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

20VC: Whoop Founder, Will Ahmed on How CEOs Can Perform at their Highest Level, Why There is Value in Struggle Early On, Why Realism is Overrated in Startups and How To Create a Culture of Delegated Decision-Making

Jan 5, 2022

Will Ahmed, Founder and CEO of Whoop, shares insights from his journey in wearable tech aimed at optimizing human performance. He discusses the unexpected value in early struggles and when founders should persist or pivot. Ahmed challenges the notion of realism, advocating for idealism in entrepreneurship. He reflects on his strategies for attracting elite athletes without payment, emphasizing the importance of vision and authentic engagement. The conversation also touches on balancing innovation and leadership, and how sleep quality complements fitness performance.

41:38

Creator website

Episode guests

Will Ahmed

Highlights

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Squash Drama, Embrace Chaos, and Maintain Trust in a Startup Environment

02:30

Scaling Yourself and Your Company

02:18

Intro

3min

From Athlete to Tech CEO: Navigating Startup Challenges

12min

Balancing Innovation and Leadership in Startups

14min

Navigating Fundraising Challenges and Strategic Business Model Shifts

3min

The Value of Innovation in Subscription Services

2min

Balancing Fitness and Sleep Quality

4min

Endurance in Marriage and Entrepreneurship: A Vision for the Future of WHOOP

4min

Will Ahmed is the Founder and CEO @ Whoop, the company on a mission to unlock human performance with their wearable device that is your digital fitness and health coach. To date, Will has raised over $400M for the company with the last round valuing Whoop at $3.6BN and with a cap table including the likes of Softbank, Accomplice, Founder Collective, Foundry Group, IVP and more.

In Today’s Episode with Will Ahmed You Will Learn:

1.) How Will went from being a professional athlete and college student to founding one of the hottest startups in fitness and healthcare? What are the similarities and differences of being an athlete and being a CEO?

2.) What does Will mean when he says, "there is value in the struggle early on"? How does Will advise founders on when to give up vs when to stay the course? If Will had not struggled with funding in the early days, would the Whoop journey be different? How does Will advise founders when it comes to taking funding when it is on the table? What are the nuances to this?

3.) In what way does Will believe "realism is overrated"? When does Will believe it is good to be realistic? In what ways can it be good to be idealistic? How did Will get some of the largest sports stars on the planet to use Whoop in the early days? Why did Will always refuse to pay sports stars to use Whoop? What were the benefits of doing this?

4.) How does Will define high performance? Why does Will believe it is crucial for leaders to disassociate their own personal feelings from the progress of their company? What advice does Will give to leaders in an attempt to do this? What has Will done to be a better CEO in the last year? What does Will believe are his biggest weaknesses as a CEO?

Item’s Mentioned In Today’s Episode with Will Ahmed

Will’s Favourite Book: Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of NIKE