Traction

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Nick Mehta, Chief Executive Officer at Gainsight.   The goal of every startup is to exit via IPO, and if not, then by way of acquisition. But what should founders know about the process of getting there? Everything — from turning an idea into a scalable business to seeking potential buyers to what the reality of being owned by a larger company entails.   Nick's first CEO role, at LiveOffice, led to the sale of the company in 2012 by Symantec for $115 million. More recently, Gainsight was acquired by Vista for a reported $1.1 billion.   In this session, Nick discusses:   4:11 - Key traits and the route to becoming an entrepreneur 13:57 - Early Gainsight milestones 18:11 - Key learnings from the 'category creation' playbook 27:10 - Ensuring your community building is generating sales 35:36 - The types of people to hire to build out a team 42:27 - Training the organization to make decisions when he's not in the room 46: 22- The exit process and lessons for startups thinking of selling 56:19 - Mental health hacks Learn more at https://tractionconf.io Connect with Nick Mehta: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickmehta/ Learn more about Gainsight at https://www.gainsight.com/   This episode is brought to you by: Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses, but the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI. Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to Seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 Billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca  Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline their podcast production. Learn more at ContentAllies.com  

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Rahul Vohra, Founder and CEO at Superhuman.   How do you build products that are 10X better than the competition? It almost always starts with a counterintuitive approach to the conventional.   Rahul is one of the rare founders and product builders with this conviction, building the fastest email experience in the world. Rahul was previously the founder of Rapportive, acquired by LinkedIn in 2014.   Rahul shares his frameworks on game design, customer onboarding, product development, positioning, and pricing to retain and delight users.   Specifically, Rahul covers:   3:23 - Brief intro to Superhuman 11:48 - Questions asked in the early interviews 18:03 - The new way to launch: most product launches are inherently flawed. Rahul breaks down how to do a far superior, measured launch in four distinct phases. 33:31 - The Superhuman onboarding process 40:31 - Superhuman's 6-step onboarding plan: Rahul's clever technique for getting user feedback, catching bugs, and building customer loyalty. 46:31 - To 10x your product, study game design: the five key product design factors that built Superhuman. Learn more at https://tractionconf.io Connect with Rahul Vohra: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulvohra/ Superhuman’s Product-Market Fit Engine: https://coda.io/@rahulvohra/superhuman-product-market-fit-engine  Learn more about Superhuman at https://superhuman.com/     This episode is brought to you by: Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses, but the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI. Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to Seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 Billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca  Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline their podcast production. Learn more at ContentAllies.com  

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Eren Bali, Co-Founder and CEO at Carbon Health.   Eren previously founded Udemy and helped pioneer the online learning industry. Now, he's disrupting healthcare with Carbon Health and has grown the company 7x since January 2020, increasing its clinic footprint from 7 to 27 clinics, introducing virtual care to 16 states, and facilitating over 500K Covid-19 tests.   Specifically, Eren covers:   4:05 - The decision to start Carbon Health after pioneering a whole new industry 12:35 - Key learnings from Udemy 19:36 - Beginning milestones set at Carbon Health 25:51 - Key levers to prioritize when scaling a company 37:31 - Combining AI and machine-learning with humans to build delightful customer  experiences that keep them coming back 42:41 - The first few people to bring onto your team 51:00 - Keeping everyone on your team aligned with company goals 56: 16- Key skills all entrepreneurs need to have Learn more at https://tractionconf.io Connect with Eren Bali: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erenbali/ Learn more about Carbon Health at https://carbonhealth.com/careers   This episode is brought to you by: Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses, but the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI. Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to Seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 Billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca  Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline their podcast production. Learn more at ContentAllies.com  

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Meagen Eisenberg, Chief Marketing Officer at TripActions.   Meagen is one of the most sought-after marketing leaders and has won a number of accolades, including Most Influential Marketing Tech Leaders and Top 25 B2B Marketing Influencers.   She spent more than 20 years growing and scaling tech companies through many acquisitions and IPOs, including prior roles as CMO of MongoDB (NASDAQ: MDB) and VP of Demand Generation at DocuSign (NASDAQ: DOCU).   In this session, Meagen addresses:   8:22 - What should your marketing mix look like? 14:30 - Where you need to focus if you only have $10k 20:43- Innovative things companies are doing in field marketing 26:23 - Splitting your budget in the post-Covid world 35:20 - Most important piece of software to have when starting out 43:52 - Most common mistakes marketers make 52:02 - Coordinating multiple marketing teams efficiently Learn more at https://tractionconf.io Connect with Meagen Eisenberg: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meageneisenberg/ Learn more about TripActions at https://www.tripactions.com/     This episode is brought to you by: Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses, but the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI. Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to Seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 Billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca  Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline their podcast production. Learn more at ContentAllies.com  

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Kerel Cooper, Chief Marketing Officer at LiveIntent, Inc.  Hiring has turned into gatekeeping, but building a great company is not about selecting people who fit your existing culture and keeping out those who don’t. Culture should expand like your business. Just like we want people to contribute new skills and ideas, people should be able to contribute to a new culture. Ultimately, openness is the biggest and most indispensable enabler of growth. According to Gartner, 75% of organizations with frontline decision-making teams reflecting a broad and diverse culture will exceed their financial targets. In this session, Kerel covers: 0:36 - Kerel's Minority Report podcast 5:25 - How leaders and their teams can foster a broad and diverse culture in the workplace from the very beginning—during the hiring process 8:52 - What sets or breaks culture within a company? 15:18 - How do you deal with a toxic personality? 24:58 - How to preserve company culture while expanding 36:09 - Do you hire for strength, or lack of weakness? 49:25 - Do you hire for trajectory, or experience? Learn more at https://tractionconf.io Connect with Kerel Cooper: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kerelcooper/ Learn more about LiveIntent at https://www.liveintent.com/   This episode is brought to you by: Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses, but the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI. Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to Seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 Billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca  Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline their podcast production. Learn more at ContentAllies.com  

