VP of Sales at Hopin, Javier Ortega Estrada: Ingredients for High Growth and a Good Paella

Global Sales VP at Hopin Javier Ortega Estrada’s father is a counter-terrorism official in the Spanish army — teaching him at a young age that having a bigger purpose can drive you to do great things. And over the course of his entrepreneurial career, Javi has found his own special purposes, helping companies like Dropbox and, now, the buzzy experience platform Hopin grow at a blistering pace and deliver value to their customers.

In this episode, Javi and Joubin talk about uprooting his life (after his first startup failed) to work for Dropbox in Ireland; his seven-year stint there, which started with a Facebook ad and ended with a four-hour stakeout in a client’s office; why he decided it was time to move on to a smaller company with a lot left to prove; how he strikes a balance between his natural optimism and the need to grow Hopin as a business; and why the number one priority for him in any business is smart hiring.

In this episode, we cover:

• Spanish surnames and Javi’s passion for cooking paella (03:55)
• What it means to be an “optimist by nature” and rebounding from failure (08:19)
• Why Javi prefers to work with companies that haven’t “figured it out yet” (11:40)
• The huge deal he closed for Dropbox right after Christmas, by going on a surprise stakeout (19:25)
• Working for a bigger purpose, and the challenges of working at Dropbox (22:54)
• How Javi knew it was time to move on (27:08)
• Working at “Hopin speed” and finding balance when everything feels urgent (34:03)
• Self-reflection and what it feels like to be in a skyrocketing startup (42:25)
• The importance of focusing on talent during a time of hyper-growth (45:30)

Links:

• Connect with Javi
  • LinkedIn
• Connect with Joubin
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com 
• Learn more about Kleiner Perkins
• This episode was edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm