The Customer who wished he'd found Godard Abel two years earlier

On February 5, 2026, Gartner completed the sale of its Digital Markets business to G2 for approximately $110 million, according to a subsequent events note in Gartner's annual report. The business consisted of Capterra, Software Advice, and GetApp, three of the largest software review sites on the internet. G2 was the fourth. Godard Abel, G2's co-founder and CEO, now runs all of them. The combined properties claim 6 million verified reviews and more than 200 million annual software buyers.

Abel spoke with the CEO.com Podcast on October 13, 2022, more than three years before the Gartner deal. At the end of that conversation, he was asked what the future of G2 looked like.

"Every time you need software to make your work better, we just want you to think of G2.com, and we want to be the most trusted, influential site and marketplace for software," he said. "I think today that's true in some categories, but I hope in three to five years that will be true for a billion knowledge workers around the world and as we achieve that, we do hope this time to ring the bell and build a meaningful public company, so that's my unfulfilled dream as an entrepreneur."

The company has not gone public. It has bought its competitors.

The idea for G2 came from a sale Abel almost didn't make. His first company, BigMachines, built configuration and quoting software for manufacturers. He founded it in 2000, after McKinsey and a stint at a startup that went public, and the concept came from his own family, which ran a pump manufacturing business called Abel Pumps. The company was small and largely unknown. One of its first significant customers was Rolls-Royce, the power generation company rather than the automaker, which makes steam turbines and other machinery large enough to earn the name.

"They finally discovered BigMachines and became our customer," Abel said on the CEO.com Podcast. "Then they said to me, 'Wow, Godard, I wish we'd discovered you two years ago. We've been trying to build this configuration software in-house and we didn't know vendors like you existed.'"

Rolls-Royce had spent two years building something it could have bought. Abel had spent those same two years trying to be found. Both sides of that failure became G2's business plan, which started in 2012 with five BigMachines veterans sitting in Abel's basement, the year before Oracle acquired BigMachines for $400 million.

"Most software buyers don't trust sales and marketing because obviously we're trying to sell our wares, and frankly tech has gotten so good at it our marketing's so shiny, our demos are so beautiful, but then I think everyone has fears in the business setting, 'Hey, is this app really going to work?'" Abel said. "That was the other thing we really wanted to build in the G2, is to find trusted peer reviews, so you can really, Clint, find someone like you and learn from them, 'Hey, does this app really work as advertised?'"

The trouble was that peer reviews require peers who write reviews. Abel had never written one. He said this on the podcast without much prompting.

"I hate to admit this, but before I started G2, I never wrote reviews either. I had a free ride and most of us do this, always read reviews about shopping on Yelp or on Amazon is great, helped me pick better restaurants, better products, but I didn't want to take the time to write them because I'm busy, and that's true for most humans."

He cited a blog post by Yelp's founder estimating that 99 percent of people never write a review. G2 started in the CRM category because the founders knew it, and spent years trying to get enough reviews in one category to be useful to anyone. Two years in, the company had no revenue. Abel said on the podcast The First Pitch in August 2026 that G2 projected $54 million in revenue for 2017 and ended the year near $5 million. Silicon Valley venture firms passed on the early rounds. Chicago Ventures invested.

Abel left G2 in 2014 to run SteelBrick, a quoting product built inside Salesforce, and came back as CEO in 2018. SteelBrick was the mirror image of BigMachines. BigMachines took 13 years to reach an exit. SteelBrick took less than two years, and Abel brought more than 100 people from BigMachines and Oracle with him.

"We were able to apply everything we learned at BigMachines in the first 13 years, and we really had just as much success in terms of getting to an exit, having impact on the world in less than two years," he said. He took the company from five employees to 200 and grew bookings 37 times in seven quarters before Salesforce bought it in 2016 for $360 million in stock.

He is careful about how he describes both deals. Neither company was shopped. There was no banker. In both cases, a larger company had first been a partner, with hundreds of joint customers, and eventually decided it wanted the product for all of its customers. Salesforce invested in SteelBrick twice before acquiring it. Abel credits John Somorjai, who runs Salesforce Ventures, with the phrase he uses to explain it: great companies are bought, not sold.

The Salesforce deal turned on a single meeting with Marc Benioff. Abel showed him the SteelBrick demo and described the vision. Then he watched.

"From that meeting, he just loved the demos so much. I think he's also intuitive; he saw, 'Wow, if we could bring this to hundreds of thousands of Salesforce customers.' That would be amazing for our customers and obviously help his business. I could tell he just got energized, and I'm not sure he had the idea before the meeting. I'll never know, but I just saw his energy, and then he was obviously very convincing."

Abel had introduced himself to Benioff years earlier, at a conference in Chicago shortly before the Salesforce IPO, by walking up and telling him about BigMachines. He said that took some courage he had not always had. At McKinsey, fresh from MIT, he thought of himself as the person who built the spreadsheet and kept quiet in the client meeting. A senior engagement manager named John Perlese told him that when he saw something in the data the partner was missing, he needed to say so.

"That was just a really empowering moment for me, and then I started trying it, and I'm like, 'Oh wow, people will actually also listen to me and value my opinion, not just my spreadsheet skills,'" Abel said.

His fundraising advice follows the same logic as his M&A advice: the money comes after the relationship. He described Ryan Westwood, the Utah founder of Simplus, who agreed to become a SteelBrick implementation partner when the company was too small for Accenture or Infosys to bother with. Abel ended up investing in Simplus personally. Infosys later acquired it.

"I do think investing, especially at an early stage, is such a trust business that I think if there isn't a personal connection and you don't have a relationship to build on, I think it's really hard," he said. "Obviously, some companies just have the perfect metrics. I've never honestly had a company like that. I've heard stories about Mark Zuckerberg, he turned on Facebook, all of Harvard was using it overnight, so some businesses, but I think they're one in a billion, have just perfect metrics. Frankly, if you have perfect metrics, Tiger will call you and fundraising is easy."

Betts asked him about Web3. This was October 2022, a few weeks before FTX collapsed, and Abel answered the way a lot of people did that fall. He said he had bought Bitcoin a few years earlier and was lucky to have done so. He said he had recently heard Marc Andreessen describe blockchain as the layer of trust the internet had always been missing, and that he found the idea compelling. He did not say anything he would need to retract. He also did not say anything he would likely repeat today.

He was more durable on geography. Abel moved to Palo Alto after the Salesforce deal and worked out of the company's headquarters. He estimated that Silicon Valley had historically held about half of global tech, and said he did not expect that to happen again. He named Freshworks, which started in Chennai, and UiPath, which started in Romania, both of which went public in 2021. G2 had bought a company in Bengaluru. He mentioned Utah and Chicago as places growing faster than California, and said he had spoken at the Silicon Slopes Summit and found that gatherings like it made the first raise easier by putting founders and investors in the same room. The first raise, he said, is still the hardest one because the founder has no track record and more people are trying.

He reads biographies of Carnegie and Rockefeller and does not accept the argument that they are too old to matter. He recommended Reed Hastings' No Rules Rules and said he and a newly hired chief people officer were using it as a model. He recommended Benioff's Behind the Cloud to anyone building in SaaS.

Since the interview, G2 has reoriented itself around a claim that most of its buyers no longer start with Google. G2's 2026 Buyer Behavior Report, published in July, found that 82 percent of B2B software buyers had gotten a software recommendation from an AI chatbot in the prior two years. The company created an Answer Engine Optimization category in early 2025, and Abel now talks about being recommended in what he calls the answer moment. Gartner's investors treated the $110 million price as a fire sale. Abel, in the company's announcement, called it a transformational moment for the global B2B software industry.

In April, EY named him a finalist for its Entrepreneur Of The Year 2026 Midwest Award. The winners announced in June did not include him. He remains executive chairman of ThreeKit and Logik.io, both of which build configuration technology like what BigMachines sold to Rolls-Royce. He has not rung the bell.

00:00:00 Introducing Godard Abel and His Background
00:00:46 Building Big Machines and SteelBrick
00:01:34 ThreeKit and Visualizing Products in the Metaverse
00:02:41 The Origin Story of G2
00:05:14 The Challenge of Getting Reviews
00:06:36 Advice for Entrepreneurs Selling Their Company
00:09:00 Working With Marc Benioff
00:10:23 Advice for Acquiring Companies
00:12:55 Fundraising Through Relationships
00:18:46 Thoughts on Web3 and Trust Online
00:19:52 Silicon Valley vs Global Entrepreneurship
00:21:26 Best Leadership Advice Received
00:23:23 Favorite Business Books
00:24:43 The Future Vision for G2

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What<00:03:05.934> had<00:03:06.190> you<00:03:06.495> come<00:03:06.688> up<00:03:06.832> with<00:03:06.976> that<00:03:07.089> idea<00:03:08.099> and<00:03:08.260> make<00:03:08.452> you<00:03:08.580> think<00:03:08.757> that<00:03:09.399> that<00:03:09.559> would<00:03:10.120> turn<00:03:10.297> into<00:03:10.521> a<00:03:10.602> business<00:03:10.987> like<00:03:11.163> it<00:03:11.243> has?

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I<00:03:11.484> mean,<00:03:12.286> it's<00:03:12.446> unbelievably<00:03:13.024> successful.

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You've<00:03:13.794> raised<00:03:14.115> over<00:03:14.275> $100<00:03:14.692> million<00:03:15.269> for<00:03:15.510> it.

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Yeah,<00:03:16.136> no,<00:03:16.360> thank<00:03:16.601> you,<00:03:16.697> Clint.

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And<00:03:17.242> it<00:03:17.323> was<00:03:17.579> inspired<00:03:18.205> by<00:03:18.301> our<00:03:18.446> experience<00:03:18.831> as<00:03:18.927> entrepreneurs<00:03:19.889> building<00:03:20.306> Big<00:03:20.531> Machines<00:03:21.269> and<00:03:21.365> SteelBrick.

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And<00:03:23.194> so,<00:03:23.434> we<00:03:23.579> were<00:03:23.739> always<00:03:24.012> software<00:03:24.397> entrepreneurs,<00:03:24.958> software<00:03:25.295> sellers.

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And<00:03:26.722> we<00:03:26.802> saw<00:03:27.123> firsthand,<00:03:27.828> frankly,<00:03:28.149> how<00:03:28.325> hard<00:03:28.630> it<00:03:28.710> was<00:03:28.950> for<00:03:29.046> our<00:03:29.126> customers<00:03:30.473> to<00:03:30.633> discover<00:03:31.354> apps<00:03:31.611> like<00:03:31.835> ours.

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And<00:03:32.588> especially<00:03:32.957> my<00:03:33.053> first<00:03:33.294> company,<00:03:33.598> Big<00:03:33.694> Machines,<00:03:34.271> it<00:03:34.640> was<00:03:34.752> our<00:03:34.816> first<00:03:35.137> time.

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We<00:03:35.521> didn't<00:03:35.698> raise<00:03:35.858> a<00:03:35.874> ton<00:03:36.034> of<00:03:36.082> money.

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And<00:03:36.499> frankly,<00:03:36.740> most<00:03:36.900> people<00:03:37.044> hadn't<00:03:37.284> heard<00:03:37.381> of<00:03:37.525> us.

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And<00:03:38.487> I<00:03:38.503> remember<00:03:38.887> one<00:03:38.999> of<00:03:39.128> our<00:03:39.288> first<00:03:39.705> big<00:03:39.865> customers<00:03:40.506> at<00:03:40.650> Big<00:03:40.746> Machines<00:03:41.227> became<00:03:41.692> Rolls-Royce,<00:03:42.990> not<00:03:43.167> the<00:03:43.231> cars,<00:03:43.792> but<00:03:43.888> they<00:03:44.016> make<00:03:44.272> truly<00:03:44.593> big<00:03:44.753> machines.

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They<00:03:45.170> make<00:03:45.475> big<00:03:45.635> steam<00:03:45.955> turbines,<00:03:47.141> big<00:03:47.318> power<00:03:47.542> generation<00:03:48.039> units.

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And<00:03:49.065> they<00:03:49.161> finally<00:03:49.385> discovered<00:03:49.722> Big<00:03:49.866> Machines,<00:03:50.139> became<00:03:50.363> our<00:03:50.443> customer.

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And<00:03:51.645> then<00:03:51.789> they<00:03:51.870> said<00:03:52.046> to<00:03:52.126> me,<00:03:52.286> wow,<00:03:52.527> Godard,<00:03:53.168> I<00:03:53.312> wish<00:03:53.552> we<00:03:53.649> discovered<00:03:54.194> you<00:03:54.290> 2<00:03:54.514> years<00:03:54.771> ago.

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We've<00:03:55.958> been<00:03:56.118> trying<00:03:56.295> to<00:03:56.456> build<00:03:56.696> this<00:03:56.857> configuration<00:03:57.499> software<00:03:57.965> in-house<00:03:59.249> and<00:03:59.410> we<00:03:59.442> didn't<00:03:59.667> know<00:03:59.827> vendors<00:04:00.165> like<00:04:00.373> you<00:04:00.470> existed.

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And<00:04:01.835> so<00:04:01.995> we<00:04:02.075> saw<00:04:02.316> this<00:04:02.942> massive<00:04:03.360> problem<00:04:03.906> that<00:04:04.066> oftentimes<00:04:04.564> businesses<00:04:05.431> didn't<00:04:06.395> know<00:04:06.651> what<00:04:06.812> software<00:04:07.294> would<00:04:07.454> best<00:04:07.695> help<00:04:07.856> them<00:04:08.016> solve<00:04:08.257> their<00:04:08.337> business<00:04:08.659> problems.

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And<00:04:09.766> on<00:04:09.863> the<00:04:09.943> other<00:04:10.039> side,<00:04:10.248> as<00:04:10.409> entrepreneurs,<00:04:10.906> we<00:04:10.987> also<00:04:11.228> saw<00:04:11.468> the<00:04:11.629> challenge<00:04:12.127> of<00:04:12.255> breaking<00:04:12.576> through<00:04:12.753> all<00:04:12.817> the<00:04:12.849> noise<00:04:13.957> because<00:04:14.262> on<00:04:14.343> G2<00:04:14.503> today<00:04:14.760> there's<00:04:15.145> over<00:04:15.290> 100,000<00:04:16.109> apps.

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So<00:04:17.104> it<00:04:17.169> makes<00:04:17.345> it<00:04:17.409> really<00:04:17.554> hard<00:04:17.714> for<00:04:17.843> the<00:04:17.971> buyer<00:04:18.292> to<00:04:18.373> find<00:04:18.678> the<00:04:18.710> right<00:04:18.999> app<00:04:19.160> to<00:04:19.256> solve<00:04:19.497> their<00:04:19.657> business<00:04:19.898> problem,<00:04:20.926> and<00:04:20.990> it<00:04:21.022> makes<00:04:21.199> it<00:04:21.247> really<00:04:21.407> hard<00:04:21.568> for<00:04:21.696> the<00:04:21.745> seller<00:04:22.146> to<00:04:22.291> break<00:04:22.467> through<00:04:22.628> the<00:04:22.676> noise<00:04:23.511> and<00:04:23.671> discover<00:04:24.538> their<00:04:24.699> ideal<00:04:25.036> customer<00:04:25.502> right<00:04:25.679> when<00:04:25.823> they're<00:04:25.919> shopping.

