20VC: Mailchimp's Ben Chestnut on The Biggest Leadership Lessons Scaling to a $12Bn Acquisition and $1BN+ ARR, The Secret to Happiness, Being a Great Husband and Father & Why 2021 was the Right Time To Sell to Intuit
The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch12 Des 2022

20VC: Mailchimp's Ben Chestnut on The Biggest Leadership Lessons Scaling to a $12Bn Acquisition and $1BN+ ARR, The Secret to Happiness, Being a Great Husband and Father & Why 2021 was the Right Time To Sell to Intuit

Ben Chestnut is the Co-Founder of Mailchimp, the all-in-one marketing platform for small businesses. Last year, in Sept 2021 it was announced that Intuit would acquire Mailchimp for a reported $12BN. There are so many things to love about the Mailchimp journey to this point. First, Mailchimp was founded as the result of a side project of a design agency Ben and his co-founder, Dan, used to run. Second, Mailchimp is and has always been based in Atalanta, eschewing the notion you have to be in SF or NYC to build a massive business. Then third, they never raised venture funding for the business all the way until their $12BN acquisition. Ben led Mailchimp to over 1,200 employees and millions of global users.

In Today's Episode with Ben Chestnut We Discuss:

1. From Mama's Kitchen to the Smell of Business and Founding Mailchimp:

  • How did Ben turn a mediocre agency into the founding of Mailchimp? What was the a-ha moment?
  • At what stage of the business did Ben quit the agency and go all in on Mailchimp? What sign did he need that Mailchimp had true product-market fit?
  • When Ben's mother died, he bought every flower in the local town to commemorate her. How did Ben's mother impact the type of father and husband he is today? How did she impact the way that he led Mailchimp as CEO?
  • Ben's fishing trips with his father played a big role in his early years, what were the single biggest lessons for Ben from his fishing trips with his father?

2. Ben Chestnut: The Leader:

  • How does Ben define the term "high performance" in leadership?
  • What does Ben mean when he says "the secret to happiness is to stay in your lane"?
  • Why would Ben describe himself as the "leader of the misfits"? How did that early experience and labeling impact both the people he hired and the culture he created at Mailchimp?
  • What does Ben mean when he says he used to have a "hands off, eyes off" leadership style? What have been the single biggest drivers in his development as a leader?

3. Ben Chestnut: The Person:

  • Relationship to Money: How does Ben reflect on his relationship to money? How has it changed over time? Why does Ben still to this day buy lottery tickets with his wife?
  • Conquering Fatherhood: What does being a great father to Ben mean? How does Ben attempt to instil the same work ethic and drive when his children are born into immense wealth?
  • The secret to Marriage: What does Ben believe is the core to a successful and thriving marriage? How does Ben view his role in the marriage? How has it changed over time?
  • Potential Lost Identity: A founder's identity is so closely tied to their company, how did Ben manage the challenge of selling his company but retaining his identity? What did Ben learn about himself through many different acquisition processes?

4. Mailchimp: The Business:

  • Why did Ben never raise venture money in the 21 year journey of Mailchimp?
  • Why did Ben never accept any of the acquisition offers that came before Intuit?
  • How did Ben motivate his team after they knew each acquisition offer was being turned down?
  • Why did Ben decide the acquisition by Intuit was the right decision for the company?
  • How does Ben view his role in the company now and moving forward?

Episoder(1388)

20 VC 004: David Hornik on the Magic of Stanford and Startups

20 VC 004: David Hornik on the Magic of Stanford and Startups

Welcome to Session 4 of The Twenty Minute VC, on today's incredible show, I am hugely excited to present David Hornik. David started his career as legal attorney to some of the hottest startups in Silicon Valley before making his foray into the Venture Capital Industry with August Capital in 2000. If that wasn't enough, David created the 1st Venture Capital blog, VentureBlog and is also the presenter of VentureCast. In today's episode you will learn: Why David made the transition from the legal world into the VC industry? What is so special about Stanford that enables a continuous flow of revlolutionary companies? Whether legal skills are attributable to the funding industry? What David looks for when investing in a company? Does it always have to be a big market opportunity for VCs to invest? What the best piece of business advice David has ever received? What book David would recommend to a Startup Founder? We then progress into a quick fire round where we hear David's views on Peter Thiel's 20 Under 20 and the 1st $Trillion business.

