EP 120: Evan Goldberg (Founder and EVP, Oracle NetSuite) on 26 Years of Operating Lessons Running NetSuite

Oct 25, 2024

Evan Goldberg, Founder and EVP of Oracle NetSuite, reflects on over 26 years of leading the company. He shares invaluable insights on navigating economic crises and the importance of prioritizing existing customers. Goldberg discusses the evolution of NetSuite, the impact of AI on business software, and the role of customizability in their success. He emphasizes empathy in leadership, the challenges of hyper-growth, and his personal journey advocating for cancer awareness, inspired by his experiences. Humor and a strong company culture are central to his management philosophy.

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ADVICE

Downturn Improvements

Introspect and improve your company during economic downturns.
Use slowdowns to analyze what you ignored during periods of growth.

INSIGHT

Existing Customer Value

Focus on existing customers to improve revenue and learn valuable insights.
Existing customers offer more opportunities than constantly chasing new ones.

ANECDOTE

NetSuite's Origin

Evan Goldberg transitioned from applied math at Harvard to Oracle, then started his first software company.
Inspired by his own struggles, Goldberg and Larry Ellison co-founded NetSuite (originally NetLedger).

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Evan Goldberg has been leading NetSuite for 26 years and counting. In this episode, Evan reflects on the journey of building NetSuite—from launching it with Larry Ellison’s support, to scaling through its IPO, and eventually being acquired by Oracle for $9.3B. He shares his leadership philosophies around humor and empathy, lessons learned from Larry Ellison and Marc Benioff, and why he still feels passionate about the business after all these years.

[0:00] Intro
[1:13] Lessons from Economic Crises
[2:22] The Importance of Existing Customers
[4:24] Founding and Early Days of NetSuite
[6:32] The Pivot to Business Software
[10:26] NetSuite's Growth and Customizability
[20:26] AI and the Future of NetSuite
[32:24] The Role of Customizability in NetSuite's Success
[38:49] Balancing Profitability and Growth
[40:46] Leadership Evolution and Management Philosophy
[46:59] The Importance of Empathy in Leadership
[48:42] Navigating Hypergrowth and Tough Decisions
[51:11] Consumer Quality in Enterprise Software
[52:31] Oracle's Transformation and Redwood Design System
[55:57] Maintaining Focus Amid Distractions
[59:39] Company Culture and Humor
[1:03:03] NetSuite's Unique Position within Oracle
[1:10:15] Involvement with the V Foundation
[1:13:52] Reflections on Founding and Leadership
[1:16:38] Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Executive Producer: Rashad Assir

Producer: Leah Clapper

Mixing and editing: Justin Hrabovsky

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Logan Bartlett is a Software Investor at Redpoint Ventures - a Silicon Valley-based VC with $6B AUM and investments in Snowflake, DraftKings, Twilio, and Netflix. In each episode of The Logan Bartlett Show, we sit down with the people behind today’s most important startups and extract the tactics, lessons, and frameworks they’ve learned the hard way. Conversations span hiring to GTM, product, growth, fundraising and everything in between - collectively forming the ultimate playbook to make you a better CEO, investor or board member.

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