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Noah Kagan, Chief Sumo and CEO at AppSumo. Noah started his career as employee #30 at Facebook, before getting fired and losing $185M in company shares. He was then #4 at Mint.com and built their first 100K customers as director of marketing. Today Noah runs two multimillion-dollar businesses: AppSumo and Sumo.com. But along the way, he's launched 24 businesses.   In this discussion, Noah will go through EVERY business idea he's had and executed on over two decades. And he'll share his TOP fears, f'ups, and lessons from starting and marketing each. Specifically, Noah will cover:   8:53 - His journey from Facebook to Mint 14:53 - Why, after launching 24 products, Noah decided on AppSumo and Sumo 24:11 - Figuring out a pricing model 30:00 - Top tips for building an audience 43:33 - Tools recommended for giveaways 54:13 - Keeping your email list clean 57:41 - One simple tactic every budding entrepreneur needs to master 59:28 - How to thrive in chaos and find positivity, confidence, and joy during some of the toughest times many of us will ever live through 1:04:42 - How to build a network of successful people who will inspire you Learn more at https://tractionconf.io Connect with Noah Kagan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/noahkagan/ Learn more about AppSumo at https://appsumo.com/   This episode is brought to you by: Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses, but the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI. Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to Seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 Billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca  Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline their podcast production. Learn more at ContentAllies.com  

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Tomasz Tunguz, Managing Director at Redpoint Ventures and co-author of Winning with Data. To build a massive long-term sustainable business, you need strong defensive moats around your company. However, the dramatic shifts in technology are rendering traditional moats useless and leaving companies feeling like it’s almost impossible to build a defensible business. Tomasz shares a unique look at SaaS and data ecosystems, and offers a proposal for novel SaaS architecture to erect huge barriers to entry. Specifically, Tomasz covers: 3:14 - Tomasz's book, Winning With Data 9:28 - Emergence of the cloud data warehouse as a central part of the SaaS stack 17:09 - Disrupting service-oriented industries 20:48 - Traditional moats vs. new moats 28:50 - The most successful product-led growth options 36:42 - How startups can leverage this new architecture to rebuild the largest categories of software and challenge the incumbents 44:40 - Series A revenue vs series B revenue Learn more at https://tractionconf.io   Connect with Tomasz Tunguz: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomasztunguz/   Learn more about Redpoint Ventures at https://www.redpoint.com/   This episode is brought to you by: Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses, but the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI. Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to Seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 Billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca  Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline their podcast production. Learn more at ContentAllies.com  

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Brian Rothenberg, Partner at defy.vc. Finding exponential growth is the holy grail of every startup, but many fail in pursuit of it. Brian’s career has spanned every stage of startup growth, from scrappy zero to triumphant IPO. He founded SkillSlate which was acquired by TaskRabbit (acq. Ikea), then went on to scale Eventbrite’s $5B+ growth engine as VP of Growth and helped them to IPO.   Today, Brian is investing in and advising early-stage startups. In this session, Lloyed and Brian discuss:   5:25 - How to determine early stage market fit 9:59 - What to focus on after the initial value and hook 15:00 - Keys to successfully defining and utilizing growth loops 21:57 - Pitfalls for companies that haven't been able to leverage growth loops 31:29 - Defining Eventbrite's growth model 43:41 - How growth teams are changing today Learn more at https://tractionconf.io This episode is brought to you by: Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses, but the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI. Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to Seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 Billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca  Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline their podcast production. Learn more at ContentAllies.com

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Martin Basiri, co-founder and CEO at ApplyBoard. ApplyBoard is the world’s largest online platform for international student recruitment, with over 750 employees in 20 countries. It has recently closed its latest round of financing and the company is now valued at $1.4 billion. In this session, Martin shares the secrets and lessons learned from their exponential growth journey. Specifically, they discuss:   7:23 - What early customer development looked like 11:09 - Coming up with the idea and getting to product-market fit 16:56 - Tactics for driving customer acquisition and growth 17:48 - Strategies for finding the key early team members 30:43 - Fundraising during a global pandemic and becoming a unicorn 46:36- CEO goals for a company with 750 people Learn more at https://tractionconf.io Connect with Martin Basiri: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martinbasiri/?originalSubdomain=ca Learn more about ApplyBoard at https://www.applyboard.com/ This episode is brought to you by: Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses, but the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI. Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to Seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 Billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca  Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline their podcast production. Learn more at ContentAllies.com  

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Startup Helper, Elad Gil. The Information recently had a cover article with the headline, “The Rise of Elad Gil, Silicon Valley’s Biggest Solo Venture Capitalist.” Investing in one or two unicorns is already magic, but Elad has invested in over 40, including helping companies like Airbnb, Gitlab, Gusto, Instacart, Notion, Stripe, Square, Google, and Twitter navigate the hyper-growth phase by sharing his playbook. Specifically, we discuss:   6:51 - Coming up with the idea and getting to product-market fit 11:21 - Recommended key metrics for founders 20:35 - How to identify and optimize for every single unfair advantage 27:48 - How startups should think about growth 32:13 - Scaling from zero to thousands of employees without breaking the culture 39:37 - Signals to watch for that things are about to break 42:49 - The job of a CEO 51:14 - What dictates valuation? 58:02 - Keeping the team aligned on goals and strategy Learn more at https://tractionconf.io Connect with Elad Gil:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/eladgil/   This episode is brought to you by: Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses, but the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI. Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to Seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 Billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline their podcast production. Learn more at ContentAllies.com