18 Jan 201522min

20 VC 003: Bob Ghoorah on Startups, The Pitch and Uber

20 VC 003: Bob Ghoorah on Startups, The Pitch and Uber

On today's episode I am thrilled to welcome Bob Ghoorah, Managing Director at Columubus Nova Technology Partners. Bob has experienced both sides of the table having been an early employee at three technology companies in Silicon Valley; LoudCloud (Nasdaq: LDCL), Opsware (Nasdaq: OPSW) and Ning, a privately-held software platform (sold to Glam Media in 2011). In this episode we find out: The benefits of having a legal knowledge in the Startup community. What characteristics make the best entrepreneurs? Who does Bob think of, when the word 'success' is mentioned and why? Where Bob sees the future of Uber? What aspects of a Startup are essential in order to obtain VC funding? Is it important for Startups to be located in Silicon Valley? What books Bob woulg give to an aspring entrepreneur and startup founder? What advice Bob would give to anyone looking to get into the Venture Capital Industry? Finally, we head to the quick fire round. Here, we get Bob's immediate reactions to the latests tech topics including tech bubble, company valuations and the first trillion dollar company. For all the resources mentioned in todays show head over to The Twenty Minute VC.

13 Jan 201522min

20 VC 002: How to become a VC with Kris Jones

20 VC 002: How to become a VC with Kris Jones

In this session of The Twenty Minute VC, I'm so excited to have the opportunity to interview Kris Jones. Kris has enjoyed an amazing career in the technology industry, founding PepperJam, an internet marketing agency in 1999 and later selling it to Ebay in April of 2010. More recently, Kris has made his transition into the Venture Capital Industry through the founding of an early stage technology investment fund, KBJ Capital, which includes portfolio companies Highlighter.com, French Girls App, ReferLocal.com, LSEO.com and many more incredible companies. In this session you'll learn: Why Kris decided to make the transition from the Startup ecosystem to the world of Venture Capital. How did it feel for Kris, selling his company to Ebay? What was the most important lesson Kris learnt in the journey from having the idea for PepperJam to being acquired by Ebay? What is the key characteristic a Founder must have? What can an individual do to get employed in the Venture Capital industry. Kris is also a prolific writer here are some of his articles, you can check out! Forbes: 15 Steps to Set Your Company Up for a Successful M&A Mashable: 9 Ways Social Media Marketing Will Change in 2014 Citibank: How to Impress a Potential Investor

13 Jan 201522min

20 VC 001: Guy Kawasaki of Apple, Motorola and AllTop.com

20 VC 001: Guy Kawasaki of Apple, Motorola and AllTop.com

Welcome to the 1st episode of The Twenty Minute VC, on today's show we have Guy Kawasaki, Guy is the Founding Partner of Garage Technology Ventures, a seed & early stage venture capital fund investing in extraordinary entrepreneurs with unique technologies. Previously, he was Chief Evangelist of Apple Inc and an advisor to the Motorala Business Unit of Google. Guy is also the author of many best selling books including the recent best seller, The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users. In this episode we delve into: Why Guy made the transition into the VC industry? What is the most important aspect for a startup to have? What drives Guy insane about startup founders today? What books Guy gives to aspiring entrepreneurs? What software & apps Guy cannot live without? We then finish on a quick fire round where we discover Guy's thoughts on the future of Amazon, Tesla and whether we really are in the midst of a tech bubble. All of the products mentioned in todays show can be found at www.thetwentyminutevc.com If you love the show, please do leave a review on the iTunes store and don't forget to subscribe!

13 Jan 201519min

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