The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch 20VC: Selling Drift for $1.2BN is the Biggest Failure: What No One Tells You About Selling Your Company | Why Incumbents Are Slower & Worse Than Ever | Why the Most Valuable Companies in a World of AI Will Not Have More Than 100 People with Elias Torres
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Mar 21, 2025 Elias Torres, Co-founder and CEO of Agency and former Drift co-founder, shares insights on his complex journey in tech. He discusses why selling Drift for $1.2BN felt like a massive failure, highlighting the pitfalls of a cushy company culture. Elias examines how incumbents are slower and less effective in today's fast-paced AI landscape, emphasizing that the most valuable companies may remain small and agile. He also reflects on the emotional challenges of balancing entrepreneurship with parenthood, offering a fresh take on success and meaningful work.
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Incumbents vs. Startups
- Large incumbents like Google have a distribution advantage due to their vast consumer reach.
- However, they struggle to move as quickly as smaller, more agile companies.
Speed and the Future of Software
- Speed is crucial for startups as it creates opportunities and enables the American dream.
- The future of software lies in agentic systems that require minimal human intervention.
Drift's Inefficiency
- Elias Torres's experience at Drift, an 800-person company, showed him the inefficiency of large teams.
- Many employees focused on internal processes rather than customer needs, hindering speed and innovation.