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And<00:04:27.124> that's<00:04:27.364> really<00:04:27.605> what<00:04:27.653> we<00:04:27.685> set<00:04:27.846> out<00:04:28.006> to<00:04:28.087> solve<00:04:28.408> with<00:04:28.633> g2.com.

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We<00:04:30.238> wanted<00:04:30.479> to<00:04:31.057> quote<00:04:31.217> unquote,<00:04:31.458> consumerize<00:04:32.566> shopping<00:04:32.967> for<00:04:33.064> business<00:04:33.304> software<00:04:33.946> because<00:04:34.252> we<00:04:34.332> just<00:04:34.492> thought<00:04:34.605> it<00:04:34.653> was<00:04:34.829> way<00:04:35.054> too<00:04:35.231> hard<00:04:36.178> for<00:04:36.274> buyers<00:04:36.660> to<00:04:36.772> discover<00:04:37.238> apps<00:04:37.960> and<00:04:38.040> buyers<00:04:38.426> also<00:04:38.602> to<00:04:38.827> trust<00:04:39.405> the<00:04:39.501> vendor,<00:04:39.951> frankly.

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And<00:04:40.513> as<00:04:40.625> I<00:04:40.657> was<00:04:40.786> a<00:04:40.850> vendor,<00:04:41.171> the<00:04:41.315> pitch,<00:04:41.974> but<00:04:42.022> we<00:04:42.134> realized<00:04:42.616> most<00:04:43.402> software<00:04:43.723> buyers<00:04:43.980> don't<00:04:44.205> trust<00:04:44.382> sales<00:04:44.622> and<00:04:44.703> marketing<00:04:45.907> because,<00:04:46.469> you<00:04:46.549> know,<00:04:46.613> obviously<00:04:46.790> we're<00:04:46.950> trying<00:04:47.063> to<00:04:47.127> sell<00:04:47.352> our<00:04:47.576> wares<00:04:48.138> and<00:04:48.235> frankly<00:04:49.037> tech<00:04:49.214> has<00:04:49.358> gotten<00:04:49.599> so<00:04:49.840> good<00:04:50.065> at<00:04:50.241> it.

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Our<00:04:50.803> marketing's<00:04:51.269> so<00:04:51.365> shiny,<00:04:51.766> our<00:04:51.911> demos<00:04:52.168> are<00:04:52.248> so<00:04:52.473> beautiful.

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But<00:04:53.453> then<00:04:53.614> I<00:04:53.631> think<00:04:53.792> everyone<00:04:54.018> has<00:04:54.260> fears<00:04:54.566> in<00:04:54.599> a<00:04:54.663> business<00:04:54.970> setting,<00:04:55.212> hey,<00:04:55.292> is<00:04:55.325> this<00:04:55.534> app<00:04:55.647> really<00:04:55.793> gonna<00:04:56.035> work?

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And<00:04:57.309> that<00:04:57.422> was<00:04:57.551> the<00:04:57.632> other<00:04:57.729> thing<00:04:57.874> we<00:04:57.955> really<00:04:58.132> wanted<00:04:58.261> to<00:04:58.294> build<00:04:58.471> in<00:04:58.503> the<00:04:58.600> G2<00:04:59.020> is<00:04:59.423> to<00:04:59.568> find<00:04:59.907> peers,<00:05:00.294> trusted<00:05:00.698> peer<00:05:00.859> reviews.

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So<00:05:02.498> you<00:05:02.595> can<00:05:02.757> really,<00:05:03.064> Clint,<00:05:03.468> you<00:05:03.516> know,<00:05:03.581> find<00:05:03.872> someone<00:05:04.195> like<00:05:04.518> you<00:05:04.696> and<00:05:04.922> ask<00:05:05.245> them,<00:05:05.811> learn<00:05:06.053> from<00:05:06.231> them,<00:05:06.554> hey,<00:05:06.716> does<00:05:06.877> this<00:05:07.104> app<00:05:07.265> really<00:05:07.508> work<00:05:07.685> as<00:05:07.831> advertised?

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And<00:05:09.440> if<00:05:09.604> so,<00:05:10.014> then,<00:05:10.490> you<00:05:10.539> know,<00:05:10.670> you<00:05:10.736> can<00:05:11.244> make<00:05:11.425> a<00:05:11.490> quick<00:05:11.654> buying<00:05:11.884> decision.

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At<00:05:14.761> what<00:05:14.925> point<00:05:15.188> did<00:05:15.353> you<00:05:15.583> realize<00:05:16.406> that<00:05:16.653> G2<00:05:17.229> was<00:05:17.410> gonna<00:05:17.574> be<00:05:17.755> successful?

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Well,<00:05:21.030> and<00:05:21.130> I<00:05:21.131> think<00:05:21.310> the<00:05:21.450> hope<00:05:21.650> and<00:05:21.750> belief<00:05:21.990> was<00:05:22.190> always<00:05:22.390> there.

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You<00:05:22.731> know,<00:05:22.830> that's<00:05:22.890> why<00:05:23.030> I<00:05:23.130> choose<00:05:23.210> an<00:05:23.410> entrepreneur.

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Like,<00:05:24.250> you're<00:05:24.570> like,<00:05:25.090> you<00:05:25.091> believe<00:05:25.290> in<00:05:25.450> the<00:05:25.490> vision<00:05:25.710> somehow.

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Oh<00:05:26.370> yeah,<00:05:26.510> for<00:05:26.850> sure.

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So,<00:05:27.610> in<00:05:27.670> that<00:05:27.870> sense,<00:05:28.090> I<00:05:28.250> was<00:05:28.390> always<00:05:28.810> there.

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But<00:05:29.470> then<00:05:29.710> frankly,<00:05:30.570> also<00:05:30.890> like<00:05:31.150> most<00:05:31.330> entrepreneurs,<00:05:32.030> 2<00:05:32.210> years<00:05:32.430> in,<00:05:32.750> we're<00:05:32.850> like,<00:05:33.130> wow,<00:05:33.210> this<00:05:33.390> is<00:05:33.570> much<00:05:33.670> harder<00:05:33.930> than<00:05:34.050> we<00:05:34.270> thought.

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And,<00:05:36.210> you<00:05:36.211> know,<00:05:36.212> we<00:05:36.270> didn't<00:05:36.390> have<00:05:36.510> any<00:05:36.670> revenue<00:05:37.030> yet.

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And<00:05:38.970> what<00:05:39.110> was<00:05:39.270> really<00:05:39.450> hard<00:05:39.730> about<00:05:39.970> building<00:05:40.150> a<00:05:40.330> review<00:05:40.530> platform<00:05:40.890> was<00:05:41.090> actually<00:05:41.350> getting<00:05:41.570> the<00:05:41.850> reviews.

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And<00:05:43.650> we<00:05:43.810> also<00:05:44.110> learned,<00:05:44.510> and<00:05:44.670> we<00:05:44.790> read<00:05:44.930> blogs<00:05:45.390> from<00:05:45.710> Yelp,<00:05:46.130> and<00:05:46.370> Yelp<00:05:46.570> was<00:05:46.750> really<00:05:46.930> a<00:05:47.250> pioneer<00:05:47.450> in<00:05:47.730> consumer<00:05:48.150> reviews<00:05:48.590> for<00:05:48.770> restaurants,<00:05:48.790> bars.

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I<00:05:48.830> think<00:05:48.850> we've<00:05:48.870> all<00:05:48.890> used<00:05:48.910> Yelp.

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And<00:05:51.106> I<00:05:51.122> remember<00:05:51.363> their<00:05:51.507> founder<00:05:51.779> wrote<00:05:51.940> a<00:05:52.004> blog<00:05:52.629> that<00:05:52.725> was<00:05:53.126> interesting.

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And<00:05:54.072> really<00:05:54.248> what<00:05:54.344> he<00:05:54.408> said<00:05:54.633> is<00:05:54.745> 99%<00:05:55.450> of<00:05:55.530> people<00:05:55.771> never<00:05:56.011> write<00:05:56.236> a<00:05:56.316> review.

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And<00:05:57.999> I<00:05:58.015> hate<00:05:58.175> to<00:05:58.255> admit<00:05:58.496> this,<00:05:58.720> but<00:05:58.816> before<00:05:59.041> I<00:05:59.137> started<00:05:59.442> G2,<00:05:59.762> I<00:05:59.778> never<00:06:00.019> wrote<00:06:00.179> reviews<00:06:00.564> either.

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You<00:06:01.077> know,<00:06:01.141> I'd<00:06:01.381> free<00:06:01.605> ride.

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And<00:06:02.744> most<00:06:02.920> of<00:06:02.984> us<00:06:03.144> do<00:06:03.305> this.

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I<00:06:03.801> would<00:06:04.026> read<00:06:04.186> reviews<00:06:04.587> of<00:06:04.667> how<00:06:04.827> shopping<00:06:05.292> on<00:06:05.388> Yelp<00:06:05.725> or<00:06:05.789> on<00:06:05.933> Amazon<00:06:06.318> was<00:06:06.575> great,<00:06:07.136> helped<00:06:07.312> me<00:06:07.472> pick<00:06:07.777> better<00:06:08.194> restaurants,<00:06:08.755> better<00:06:08.995> products,<00:06:09.556> but<00:06:09.700> I<00:06:10.037> didn't<00:06:10.181> want<00:06:10.341> to<00:06:10.390> take<00:06:10.502> the<00:06:10.582> time<00:06:10.758> to<00:06:10.838> write<00:06:11.063> 'em<00:06:11.159> because<00:06:11.383> I'm<00:06:11.544> busy.

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And<00:06:12.121> that's<00:06:13.147> true<00:06:13.323> for<00:06:13.483> most<00:06:13.948> humans.

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And<00:06:15.246> so<00:06:15.487> I<00:06:15.567> think<00:06:15.711> that<00:06:15.872> took<00:06:16.032> us<00:06:16.128> a<00:06:16.208> long<00:06:16.368> time<00:06:16.593> to<00:06:16.673> figure<00:06:16.913> out,<00:06:17.074> hey,<00:06:17.170> how<00:06:17.266> do<00:06:17.394> we,<00:06:18.052> get<00:06:18.213> enough<00:06:18.520> reviews<00:06:19.488> on<00:06:19.649> software<00:06:20.069> products?

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And<00:06:20.618> we<00:06:20.698> started<00:06:20.973> in<00:06:21.021> the<00:06:21.102> CRM<00:06:21.425> category,<00:06:21.909> which<00:06:22.070> we<00:06:22.167> knew,<00:06:22.893> but<00:06:23.038> how<00:06:23.135> do<00:06:23.216> we<00:06:23.297> get<00:06:23.361> enough<00:06:23.684> reviews<00:06:24.265> so<00:06:24.410> that<00:06:24.507> we<00:06:24.604> get<00:06:24.749> meaningful<00:06:25.152> insight<00:06:26.347> that<00:06:26.589> when<00:06:26.750> software<00:06:27.089> buyers<00:06:27.412> come,<00:06:27.964> there's<00:06:28.143> enough<00:06:28.613> reviews,<00:06:29.100> enough<00:06:29.360> content<00:06:30.253> that<00:06:30.562> it<00:06:30.659> can<00:06:30.805> actually<00:06:31.032> help<00:06:31.211> them<00:06:31.276> make<00:06:31.406> a<00:06:31.471> better<00:06:31.698> buying<00:06:31.877> decision?

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And<00:06:32.429> that<00:06:32.688> took<00:06:32.916> quite<00:06:33.159> a<00:06:33.240> while<00:06:33.435> to<00:06:33.565> get<00:06:33.728> that<00:06:33.890> going.

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Having<00:06:36.957> gone<00:06:37.360> through<00:06:37.923> selling<00:06:39.211> two<00:06:39.437> companies<00:06:40.242> prior<00:06:40.499> to<00:06:40.644> G2,<00:06:42.174> what<00:06:42.286> advice<00:06:42.898> would<00:06:43.059> you<00:06:43.140> have?

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And<00:06:43.317> it<00:06:43.397> seems<00:06:43.623> like<00:06:43.784> there's<00:06:43.961> tons<00:06:44.283> of<00:06:44.363> M&A<00:06:44.830> happening<00:06:45.088> right<00:06:45.184> now.

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I'm<00:06:45.410> sure<00:06:45.490> you've<00:06:45.700> noticed<00:06:45.991> this.

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Uh,<00:06:47.518> what<00:06:47.694> advice<00:06:48.095> would<00:06:48.239> you<00:06:48.399> have<00:06:48.896> for<00:06:49.281> entrepreneurs<00:06:49.778> who<00:06:49.858> are<00:06:50.083> looking<00:06:50.419> to<00:06:50.499> sell<00:06:50.900> their<00:06:51.125> company<00:06:51.461> right<00:06:51.702> now,<00:06:52.263> having<00:06:52.583> gone<00:06:52.824> through<00:06:52.920> that<00:06:53.145> process<00:06:53.625> twice?

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Well,<00:06:54.748> one,<00:06:55.052> I<00:06:55.148> would<00:06:55.309> say<00:06:56.110> don't<00:06:56.415> start<00:06:56.816> out<00:06:57.056> looking<00:06:57.313> to<00:06:57.393> sell<00:06:57.633> your<00:06:57.778> company.

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Right.

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Um,<00:07:01.000> because<00:07:01.545> I<00:07:01.561> think<00:07:01.737> in<00:07:01.882> both<00:07:02.106> cases<00:07:02.587> for<00:07:02.827> us,<00:07:03.324> it<00:07:03.469> wasn't<00:07:03.950> us<00:07:04.046> trying<00:07:04.206> to<00:07:04.286> sell<00:07:04.463> the<00:07:04.591> company,<00:07:04.863> right?

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But<00:07:05.088> we<00:07:05.168> had<00:07:05.264> a<00:07:05.328> great<00:07:05.489> partnership.

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First<00:07:06.531> company<00:07:07.076> actually<00:07:07.236> with<00:07:07.284> Salesforce<00:07:07.813> and<00:07:07.893> with<00:07:08.118> Oracle.

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And,<00:07:09.737> but<00:07:09.881> Oracle,<00:07:10.282> we<00:07:10.314> had<00:07:10.410> a<00:07:10.442> lot<00:07:10.522> of<00:07:10.619> joint<00:07:10.859> customers<00:07:11.500> with<00:07:11.661> their<00:07:11.821> Siebel<00:07:12.623> CRM<00:07:13.087> on<00:07:13.184> demand<00:07:13.568> product.

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And<00:07:14.386> then<00:07:14.530> when<00:07:14.787> Oracle<00:07:15.252> wanted<00:07:15.572> to<00:07:15.668> get<00:07:15.813> stronger<00:07:16.294> in<00:07:16.390> the<00:07:16.470> cloud,<00:07:18.154> They<00:07:19.101> actually<00:07:19.342> came<00:07:19.598> to<00:07:19.839> us<00:07:20.016> at<00:07:20.144> Big<00:07:20.304> Machines<00:07:20.722> and<00:07:20.818> said,<00:07:21.091> "Hey,<00:07:21.283> we'd<00:07:21.428> love<00:07:21.604> to<00:07:21.749> turn<00:07:22.005> Big<00:07:22.166> Machines<00:07:22.567> into<00:07:22.727> Oracle<00:07:22.984> CPQ<00:07:23.514> Cloud,"<00:07:23.754> which<00:07:23.931> it<00:07:23.995> is<00:07:24.091> today.

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And<00:07:24.878> frankly,<00:07:25.134> same<00:07:25.375> thing<00:07:25.520> with<00:07:25.616> Salesforce.

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First,<00:07:26.964> we<00:07:27.044> were<00:07:27.124> a<00:07:27.140> partner.

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And<00:07:28.568> I<00:07:28.584> think<00:07:28.745> our<00:07:28.825> mindset<00:07:29.371> was<00:07:29.531> always,<00:07:29.804> and<00:07:29.932> we<00:07:29.964> knew<00:07:30.189> CRM<00:07:30.606> integration<00:07:31.152> was<00:07:31.376> really<00:07:31.553> important<00:07:32.420> because<00:07:32.997> we<00:07:33.093> were<00:07:33.158> making<00:07:33.960> sales<00:07:34.265> quoting<00:07:34.586> software.

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And<00:07:36.271> every<00:07:36.447> sales<00:07:36.913> rep<00:07:38.052> in<00:07:38.132> the<00:07:38.196> industries<00:07:38.613> we're<00:07:38.758> serving<00:07:38.999> was<00:07:39.111> already<00:07:39.416> using<00:07:39.640> a<00:07:39.656> CRM<00:07:40.058> system<00:07:40.940> to<00:07:41.085> update<00:07:41.486> their<00:07:41.598> sales<00:07:41.983> pipelines,<00:07:42.689> to<00:07:42.770> manage<00:07:43.010> their<00:07:43.090> customer<00:07:43.492> contacts<00:07:44.069> and<00:07:44.150> accounts.

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And<00:07:45.176> so<00:07:45.417> we<00:07:45.513> knew<00:07:45.850> to<00:07:46.139> offer<00:07:46.379> our<00:07:46.475> customers<00:07:46.940> a<00:07:46.956> good<00:07:47.101> experience<00:07:47.598> with<00:07:47.694> our<00:07:47.822> quoting<00:07:48.223> app,<00:07:48.480> it<00:07:48.624> had<00:07:48.801> to<00:07:48.881> tie<00:07:49.041> into<00:07:49.250> the<00:07:49.298> CRM.

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And,<00:07:51.351> uh,<00:07:51.527> and<00:07:51.687> so<00:07:51.928> then<00:07:52.249> we,<00:07:52.409> you<00:07:52.730> know,<00:07:53.115> did<00:07:53.195> a<00:07:53.211> lot<00:07:53.387> of<00:07:53.452> technical<00:07:53.933> work<00:07:54.253> to<00:07:54.350> make<00:07:54.574> SteelBrick<00:07:55.681> very<00:07:55.857> seamless.

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We<00:07:56.418> call<00:07:56.579> it<00:07:56.659> native<00:07:56.996> integration<00:07:57.461> to<00:07:57.541> Salesforce,<00:07:58.648> but<00:07:58.808> make<00:07:59.049> it<00:07:59.530> so<00:07:59.642> the<00:07:59.706> sales<00:07:59.947> rep<00:08:00.059> didn't<00:08:00.267> even<00:08:00.428> notice<00:08:00.813> they<00:08:00.845> were<00:08:00.989> leaving<00:08:01.294> Salesforce<00:08:01.807> to<00:08:01.935> use<00:08:02.144> SteelBrick.

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And<00:08:03.539> so<00:08:03.699> we<00:08:03.732> started<00:08:04.052> with<00:08:04.181> the<00:08:04.277> customer<00:08:04.598> in<00:08:04.758> mind<00:08:05.079> and<00:08:05.159> said,<00:08:05.383> hey,<00:08:05.544> to<00:08:05.624> give<00:08:05.784> the<00:08:05.816> sales<00:08:06.121> rep<00:08:06.281> the<00:08:06.362> best<00:08:06.586> quoting<00:08:06.827> experience,<00:08:07.244> it<00:08:07.388> has<00:08:07.645> to<00:08:07.741> be<00:08:07.949> totally<00:08:08.206> seamless<00:08:08.607> with<00:08:08.719> Salesforce.

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So<00:08:09.489> we<00:08:09.633> also<00:08:09.874> said,<00:08:10.146> hey,<00:08:10.863> to<00:08:10.946> enable<00:08:11.263> that.

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We<00:08:11.530> really<00:08:11.763> want<00:08:11.846> to<00:08:11.880> be<00:08:12.013> a<00:08:12.030> close<00:08:12.363> partner.

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And<00:08:14.761> then<00:08:15.343> eventually<00:08:15.990> that<00:08:16.217> led<00:08:16.395> to,<00:08:16.460> you<00:08:16.735> know,<00:08:16.945> strong<00:08:17.204> partnership<00:08:17.689> where<00:08:17.786> Salesforce<00:08:18.255> also<00:08:18.417> invested<00:08:19.145> twice<00:08:20.423> and,<00:08:20.682> you<00:08:20.714> know,<00:08:20.844> they<00:08:20.924> got<00:08:21.070> to<00:08:21.102> know<00:08:21.248> us<00:08:21.329> better<00:08:21.491> and<00:08:21.572> better.

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And,<00:08:22.461> you<00:08:22.558> know,<00:08:22.607> we<00:08:22.704> already<00:08:22.914> had<00:08:23.011> hundreds<00:08:23.351> of<00:08:23.400> happy<00:08:23.577> joint<00:08:23.754> customers.

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And<00:08:24.398> then<00:08:24.575> at<00:08:24.704> some<00:08:24.882> point<00:08:25.913> Salesforce<00:08:26.799> and,<00:08:27.201> you<00:08:27.233> know,<00:08:27.298> Marc<00:08:27.459> Benioff<00:08:27.797> said,<00:08:28.087> hey,<00:08:28.184> we'd<00:08:28.264> love<00:08:28.426> to<00:08:28.506> bring<00:08:28.651> this<00:08:28.748> to<00:08:28.893> all<00:08:28.925> our<00:08:29.054> customers.

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And<00:08:29.795> I<00:08:29.875> think<00:08:30.117> that's<00:08:30.359> true<00:08:30.584> of<00:08:30.681> most<00:08:30.906> great<00:08:31.084> acquisitions<00:08:31.647> in<00:08:31.792> tech.

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And<00:08:32.860> also<00:08:33.201> John<00:08:33.510> Samorjai,<00:08:34.258> who's<00:08:34.502> the<00:08:34.730> EVP<00:08:35.478> of<00:08:35.624> Corporate<00:08:35.900> Development<00:08:37.007> runs<00:08:37.217> Salesforce<00:08:37.686> Ventures,<00:08:38.058> runs<00:08:38.236> MMA,<00:08:38.543> which<00:08:38.721> on<00:08:38.802> Smorgasbord<00:08:39.189> always<00:08:39.400> says<00:08:39.691> is,<00:08:39.787> you<00:08:39.836> know,<00:08:40.725> great<00:08:40.903> companies<00:08:41.372> are<00:08:41.469> bought,<00:08:41.792> not<00:08:41.970> sold.

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And<00:08:43.182> so<00:08:43.311> I<00:08:43.408> think<00:08:43.554> that's<00:08:43.748> a<00:08:43.812> really<00:08:43.974> important<00:08:44.297> mindset<00:08:44.701> for<00:08:44.782> an<00:08:44.863> entrepreneur<00:08:45.590> is<00:08:46.479> build<00:08:46.641> a<00:08:46.690> great<00:08:46.803> solution.

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I<00:08:47.773> do<00:08:47.935> encourage<00:08:48.420> partnering,<00:08:49.390> and<00:08:49.487> especially<00:08:49.795> in<00:08:49.892> B2B<00:08:50.199> software,<00:08:51.557> if<00:08:51.654> you<00:08:51.719> have<00:08:51.978> a,<00:08:52.625> a<00:08:52.706> great<00:08:52.932> solution<00:08:53.352> with<00:08:53.498> a<00:08:53.579> bigger<00:08:53.757> partner,<00:08:54.704> at<00:08:55.015> some<00:08:55.276> point<00:08:55.440> it<00:08:55.522> may<00:08:55.620> naturally<00:08:56.029> lead<00:08:56.258> to<00:08:56.340> that<00:08:56.405> outcome,<00:08:57.141> you<00:08:57.174> know,<00:08:57.239> where<00:08:57.386> they<00:08:57.484> want<00:08:57.615> to<00:08:57.713> buy<00:08:57.812> your<00:08:57.959> company.

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What's<00:09:00.525> it<00:09:00.658> like<00:09:00.840> working<00:09:01.237> with<00:09:01.568> and<00:09:01.667> doing<00:09:01.932> a<00:09:02.064> deal<00:09:02.329> with<00:09:03.233> Marc<00:09:03.545> Benioff.

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Well,<00:09:05.664> for<00:09:05.747> me,<00:09:05.829> it<00:09:05.894> was<00:09:06.026> amazing.

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I<00:09:07.077> felt<00:09:07.324> lucky.

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And<00:09:09.286> I<00:09:09.368> think<00:09:09.601> he<00:09:10.198> is<00:09:10.280> an<00:09:10.446> entrepreneur<00:09:10.861> I<00:09:10.944> very<00:09:11.126> much<00:09:11.292> admire.

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And<00:09:13.168> he's<00:09:13.425> also<00:09:13.747> written<00:09:14.069> books<00:09:14.472> that<00:09:14.633> I<00:09:14.697> would<00:09:14.810> recommend,<00:09:15.357> like<00:09:15.599> Beyond<00:09:15.840> the<00:09:15.985> Cloud.

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And<00:09:17.434> he's<00:09:18.400> very<00:09:18.561> openly<00:09:18.819> shared<00:09:19.206> how<00:09:19.367> he's<00:09:19.866> built<00:09:20.043> Salesforce.

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And<00:09:21.728> also,<00:09:21.891> he's<00:09:22.069> come<00:09:22.248> up<00:09:22.313> with<00:09:22.475> a<00:09:22.540> unique<00:09:22.800> business<00:09:23.190> model,<00:09:23.677> including<00:09:24.116> his<00:09:24.327> 1-1-1,<00:09:24.912> his<00:09:25.139> philanthropy.

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And<00:09:26.471> so,<00:09:26.553> I<00:09:26.585> was<00:09:26.764> always<00:09:26.942> fascinated<00:09:27.349> by<00:09:27.430> Marc<00:09:27.755> as<00:09:27.836> a<00:09:27.917> partner.

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And,<00:09:30.351> you<00:09:30.384> know,<00:09:30.448> and<00:09:30.592> I<00:09:30.672> think<00:09:30.833> ultimately<00:09:31.106> our<00:09:31.170> acquisition,<00:09:32.534> kind<00:09:32.759> of<00:09:32.839> the<00:09:33.096> impetus<00:09:33.546> for<00:09:33.642> it<00:09:33.722> occurred,<00:09:34.124> I<00:09:34.140> had<00:09:34.461> a<00:09:34.525> chance<00:09:34.862> to<00:09:35.889> meet<00:09:36.146> Marc<00:09:36.628> and,<00:09:37.173> you<00:09:37.205> know,<00:09:37.270> share<00:09:37.671> our<00:09:37.831> SteelBrick<00:09:38.457> demo,<00:09:39.420> share<00:09:39.677> our<00:09:39.822> vision,<00:09:40.319> how<00:09:40.480> we<00:09:40.560> could<00:09:40.785> really<00:09:40.945> help<00:09:41.122> Salesforce<00:09:41.523> customers<00:09:43.032> with<00:09:43.192> their<00:09:43.353> quoting,<00:09:43.915> with<00:09:44.075> their<00:09:44.172> billing,<00:09:44.637> and<00:09:44.733> make<00:09:44.878> them<00:09:44.958> much<00:09:45.215> more<00:09:45.311> effective.

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And,<00:09:46.339> you<00:09:46.435> know,<00:09:46.563> and<00:09:46.884> frankly,<00:09:47.061> after<00:09:47.205> that<00:09:47.382> meeting,<00:09:47.591> he<00:09:47.623> just<00:09:47.847> loved<00:09:48.008> the<00:09:48.104> demos<00:09:48.425> so<00:09:48.586> much.

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I<00:09:48.987> think<00:09:49.067> he's<00:09:49.388> also<00:09:49.469> intuitive<00:09:50.833> where<00:09:50.913> he<00:09:51.074> saw,<00:09:51.475> wow,<00:09:52.181> you<00:09:52.213> know,<00:09:52.422> if<00:09:52.518> we<00:09:52.599> could<00:09:52.743> bring<00:09:52.904> this<00:09:53.080> to<00:09:54.027> thousands<00:09:54.589> or<00:09:54.685> hundreds<00:09:54.990> of<00:09:55.086> thousands<00:09:55.311> of<00:09:55.391> Salesforce<00:09:55.729> customers,<00:09:56.758> that<00:09:56.872> would<00:09:56.938> be<00:09:57.003> amazing<00:09:57.347> for<00:09:57.429> our<00:09:57.511> customers<00:09:58.231> and<00:09:58.739> obviously<00:09:58.984> help<00:09:59.148> his<00:09:59.312> business.

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And<00:10:01.414> so<00:10:01.658> I<00:10:01.805> could<00:10:02.016> tell<00:10:02.131> he<00:10:02.228> just<00:10:02.391> got<00:10:02.619> energized<00:10:03.287> and<00:10:04.037> I'm<00:10:04.200> not<00:10:04.347> sure<00:10:04.738> he<00:10:04.819> had<00:10:04.982> the<00:10:05.080> idea<00:10:05.324> before<00:10:05.634> the<00:10:05.732> meeting,<00:10:06.074> I'll<00:10:06.318> never<00:10:06.546> know,<00:10:07.832> but<00:10:08.057> I<00:10:08.153> just<00:10:08.636> saw<00:10:08.845> his<00:10:09.021> energy<00:10:09.439> and<00:10:09.519> then<00:10:09.616> he<00:10:09.680> was<00:10:09.825> obviously<00:10:10.082> very<00:10:10.243> convincing<00:10:10.886> where,<00:10:12.236> you<00:10:12.268> know,<00:10:12.557> that<00:10:12.734> being<00:10:13.039> part<00:10:13.296> of<00:10:13.698> his<00:10:13.923> company<00:10:14.341> for<00:10:14.566> our<00:10:14.727> team<00:10:15.064> and<00:10:15.144> for<00:10:15.321> our<00:10:15.386> customers<00:10:16.028> would<00:10:16.253> be<00:10:16.591> a<00:10:16.720> natural<00:10:17.075> path.

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And,<00:10:18.531> you<00:10:18.612> know,<00:10:18.774> so<00:10:19.000> we<00:10:19.162> were<00:10:19.825> ultimately<00:10:20.132> excited<00:10:20.488> to<00:10:20.553> join<00:10:20.796> Salesforce.

