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

20VC: AppLovin’s Co-Founder & CEO, Adam Foroughi on How AppLovin Might Be The Venture Capital Industry’s Biggest Miss, How To Run a 1,000+ Organisation with Very Few Meetings & Balancing the Demands of Wall St with Long Term, Sustainable Growth

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Nov 29, 2021

Adam Foroughi, Co-founder and CEO of AppLovin, shares his entrepreneurial journey from founding multiple companies to leading a major app marketing firm. He discusses the surprising reluctance of VCs to invest in early rounds and the lessons learned from those experiences. Foroughi advocates for minimal meetings, promoting a culture of accountability and swift decision-making without traditional structures. He emphasizes sustainable growth over short-term profits and the importance of nurturing talent within teams for long-term success.

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ANECDOTE

AppLovin's Origin

Adam Foroughi's AppLovin, his third successful startup, began in 2010.
Initially focused on mobile app development, they struggled with growth, leading to a pivot towards app discovery through advertising.

INSIGHT

Startup Formulas

Startups follow formulas for recruiting, organizing, and motivating teams.
Serial entrepreneurs benefit from pattern recognition, knowing what works (and what doesn't).

INSIGHT

Passion Over Profit

Early ventures focused on financial needs can limit growth potential.
Building with passion, not just for money, allows for risk-taking and bigger vision.

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Adam Foroughi is the Co-Founder and CEO @ AppLovin, the company that allows developers to market, monetize, analyze and publish their apps. Under Adam's leadership, he has taken the company public, grown the team to over 1,000 people around the world, and scaled revenue in 2020 to $1.5Bn. Prior to AppLovin, Adam founded two companies—Lifestreet Media and Social Hour, and before that Adam started his career as a derivatives trader.

In Today’s Episode with Adam Foroughi You Will Learn:

1.) How Adam made his way into the world of startups and came to found one of the world's largest gaming, advertising and marketing companies in the form of AppLovin?

2.) Adam founded 4 companies before AppLovin, does Adam believe in the benefits of serial entrepreneurship? What has he done differently with AppLovin having learned from past experience? What did he do the same, having seen it work before?

3.) Why does Adam advocate for as few meetings as possible within the company? Why does Adam believe meetings are unproductive? How do decisions get made internally without meetings? What is the structure and process? How does Adam create an environment where people make decisions without the fear of the repercussions? What are the breakpoints in company scaling?

4.) Why does Adam think that VCs did not want to invest in the early rounds? What were his biggest takeaways from those early fundraising days? How has Adam found the transition to being a public markets CEO? What does he like? What does he not like? How does Adam feel about pleasing the street but also having a long-term mindset?

5.) How does Adam structure his day? With 5 children, how does Adam approach work/life balance? What does his exercise and sleep routine look like? How does he do both weights and running without losing the productivity of the weights? What changes has he made in the last year that have made a significant difference?

Item’s Mentioned In Today’s Episode with Adam Foroughi

Adam's Favourite Book: Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It