When Rippling CEO Parker Conrad was raising a massive $250 million round last year, he didn’t start by presenting his deck to venture capitalists in person. Instead, he sent a 39-minute demo of his product, recorded on the video app Loom. And, Loom’s CEO Joe Thomas says, “That was the most pleasant surprise.” In this episode, Joe and Joubin discuss how Loom “stands on the shoulders of giants” like Google, Instagram, and Snap; Joe’s preparations to become a father for the first time; Loom’s overnight success and why the first six months after its Series A were the hardest; what Joe has learned about recruiting and building teams that can trust each other; and how Loom markets and recruits — including how it uses its own product internally.In this episode, we cover:Joe’s grandfather Wally — a proud business owner, a “man of the people,” and his personal hero (03:17)How Snap, the first company to validate Silicon Beach as a real hub for tech innovation, pushed the boundaries of design and subconsciously influenced Loom (05:29)The consumerization of enterprise and why Loom has experienced such rapid growth (13:30)Why starting a company is just like having a kid: “You’re never really ready for either” (18:45)The stock market downturn, managing risk, and the most important thing founders can do in the face of uncertainty (25:57)The first indications that Loom was going to be huge, and its humble origins as a Google Chrome extension (32:45)Why the time AFTER Loom’s Series A fundraise was the “hardest window” of Joe’s CEO career, and a discussion about the people who helped him survive it (39:43)How to recruit people to do jobs you can’t do yourself, and the core characteristics that make for good startup employees (48:10)Why working remotely won’t kill company culture (53:00)Paid user acquisition and how Joe thinks about go to market strategy (01:03:43)How Loom uses its own product internally as a creative resource for recruitment (01:07:34)The other CEOs Joe admires most, what Grit means to him, and the key roles he’s hiring for right now (01:10:32)Links:Connect with JoeTwitterLinkedInEmail: joe@loom.comConnect with JoubinTwitterLinkedInEmail: grit@kleinerperkins.com Learn more about Kleiner PerkinsThis episode was edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm

June 2016: Loom was on its last legs. With more than one failed launch + fundraising attempt behind them, the co-founders were maxing out credit cards and had about two weeks of runway left before calling it quits. One idea changed everything: they took a chance on a single piece of their product — the video recorder. They decoupled it from the broader platform they’d been developing, launched it as a standalone offering on Product Hunt, and saw more signups in one day than the past six months combined. Today, the company has raised over $203M and counts 20M users in over 230 countries. Those first months of tumult aren’t the only ups and downs CEO Joe Thomas and his co-founders have encountered in Loom’s journey. And they’re not alone; today’s tech founders are navigating an increasingly difficult economic climate, shifting expectations from investors + employees, and the need to continue to innovate faster — all with fewer resources.  In this session, Thomas will share some of the lessons he’s learned throughout the past year and beyond, including the need to make agility your superpower. He’ll talk about the need to balance long-term planning with strategic short-term adjustments for when the curveballs come (because they will). Thomas will also share insight into how other founders — including customers/partners of Loom — are adopting new processes, emerging tools, and shifting workplace norms to adapt. With so much uncertainty still ahead in 2023, it’s important for founders to learn how to take a half step back, reevaluate their game plan, and orient their short-term priorities around customers’ needs.   *** Slides for this session: https://www.slideshare.net/saastr/from-2-weeks-of-runway-to-a-15b-valuation-the-founder-playbook-with-looms-ceo-joe-thomas-cofounder-and-ceo-loom-492 Joe's 2021 Flywheel session on YouTube: https://youtube.com/live/rbOoikTMfyI The podcast version: SaaStr 445: Loom CEO Joe Thomas On How Speed & Simplicity Can Fuel Your Flywheel https://sites.libsyn.com/77527/saastr-445-loom-ceo-joe-thomas-on-how-speed-simplicity-can-fuel-your-flywheel   *****   Shipping projects doesn’t have to be a mess. Notion combines project management with your docs, knowledge base, and AI. So you can stop jumping between tools, and stop paying too much for them too. Get Notion Projects for free at Notion.com/SAASTR.   Vention provides technology leaders with the top engineering talent they need to accelerate their roadmap, innovate faster and more efficiently, and ultimately catapult their operation to new heights. Vention developers sync with clients’ in-house teams, helping them get to market 30 percent faster and saving them more than $600,000 on average. Looking for the edge to outpace your competition? Vention is your partner. Learn more at ventionteams.com.   *****   Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the 🌎largest community for B2B software. Subscribe for weekly updates: https://www.saastr.com/subscribeform Twitter: https://twitter.com/saastr LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/2724976 Quora Group: https://www.quora.com/q/cloud Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SaaStr/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saastr/ Our North American Event: https://bit.ly/2OXeAYh Our European Event: https://bit.ly/2OZTad8            

New format! Jason evaluates some prior Next Unicorns company's performances since the CEO appeared on the podcast (2:06), and contextualizes the fundraising market throughout the past three years. Then, Jason wraps the show by answering listener questions! (48:18) (0:00) Jason tees up today's new Next Unicorns format! (2:06) Jason shares some thoughts on why he started The Next Unicorns series and tees up some of the most successful companies over the first three seasons (5:32) E971: Checkr CEO Daniel Yanisse (10:37) E987: Upgrade CEO Renaud Laplanche (13:59) OpenPhone - Get an extra 20% off any plan for your first 6 months at https://openphone.com/twist  (15:29) E992: former Expanse CEO Tim Junio (23:14) LinkedIn Marketing -  Get a $100 LinkedIn ad credit at LinkedIn.com/nextunicorn (24:51) E998: Benchling CEO Saji Wickramasekara (28:32) E1089: Insitro CEO Daphe Koller (33:26) Kalshi - Sign up at https://kalshi.com/twist and receive $25 after trading your first 100 contracts (34:57) E1098: Cockroach Labs CEO Spencer Kimball (38:19) E1113: Loom CEO Joe Thomas (43:02) E1246: Divvy Homes CEO Adena Hefets (48:18) Ask Jason: 2023's "Why now?", Jason's favorite qualities in a founder and person, greatest acquisitions of all time FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis FOLLOW Molly: https://twitter.com/mollywood Subscribe to our YouTube to watch all full episodes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkkhmBWfS7pILYIk0izkc3A?sub_confirmation=1

Joe Thomas, CEO and co-founder of Loom, shares insights on the emotional journey of selling his video communication company to Atlassian for $975 million. He reflects on the bittersweet reactions from his team and the importance of preserving Loom's culture post-acquisition. Ilya Fushman, a partner at Kleiner Perkins and involved in Loom's funding, discusses the strategic shifts in a rapidly evolving tech landscape. They also delve into the role of AI in future development and the vibrant startup community in Atlanta, emphasizing the essence of grit and resilience.

E1112 Emergency Pod! Nikola fraud allegations: https://rb.gy/tduluj E1113 featuring Loom's Joe Thomas: https://rb.gy/mh7x57 E1114 #AskJason: https://rb.gy/rkr4xq E1115 Emergency Pod! Media corporations collapsing: https://rb.gy/kxfa42 Follow Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis