You'll do whatever it takes to keep that child alive. And that's what we had to do."
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ABOUT THE HOST
Rob Moore is an author of 9 business books, 5 UK bestsellers, holds 3 world records for public speaking, entrepreneur, property investor, and property educator. Author of the global bestseller “Life Leverage” Host of UK’s No.1 business podcast “The Disruptive Entrepreneur”
“If you don't risk anything, you risk everything”
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