20VC: Oscar Health: How to Deal with a 94% Decline in Market Cap, "Why I Stood Aside as CEO" and The Rebound Journey to $5.8BN in Revenue with Mario Schlosser, Co-Founder @ Oscar Health
Apr 5, 2024
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Mario Schlosser, Co-Founder of Oscar Health, shares insights on coping with a 94% market decline and rebounding to $5.8BN revenue. Topics include mental resilience, stepping aside as CEO, and navigating challenges in the healthcare and business sectors.
Entrepreneurial success can be influenced by intrinsic motivation and childhood experiences.
Effective leadership transitions require embracing new roles and communication skills.
Organizational success hinges on defining core values, fostering a cohesive culture, and promoting open communication.
Deep dives
Oscar Health's Rollercoaster Journey to Rebound
Oscar Health faced a tumultuous time in the markets following their public debut with a market cap of $7.1 billion, witnessing a 94% drop in stock price. Despite the challenges, the company has managed to bounce back with a current market cap of $3.2 billion and a projected revenue of $5.8 billion for 2023.
Lessons from Founder Mario Schlosser's Childhood
Mario Schlosser's childhood reflected intrinsic motivation and persistence, shaped by early experiences with a ZX81 computer. His journey highlights the importance of intrinsic drive and resilience in entrepreneurship, showcasing how childhood traits can play a role in entrepreneurial success.
Navigating Leadership Role Transition
Transitioning from the CEO role to CTO, Mario Schlosser faced challenges in delegation and discomfort with difficult conversations. He emphasized the need to fully embrace new roles and responsibilities, acknowledging the importance of effective communication and decisiveness in leadership transitions.
Embracing Change and Authentic Leadership
Schlosser encouraged building organizations based on personal inclinations rather than textbook approaches, emphasizing the value of authenticity in leadership. He shared insights on maintaining human connection amidst tough decisions, highlighting the importance of accepting personal limitations while striving for continuous growth.
Learning from Others' Work Methods
Adopting strategies from other individuals and companies can offer valuable insights. For instance, exploring how different professionals conduct regular meetings and adapt their management styles can provide diverse perspectives on organizational practices. Embracing variations in approaches, such as changing meeting structures frequently like Airbnb's CEO did, can lead to innovative solutions tailored to specific contexts. Incorporating a mix of techniques and being open to learning from various sources can enhance problem-solving and decision-making processes.
Navigating Leadership and Company Values
Establishing effective leadership and defining core company values are integral to organizational success. Avoiding a rigid top-down management style and excessive professionalization can prevent layers of bureaucracy and inefficiencies. Articulating and instilling shared values, even through interactive employee engagement like value generation exercises, fosters a cohesive workplace culture. Embracing open communication, clarifying role expectations, and building transparent frameworks around teamwork and decision-making processes are essential for maintaining organizational alignment and productivity.
Mario Schlosser is the Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer at Oscar Health. The public company that went public with a market cap of $7.1BN. Following a tumultuous time in the markets, their stock price dropped 94%. Today, the company has rebounded and has a market cap of $3.2BN with an astonishing $5.8BN of revenues. Before co-founding Oscar, Mario also co-founded the largest social gaming company in Latin America.
In Today's Episode with Mario Schlosser We Discuss:
1. From German Middle-Class to Public Company Founder:
How did Mario make his way into the world of tech and come to co-found Oscar with Josh Kushner?
Does Mario agree with Jensen Huang that "we should all have lower expectations"?
What does Mario know now that he wishes he had known when he started Oscar?
2. Why Did Oscar Tank 94% in the Public Markets:
What was the core reason why Oscar tanked 94% in the markets?
What would Mario have done differently knowing all he knows now about public markets?
Does Mario regret going public? What are the biggest pros and cons?
3. The Mental Challenge of a 94% Market Cap Decline:
How did Mario mentally deal with the company being down 94%?
What does he say to himself in the truly hard times?
How did Mario use his co-founder, a coach and his family, to get through the really bad times?
What are Mario's experiences like with anti-depressants? What worked? What did not?
4. Firing Yourself as CEO:
Why did Mario decide to step aside as CEO? What was the decision-making process?
On reflection, does Mario think he was a good CEO? Where was he good? Where was he bad?
What are the biggest management pieces of advice that Mario thinks are BS?
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