CRO Stripe, Mike Clayville: Building Tornado Companies

Mike Clayville, CRO at Stripe, joins this week’s conversation to discuss what it's like to turn companies into forces of nature, using Mike’s chosen metaphor, the tornado. While Mike might be the first guest to compare company growth to a natural phenomenon, his insight is invaluable. 

Mike comes from a small town outside of Declo, Idaho, and grew up working on the family farm and ranch. It was there that Mike gained the hard work ethic that has catapulted him into the worlds of engineering and then finance. All along the way, he made himself known as “the guy in the cowboy hat” - be it in board meetings, or on business trips to Paris or Japan.

In this episode, Mike and Joubin discuss the cultural significance of Mike’s hat and the importance of not forgetting where you came from. They also discuss Mike’s tenure at IBM when it was in decline, and how Mike shifted things there into an upward trajectory. Mike also explains his idea of first principles as a means to leading tornado companies, the innovation of Amazon, The Clayville Foundation and their fight against cancer, and more.

In this episode, we cover:

• Mike’s early life in Declo, Idaho, where he worked on his family farm - and the symbolism behind his cowboy hat. (3:11)
• The reason behind Mike’s switch from engineering to finance - and a look at his tenure at IBM, the tremendous challenge he faced during its decline, and how he turned it around. (7:06)
• Mike’s philosophy on uncovering the first principle mindset and the qualities of a tornado. (13:44)
• The early days of Amazon and public cloud - and how Mike used first principles to lead some of the largest enterprises into a new world of technology. (18:33)
• An overview of Stripe: How Stripe helps companies understand their customers and how it compares to AWS in today’s internet economy. (26:42)
• Why you should fail as an innovator and be willing to be misunderstood- and how Amazon’s innovation model contains the secret sauce of success. (32:56)
• Selling as a muscle memory sport: Why Mike refers to prospecting as the calisthenics of sales - and a dive into the stages of prospecting. (39:42)
• More on the importance of prospecting and why cold-calling is the best way to start a sales career. (43:15)
• Mike talks about his detailed briefing process and how it helps maintain efficiency when getting to the heart of their customer’s needs. (48:50)
• How Mike’s daily runs inspire some of his best ideas - and an in-depth look at his effective decision-making process. (53:51)
• The Clayville Foundation: How The Clayville Foundation honors his late wife and seeks to find cures for cancer through technology and science. (01:03:00) 

Links:

• Connect with Mike
  • LinkedIn
  • Stripe
• Connect with Joubin
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Email: gtmg@kleinerperkins.com 
• Learn more about Kleiner Perkins