The Hard Part with Evan McCann Philippe-Antoine Lehoux from Missive
Jul 22, 2025
Philippe-Antoine Lehoux, CEO of Missive, shares insights from his journey of bootstrapping multiple businesses with a customer-first philosophy. He emphasizes the importance of effective team dynamics and the role of AI in enhancing productivity. Philippe discusses innovative approaches to email management, explaining how Missive prioritizes meaningful conversations over clutter. He also reflects on scaling challenges and the balance between user experience for novices and experts, along with strategies for sustaining motivation in the long haul.
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Level Up Gradually
- Gauge your ambition when bootstrapping and start with a project you can realistically solve.
- Level up gradually instead of tackling problems too big to handle at once.
Emphasize Customer-First Iteration
- Use a customer-first approach by talking to early users often and iterating based on their feedback.
- Building this habit helped Missive improve the product through direct collaboration with passionate users.
Hire Globally and Embrace Remote
- Hire globally to compete for top talent since local markets can be limited and face U.S. competition.
- Organize remotely to accommodate distributed teams and adopt a remote-first mindset.