Dug Song, Founder of Duo Security: Either You Win or You Learn

Dug Song is the co-founder and CEO of Duo Security which was acquired by Cisco for $2.4 billion. On today’s episode, Jon Sakoda speaks with Dug Song about how he fell into a world famous hacking group made up of “angels and devils” and how he got hired by his college after hacking into their networks. 

1. Understanding Your Customers Requires Deep Empathy [16:55-19:21] - Instead of giving your customers what they ask for, Dug believes you should give them something they never thought was possible. Listen to what they need, empathize with them so you can see their point-of-view, and then interpret it into the ever-coveted “wow moment”.
2. Win or Learn - How to Build a Culture of Continuous Improvement [21:24-22:25] - It is inevitable that you have setbacks on the road to building a successful company. While failure can be a deterrent to many, Dug sees it as an important part of growth. The quality of a decision is not as important as the quality of the process to make a decision. Listen to learn more about why Dug believes you either win or you learn.
3. Build A Team Of People You Actually Enjoy Working With [23:09-24:23] - Dug compares growing a company to nurturing a child and you should only share that responsibility with people you trust. Learn about what Dug calls “the grocery store test” and how it can be used to build a team of people you actually want next to you in this journey.

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