028: Getting Acquired for $100M & Scaling VC-Backed Startups with Henrik Johansson

Henrik Johansson is a serial tech entrepreneur and expert at scaling startups. He has built 5 venture-backed companies to date, including the promotional products company, Boundless, which he grew into a $100M business before getting acquired by Zazzle.

Now, as the co-founder and CEO of Gembah, he’s leading the world’s first global marketplace for product development that allows anyone to create new products from end-to-end.

Henrik has repeatedly built world-class teams, culture, and scalable processes/infrastructure, so I really wanted to talk to him about his overall experience.

In this episode, he shares the story of how he built Boundless into a 9-figure business—including how he navigated the perils of the 2008 market collapse with no funding. 

We dig into the world of VC-funded companies, the power of cultivating strong relationships, major roles/responsibilities of a CEO, and how he turned an internal piece of software into a completely separate entity before getting acquired.

Key Takeaways with Henrik Johansson

• What to do when the markets shift and your VC-backed company loses its funding?
• The importance of building relationships early on with potential buyers of your startup.
• How does the role of a CEO differ between bootstrapped and VC funded companies?
• How Henrik’s company leveraged an internal piece of software to spin-off an entirely new VC funded business.
• Starting Gembah, the world’s first global marketplace for product development that allows anyone to create new products from scratch.

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