How young outsiders changed the shipping industry by finding product-market fit again and again | Laura Behrens Wu (Shippo)

Laura Behrens Wu is the Founder & CEO at Shippo, a company that has raised $100m+ and was last valued at $1b in 2021. Shippo provides an API and dashboard that makes shipping easy for e-commerce businesses, marketplaces, and platforms. Prior to starting Shippo, Laura graduated from Harvard University, and was heavily influenced by a short internship at LendUp, which exposed her to Silicon Valley and startup culture. 

In today’s episode we discuss:

• Shippo’s pivot-stricken origin story
• Finding product-market-fit, again and again and again
• Laura’s unique take on founder-market-fit
• Advice on talking to users
• The 3 Horizons Framework for prioritizing resources across a core business and longer-term bets
• The email Laura sends every Sunday because of Frank Slootman’s advice

Referenced:

• Amp It Up by Frank Slootman: https://www.amazon.com/Amp-Unlocking-Hypergrowth-Expectations-Intensity/dp/1119836115
• Expedia: https://www.expedia.com/
• FedEx: https://www.fedex.com/
• Frank Slootman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/frankslootman/
• Jerry Colonna: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jerry-colonna-reboot/
• Josh Koppelman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jkoppelman/
• Khalid Halim: https://review.firstround.com/the-science-of-speaking-is-the-art-of-being-heard
• LendUp: https://www.lendup.com/
• Shippo: https://goshippo.com/
• Shopify: https://www.shopify.com/
• SMBs: https://www.fool.com/the-ascent/small-business/articles/smb-business/
• Stripe: https://stripe.com/
• UPS: https://www.ups.com/us/en/global.page
• 70/20/10 rule from Google: https://www.itonics-innovation.com/blog/702010-rule-of-innovation

Where to find Todd Jackson:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/tjack
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/toddj0

Where to find Laura Behrens Wu:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/LauraBehrensWu
• LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurabehrenswu
• Personal website: https://laurabehrenswu.com/

Where to find First Round Capital:

• Website: https://firstround.com/
• First Round Review: https://review.firstround.com/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/firstround
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@FirstRoundCapital
• This podcast on all platforms: https://review.firstround.com/podcast

Timestamps

(02:36) The Shippo origin story

(06:57) Why they pivoted into Shippo

(11:01) How they got their first customers

(13:27) The role of timing in Shippo's early success

(14:40) The value of being an outsider

(17:49) When founder-market-fit is and isn't necessary

(19:07) The path to product-market-fit

(22:06) What kept the Shippo team persisting

(24:41) Advice on talking to users

(29:28) Shippo's fundraising journey

(34:26) Finding product-market-fit again and again

(37:54) The 3 Horizons Framework

(45:04) Shippo's culture and early team

(49:17) Hiring people you can learn from

(50:40) Laura's most impactful hires

(52:12) Frank Slootman's "Sunday Email”

(55:43) Laura's #1 piece of advice for founders

(57:34) The most memorable influences on Laura's career