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You've<00:10:23.648> also<00:10:23.841> been<00:10:23.969> on<00:10:24.049> the<00:10:24.209> other<00:10:24.370> side<00:10:25.091> acquiring<00:10:26.213> companies.

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What<00:10:27.255> advice<00:10:27.592> do<00:10:27.656> you<00:10:27.736> have<00:10:27.913> for<00:10:27.993> CEOs<00:10:29.580> who<00:10:29.756> are<00:10:29.981> looking<00:10:30.317> to<00:10:30.558> buy<00:10:30.942> companies<00:10:31.423> right<00:10:31.680> now?

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Because<00:10:32.145> that's<00:10:32.321> another—<00:10:32.706> I<00:10:32.738> mean,<00:10:32.946> obviously,<00:10:33.283> this<00:10:33.507> M&A<00:10:33.764> stuff<00:10:34.325> is<00:10:34.501> a<00:10:34.646> big<00:10:34.806> deal<00:10:35.046> right<00:10:35.143> now.

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Yeah.

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And<00:10:36.072> I'd<00:10:36.233> say,<00:10:36.569> you<00:10:36.649> know,<00:10:36.730> a<00:10:36.746> lot<00:10:36.906> of<00:10:36.970> times<00:10:37.211> it<00:10:37.531> emerges<00:10:38.092> very<00:10:38.253> similar<00:10:38.717> way<00:10:38.894> on<00:10:38.974> the<00:10:39.118> buy<00:10:39.295> side.

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To<00:10:39.952> give<00:10:40.096> you<00:10:40.160> an<00:10:40.192> example,<00:10:40.577> one<00:10:40.721> of<00:10:40.753> the<00:10:40.834> companies<00:10:41.282> we<00:10:41.395> acquired<00:10:43.366> at<00:10:43.623> G2<00:10:44.040> is<00:10:44.184> called<00:10:44.408> Advocate.ly,<00:10:46.252> and<00:10:46.412> they<00:10:46.589> were<00:10:46.813> actually<00:10:47.214> a<00:10:47.310> partner<00:10:48.176> to<00:10:48.336> G2,<00:10:48.994> they<00:10:49.139> discovered,<00:10:49.861> and<00:10:49.957> Patrick,<00:10:50.519> their<00:10:50.679> founder<00:10:51.081> CEO,<00:10:52.445> was<00:10:52.702> a<00:10:52.766> sales<00:10:53.167> rep<00:10:53.873> or<00:10:53.970> sales<00:10:54.515> leader<00:10:54.836> at<00:10:54.933> a<00:10:54.997> company<00:10:55.414> that<00:10:55.494> was<00:10:55.655> actually<00:10:55.831> using<00:10:56.056> G2<00:10:56.441> reviews.

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And<00:10:57.420> he<00:10:57.565> also<00:10:57.741> realized,<00:10:58.126> wow,<00:10:58.319> it's<00:10:58.528> way<00:10:58.624> too<00:10:58.832> hard<00:10:59.009> to<00:10:59.089> generate<00:10:59.490> reviews<00:11:00.694> to<00:11:00.790> get<00:11:01.015> his<00:11:01.176> customers<00:11:01.673> to<00:11:01.769> validate<00:11:02.219> his<00:11:02.395> product.

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And<00:11:02.941> so<00:11:03.085> he<00:11:03.118> decided<00:11:03.503> to<00:11:03.583> build<00:11:03.744> Advocately<00:11:05.124> really<00:11:05.509> all<00:11:05.685> to<00:11:05.846> help,<00:11:06.392> and<00:11:06.456> it's<00:11:06.552> called<00:11:06.793> Advocately<00:11:07.210> to<00:11:07.290> unleash<00:11:07.595> your<00:11:07.692> customer<00:11:07.997> advocates<00:11:08.574> to<00:11:08.639> help<00:11:08.815> them<00:11:08.959> write<00:11:09.136> reviews.

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And<00:11:10.035> he<00:11:10.163> actually<00:11:10.340> focused<00:11:10.725> on<00:11:10.821> G2<00:11:11.222> because<00:11:11.527> he<00:11:11.559> saw<00:11:11.736> we<00:11:11.784> were<00:11:11.929> becoming<00:11:12.169> the<00:11:12.234> most<00:11:12.346> influential<00:11:12.667> platform<00:11:13.630> and<00:11:13.694> he<00:11:13.774> had<00:11:13.871> about<00:11:14.111> 70<00:11:14.513> companies<00:11:15.058> that<00:11:15.138> were<00:11:15.235> using<00:11:15.540> Advocately<00:11:15.909> to<00:11:16.021> generate<00:11:16.358> more<00:11:16.503> reviews<00:11:16.743> on<00:11:16.840> G2.

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I<00:11:17.610> got<00:11:17.830> to<00:11:18.030> know<00:11:18.110> him<00:11:18.230> at<00:11:18.350> a<00:11:18.351> couple<00:11:18.570> of<00:11:18.790> SaaS<00:11:18.791> conferences<00:11:19.370> and<00:11:20.630> loved<00:11:20.890> his<00:11:21.110> vision.

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And<00:11:22.131> then<00:11:22.230> it<00:11:22.630> was<00:11:22.790> kind<00:11:22.890> of<00:11:23.010> like<00:11:23.050> what<00:11:23.190> Marc<00:11:23.370> Benioff<00:11:23.530> said,<00:11:23.990> oh,<00:11:24.010> if<00:11:24.030> I<00:11:24.110> could—<00:11:24.910> and<00:11:24.990> with<00:11:25.190> Advocate.ly,<00:11:25.610> I'm<00:11:25.650> like,<00:11:25.870> wow,<00:11:25.910> if<00:11:25.990> I<00:11:26.050> could<00:11:26.170> bring<00:11:26.290> this—<00:11:26.910> now<00:11:26.911> we<00:11:27.010> have<00:11:27.130> 2,700—<00:11:27.870> if<00:11:27.950> I<00:11:28.050> could<00:11:28.490> take<00:11:28.750> this<00:11:28.910> from<00:11:29.050> 70<00:11:29.450> to<00:11:29.590> 2,700<00:11:30.190> G2<00:11:30.530> customers<00:11:31.090> by<00:11:31.870> having<00:11:32.070> you<00:11:32.230> join<00:11:32.350> our<00:11:32.590> team,<00:11:32.790> that<00:11:33.010> would<00:11:33.130> be<00:11:33.210> amazing<00:11:33.390> for<00:11:33.570> our<00:11:33.850> customers.

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It'd<00:11:34.350> be<00:11:34.430> good<00:11:34.550> for<00:11:34.650> our<00:11:34.830> business.

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And<00:11:35.770> the<00:11:35.850> other<00:11:35.970> thing<00:11:36.070> is<00:11:36.190> always<00:11:36.430> the<00:11:36.550> chemistry.

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I<00:11:37.670> do<00:11:37.830> think<00:11:37.890> that's<00:11:38.070> important<00:11:38.430> in<00:11:38.750> tech,<00:11:39.010> you<00:11:39.050> know,<00:11:39.170> do<00:11:39.290> the<00:11:39.370> cultures<00:11:39.730> fit?

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And<00:11:40.490> I<00:11:40.590> do<00:11:40.730> think<00:11:40.830> it<00:11:40.990> starts<00:11:41.230> with<00:11:41.550> the<00:11:41.790> CEOs<00:11:42.090> or<00:11:42.330> the<00:11:42.390> entrepreneurs<00:11:42.770> also<00:11:43.906> having<00:11:44.242> a<00:11:44.323> common<00:11:44.723> vision,<00:11:45.188> common<00:11:45.525> values.

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And<00:11:46.230> I<00:11:46.262> definitely<00:11:46.551> felt<00:11:46.679> that<00:11:46.807> with<00:11:46.952> Patrick.

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You<00:11:47.833> also<00:11:47.945> have<00:11:48.106> to<00:11:48.186> kind<00:11:48.346> of<00:11:48.378> just<00:11:48.491> feel<00:11:48.651> the<00:11:48.731> vibe.

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Like,<00:11:49.997> do<00:11:50.078> you<00:11:50.174> both<00:11:50.430> get<00:11:50.655> more<00:11:50.815> excited,<00:11:51.376> more<00:11:51.520> energized<00:11:52.161> when<00:11:52.258> you<00:11:52.338> talk<00:11:52.514> about<00:11:52.739> the<00:11:52.819> prospect<00:11:53.300> of<00:11:53.380> bringing<00:11:53.620> the<00:11:53.765> products<00:11:54.181> and<00:11:54.245> the<00:11:54.326> companies<00:11:54.726> together?

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And<00:11:55.865> that<00:11:55.913> was<00:11:56.041> clearly<00:11:56.265> the<00:11:56.345> case<00:11:56.570> with<00:11:56.666> Patrick.

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And<00:11:57.692> then,<00:11:58.253> you<00:11:58.285> know,<00:11:58.333> I<00:11:58.429> got<00:11:58.654> excited,<00:11:59.311> built<00:11:59.471> a<00:11:59.535> business<00:11:59.872> case,<00:12:00.113> took<00:12:00.289> it<00:12:00.353> to<00:12:00.497> our<00:12:00.658> board,<00:12:02.020> and,<00:12:02.742> you<00:12:02.838> know,<00:12:03.078> they<00:12:03.222> agreed<00:12:03.495> they<00:12:03.639> would<00:12:04.120> accelerate<00:12:04.585> our<00:12:04.681> business.

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So<00:12:05.306> I<00:12:05.403> do<00:12:05.627> think<00:12:06.589> partnering,<00:12:07.310> getting<00:12:07.551> to<00:12:07.647> know<00:12:07.823> each<00:12:08.032> other,<00:12:08.352> and<00:12:08.512> building<00:12:08.833> relationships<00:12:10.453> and<00:12:10.597> having<00:12:10.854> the<00:12:10.934> trust<00:12:11.561> because<00:12:11.737> I<00:12:11.802> also<00:12:11.978> think<00:12:12.123> in<00:12:12.299> tech,<00:12:13.359> it's<00:12:13.487> very<00:12:13.584> much<00:12:13.744> Salesforce<00:12:14.065> philosophy,<00:12:14.371> our<00:12:14.451> philosophy.

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If<00:12:15.254> you<00:12:15.350> buy<00:12:15.446> a<00:12:15.511> company<00:12:15.912> and<00:12:15.992> everyone<00:12:16.313> just<00:12:16.538> quits<00:12:16.795> day<00:12:17.100> one,<00:12:17.662> there's<00:12:17.807> really<00:12:17.999> no<00:12:18.080> point<00:12:18.304> in<00:12:18.401> doing<00:12:18.561> the<00:12:18.642> deal<00:12:19.685> because<00:12:19.990> all<00:12:20.087> these<00:12:20.247> tech<00:12:20.488> products<00:12:20.906> are<00:12:20.970> works<00:12:21.275> in<00:12:21.371> progress.

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And<00:12:23.073> so,<00:12:23.202> I<00:12:23.298> think<00:12:23.523> you<00:12:23.603> only<00:12:23.924> want<00:12:24.342> the<00:12:24.486> deal<00:12:24.743> to<00:12:24.823> happen<00:12:25.931> if<00:12:26.172> you're<00:12:26.654> confident<00:12:27.152> the<00:12:27.232> cultures<00:12:27.633> are<00:12:27.698> aligned,<00:12:28.099> you're<00:12:28.179> going<00:12:28.308> to<00:12:28.340> enjoy<00:12:28.597> working<00:12:28.918> together,<00:12:29.255> you're<00:12:29.351> going<00:12:29.432> to<00:12:29.528> have<00:12:29.576> a<00:12:29.705> bigger<00:12:29.865> impact<00:12:30.186> on<00:12:30.267> the<00:12:30.363> world<00:12:30.540> together.

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And<00:12:31.969> I<00:12:32.370> think<00:12:32.547> that<00:12:32.691> only<00:12:32.916> happens<00:12:33.333> through<00:12:33.558> building<00:12:33.895> relationships.

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And,<00:12:36.579> you<00:12:36.660> know,<00:12:36.822> in<00:12:36.983> partnerships.

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And<00:12:38.279> sometimes<00:12:38.619> you<00:12:38.749> hear<00:12:38.862> stories,<00:12:39.655> and<00:12:39.801> I've<00:12:39.898> never<00:12:40.125> used<00:12:40.319> an<00:12:40.400> investment<00:12:40.789> banker<00:12:41.096> either.

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You<00:12:42.262> know,<00:12:42.424> it's<00:12:42.635> always<00:12:42.878> just<00:12:43.040> natural<00:12:43.299> relationships.

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I<00:12:43.768> see<00:12:43.882> some<00:12:44.027> people<00:12:44.222> sell<00:12:44.416> their<00:12:44.513> company<00:12:44.821> that<00:12:44.934> way,<00:12:45.080> but<00:12:45.404> to<00:12:45.502> me,<00:12:45.729> the<00:12:45.891> best<00:12:46.135> deals<00:12:46.443> happen<00:12:47.514> through<00:12:47.660> natural<00:12:48.001> partnering,<00:12:48.634> relationship<00:12:49.138> building.

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And<00:12:49.624> then<00:12:50.030> at<00:12:50.111> some<00:12:50.355> point,<00:12:50.598> it's<00:12:50.744> just<00:12:50.923> the<00:12:51.004> right<00:12:51.231> time<00:12:51.475> for<00:12:51.589> both<00:12:51.816> companies<00:12:52.303> to<00:12:52.384> come<00:12:52.546> together.

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How<00:12:55.589> do<00:12:55.671> you<00:12:55.752> think<00:12:56.012> about<00:12:56.794> fundraising?

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You've<00:12:58.194> obviously<00:12:58.520> raised<00:12:58.699> a<00:12:58.748> lot<00:12:58.911> of<00:12:59.399> money<00:12:59.660> for<00:13:00.132> all<00:13:00.457> these<00:13:00.702> various<00:13:01.190> ventures.

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What<00:13:02.306> advice<00:13:02.803> do<00:13:02.883> you<00:13:03.028> have<00:13:03.444> for<00:13:03.909> entrepreneurs<00:13:04.566> or<00:13:04.647> founders<00:13:05.063> or<00:13:05.128> CEOs<00:13:05.592> going<00:13:05.849> through<00:13:06.009> that<00:13:06.250> right<00:13:06.426> now<00:13:06.955> or<00:13:07.516> seeking<00:13:07.933> that<00:13:08.254> or<00:13:08.350> the<00:13:08.494> best<00:13:08.815> way<00:13:09.055> to<00:13:09.135> finance<00:13:09.536> your<00:13:09.680> company?

