Secret Leaders with Dan Murray-Serter & Chris Donnelly

The other way to build a massive tech company - doing it slowly, with Airtable Co-Founder and CEO Howie Liu

Aug 23, 2021

49:40

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Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Patient approach in building a fully functional prototype before launch led to understanding business model and future success in scaling.

Shift towards differentiation in a competitive market requires balancing customer value and resilience with clear strategies.

Trusting well-informed instincts and convictions, backed by research, is crucial for long-term success and visionary business building.

Deep dives

Building a Business without Rushing

Working on their tech product, the founders were patient, taking their time to build a fully functional prototype before even launching. Taking a year to refine details, working out of each other's living rooms, they eventually raised funds for their seed round followed by series A. This patient approach allowed them to understand their business model, leading to future success in scaling and investment.

Introduction

3min

The Pathway From Lifeguard to Job Offer at Accenture

2min

The Sliding Doors Life Moment

2min

The Life Before Air Table

4min

The Importance of Reflection in Entrepreneurship

3min

How to Sell Your Business

5min

The Importance of Patience in Startups

2min

The Importance of a Good Looking Product

5min

Air Tae Wood: A 10 Year Overnight Trend

5min

10.

The Benefits of Being Patient

2min

11.

How to Protect Your Business From Hacking

2min

12.

How to Raise Money for Air-Tune

5min

13.

The Psychology of Building a Startup

3min

14.

How to Deploy a Larger Scale of Capital

2min

15.

The Challenge of Scaling Air Table

2min

16.

How to Build a Category-Defining Business

2min

Most investors didn’t understand the concept. Most non-technical entrepreneurs at the time didn’t get it either. But Howie Liu, Co-Founder and CEO of multi-billion dollar tech juggernaut Airtable, had the conviction to bet the next 10 years of his life on it.

“I didn't come up with Airtable as an idea, on a lark, it was informed by a lot of the research I did, a lot of the observations I had of the enterprise software landscape, of looking back at other companies that did similar things. I then came to this gut decision that this was a big opportunity.”

Airtable is a low-code relational database, a highly versatile platform that’s grown massively since its founding almost 10 years ago. In the interim, Howie has learnt how to articulate a unique product to a huge customer base, and grow it from the ground up to become a category defining piece of software.

But how did a home-brew startup become a Silicon Valley darling?

Howie shares his story from lifeguarding, ghosting Accenture on the first day of his new job, joining the Y Combinator, founding Etacts and his subsequent decision to sell it to Salesforce less than a year later:

“We felt woefully ill prepared to go and try to build a larger and more ambitious company from the starting point that we had set out with. And a few acquisition offers did come around, including Salesforce, we felt like they would be great learning opportunities.”

Find out what Howie did next on his way to a near $6b valuation.

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Secret Leaders with Dan Murray-Serter & Chris Donnelly

The other way to build a massive tech company - doing it slowly, with Airtable Co-Founder and CEO Howie Liu

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

Building a Business without Rushing

Navigating Growth Challenges

Advice for Building a Category Defining Business

Reflections on Fundraising and Capital Deployment

Journey from Seed Round to Recent Series B

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts