G2 CEO Godard Abel

Godard Abel, the CEO, and founder of G2.com, has always had an entrepreneurial spirit. From BigMachines to SteelBrick to G2.com, Abel has acquired wealth and success by staying ahead of the curve and creating innovative solutions to challenges in the software industry. Specifically, G2.com has carved out a place for itself by being the go-to source for buying business software.

Before G2.com's success, Abel worked for McKinsey early in his career. Then BigMachines was acquired by Oracle for $400 million and SteelBrick by Salesforce for $360 million. Abel found success in quickly applying the knowledge gained from his first venture to the second in less than two years. Since then, he has served as the Executive Chairman of Threekit and built G2.com from the ground up.

G2.com is a software and review platform that has become a trusted source of software reviews and information. Companies today don't buy software without first checking what people say about it on G2.com. Building a successful review platform was difficult initially, as getting enough reviews was hard. Abel and his team eventually came up with a solution and have gone on to raise $31 million in venture capital.

When asking Abel about fundraising, it is clear that he believes you must make relationships before you can make money. He cites Ryan Westwood, an innovator who used a variety of strategies to fund his company Simplus. Westwood developed a board of venture capitalists, started with relationships in the entrepreneurial community, and had well-known entrepreneurs like Josh James invest.

Relationships are key for Abel, and he also emphasizes the courage and conviction needed when fundraising. As a first-time entrepreneur, raising money is very hard because there are no metrics. One has to rely on their energy and passion and put in the work to make relationships.

Looking towards the future, Abel hopes to build G2.com into a billion-dollar business and influential source of software reviews. He is passionate about helping knowledge workers worldwide find the software they need to improve their work and create an amazing, unique company culture.