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I<00:13:10.354> know<00:13:10.498> you're<00:13:10.658> close<00:13:10.979> to<00:13:11.524> Ryan<00:13:11.780> Westwood<00:13:13.207> at<00:13:13.319> Simplus,<00:13:14.570> um,<00:13:15.307> who<00:13:16.413> I<00:13:16.573> think<00:13:16.750> is<00:13:17.391> a<00:13:17.631> real<00:13:17.872> innovator<00:13:18.417> in<00:13:18.513> the<00:13:18.593> way<00:13:18.754> that<00:13:18.914> he<00:13:19.219> went<00:13:19.379> about<00:13:19.635> funding<00:13:20.100> his<00:13:20.277> company<00:13:21.158> using<00:13:21.479> all<00:13:21.639> sorts<00:13:21.960> of<00:13:21.992> different<00:13:22.280> strategies,<00:13:22.825> both<00:13:23.066> VC,<00:13:24.348> um,<00:13:25.006> debt,<00:13:25.470> all<00:13:25.567> the,<00:13:25.791> all<00:13:26.032> the,<00:13:26.192> you<00:13:26.272> know,<00:13:26.352> the<00:13:26.432> variety<00:13:26.753> of<00:13:26.833> ways<00:13:27.074> that<00:13:27.170> he<00:13:27.394> did<00:13:27.570> that.

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How<00:13:28.212> do<00:13:28.356> you<00:13:28.516> think<00:13:28.709> about<00:13:29.158> fundraising<00:13:29.815> now?

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And<00:13:30.841> you're<00:13:30.922> right,<00:13:31.098> I<00:13:31.162> think<00:13:31.322> Ryan<00:13:32.124> Westwood,<00:13:32.701> great<00:13:32.926> fundraiser<00:13:33.263> at<00:13:33.407> Simplus,<00:13:34.305> and<00:13:34.625> obviously<00:13:34.866> scaled<00:13:35.171> that<00:13:35.267> company<00:13:35.523> super<00:13:35.764> successfully.

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Now<00:13:36.373> it's<00:13:36.533> part<00:13:36.646> of<00:13:36.710> Infosys,<00:13:37.271> as<00:13:37.415> you<00:13:37.447> know.

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And<00:13:38.778> I<00:13:38.858> think<00:13:38.955> one<00:13:39.099> of<00:13:39.131> the<00:13:39.163> things<00:13:39.356> he<00:13:39.580> did<00:13:39.756> that<00:13:39.901> I<00:13:39.917> would<00:13:39.997> recommend,<00:13:40.478> I<00:13:40.494> mean,<00:13:40.654> he<00:13:40.863> raised<00:13:41.119> money<00:13:41.280> through<00:13:41.456> relationships.

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And<00:13:44.631> I<00:13:44.807> was,<00:13:45.192> you<00:13:45.224> know,<00:13:45.288> we<00:13:45.368> were<00:13:45.465> his<00:13:45.689> partner<00:13:46.026> at<00:13:46.090> SteelBrick.

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He<00:13:47.036> went<00:13:47.276> in<00:13:47.757> on<00:13:47.854> SteelBrick<00:13:48.832> CPQ<00:13:49.377> even<00:13:49.601> before<00:13:50.002> we<00:13:50.034> were<00:13:50.098> bought<00:13:50.323> by<00:13:50.419> Salesforce<00:13:51.686> because<00:13:52.006> he,<00:13:52.664> and<00:13:52.728> it's<00:13:52.904> similar,<00:13:53.385> he<00:13:53.466> and<00:13:53.610> I<00:13:53.706> met<00:13:54.027> as<00:13:54.171> entrepreneurs,<00:13:54.812> we<00:13:54.861> had<00:13:54.989> equal<00:13:55.293> values.

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Excitement,<00:13:57.360> right?

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We<00:13:57.800> both<00:13:57.820> walked<00:13:57.980> away<00:13:58.120> really<00:13:58.320> energized<00:13:58.880> and<00:13:59.500> Ryan<00:13:59.680> said,<00:14:00.020> "Hey,<00:14:00.060> I'll<00:14:00.280> go<00:14:00.440> and<00:14:00.580> I'll<00:14:00.860> steel<00:14:01.000> brick."<00:14:01.520> And<00:14:01.720> we<00:14:01.800> said,<00:14:02.120> "Awesome,"<00:14:02.480> because<00:14:02.780> we<00:14:03.020> were<00:14:03.320> still<00:14:03.780> a<00:14:03.960> nascent<00:14:04.200> startup.

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And<00:14:05.240> frankly,<00:14:06.120> the<00:14:06.121> big,<00:14:06.200> at<00:14:06.300> the<00:14:06.560> time,<00:14:06.700> Infosys,<00:14:07.480> Accenture,<00:14:07.580> the<00:14:07.680> big<00:14:07.940> partners<00:14:08.300> wouldn't<00:14:08.480> have<00:14:08.640> wanted<00:14:08.660> to<00:14:08.780> work<00:14:08.820> with<00:14:09.000> us<00:14:09.080> anyway.

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But<00:14:10.720> then<00:14:10.860> I<00:14:10.960> also<00:14:11.180> wound<00:14:11.300> up<00:14:11.440> investing<00:14:11.960> because<00:14:12.360> y'all<00:14:12.580> asked<00:14:12.940> me<00:14:13.260> like,<00:14:13.920> you<00:14:13.921> know,<00:14:14.180> but<00:14:14.280> I<00:14:14.360> wound<00:14:14.520> up<00:14:14.660> personally<00:14:14.940> investing<00:14:15.420> because<00:14:15.680> I<00:14:15.800> really<00:14:15.920> liked<00:14:16.180> Ryan.

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I<00:14:16.740> believed<00:14:17.040> in<00:14:17.280> him.

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Obviously,<00:14:18.140> I<00:14:18.240> saw<00:14:18.400> the<00:14:18.540> value<00:14:18.880> to<00:14:19.080> our<00:14:19.240> customers,<00:14:19.740> our<00:14:19.900> partners.

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And<00:14:21.060> I<00:14:21.140> think<00:14:21.220> he<00:14:21.380> did<00:14:21.480> the<00:14:21.680> same<00:14:21.780> with<00:14:21.980> many<00:14:22.240> Silicon<00:14:22.540> Slopes<00:14:22.800> entrepreneurs.

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And<00:14:24.372> I<00:14:24.453> think<00:14:24.597> Ryan<00:14:24.853> is<00:14:25.013> based<00:14:25.334> in<00:14:25.478> Utah,<00:14:26.039> you<00:14:26.071> know,<00:14:26.215> where<00:14:26.439> you<00:14:26.600> are,<00:14:26.680> Clint.

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And<00:14:27.321> so,<00:14:27.417> I<00:14:27.497> think<00:14:27.721> getting<00:14:27.930> to<00:14:27.994> know<00:14:28.539> entrepreneurs<00:14:29.180> in<00:14:29.244> your<00:14:29.340> local<00:14:29.580> community,<00:14:30.862> and<00:14:30.942> I<00:14:31.006> think<00:14:31.167> he<00:14:31.279> had<00:14:31.407> also<00:14:31.631> had,<00:14:32.048> you<00:14:32.096> know,<00:14:32.208> Josh<00:14:32.529> James,<00:14:33.266> founder,<00:14:33.827> CEO<00:14:34.243> of<00:14:34.387> Domo,<00:14:34.868> another<00:14:35.044> very<00:14:35.205> famous<00:14:35.573> entrepreneur<00:14:35.910> invest.

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So,<00:14:36.551> he<00:14:36.631> started<00:14:37.015> out<00:14:37.111> with<00:14:37.913> building<00:14:38.233> relationships<00:14:38.938> in<00:14:39.018> the<00:14:39.098> entrepreneurial<00:14:39.515> community<00:14:40.957> and<00:14:41.069> then<00:14:41.182> entrepreneurs<00:14:41.518> that<00:14:41.614> had<00:14:41.758> success<00:14:42.223> having<00:14:42.399> them<00:14:42.576> invest.

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And<00:14:44.146> I<00:14:44.306> do<00:14:44.466> think<00:14:45.428> investing,<00:14:46.005> especially<00:14:46.405> early<00:14:46.582> stage,<00:14:46.902> is<00:14:46.966> such<00:14:47.223> a<00:14:47.287> trust<00:14:47.767> business<00:14:49.129> that<00:14:49.530> I<00:14:49.610> think<00:14:49.915> if<00:14:50.011> they're<00:14:50.732> isn't<00:14:51.038> a<00:14:51.134> personal<00:14:51.777> connection<00:14:52.741> and<00:14:52.805> you<00:14:52.902> don't<00:14:53.046> have<00:14:53.159> a<00:14:53.207> relationship<00:14:53.801> to<00:14:53.930> build<00:14:54.171> on,<00:14:54.348> I<00:14:54.428> think<00:14:54.573> it's<00:14:54.669> really<00:14:54.910> hard.

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Obviously,<00:14:55.794> some<00:14:56.035> companies<00:14:56.421> just<00:14:56.517> have<00:14:56.678> the<00:14:56.758> perfect<00:14:57.096> metrics.

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Like,<00:14:58.028> I've<00:14:58.140> never<00:14:58.606> honestly<00:14:58.783> had<00:14:58.927> a<00:14:58.943> company<00:14:59.184> like<00:14:59.393> that.

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I've<00:15:00.052> heard<00:15:00.197> stories<00:15:00.438> about,<00:15:00.518> like,<00:15:00.695> Mark<00:15:00.872> Zuckerberg.

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He<00:15:01.980> turned<00:15:02.205> on<00:15:02.302> Facebook,<00:15:03.009> all<00:15:03.089> of<00:15:03.170> Harvard<00:15:03.491> was<00:15:03.652> using<00:15:03.828> it<00:15:03.909> overnight,<00:15:04.391> right?

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So,<00:15:04.792> some<00:15:05.034> businesses,<00:15:06.158> but<00:15:06.239> I<00:15:06.319> think<00:15:06.480> they're<00:15:06.576> like<00:15:06.721> 1<00:15:06.881> in<00:15:06.946> a<00:15:07.026> billion,<00:15:07.331> have<00:15:07.508> just<00:15:07.685> perfect<00:15:08.071> metrics.

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And<00:15:09.051> if<00:15:09.115> you<00:15:09.211> have<00:15:09.372> perfect<00:15:09.629> metrics,<00:15:10.899> Tiger<00:15:11.284> will<00:15:11.461> call<00:15:11.766> you,<00:15:11.927> right?

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And<00:15:12.425> fundraising<00:15:12.988> is<00:15:13.132> easy.

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But<00:15:13.695> I<00:15:13.711> think<00:15:14.032> most<00:15:14.289> of<00:15:14.369> us<00:15:14.578> don't<00:15:14.835> as<00:15:14.980> entrepreneurs.

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And<00:15:15.719> then<00:15:16.689> I<00:15:16.770> do<00:15:16.931> think<00:15:17.173> building<00:15:17.576> relationships<00:15:18.383> first<00:15:19.028> and<00:15:19.190> building<00:15:19.529> personal<00:15:20.013> trust<00:15:21.320> is<00:15:21.545> the<00:15:21.626> key<00:15:22.417> because<00:15:22.836> early<00:15:23.062> stage,<00:15:24.208> usually<00:15:24.434> there<00:15:24.514> aren't<00:15:24.676> many<00:15:24.837> metrics.

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So,<00:15:25.660> you<00:15:25.692> know,<00:15:25.821> the<00:15:25.870> person<00:15:26.128> writing<00:15:26.289> the<00:15:26.386> check<00:15:26.628> has<00:15:26.789> to<00:15:26.934> trust<00:15:27.338> you<00:15:27.435> and<00:15:27.515> believe<00:15:27.838> in<00:15:27.983> you,<00:15:28.645> believe<00:15:28.887> in<00:15:28.967> your<00:15:29.129> vision,<00:15:30.403> and<00:15:30.500> believe<00:15:30.823> that<00:15:30.968> you're<00:15:31.033> going<00:15:31.097> to<00:15:31.210> turn<00:15:31.452> their<00:15:31.630> money,<00:15:32.114> you<00:15:32.178> know,<00:15:32.291> into<00:15:32.436> a<00:15:32.517> great<00:15:32.743> business.

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You<00:15:35.475> know<00:15:35.508> what's<00:15:35.719> interesting<00:15:36.061> about<00:15:36.224> Ryan,<00:15:36.858> as<00:15:36.939> you<00:15:37.021> were<00:15:37.102> talking<00:15:37.248> about<00:15:37.362> that,<00:15:37.541> it<00:15:37.671> reminded<00:15:37.981> me<00:15:38.013> of<00:15:38.111> a<00:15:38.160> story.

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I've<00:15:39.331> known<00:15:39.477> Ryan<00:15:39.721> forever.

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We<00:15:41.523> both<00:15:41.587> grew<00:15:41.668> up<00:15:41.781> in<00:15:41.862> Utah,<00:15:42.168> both<00:15:42.346> grew<00:15:42.475> up<00:15:42.572> on<00:15:42.717> farms,<00:15:43.056> both<00:15:43.443> grew<00:15:43.605> up<00:15:43.766> kind<00:15:43.928> of<00:15:43.960> in<00:15:44.089> the<00:15:44.186> same<00:15:44.493> area.

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Actually,<00:15:45.139> we<00:15:45.235> both<00:15:45.494> managed<00:15:46.526> a<00:15:46.863> franchise<00:15:47.570> of<00:15:47.667> a<00:15:47.811> deli<00:15:48.374> just<00:15:48.775> one<00:15:48.936> town<00:15:49.129> apart,<00:15:49.579> which<00:15:49.739> is<00:15:49.836> really<00:15:50.012> funny.

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So<00:15:51.105> I've<00:15:51.201> known,<00:15:51.667> uh,<00:15:52.085> Ryan<00:15:52.390> for<00:15:52.487> a<00:15:52.567> long<00:15:52.808> time,<00:15:53.933> and<00:15:54.270> early<00:15:54.720> on<00:15:55.604> when<00:15:55.861> it<00:15:55.990> wasn't<00:15:56.329> called<00:15:56.588> Simplicity—<00:15:57.219> I<00:15:57.300> can't<00:15:57.446> remember<00:15:58.028> what<00:15:58.141> he<00:15:58.271> was<00:15:58.514> calling<00:15:58.934> it<00:15:59.015> prior<00:15:59.339> to<00:15:59.420> Simplicity,<00:16:01.345> um,<00:16:01.523> but<00:16:01.847> he—<00:16:02.413> there<00:16:02.558> was<00:16:02.720> this,<00:16:03.044> there<00:16:03.125> was<00:16:03.190> this<00:16:03.384> organization.

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Yeah,<00:16:04.580> yeah,<00:16:04.984> yeah,<00:16:05.097> something<00:16:05.389> like<00:16:05.631> that.

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There<00:16:07.749> was<00:16:07.895> this<00:16:08.057> organization<00:16:08.622> here<00:16:09.108> in<00:16:09.366> Utah<00:16:09.754> County,<00:16:10.644> uh,<00:16:10.805> which<00:16:10.983> is<00:16:11.064> where<00:16:11.226> we're<00:16:11.323> from,<00:16:11.646> the<00:16:11.775> county<00:16:12.115> inside<00:16:12.422> of<00:16:12.503> Utah<00:16:12.763> that,<00:16:13.098> that<00:16:13.601> we<00:16:13.751> live<00:16:13.936> in.

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And,<00:16:15.117> uh,<00:16:15.389> it<00:16:15.453> was<00:16:15.613> called<00:16:15.934> Utah<00:16:16.559> Venture<00:16:17.120> Entrepreneurial<00:16:18.177> Forum.

