Hybrid Approach: A Fusion of Private Equity and Technology Company

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The company's approach combines elements of a private equity model with a technology company's hands-on, innovative approach. While private equity focuses on cheap financing and high-level improvements, the company is deeply involved in rewriting software, changing IT architecture, redesigning user experience, adding features, and revising marketing strategies. The team comprises mostly software engineers, AI researchers, data analysts, and product managers, reflecting a strong emphasis on technology. This hybrid model blends a capital allocation perspective with a tech-driven, product-oriented strategy, resembling a mix between private equity and a technology giant like Google.

Luca Ferrari is Co-Founder and CEO of Bending Spoons, one of the most incredible but untold success stories in startups. Luca has scaled Bending Spoons to 100M monthly active users, $380M in sales in 2023 and aiming to reach $500M in EBITDA by the end of 2026. The company’s products include Evernote, Meetup, Remini, and Splice and their products have now been downloaded more than 500M times.

In Today’s Episode with Luca Ferrari We Discuss:

From McKinsey Associate to $2BN Founder

What was Luca like as a child? How would his parents have described him?
Why did Luca share his McKinsey salary with his co-founders?
What were Luca’s biggest lessons from his failed startup?

Bootstrapping Bending Spoons

Why did Luca decide to bootstrap Bending Spoons?
What does Luca think about the EU vs. US startup environment?
Why did Luca kill a $7M project? What were his lessons?
How did Luca pick his investors?

How to Find the Best Talent

What are the 3 key traits Luca looks for when picking the best talent?
Why does Luca think traditional interview strategies do not work?
What tests does Luca conduct for each candidate?
What were Luca’s biggest hiring mistakes?

Mastering Acquisition & Growth

How does Luca determine which products to acquire? How does he identify signals?
How does Luca approach pricing assets? How does he win every bid?
What are Luca’s biggest lessons from acquiring Evernote?
What key lessons on risk management does Luca wish he’d known 10 years ago?
What are Luca’s biggest challenges on user acquisition?