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20VC: Jet.com's Marc Lore on How To Assess Human Potential and "The Resume Test", Why Chief People Officer Should be One of Your First Hires and Why We Need a New Type of Venture Capital

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Jul 12, 2021

Marc Lore, a serial entrepreneur and former CEO of Walmart eCommerce, shares his insights on assessing human potential and the concept of 'the resume test.' He argues that hiring a Chief People Officer should be a startup's top priority to foster culture and alignment. Lore reflects on the balance between ambition and personal life, discussing how he approaches risk and fear in business decisions. He critiques traditional hiring practices and emphasizes mission-driven candidates, offering intriguing views on the future of venture capital.

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ANECDOTE

Early Entrepreneurial Journey

Marc Lore always had an entrepreneurial spirit, starting businesses from a young age.
He transitioned from a successful banking career to entrepreneurship, investing his life savings in his first venture.

ADVICE

Finding Sixth Gear

Invest enough money to feel a sense of urgency, but avoid risking everything.
This "sixth gear" mentality is crucial for achieving extraordinary results.

INSIGHT

Impact of Upbringing

Marc Lore's drive stems from associating love with achievement due to his upbringing.
He believes this can be a liability early on, but can become an asset with time and therapy.

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Marc Lore is a serial entrepreneur turned investor who’s started and sold four companies. Most recently Marc was the President and CEO of Walmart eCommerce US following the sale of his company, Jet.com, to Walmart for $3.3 billion in 2016. Prior to that, Marc founded Diapers.com/Quidsi which sold to Amazon in 2011 for $550 million. As an investor, Marc announced his new venture firm, Vision Capital People, with his co-founder, Alex Rodrigues, earlier this year with $50M of Alex and Marc's own money. Fun fact, in 1996 Marc qualified to be in the US national bobsled team.

In Today’s Episode with Marc Lore You Will Learn:

1.) How Marc made his way into the startup world, how he came to found Jet.com and what led to his most recent transition to the world of investing?

2.) How does Marc assess human potential? What does he mean when he says "the resume test"? What are the clearest signals of outperformers? What are signs of lack of performance? Why does Marc not believe in referencing? Does Mark start from a position of trust for it to be lost or with none and for it all to be gained?

3.) How does Marc evaluate his relationship to risk and fear? How has it changed over time? What did Marc's wife say when he left his safe job and put all their savings into his new business? What does Marc mean when he discusses finding "Sixth Gear"? How does Marc balance that intensity and ambition with romance and family life?

4.) Why does Marc believe Chief People Officer should be one of your first hires? What are the commonalities of the best Chief People Officers? What does the optimal relationship between CEO and CPO look like? How does Marc test for his core characteristics in interviews? What questions does he ask every candidate? What are the most revealing?

5.) How does Marc think about portfolio construction with the new fund today? Does Marc believe it is possible to take 40%+ of companies without alienating future investors? Is Marc concerned about over-capitalising companies too early? How does Marc think about reserves strategy and concentrating capital into the best companies?