In Nov 2021, Doordash announced they were acquiring Wolt for a reported $8.1BN.
For their Series B Miki Kuusi was rejected by 70 VCs. The 71st, said yes.
Here is the wild story from our 20VC: 🔥 👇
1. Hire People Who Have Not “Done It”
Very few people do things twice in their life.
Hire for potential.
To build a successful company, you need to have a large group of people that do things for the very first time with you.
2. How To Use Compensation to Create Culture
People care about the things they own.
To make people care about your company, make them owners.
Make every single employee a stockholder.
3. The KPI of Success as a CEO
A CEO is the knight on a white horse, leading troops into battle from the front.
To build something big, you need to build a team that can succeed without you.
The biggest KPI:
If you die tomorrow, will the company still succeed in your absence?
4. Why Companies Should Act Like a Team, Not Family
A lot of companies say they want to be a family.
Wolt wants to be a team.
The difference is, a family will be a family no matter what.
Teams are defined by their capability to win.
5. The Biggest Sacrifice Founders Make
Founders have to sacrifice their mind, space, and freedom.
You will always think about what the company has to do next.
It can’t be turned off.
You have to learn to live with it.
6. Why Transparency Makes Leadership Less Lonely
In an environment with full transparency, teams come up with better solutions than a single person can come up with on their own.
This makes the job less lonely.
It makes the responsibility of leadership less heavy on your shoulders.
7. How to Build an Environment of Trust, Not Safety
A team is only as strong as the weakest player.
Give people the opportunity to learn and make mistakes.
If someone brings the team down, take them out of the game.
Create trust without a safety net for bad performance.
8. Why Growth Companies Are Glorified Recruiting Operations
Every senior person in a growth company has to be a great recruiter.
They have to get people as excited about the opportunity as they are.
9. What Makes a Good Company vs. a Great Company
The difference between bad and good companies is that bad companies don't know what to do.
With good and great companies, both know what needs to be done.
The difference is, only the great ones execute on the truly difficult things.
10. How to Create a Company Culture Where People Actually Care
Give people ownership over what they’re building.
Let them make decisions and have accountability.
The way you get people to care about the small things by giving them ownership over big things.
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