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20VC: Atlassian Co-Founder Scott Farquhar on The Biggest Lessons Scaling Atlassian to $50BN Market Cap; The Four Roles of the CEO, The Funding Round That Net Accel $6BN, The Regrets of Omission and Commission & The Honeymoon Cut Short

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Oct 9, 2023

In this engaging conversation, Scott Farquhar, Co-founder and Co-CEO of Atlassian, shares insights from his journey scaling the company to a $50BN market cap. He reveals lessons learned from early challenges and the importance of emotional intelligence in leadership. Scott discusses a clever fundraising strategy that set them apart, including a unique bidding process that attracted top investors. He also reflects on the regrets of missed opportunities and the impact of AI on the workplace and future pricing strategies.

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ANECDOTE

Honeymoon Crisis

During Scott Farquhar's honeymoon, he received an urgent message from his co-founder, Mike Cannon-Brookes, about a security breach.
This led to a shortened honeymoon and an immediate return to address the crisis, impacting their first venture capital raise.

ADVICE

Fundraising Strategy

Use closed-envelope bidding when fundraising to encourage best offers and prevent VC collusion.
This creates better game theory and ensures the company gets the optimal deal.

ANECDOTE

Benchmark's Missed Opportunity

Accel offered Atlassian a $405 million valuation, significantly higher than other bids during their first funding round.
Scott offered Benchmark a chance to match, which they declined, missing out on a multi-billion dollar opportunity.

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Scott Farquhar is the Co-Founder & Co-CEO @ Atlassian. Scott co-founded the company with his university friend, Mike Cannon-Brookes, in 2002 from Australia. Over an incredible 20-year journey they have grown to a market cap of $50BN today, over 11,000 staff globally and serving over 260,000 customers. Scott is also a co-founder of Skip Capital, a private investment fund with a portfolio including Figma, Snyk, Canva and more.

In Today's Episode with Scott Farquhar We Discuss:

1. The 20-Year Journey to $50BN Market Cap:

How did Scott first make his way into the world of tech and come to co-found Atlassian?
What does Scott know now that he wishes he had known at the beginning?
From 20 years with Mike, what is Scott's biggest advice on choosing your co-founder?

2. The Fundraising Masterclass with Atlassian:

An emergency phone call, a honeymoon cut short; how did the first funding round for Atlassian come to be? Where was the business revenue-wise at the time?
Why did Scott not like the traditional fundraising process? What did he do to add game theory and ensure that they got the best deal as a company?
Why did Scott choose Accel with their offer? How did Peter Fenton lose a $3BN deal with Atlassian?

3. Lessons Scaling Atlassian to $4BN in Revenue:

What does Scott believe are the 4 core roles of the CEO? Is resource allocation the most important?
What are the single biggest acts of commission and omission that Scott regrets?
What are the biggest lessons Scott has from shutting down Stride, their Slack competitor?

4. Scott: The Father, Husband and Philanthropist:

What does great fatherhood mean to Scott today?
What is the secret to a truly successful marriage?
How does Scott assess his relationship to money today? How has it changed with time?
How does Scott think about bringing children up in a world of affluence and abundance?

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