The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch

20VC: Why Venture Fund Life Cycles Do Not Align To Companies Today, Actionable Strategies To Separate Good From Great When Assessing and Hiring Multiple Candidates & Why We Need More Adventure in Venture Capital with Blake Scholl, Founder & CEO @ Boom Sup

Apr 10, 2020

Blake Scholl, Founder and CEO of Boom Supersonic, aims to restore affordable supersonic travel. He shares insights on navigating the challenges of fundraising in aerospace and the importance of innovative thinking over traditional expertise. Blake discusses his strategic choices in building a high-performing team, highlighting his favorite interview question and the culture of accountability he fosters at Boom. He also outlines the vision behind Boom's XB-1 aircraft, promising a revolutionary future for air travel.

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ANECDOTE

Early Entrepreneurial Spirit

Blake Scholl's first company was an internet service provider started in his parents' basement at age 15.
His desire to start companies led him to found Kima Labs (acquired by Groupon) and then Boom Supersonic.

INSIGHT

Long-Term Vision vs. Short-Term Gains

Working at Amazon taught Blake Scholl the importance of long-term thinking and optimizing for long-term cash flow.
This contrasted with Groupon's short-term focus, which prioritized immediate gains over long-term customer value.

ADVICE

Balancing Big Picture and Details

Effective founders balance high-level vision with granular detail.
They can inspire teams with long-term goals while also engaging with specifics like marketing copy and QA processes.

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Blake Scholl is the Founder & CEO @ Boom Supersonic, the world's fastest commercial aeroplane, aspiring to bring back supersonic passenger flight at an affordable price. To date, Blake has raised over $166M in funding with Boom from the likes of Paul Graham, Sam Altman, Ray Tonsing @ Caffeinated Capital, Homebrew and 8VC to name a few who have featured on the show in the past. Prior to changing the world of commercial flight, Blake started his career with a 5-year stint at Amazon as a Manager of Social Networks and Automated Advertising. Blake then went on to found his own company, Kima Labs, acquired by Groupon in 2012 where he then spent 2 further years before founding Boom.

In Today’s Episode You Will Learn:

1.) How Blake made the move from Groupon to changing the way we think about commercial travel today with Boom Supersonic?

2.) How was the fundraising process for Blake given he was raising for supersonic jets? What is his most memorable fundraising moment? Where does Balek believe investors provide outsized value? Where could the investing class improve? How should the fund structures today change?

3.) What deliberate choices and decisions has Blake made to find and acquire the best talent? What is Blake's favourite interview question? What works? What does not work? What specific elements has Blake built into the culture at Boom to build operational excellence?

4.) How has Blake seen himself evolve and develop as a leader over the last few years? What have been the most challenging elements to develop and scale? How does Blake feel on whether founders should have experience on the industry they are entering or if there are benefits of not having so?

5.) What would Blake really like to change about the world of tech and Silicon Valley today? How does Blake feel about the current level of both innovation and founder ambitions? What can be further done to foster this in the coming years?

Items Mentioned In Today’s Show:

Blake’s Fave Book: Atlas Shrugged

As always you can follow Harry, The Twenty Minute VC and Blake and on Twitter here!

Likewise, you can follow Harry on Instagram here for mojito madness and all things 20VC.

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