Join Jeff Housenbold, Managing Director at Softbank Investment Advisors and former CEO of Shutterfly, as he shares his rags-to-riches story. He discusses the transformative experiences during his time at eBay and the strategic lessons learned leading the $100 billion Softbank Vision Fund. Delve into the importance of price discipline in venture capital, the evolving landscape of SPACs, and the essential traits for successful organizations. With insights on balancing work and personal life, Jeff offers a treasure trove of wisdom from his remarkable career.
01:02:01
forum Ask episode
web_stories AI Snips
view_agenda Chapters
menu_book Books
auto_awesome Transcript
info_circle Episode notes
question_answer ANECDOTE
Difficult Childhood
Jeff Housenbold's father had a 7th-grade education and struggled with employment and incarceration.
His mother stressed education, leading Housenbold to work various jobs and ultimately achieve success.
question_answer ANECDOTE
eBay Hypergrowth
Jeff Housenbold joined eBay shortly after its IPO during the dot-com boom, witnessing the creation of a new industry.
He held various roles, learning about hyper-scaling, platform dynamics, and data-driven decision-making.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Shutterfly Turnaround
Jeff Housenbold left eBay to become CEO of Shutterfly, a struggling company with 1% market share.
He turned the company around, increasing market share to 77% and acquiring 17 competitors.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
This book is the first collection of the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip, which was published starting from November 18, 1985. It introduces readers to Calvin, a imaginative and energetic six-year-old boy, and his best friend Hobbes, who is either a real tiger or a stuffed toy depending on the perspective. The strip is known for its blend of humor, surrealism, and poignant commentary on childhood and imagination. The early strips in this collection showcase Watterson's developing drawing style and the initial characterizations of Calvin and Hobbes.
The Fountainhead
Ayn Rand
Published in 1943, 'The Fountainhead' by Ayn Rand tells the story of Howard Roark, a young and innovative architect who refuses to compromise his artistic vision despite the opposition from society. The novel explores themes of individualism, egoism, and the conflict between those who think for themselves (the 'first-handers') and those who follow the opinions of others (the 'second-handers'). It also delves into the lives of other characters such as Dominique Francon, Peter Keating, Ellsworth Toohey, and Gail Wynand, each representing different aspects of Rand's philosophical ideas. The book is a defense of egoism and individualism, presenting a radical rethinking of basic moral concepts and challenging conventional notions of selfishness and altruism[2][3][5].
Jeff Housenbold, a Managing Director for the last four years at Softbank Investment Advisors, where he led one of the six investment teams that deployed the $100 billion Softbank Vision Fund. Prior to joining Softbank, Jeff worked at sixteen companies, including eleven years as CEO of Shutterfly. four years in the early days of ebay, four as Special Industry Advisor to KKR, and one as Entrepreneur in Residence at Sutter Hill Ventures. He’s also served on the Boards of dozens of companies, including Caesars Entertainment, Memphis Meats, DoorDash, Compass, Opendoor, Wag, and Groupon. Our conversation starts with Jeff’s true rags to riches story, and then turns to a whirlwind of lessons learned as an operator at ebay during its hypergrowth and Shutterfly overseeing a successful turnaround. We then dive into the Softbank Vision Fund, including the original investment thesis, sourcing ideas, valuation discipline, decision making in groups, portfolio structure, and results. We close by talking about the SPAC market, capital market expectations, the characteristics of successful organizations, and succession planning. Please enjoy the countless nuggets of wisdom in my conversation with Jeff Housenbold. Learn More Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe Monthly Mailing List Read the Transcript
Capital Allocators – Inside the Institutional Investment Industry 
