Capital Allocators – Inside the Institutional Investment Industry Steve Papa – Entrepreneur's Perspective on Venture, Venture is Eating the Investment World 13 (Capital Allocators, EP.244)
Apr 4, 2022
Steve Papa, the innovative Founder and CEO of Endeca, shares his entrepreneurial journey and insights from two decades in tech. He discusses the transformative story of Endeca and his ventures with companies like Toast. Steve highlights the importance of talent evaluation, resilience during challenges, and the differences between venture ecosystems in Boston and Silicon Valley. Additionally, he reflects on lessons learned from entrepreneurial mistakes, emphasizing communication skills as a cornerstone for success. It's an engaging look into the world where venture capital meets entrepreneurship.
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Early Career
- Steve Papa's early career involved working at AT&T in 1993, managing high-end compute systems.
- He later joined Inktomi, a search engine company, and worked on internet caching.
Endeca's Origin
- The idea for Endeca, Steve Papa's company, originated from a friend's experience selling items on eBay.
- This led to the concept of guided navigation, organizing search results like a store.
Endeca's Funding Challenges
- Endeca faced funding challenges in 2001 due to the dot-com bust and a lack of customers.
- They secured funding after a chance encounter at a barbecue led to a crucial endorsement.