Frank Slootman, a three-time CEO known for his dynamic leadership in tech, shares insights on transforming enterprise data management. He discusses the generative AI potential in businesses and clarifies why Snowflake transcends typical data warehousing. The conversation also dives into the evolution of Snowflake, the significance of company culture, and the challenges of migrating to cloud solutions. Slootman emphasizes proactive management strategies and the importance of performance expectations, drawing from his rich personal journey in tech entrepreneurship.
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Slootman's Background
Frank Slootman, a three-time CEO, grew up in Holland as a focused and disciplined kid.
He moved to the US for better opportunities, emphasizing the importance of location for career success.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Choosing the Right Elevator
Choose your job based on company, industry, and people, as these factors significantly impact opportunities.
Good choices combined with great execution create the perfect cocktail for success.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Get a Real Job
Seek real-world jobs in the real economy, building and selling products.
Don't pick jobs removed from real-world challenges like consulting right out of school.
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In 'TAPE SUCKS', Frank Slootman shares his journey as CEO of Data Domain, detailing how the company transformed the data storage industry with innovative disk-based backup solutions. The book offers insights into entrepreneurship, leadership, and strategic business decisions that contributed to Data Domain's remarkable growth and eventual acquisition by EMC.
Amp It Up
Leading for Hypergrowth by Raising Expectations, Increasing Urgency, and Elevating Intensity
Frank Slootman
In 'Amp It Up,' Frank Slootman shares his leadership approach for achieving hypergrowth. The book emphasizes the importance of raising standards, aligning teams, sharpening focus, picking up the pace, and transforming strategy. Slootman argues that most leaders can significantly improve their organization's performance without expensive changes to talent, structure, or the business model. He stresses the need for execution, a strong team culture, and a relentless focus on the mission. The book provides practical advice on making conflicted choices, promoting collaboration, and maintaining high standards to avoid mediocrity[2][3][5].
Frank Slootman, CEO of Snowflake Computing, joins Sarah Guo and Elad Gil this week on No Priors. Before scaling Snowflake to its blockbuster IPO and beyond, Frank was also the CEO from early to scale for landmark enterprise companies ServiceNow and Data Domain. Frank grew up in the Netherlands and is also the author of three books: Amp It Up, Rise of the Data Cloud, and Tape Sucks.
In this episode, our hosts talk with Frank about the opportunity for generative AI in the enterprise, why Snowflake isn't really a data warehousing company, their acquisitions of Neeva and Streamlit, apps within Snowflake, and how AI relates to traditional analytics and BI. He also talks about his personal journey, why it's always a good time to do performance management, and why most leaders struggle to raise the bar for performance.
** No Priors is taking a summer break! The podcast will be back with new episodes in three weeks. Join us on July 20th for a conversation with Devi Parikh, Research Director in Generative AI at Meta. **
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No Priors: Artificial Intelligence | Technology | Startups 
