Spenser Skates

Spenser Skates, CEO and co-founder of Amplitude, shares his journey from startup to public company. He discusses overcoming initial skepticism toward AI, which later became essential for the company’s growth. Spenser reveals how leadership shifts and strategic hires, including AI experts, revitalized the organization. He emphasizes the need for a technology-first mindset in AI development and contrasts traditional SaaS with AI-focused experimentation. Additionally, he highlights the importance of mentorship and a clear mission as key drivers for a founder's transition to an executive role.

In this engaging discussion, Spenser Skates, CEO and co-founder of Amplitude, shares insights on navigating the evolving landscape of AI and analytics. He reflects on the challenges of integrating advanced technologies with a legacy codebase while emphasizing the importance of maintaining Amplitude's core strengths. Skates discusses the risks and rewards of taking the company public and shares personal anecdotes about leadership transitions and work-life balance. His thoughts on grit and the need for talent in AI offer valuable perspectives for aspiring entrepreneurs.

Spenser Skates, co-founder and CEO of Amplitude, shares his transformative journey in the analytics industry. He candidly discusses the challenges faced during Amplitude's rocky start, emphasizing the importance of persistence and learning from failure. Spenser reveals how his analysis of past Y Combinator successes inspired him to focus on survival and product-market fit. He also highlights the pivotal role of loyal early adopters and the necessity of developing sales skills for growth. His insights on leadership and maintaining a clear mission are both inspiring and actionable.

Spenser Skates, Co-founder & CEO of Amplitude, shares his fascinating transition from building an AI voice assistant to creating a leading product analytics platform. He discusses the challenges of breaking into the analytics market and highlights Amplitude's innovative features, including real-time user tracking. Spenser reflects on his entrepreneurial journey from MIT and offers insights on leadership through growth phases. He also emphasizes the importance of integrating AI into analytics tools and how they empower product managers to make data-driven decisions.

Spenser Skates, CEO and co-founder of Amplitude, a leader in digital product analytics, shares insights on navigating the tumultuous SaaS landscape since their IPO. He discusses the current state of business software, the delicate balance of pricing AI products, and the impact of economic shifts on staffing decisions. Skates also emphasizes the potential durability of data moats in AI and reflects on his gaming adventures with Baldur's Gate 3, adding a fun twist to the serious business talk!

In this engaging discussion, Spenser Skates, the visionary founder and CEO of Amplitude Analytics, reflects on his entrepreneurial journey and recent IPO. He shares insights on choosing the right investors, emphasizing the importance of their support over favorable terms. Spenser discusses staying motivated during the critical second decade, innovating product development, and creating employee-friendly equity practices. He also highlights the role of data in AI advancements and admires influential operators, reinforcing a long-term, customer-focused mindset.

In the 55th episode of The Logan Bartlett Show, Amplitude CEO Spenser Skates joins to discuss his path to going public, finding market fit, differentiating from competitors, and Logan’s early investment in Amplitude.(0:00) Intro(4:13) Going Public(16:50) Thinking About Cost Consciousness(21:17) Crowdsourcing Cost-Saving Ideas(26:22) Choosing a Career(35:25) The Promise of Product Data(58:36) What to Look For in a Board Member(1:01:12) Founding CEOs Suck at Hiring(1:17:39) Exercise Windows Mixed and edited: Sam DeweesProduced: Andrew Nadeau and Rashad AssirExecutive Producer: Josh MachizMusic: Griff Lawson 🎙 Listen to the showApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/three-cartoon-avatars/id1606770839Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5WqBqDb4br3LlyVrdqOYYb?si=3076e6c1b5c94d63&nd=1Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS9zb0hJZkhWbg 🎥 Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCugS0jD5IAdoqzjaNYzns7w?sub_confirmation=1 Follow on Socials📸 Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/theloganbartlettshow🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/loganbartshow🎬 Clips on TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@theloganbartlettshow About the ShowLogan Bartlett is a Software Investor at Redpoint Ventures - a Silicon Valley-based VC with $6B AUM and investments in Snowflake, DraftKings, Twilio, Netflix. In each episode, Logan goes behind the scenes with world-class entrepreneurs and investors. If you're interested in the real inside baseball of tech, entrepreneurship, and start-up investing, tune in every Friday for new episodes. Executive Producer: Rashad AssirProducer: Leah ClapperMixing and editing: Justin Hrabovsky Check out Unsupervised Learning, Redpoint's AI Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@UCUl-s_Vp-Kkk_XVyDylNwLA 🎥 Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCugS0jD5IAdoqzjaNYzns7w?sub_confirmation=1 Follow on Socials 📸 Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/theloganbartlettshow📱 X - https://twitter.com/loganbartshow🎬 Clips on TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@theloganbartlettshow About the ShowLogan Bartlett is a Software Investor at Redpoint Ventures - a Silicon Valley-based VC with $6B AUM and investments in Snowflake, DraftKings, Twilio, and Netflix. In each episode of The Logan Bartlett Show, we sit down with the people behind today’s most important startups and extract the tactics, lessons, and frameworks they’ve learned the hard way. Conversations span hiring to GTM, product, growth, fundraising and everything in between - collectively forming the ultimate playbook to make you a better CEO, investor or board member.Tap follow and enable notifications to stay ahead of the game.

Spenser Skates, founder and CEO of Amplitude, shares his unique journey from feeling mediocre to building a public company generating over $300M in revenue. He reflects on his upbringing in Boston, the influence of his immigrant parents, and the early failures of his first startup, Sonalight. Spenser credits mentorship from industry leaders and discusses pivotal moments in scaling Amplitude, including overcoming operational setbacks and learning the art of sales. His insights on risk-taking, long-term perseverance, and emotional resilience provide valuable lessons for aspiring entrepreneurs.

Spenser Skates, CEO and co-founder of Amplitude Analytics, shares his journey from programming to building a product analytics powerhouse. He challenges traditional startup norms, discussing equity compensation and the nuances of venture capital. A key highlight is his collaboration with Calm, optimizing customer growth through data-driven insights. Spenser advocates for direct listings over IPOs, emphasizing transparency in market entry. He also champions the role of kindness and mentorship in entrepreneurship, offering valuable perspectives on fostering supportive business environments.

Spenser Skates, experienced CEO and expert in growing and scaling businesses, shares key lessons on maintaining hypergrowth. Topics include expanding product suite, prioritizing iteration over perfection, AI in growth strategy, and building the right exec team for next stage of growth.