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The Zoom IPO (with Santi Subotovsky)

Acquired

The Zoom IPO (with Santi Subotovsky)

Join the Acquired Limited Partner program! https://glow.fm/acquired/ (works best on mobile) Zoom board member (and general partner at Emergence Capital) Santi Subotovsky joins us to tell the true underdog story behind the hottest IPO of 2019. Together we trace founder Eric Yuan’s incredible journey from immigrant software developer, who didn’t speak any…

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Notes

  1. Who Is Santi Subotovsky at 0:00

    Santi Subotovsky is from Argentina. He founded AXG Tecnonexo, a SaaS e-learning company in Argentina. Full answer

  2. Who Is Eric Yuan at 0:00

    He is the founder of Zoom IPO. Full answer

  3. What’s Something About IPOs That Most People Wouldn’t Think of at 4:10

    The work and the cultural changes required can be greater than what people realize. The first audit for public disclosure can delay IPO timing. Full answer

  4. What Move Helps a First-time Founder Most? at 24:22

    You should always find the right partner and group of people, those that believe in you before the business. Full answer

  5. Why Did Devices Come First, but Now, It’s Bring Your Own Software at 29:35

    It went from bring your own device to bring your own app. When bringing your own device, you had full control on what was installed. Full answer

  6. Why Did Zoom Cap Free Meetings at Forty Minutes? at 34:54

    Eric knew from the stats that the most productive business meetings were 45 minutes long, which is why 40 was the magic number. Full answer

  7. Who Does Zoom Choose to Hire as Their Team at 51:21

    They don’t recruit publicly known execs, but they seek to invest in rockstars before they are recognized. People who are hungry and have the capacity to learn. Full answer

  8. Why Sell to Small Businesses Before Big Companies? at 59:11

    Yes, it's a great strategy. When selling to SMBs, you end up spending a lot of time focusing on the end user. Full answer

  9. What’s the Difference Between Okay CEOs and Great CEOs at 1:00:24

    A great CEO will know when to say no, and that’s probably harder than to say yes. It's better to say no to something if the company is not ready for it. Full answer

  10. Why Is It Important to Focus on Revenue Early on at 1:07:40

    With a lot of capital available, companies tend to focused on spending a lot of money to grow at any cost, rather than doing the right thing. Full answer

  11. What Has Zoom Showed in the Markets at 1:10:11

    Markets care about profitability. The key driver to help Zoom deliver results is by making sure the customers are still happy. Full answer

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