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It'd<00:16:19.379> been<00:16:19.539> around<00:16:19.924> for<00:16:20.084> about<00:16:20.340> 30<00:16:20.661> years,<00:16:20.965> but<00:16:21.078> it<00:16:21.222> kind<00:16:21.462> of<00:16:21.622> been<00:16:21.943> like,<00:16:23.048> uh,<00:16:23.705> when,<00:16:24.026> when<00:16:24.250> Ryan<00:16:24.507> and<00:16:24.651> I<00:16:24.763> started<00:16:25.532> getting<00:16:25.789> associated<00:16:26.349> with<00:16:26.510> this<00:16:26.894> organization,<00:16:27.455> it<00:16:27.551> kind<00:16:27.711> of<00:16:27.791> been<00:16:27.952> languishing.

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It<00:16:29.154> was,<00:16:29.955> you<00:16:30.035> know,<00:16:30.275> a<00:16:30.419> lot<00:16:30.740> of<00:16:30.916> service<00:16:31.541> providers<00:16:32.038> and<00:16:32.182> things<00:16:32.342> like<00:16:32.518> that<00:16:32.679> inside<00:16:32.983> the<00:16:33.079> organization.

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And<00:16:33.864> so<00:16:34.762> what<00:16:34.906> we<00:16:35.146> did,<00:16:35.579> it<00:16:35.627> was<00:16:35.803> really<00:16:36.028> funny,<00:16:36.444> we,<00:16:36.749> uh,<00:16:37.710> we<00:16:37.951> took<00:16:38.207> over<00:16:38.463> the<00:16:38.688> organization.

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Ryan<00:16:39.954> was<00:16:40.194> the<00:16:40.434> chair<00:16:40.771> of<00:16:40.931> it.

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I<00:16:42.053> don't<00:16:42.230> know<00:16:42.438> what<00:16:42.615> I<00:16:42.759> was<00:16:43.015> inside<00:16:43.352> of<00:16:43.400> that<00:16:43.577> thing,<00:16:43.737> but<00:16:43.881> I<00:16:43.897> was,<00:16:44.122> I<00:16:44.218> was<00:16:44.379> something.

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And<00:16:45.565> then,<00:16:45.966> uh,<00:16:46.848> everyone<00:16:47.410> else,<00:16:48.051> he<00:16:48.147> created<00:16:48.452> a<00:16:48.628> board<00:16:49.013> where<00:16:49.254> everyone<00:16:49.655> else<00:16:49.992> on<00:16:50.088> the<00:16:50.232> board<00:16:51.178> was<00:16:51.371> a<00:16:51.435> venture<00:16:51.756> capitalist<00:16:52.397> and<00:16:52.477> it<00:16:52.557> was<00:16:52.782> every<00:16:53.263> venture<00:16:53.856> fund<00:16:55.268> in<00:16:55.364> the<00:16:55.444> state<00:16:55.749> of<00:16:55.845> Utah<00:16:56.326> who<00:16:56.470> was<00:16:56.647> on<00:16:56.807> the<00:16:56.952> board<00:16:57.208> of<00:16:57.288> this<00:16:57.529> thing.

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And<00:16:57.834> I<00:16:57.850> think<00:16:58.154> we<00:16:58.235> even<00:16:58.411> rebranded<00:16:58.876> it<00:16:58.972> to<00:16:59.036> the<00:16:59.197> Utah<00:16:59.694> Venture<00:17:00.881> Entrepreneur<00:17:01.939> Forum<00:17:02.260> or<00:17:02.292> something<00:17:02.484> like<00:17:02.661> that<00:17:02.821> to<00:17:02.901> make<00:17:03.126> that<00:17:03.366> clear.

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And<00:17:04.264> he<00:17:04.425> built<00:17:04.810> all<00:17:04.906> of<00:17:05.002> those<00:17:05.291> relationships.

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And<00:17:05.948> I<00:17:06.028> believe<00:17:06.413> a<00:17:06.670> number<00:17:07.215> of<00:17:07.392> the<00:17:07.953> people<00:17:08.193> who<00:17:08.338> were<00:17:08.498> on<00:17:08.578> that<00:17:08.755> board<00:17:09.011> invested<00:17:09.717> in<00:17:09.958> Simplice<00:17:10.439> and<00:17:10.519> are<00:17:10.599> still<00:17:10.920> investors.

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To<00:17:12.090> this<00:17:12.250> day<00:17:12.430> in<00:17:12.610> that<00:17:12.750> company.

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And<00:17:13.850> then<00:17:14.050> when<00:17:14.210> he<00:17:14.330> left,<00:17:14.770> it's<00:17:14.810> just<00:17:15.050> like,<00:17:15.310> all<00:17:15.410> right,<00:17:15.650> we,<00:17:15.790> I<00:17:16.070> think<00:17:16.290> we<00:17:16.430> folded<00:17:16.830> into<00:17:17.170> Silicon<00:17:17.630> Slopes<00:17:17.890> or<00:17:18.030> something.

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But<00:17:18.370> the<00:17:18.530> way<00:17:18.750> he<00:17:18.970> did<00:17:19.130> that<00:17:19.670> was<00:17:20.270> so<00:17:20.710> beautiful<00:17:21.310> in<00:17:21.810> building<00:17:22.090> relationships<00:17:22.670> like<00:17:22.890> you<00:17:23.010> were<00:17:23.150> saying.

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Yeah.

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No,<00:17:24.550> and<00:17:24.590> I<00:17:24.591> think<00:17:24.790> you're<00:17:24.950> right.

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And<00:17:25.151> I<00:17:25.152> think<00:17:25.390> Clint,<00:17:25.630> frankly,<00:17:25.830> what<00:17:25.910> you're<00:17:26.030> doing<00:17:26.170> today,<00:17:26.570> I<00:17:26.590> know<00:17:26.810> you're<00:17:27.490> CEO<00:17:27.929> of<00:17:28.069> Silicon<00:17:28.330> Slopes.

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I<00:17:28.730> think<00:17:28.850> you're<00:17:28.970> making<00:17:29.070> it<00:17:29.130> a<00:17:29.150> lot<00:17:29.230> easier<00:17:29.490> for<00:17:29.650> entrepreneurs.

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We're<00:17:30.770> in<00:17:30.890> Chicago<00:17:31.450> where<00:17:31.670> we<00:17:31.770> started<00:17:32.050> G2.

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There's<00:17:32.650> an<00:17:32.770> incubator<00:17:33.150> now<00:17:33.330> called<00:17:33.490> 1871.

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And<00:17:34.830> I<00:17:34.890> think<00:17:35.070> most<00:17:35.330> entrepreneurial<00:17:35.750> communities<00:17:36.190> now,<00:17:37.316> have<00:17:37.557> some<00:17:37.814> kind<00:17:38.038> of<00:17:38.135> hub.

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And,<00:17:39.500> but<00:17:39.644> I<00:17:39.660> think<00:17:39.821> Silicon<00:17:40.158> Slopes,<00:17:40.527> I<00:17:40.543> think<00:17:40.688> you<00:17:40.720> make<00:17:40.864> it<00:17:40.913> a<00:17:40.929> lot<00:17:41.169> easier,<00:17:41.362> right?

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Because<00:17:42.053> the<00:17:42.213> VCs,<00:17:42.855> they<00:17:42.952> come<00:17:43.128> to<00:17:43.257> your<00:17:43.353> events.

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I<00:17:43.835> had<00:17:43.963> a<00:17:43.979> chance<00:17:44.172> to<00:17:44.333> speak<00:17:44.654> at<00:17:44.782> your<00:17:44.879> Silicon<00:17:45.184> Slopes<00:17:45.473> Summit,<00:17:46.147> you<00:17:46.195> know,<00:17:46.308> but<00:17:46.404> you<00:17:46.484> bring<00:17:46.709> together<00:17:47.030> all<00:17:47.126> the<00:17:47.207> entrepreneurs,<00:17:48.411> the<00:17:48.555> VCs,<00:17:49.214> the<00:17:49.294> partners,<00:17:50.017> and<00:17:50.097> that<00:17:50.274> obviously<00:17:50.514> makes<00:17:50.675> it<00:17:50.707> a<00:17:50.723> lot<00:17:50.964> easier.

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But<00:17:51.799> I<00:17:51.943> think,<00:17:52.971> you<00:17:53.003> know,<00:17:53.212> at<00:17:53.292> those<00:17:53.469> events,<00:17:53.934> if<00:17:54.031> you're<00:17:54.191> the<00:17:54.272> entrepreneur,<00:17:55.781> yeah,<00:17:55.942> you<00:17:56.022> really<00:17:56.279> have<00:17:56.520> to<00:17:56.905> also<00:17:57.082> put<00:17:57.242> in<00:17:57.306> the<00:17:57.403> energy<00:17:57.724> and<00:17:57.820> the<00:17:57.949> effort<00:17:58.286> to<00:17:58.366> go<00:17:58.607> and<00:17:58.751> meet<00:17:58.992> them.

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And<00:17:59.795> at<00:17:59.827> the<00:17:59.891> beginning,<00:18:00.293> really<00:18:00.518> all<00:18:00.678> you<00:18:00.775> have<00:18:00.999> is<00:18:01.096> your<00:18:01.240> energy<00:18:01.658> and<00:18:01.802> your<00:18:01.899> passion.

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But<00:18:03.904> I<00:18:03.984> think,<00:18:04.449> you<00:18:04.481> know,<00:18:04.561> then<00:18:04.770> having<00:18:05.187> the<00:18:05.331> courage<00:18:05.748> and<00:18:05.892> the<00:18:05.988> conviction<00:18:06.694> to<00:18:06.854> build<00:18:07.014> those<00:18:07.191> relationships,<00:18:07.752> and<00:18:07.832> it<00:18:07.912> is<00:18:08.056> hard<00:18:08.313> the<00:18:08.393> first<00:18:08.698> time.

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I<00:18:09.836> think<00:18:10.221> as<00:18:10.317> a<00:18:10.381> first-time<00:18:10.718> entrepreneur,<00:18:11.023> it's<00:18:11.135> really<00:18:11.343> hard<00:18:11.504> to<00:18:11.584> raise<00:18:11.760> money.

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I<00:18:12.882> think<00:18:13.203> now,<00:18:13.989> you<00:18:14.021> know,<00:18:14.245> Ryan,<00:18:15.031> I<00:18:15.063> think<00:18:15.287> someday<00:18:15.672> he'll<00:18:15.832> probably<00:18:16.057> build<00:18:16.153> another<00:18:16.410> venture.

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You<00:18:17.163> know,<00:18:17.308> my<00:18:17.452> second<00:18:17.917> and<00:18:18.077> third,<00:18:18.734> and<00:18:18.959> now<00:18:19.215> I'm<00:18:19.472> involved<00:18:19.857> in<00:18:20.001> two<00:18:20.177> more.

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But,<00:18:21.284> you<00:18:21.316> know,<00:18:21.364> obviously<00:18:21.604> every<00:18:21.717> success<00:18:22.166> you<00:18:22.246> have,<00:18:22.438> it's<00:18:22.647> easier<00:18:22.823> to<00:18:22.903> raise<00:18:23.144> money.

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And,<00:18:25.388> but<00:18:25.565> I<00:18:25.629> think<00:18:25.869> that<00:18:26.029> first<00:18:26.430> time<00:18:26.735> it's<00:18:26.895> really<00:18:27.152> hard,<00:18:27.793> right?

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Because<00:18:28.515> you<00:18:28.579> have<00:18:28.691> no<00:18:28.835> track<00:18:29.220> record<00:18:29.861> and<00:18:30.022> there<00:18:30.262> are<00:18:30.423> more<00:18:30.599> people<00:18:30.904> also<00:18:31.224> trying.

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And<00:18:32.270> yes,<00:18:32.570> there's<00:18:32.730> more<00:18:32.910> funding<00:18:33.230> dollars,<00:18:33.670> but<00:18:33.790> I<00:18:33.810> think<00:18:33.990> if<00:18:33.991> you<00:18:34.010> look<00:18:34.170> at<00:18:34.330> it,<00:18:34.450> there<00:18:34.451> aren't<00:18:34.610> actually<00:18:34.930> more<00:18:35.070> deals<00:18:35.290> being<00:18:35.550> done.

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So,<00:18:36.610> it's<00:18:36.690> like<00:18:36.810> the<00:18:36.870> companies<00:18:37.150> that<00:18:37.290> can<00:18:37.350> raise<00:18:37.490> money<00:18:37.690> can<00:18:37.850> raise<00:18:38.050> more<00:18:38.370> and<00:18:38.550> raise<00:18:38.770> it<00:18:38.910> really<00:18:38.990> fast,<00:18:39.430> but<00:18:39.670> it's<00:18:39.889> still<00:18:40.090> a<00:18:40.390> struggle,<00:18:41.130> I<00:18:41.330> think,<00:18:41.490> for<00:18:41.650> most<00:18:41.890> entrepreneurs<00:18:42.530> to<00:18:43.170> raise<00:18:43.530> money<00:18:43.750> for<00:18:43.910> their<00:18:44.070> first<00:18:44.270> company.

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I'm<00:18:46.850> sure<00:18:46.930> you're<00:18:47.070> thinking<00:18:47.270> about<00:18:47.550> this<00:18:48.290> and<00:18:48.770> following<00:18:49.150> it<00:18:49.370> quite<00:18:49.450> a<00:18:49.650> bit.

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What<00:18:49.910> are<00:18:50.010> your<00:18:50.170> thoughts<00:18:50.370> on<00:18:50.650> Web3?

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That<00:18:52.010> seems<00:18:52.170> like<00:18:52.470> what's<00:18:52.870> happening<00:18:53.170> in<00:18:53.370> Miami,<00:18:54.210> what's<00:18:54.590> happening<00:18:54.830> in<00:18:55.050> New<00:18:55.230> York<00:18:55.450> City,<00:18:55.710> what's<00:18:55.950> happening<00:18:56.330> even<00:18:57.030> like<00:18:57.270> Wyoming<00:18:57.810> and<00:18:58.030> obviously<00:18:58.350> here<00:18:58.570> in<00:18:58.690> the<00:18:58.770> state<00:18:58.890> of<00:18:59.050> Utah.

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And<00:18:59.750> I'm<00:18:59.870> not<00:19:00.010> sure<00:19:00.150> about<00:19:00.330> Chicago,<00:19:00.650> but<00:19:00.810> I'm<00:19:00.930> sure<00:19:01.090> that<00:19:01.390> everyone's<00:19:01.730> talking<00:19:01.830> about<00:19:01.850> this.

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How<00:19:03.903> are<00:19:04.149> you<00:19:04.313> thinking<00:19:04.969> about<00:19:05.100> that?

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That<00:19:05.461> feels<00:19:05.708> like<00:19:05.888> this<00:19:06.101> whole<00:19:06.298> new<00:19:06.692> wave.

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Yeah.

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No,<00:19:10.485> and<00:19:11.597> Clint,<00:19:11.855> I<00:19:11.936> think<00:19:12.984> Web3<00:19:13.548> is<00:19:13.774> tremendously<00:19:14.258> exciting.

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And<00:19:16.572> I<00:19:16.588> was<00:19:16.830> also<00:19:17.734> lucky.

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I<00:19:18.299> did<00:19:18.525> hear<00:19:18.703> about<00:19:19.009> the<00:19:19.106> blockchain,<00:19:19.671> Bitcoin,<00:19:20.091> a<00:19:20.155> few<00:19:20.317> years<00:19:20.559> ago.

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Luckily,<00:19:22.480> bought<00:19:22.722> some<00:19:22.900> Bitcoin.

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And<00:19:24.110> I've<00:19:24.256> always<00:19:24.498> loved<00:19:24.675> the<00:19:24.756> concept<00:19:26.136> of<00:19:26.364> adding<00:19:26.625> more<00:19:26.854> trust<00:19:27.930> to<00:19:28.093> the<00:19:28.256> internet.

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By<00:19:29.865> having<00:19:30.594> a<00:19:30.675> really<00:19:31.663> trusted<00:19:32.214> ledger<00:19:32.878> that<00:19:33.056> can<00:19:33.267> really<00:19:34.579> connect<00:19:34.903> parties,<00:19:35.389> facilitate<00:19:35.875> transactions.

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And<00:19:37.560> I<00:19:37.576> recently<00:19:37.965> heard<00:19:38.030> Marc<00:19:38.238> Andreessen<00:19:38.640> speak<00:19:38.929> about<00:19:39.203> it,<00:19:39.347> but<00:19:39.492> I<00:19:39.508> think<00:19:39.669> what<00:19:39.749> he<00:19:39.846> says<00:19:40.231> is<00:19:40.296> it's<00:19:40.537> adding<00:19:40.713> the<00:19:40.794> layer<00:19:41.035> of<00:19:41.179> trust<00:19:41.822> that's<00:19:41.983> always<00:19:42.144> been<00:19:42.240> missing<00:19:42.481> in<00:19:42.562> the<00:19:42.642> internet<00:19:42.947> and<00:19:43.028> the<00:19:43.108> cloud<00:19:44.249> by<00:19:44.394> really<00:19:44.651> authenticating<00:19:45.615> people<00:19:46.242> and<00:19:46.660> enabling<00:19:47.030> transactions,<00:19:47.718> enabling<00:19:48.128> trust.

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So,<00:19:48.686> I<00:19:48.768> do<00:19:48.866> think<00:19:49.030> it<00:19:49.080> has<00:19:49.276> tremendous<00:19:49.670> potential.

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Do<00:19:52.435> you<00:19:52.631> think<00:19:52.794> Silicon<00:19:53.283> Valley<00:19:53.674> will<00:19:53.837> ever<00:19:54.097> be<00:19:54.358> Silicon<00:19:54.896> Valley<00:19:55.221> again?

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Well,<00:19:56.964> I<00:19:57.044> think<00:19:57.188> you'll<00:19:57.364> probably<00:19:57.669> never<00:19:58.006> have<00:19:59.432> the<00:19:59.528> same<00:19:59.993> percentage<00:20:01.676> of<00:20:02.093> global<00:20:02.718> entrepreneurship.

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And<00:20:03.760> I<00:20:03.776> think<00:20:03.936> I<00:20:04.081> used<00:20:04.241> to<00:20:04.321> look<00:20:04.497> at<00:20:04.722> it,<00:20:05.138> you<00:20:05.475> know,<00:20:05.603> global<00:20:05.940> tech,<00:20:06.421> kind<00:20:06.597> of<00:20:06.661> half<00:20:06.982> of<00:20:07.062> it<00:20:07.206> was<00:20:07.382> in<00:20:07.447> the<00:20:07.479> Silicon<00:20:07.863> Valley.

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And<00:20:08.264> I<00:20:08.344> spent<00:20:08.649> time<00:20:08.905> there<00:20:09.691> actually<00:20:10.332> after<00:20:11.550> SteelBrick<00:20:12.127> and<00:20:12.255> Salesforce.

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Actually,<00:20:13.009> I<00:20:13.073> moved<00:20:13.297> out<00:20:13.457> to<00:20:13.554> Palo<00:20:13.858> Alto<00:20:14.259> when<00:20:14.355> we<00:20:14.435> were<00:20:14.515> acquired<00:20:14.996> because<00:20:15.589> I<00:20:15.685> was<00:20:15.798> working<00:20:16.118> out<00:20:16.198> of<00:20:16.230> the<00:20:16.343> headquarters<00:20:16.920> of<00:20:17.000> Salesforce.

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And<00:20:18.619> I<00:20:18.683> think<00:20:18.923> the<00:20:19.003> Silicon<00:20:19.324> Valley<00:20:19.564> traditionally<00:20:20.029> always<00:20:20.206> had<00:20:20.366> about<00:20:20.606> 50%<00:20:21.087> of<00:20:21.231> global<00:20:21.488> tech<00:20:21.808> was<00:20:21.969> in<00:20:22.049> the<00:20:22.129> Valley,<00:20:22.514> which<00:20:22.674> is<00:20:22.754> just<00:20:22.850> incredible.

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And<00:20:24.000> then<00:20:24.280> 50%<00:20:24.560> was<00:20:24.780> everywhere<00:20:25.020> else<00:20:25.220> in<00:20:25.400> the<00:20:25.440> world,<00:20:25.740> Utah,<00:20:26.220> Chicago,<00:20:27.760> India,<00:20:29.060> you<00:20:29.061> know,<00:20:29.200> wherever.

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And<00:20:29.980> I<00:20:30.220> think,<00:20:30.680> I<00:20:30.780> don't<00:20:30.880> think<00:20:31.020> that'll<00:20:31.140> ever<00:20:31.320> happen<00:20:31.540> again.

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I<00:20:32.480> think<00:20:32.600> the<00:20:32.720> Silicon<00:20:32.900> Valley<00:20:33.100> will<00:20:33.280> continue.

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There's<00:20:33.820> so<00:20:34.000> much<00:20:34.100> money<00:20:34.320> there.

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I<00:20:35.160> think<00:20:35.280> it'll<00:20:35.460> keep<00:20:35.660> growing,<00:20:36.540> but<00:20:36.680> I<00:20:36.860> think<00:20:37.180> now<00:20:37.480> entrepreneurship,<00:20:37.800> I<00:20:38.000> think<00:20:38.080> is<00:20:38.200> growing<00:20:38.360> faster<00:20:38.860> everywhere<00:20:39.260> else,<00:20:40.300> you<00:20:40.380> know,<00:20:40.500> including<00:20:40.760> Utah,<00:20:41.240> Silicon<00:20:41.620> Slopes,<00:20:42.040> that's<00:20:42.320> booming,<00:20:42.760> Chicago.

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But<00:20:43.860> G2,<00:20:44.140> we're<00:20:44.200> also<00:20:44.320> a<00:20:44.460> very<00:20:44.540> global<00:20:44.740> platform.

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So<00:20:46.060> we<00:20:46.160> acquired<00:20:46.620> Siftree,<00:20:47.260> a<00:20:47.261> startup<00:20:47.420> in<00:20:47.620> Bengaluru<00:20:48.240> in<00:20:48.460> India.

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And<00:20:49.520> so<00:20:49.900> I<00:20:50.100> also<00:20:50.400> went<00:20:50.580> right<00:20:50.760> before<00:20:50.960> the<00:20:51.060> pandemic,<00:20:51.480> they<00:20:51.620> had<00:20:51.660> an<00:20:51.800> event<00:20:51.980> called<00:20:52.280> SaaSBOOMi.

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And<00:20:54.662> now,<00:20:55.352> you<00:20:55.384> know,<00:20:55.528> the<00:20:55.753> example<00:20:56.170> is<00:20:56.395> Freshworks.

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That<00:20:57.149> was<00:20:57.277> a<00:20:57.293> company<00:20:57.534> started<00:20:57.774> in<00:20:57.855> Chennai,<00:20:58.159> India.

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They<00:20:59.138> did<00:20:59.298> a<00:20:59.315> massive<00:20:59.700> IPO<00:21:00.085> this<00:21:00.325> year.

00:21:00.758 --> 00:21:03.919
Another<00:21:01.144> company,<00:21:01.416> a<00:21:01.448> lot<00:21:01.529> of<00:21:01.561> success<00:21:02.090> on<00:21:02.732> G2,<00:21:03.213> UiPath.

00:21:04.112 --> 00:21:08.604
They<00:21:04.256> went<00:21:04.416> public,<00:21:05.459> $40<00:21:05.796> billion<00:21:06.342> market<00:21:06.743> cap,<00:21:07.320> and<00:21:07.465> they<00:21:07.545> were<00:21:07.641> started<00:21:07.866> in<00:21:07.962> Romania.

00:21:09.246 --> 00:21:14.300
And<00:21:09.326> so,<00:21:09.486> I<00:21:09.631> think<00:21:09.791> the<00:21:09.871> reality<00:21:10.369> is,<00:21:10.674> and<00:21:10.754> it's<00:21:10.850> really<00:21:11.075> cool,<00:21:11.363> now<00:21:11.508> you<00:21:11.572> can<00:21:11.732> build<00:21:11.893> a<00:21:11.909> startup<00:21:12.374> anywhere,<00:21:12.856> especially<00:21:13.273> SaaS<00:21:13.658> in<00:21:13.738> the<00:21:13.882> cloud.

00:21:15.246 --> 00:21:23.988
And<00:21:15.647> so,<00:21:15.904> I<00:21:16.048> do<00:21:16.225> think<00:21:16.465> that<00:21:16.626> trend<00:21:16.931> is<00:21:17.027> going<00:21:17.091> to<00:21:17.171> continue<00:21:17.733> where<00:21:18.777> I<00:21:18.859> think<00:21:19.104> great<00:21:19.349> entrepreneurs,<00:21:19.937> great<00:21:20.100> companies<00:21:20.590> will<00:21:20.689> be<00:21:20.835> built<00:21:21.146> more<00:21:21.260> and<00:21:21.391> more<00:21:21.636> anywhere<00:21:21.881> in<00:21:21.979> the<00:21:22.126> world,<00:21:22.796> not<00:21:23.057> just<00:21:23.302> in<00:21:23.351> Silicon<00:21:23.694> Valley.

00:21:26.620 --> 00:21:29.502
What's<00:21:26.733> the<00:21:26.976> best<00:21:27.364> leadership<00:21:28.012> advice<00:21:28.579> you've<00:21:28.741> ever<00:21:28.984> received?

00:21:32.620 --> 00:21:32.782
Hmm.

00:21:34.841 --> 00:21:39.560
Well,<00:21:35.247> one<00:21:35.879> is<00:21:36.057> career<00:21:36.625> advice<00:21:37.111> before<00:21:37.663> I<00:21:37.841> was<00:21:38.246> even<00:21:38.717> really<00:21:39.041> a<00:21:39.057> leader.

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But<00:21:40.257> I<00:21:40.274> remember<00:21:40.582> I<00:21:40.598> was<00:21:40.760> working<00:21:40.987> at<00:21:41.036> McKinsey,<00:21:42.443> and<00:21:42.511> you<00:21:42.596> mentioned<00:21:42.936> it<00:21:43.038> earlier.

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Obviously,<00:21:44.590> very<00:21:44.710> well-known<00:21:45.170> management<00:21:45.530> consulting<00:21:45.930> firm.

00:21:46.370 --> 00:21:49.410
And<00:21:46.371> frankly,<00:21:46.570> in<00:21:46.590> the<00:21:46.650> first<00:21:46.770> couple<00:21:46.970> of<00:21:47.090> years,<00:21:47.210> I<00:21:47.211> was<00:21:47.370> fresh<00:21:47.570> out<00:21:47.750> of<00:21:47.810> school<00:21:47.930> at<00:21:48.050> MIT.

00:21:49.410 --> 00:21:53.800
And<00:21:49.411> so,<00:21:49.750> I<00:21:49.751> prided<00:21:50.010> myself,<00:21:51.190> probably<00:21:51.310> like<00:21:51.450> most<00:21:51.630> MIT<00:21:51.870> students,<00:21:52.370> but<00:21:52.390> I<00:21:52.450> was<00:21:52.490> pretty<00:21:52.630> good<00:21:52.810> at<00:21:52.890> math,<00:21:53.270> good<00:21:53.310> at<00:21:53.450> analytics.

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But<00:21:54.290> I<00:21:54.370> kind<00:21:54.550> of<00:21:54.650> prided<00:21:54.690> myself,<00:21:55.130> "Hey,<00:21:55.270> I'm<00:21:55.350> just<00:21:55.510> kind<00:21:55.650> of<00:21:55.770> the<00:21:55.830> spreadsheet<00:21:56.110> guy<00:21:56.530> and<00:21:57.810> I'll<00:21:58.230> do<00:21:58.350> the<00:21:58.470> analysis.

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I'll<00:21:59.330> run<00:21:59.430> the<00:21:59.590> spreadsheet.

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I'll<00:22:00.490> drop<00:22:00.830> the<00:22:00.970> slide.

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But<00:22:01.410> then<00:22:01.570> when<00:22:01.690> the<00:22:01.790> meeting<00:22:02.050> is<00:22:02.270> happening<00:22:02.550> with<00:22:02.750> the<00:22:02.950> client<00:22:03.190> or<00:22:03.350> the<00:22:03.450> senior<00:22:03.650> partner,<00:22:04.030> I'm<00:22:04.090> just<00:22:04.230> going<00:22:04.330> to<00:22:04.410> stay<00:22:04.510> quiet.

00:22:04.990 --> 00:22:09.280
And<00:22:05.430> if<00:22:05.690> somebody<00:22:05.830> asks<00:22:05.990> me<00:22:06.130> a<00:22:06.310> question,<00:22:07.520> I'll<00:22:07.870> do<00:22:08.010> that."<00:22:08.350> And<00:22:08.470> then<00:22:08.590> it<00:22:08.690> was<00:22:08.790> really<00:22:08.930> interesting.

00:22:09.450 --> 00:22:10.550
I<00:22:09.470> remember<00:22:09.790> John<00:22:10.150> Parolisi.

00:22:11.607 --> 00:22:14.400
Was<00:22:12.265> one<00:22:12.426> of<00:22:12.490> my<00:22:12.586> first<00:22:12.827> senior<00:22:13.068> engagement<00:22:13.389> managers,<00:22:13.694> one<00:22:13.790> of<00:22:13.854> my<00:22:13.950> projects.

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And<00:22:14.737> he<00:22:14.897> just<00:22:15.058> said<00:22:15.170> to<00:22:15.250> me,<00:22:15.298> he's<00:22:15.427> like,<00:22:15.635> "Hey,<00:22:15.876> you<00:22:15.908> got<00:22:15.988> to<00:22:16.037> speak<00:22:16.422> up."<00:22:17.365> I<00:22:17.385> was<00:22:18.091> like,<00:22:18.203> "What<00:22:18.283> do<00:22:18.331> you<00:22:18.380> mean?

00:22:18.668 --> 00:22:27.190
I<00:22:18.845> thought<00:22:19.022> I<00:22:19.070> was<00:22:19.182> doing<00:22:19.294> a<00:22:19.326> good<00:22:19.471> job."<00:22:19.712> He's<00:22:19.808> like,<00:22:19.968> "Hey,<00:22:20.113> when<00:22:20.209> we're<00:22:20.289> in<00:22:20.354> the<00:22:20.386> meeting<00:22:20.691> with<00:22:20.771> the<00:22:20.867> senior<00:22:21.172> partner<00:22:22.440> and<00:22:22.536> you<00:22:22.680> know<00:22:22.857> something<00:22:23.322> from<00:22:23.499> the<00:22:23.659> data<00:22:24.141> that<00:22:25.248> the<00:22:25.344> partner's<00:22:25.810> not<00:22:26.002> seeing,<00:22:26.388> you<00:22:26.468> got<00:22:26.580> to<00:22:26.628> speak<00:22:27.014> up.

00:22:27.992 --> 00:22:36.450
You<00:22:28.041> have<00:22:28.217> to<00:22:28.313> share<00:22:29.517> your<00:22:29.661> insights,<00:22:30.143> share<00:22:30.384> your<00:22:30.480> knowledge."<00:22:30.961> And<00:22:31.042> that<00:22:31.202> was<00:22:31.347> just<00:22:31.523> a<00:22:31.587> really<00:22:31.764> empowering<00:22:32.229> moment<00:22:32.486> for<00:22:32.630> me<00:22:34.171> where—<00:22:34.717> and<00:22:34.797> then<00:22:34.893> I<00:22:34.973> started<00:22:35.278> trying<00:22:35.680> it<00:22:35.792> and<00:22:35.872> I'm<00:22:36.000> like,<00:22:36.241> "Oh,<00:22:36.321> wow.

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People<00:22:36.883> will<00:22:36.979> actually<00:22:37.670> also<00:22:38.010> listen<00:22:38.350> to<00:22:38.630> me<00:22:38.670> and<00:22:38.830> value<00:22:38.990> my<00:22:39.170> opinion,<00:22:39.630> right?

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Not<00:22:39.910> just<00:22:40.090> my<00:22:40.270> spreadsheet<00:22:40.570> skills.

00:22:41.110 --> 00:22:48.050
And<00:22:41.330> I<00:22:41.430> just<00:22:41.590> remember<00:22:41.850> that<00:22:42.090> being<00:22:43.030> a<00:22:43.430> breakthrough<00:22:43.750> moment<00:22:44.250> that<00:22:44.510> I<00:22:44.730> think<00:22:44.870> also<00:22:45.210> a<00:22:45.390> lot<00:22:45.391> of<00:22:45.530> young<00:22:45.730> people,<00:22:46.350> and<00:22:46.370> then<00:22:46.570> I<00:22:46.590> think<00:22:46.730> also<00:22:46.910> as<00:22:47.010> an<00:22:47.110> entrepreneur,<00:22:47.390> that's<00:22:47.490> very<00:22:47.650> important.

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Let's<00:22:48.490> talk<00:22:48.570> about<00:22:48.750> relationship<00:22:49.130> building.

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I<00:22:50.030> remember<00:22:50.170> one<00:22:50.270> of<00:22:50.390> the<00:22:50.410> things<00:22:50.490> I<00:22:50.590> did<00:22:50.710> early<00:22:50.930> on<00:22:51.070> my<00:22:51.210> Big<00:22:51.350> Machines<00:22:51.650> days<00:22:52.390> and<00:22:53.370> Marc<00:22:53.770> Benioff,<00:22:54.690> a<00:22:54.691> Salesforce<00:22:54.930> era<00:22:55.230> partner,<00:22:55.430> I<00:22:55.550> remember<00:22:55.710> he<00:22:55.850> was<00:22:56.030> speaking,<00:22:56.390> it<00:22:56.570> was<00:22:56.590> right<00:22:56.730> before<00:22:56.970> their<00:22:57.170> IPO.

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He<00:22:57.670> was<00:22:57.770> speaking<00:22:57.910> at<00:22:58.030> a<00:22:58.110> big<00:22:58.270> conference<00:22:58.630> in<00:22:58.790> Chicago<00:22:59.330> and<00:23:00.030> in<00:23:00.110> fact,<00:23:00.210> he<00:23:00.250> was<00:23:00.350> having<00:23:00.510> the<00:23:00.710> courage.

00:23:00.890 --> 00:23:04.090
I<00:23:00.891> just<00:23:01.050> walked<00:23:01.190> up<00:23:01.410> to<00:23:01.510> him<00:23:01.610> and<00:23:01.690> talked<00:23:01.910> to<00:23:02.090> him<00:23:03.030> and<00:23:03.031> told<00:23:03.370> him<00:23:03.510> my<00:23:03.690> idea.

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And<00:23:04.490> so,<00:23:04.650> I<00:23:04.690> think<00:23:04.850> having<00:23:05.090> that<00:23:05.330> courage<00:23:05.710> to<00:23:05.950> speak<00:23:06.190> up<00:23:06.896> share<00:23:07.139> your<00:23:07.300> convictions,<00:23:07.882> share<00:23:08.189> your<00:23:08.286> insights.

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That,<00:23:09.885> to<00:23:09.982> me,<00:23:10.305> was<00:23:11.177> kind<00:23:11.339> of<00:23:11.452> a<00:23:11.516> big<00:23:11.597> breakthrough<00:23:11.985> moment<00:23:12.308> to<00:23:12.389> shift<00:23:12.728> from<00:23:13.520> just<00:23:13.697> kind<00:23:13.843> of<00:23:13.923> being<00:23:14.343> a<00:23:14.360> nerdy<00:23:14.812> engineer<00:23:15.232> and<00:23:15.490> smart<00:23:15.796> analyst<00:23:16.264> to<00:23:17.409> really<00:23:17.619> having<00:23:17.812> a<00:23:17.893> bigger<00:23:18.135> impact<00:23:19.022> in<00:23:19.102> business.

00:23:23.454 --> 00:23:24.871
Do<00:23:23.534> you<00:23:23.760> read<00:23:23.937> a<00:23:23.953> lot<00:23:24.162> of<00:23:24.259> business<00:23:24.581> books?

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What's<00:23:25.451> your<00:23:25.774> favorite<00:23:26.821> in<00:23:26.998> that<00:23:27.159> category?

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Yes,<00:23:29.173> I<00:23:29.335> do.

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I<00:23:30.140> do<00:23:30.366> love<00:23:30.607> business<00:23:30.946> books.

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I<00:23:31.252> love<00:23:31.494> reading<00:23:31.640> about<00:23:31.819> entrepreneurs.

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And<00:23:33.059> even,<00:23:33.940> I<00:23:33.957> like<00:23:34.283> reading<00:23:34.511> about<00:23:34.577> Carnegie.

00:23:34.838 --> 00:23:35.441
I<00:23:34.854> read<00:23:34.903> his<00:23:34.985> biography,<00:23:35.262> Rockefeller.

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And<00:23:35.588> some<00:23:35.637> people<00:23:35.719> would<00:23:35.784> say,<00:23:35.833> well,<00:23:35.898> that<00:23:35.947> was<00:23:35.996> 150,<00:23:36.323> 200<00:23:36.535> years<00:23:36.633> ago.

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It's<00:23:39.309> not<00:23:39.454> relevant<00:23:39.775> today,<00:23:40.096> but<00:23:40.208> I<00:23:40.256> actually<00:23:40.561> think<00:23:40.738> the<00:23:40.898> basic<00:23:42.182> leadership<00:23:42.743> principles,<00:23:43.690> people,<00:23:44.814> innovation,<00:23:46.113> that's<00:23:46.370> never<00:23:46.675> changing.

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And<00:23:47.301> obviously,<00:23:47.558> tech<00:23:47.814> is<00:23:47.895> a<00:23:47.927> whole<00:23:48.119> new<00:23:48.199> medium.

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So,<00:23:49.146> I<00:23:49.243> love<00:23:49.483> reading<00:23:49.788> some<00:23:49.949> of<00:23:50.029> the<00:23:50.125> classics,<00:23:50.767> if<00:23:50.911> you<00:23:50.992> will.

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And<00:23:52.115> then<00:23:52.227> I<00:23:52.292> think<00:23:52.452> more<00:23:52.612> contemporary,<00:23:53.399> one<00:23:53.639> that<00:23:53.816> really<00:23:54.057> inspired<00:23:54.763> me<00:23:55.340> recently<00:23:56.544> is<00:23:56.929> No<00:23:57.170> Rules<00:23:57.491> Rules.

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And<00:23:59.497> that's<00:23:59.753> from<00:23:59.914> Reed<00:24:00.074> Hastings,<00:24:00.636> the<00:24:00.781> founder<00:24:01.342> of<00:24:01.438> Netflix.

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And<00:24:03.509> he<00:24:03.605> talks<00:24:04.006> a<00:24:04.166> lot<00:24:04.471> about<00:24:04.776> how<00:24:04.889> together<00:24:05.210> with<00:24:05.354> Patty<00:24:05.595> McCord,<00:24:06.076> their<00:24:06.172> chief<00:24:06.397> people<00:24:06.638> officer,<00:24:07.119> how<00:24:07.151> they<00:24:07.296> built<00:24:07.472> a<00:24:07.536> really<00:24:07.922> unique<00:24:08.242> no<00:24:08.483> rules<00:24:08.804> rules<00:24:08.868> culture.

00:24:09.606 --> 00:24:15.008
No<00:24:09.766> rules<00:24:10.007> culture<00:24:10.568> at<00:24:10.744> Netflix<00:24:11.289> and<00:24:11.449> really<00:24:11.626> focused<00:24:12.011> on<00:24:12.107> talent,<00:24:12.588> talent<00:24:12.908> density,<00:24:13.469> and<00:24:14.030> just<00:24:14.207> an<00:24:14.255> extraordinary<00:24:14.671> company.

00:24:16.018 --> 00:24:19.897
And<00:24:16.114> I<00:24:16.194> just<00:24:16.419> hired<00:24:16.675> a<00:24:16.739> chief<00:24:16.980> people<00:24:17.156> officer,<00:24:17.477> Preeti<00:24:17.797> Patel,<00:24:18.599> and<00:24:18.663> we're<00:24:18.759> both<00:24:18.919> drawing<00:24:19.160> inspiration<00:24:19.640> for<00:24:19.705> that.

00:24:19.945 --> 00:24:24.337
We're<00:24:20.041> like,<00:24:20.185> hey,<00:24:21.227> how<00:24:21.324> can<00:24:21.468> we<00:24:21.564> build<00:24:21.724> such<00:24:21.901> a<00:24:21.949> unique<00:24:22.205> culture<00:24:22.542> that<00:24:22.686> someday<00:24:23.247> we<00:24:23.327> can<00:24:23.488> write<00:24:23.648> a<00:24:23.728> book<00:24:23.904> about<00:24:24.209> it?

00:24:25.155 --> 00:24:27.703
And<00:24:25.892> so,<00:24:26.132> that's<00:24:26.693> one<00:24:26.854> of<00:24:26.934> the<00:24:27.014> recent<00:24:27.415> ones.

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And<00:24:27.847> I<00:24:27.880> am<00:24:28.072> also<00:24:28.232> a<00:24:28.296> big<00:24:28.457> fan<00:24:28.633> of<00:24:28.777> Marc<00:24:28.937> Benioff<00:24:29.418> and<00:24:29.563> certainly<00:24:29.899> Behind<00:24:30.220> the<00:24:30.364> Cloud.

00:24:30.861 --> 00:24:36.391
And<00:24:31.486> he<00:24:31.743> wrote<00:24:31.903> another<00:24:32.207> book,<00:24:32.384> but<00:24:33.105> anyone<00:24:33.410> in<00:24:33.506> SaaS<00:24:33.907> and<00:24:34.051> cloud,<00:24:34.452> I<00:24:34.548> would<00:24:34.692> certainly<00:24:35.189> recommend<00:24:35.814> his<00:24:36.055> books.

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Oh,<00:24:40.488> I<00:24:40.508> totally<00:24:41.206> agree.

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Well,<00:24:42.407> uh,<00:24:42.732> I<00:24:42.748> want<00:24:42.878> to<00:24:42.910> be<00:24:42.992> respectful<00:24:43.349> of<00:24:43.381> your<00:24:43.479> time.

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Last<00:24:43.966> question,<00:24:44.680> uh,<00:24:45.167> what<00:24:45.264> does<00:24:45.426> the<00:24:45.508> future<00:24:46.060> of,<00:24:47.196> uh,<00:24:47.456> G2<00:24:47.861> look<00:24:48.089> like?

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Well,<00:24:49.890> G2,<00:24:50.293> we<00:24:50.389> want<00:24:50.518> to<00:24:50.551> realize<00:24:50.857> our<00:24:51.034> vision.

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So<00:24:55.048> what<00:24:55.128> we<00:24:55.290> want,<00:24:55.564> Clint,<00:24:55.805> is<00:24:55.950> every<00:24:56.176> time—<00:24:56.901> and<00:24:57.079> you're<00:24:57.240> a<00:24:57.256> knowledge<00:24:57.627> worker,<00:24:58.110> you're<00:24:58.207> a<00:24:58.223> CEO,<00:24:58.820> business<00:24:59.079> leader—<00:24:59.323> but<00:24:59.436> every<00:24:59.582> time<00:25:00.215> you<00:25:00.247> need<00:25:00.393> software<00:25:00.799> to<00:25:00.864> make<00:25:01.026> your<00:25:01.107> work<00:25:01.270> better,<00:25:02.000> we<00:25:02.049> just<00:25:02.178> want<00:25:02.324> you<00:25:02.422> to<00:25:02.503> think<00:25:02.600> of<00:25:02.665> g2.com.

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So<00:25:22.280> that's<00:25:22.542> my<00:25:23.049> unfulfilled<00:25:23.606> dream<00:25:23.852> as<00:25:23.917> an<00:25:24.016> entrepreneur.

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Oh,<00:25:27.466> you're<00:25:27.628> going<00:25:27.854> to<00:25:27.903> do<00:25:27.951> it<00:25:28.032> with<00:25:28.259> this<00:25:28.420> one.

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I<00:25:29.003> think<00:25:29.229> G2<00:25:29.633> is<00:25:29.730> an<00:25:29.811> incredible<00:25:30.296> company.

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It's<00:25:30.717> amazing<00:25:31.024> what<00:25:31.170> you've<00:25:31.348> built,<00:25:31.526> my<00:25:31.671> friend.

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Thank<00:25:32.156> you<00:25:32.237> so<00:25:32.383> much<00:25:32.561> for<00:25:32.706> coming<00:25:32.916> on.

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It<00:25:33.062> really<00:25:33.159> means<00:25:33.305> a<00:25:33.321> lot.

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I'll<00:25:35.629> read<00:25:35.854> your<00:25:35.935> book<00:25:36.242> when<00:25:36.338> you<00:25:36.484> publish<00:25:36.823> it.

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Thank<00:25:37.532> you.

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And<00:25:38.033> thank<00:25:38.275> you,<00:25:38.420> Clint.

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Let's<00:25:46.611> do<00:25:46.776> it.

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Thanks,<00:25:47.335> my<00:25:47.433> friend.

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Appreciate<00:25:48.091> it.

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Thank<00:25:48.419> you.