Alex MacCaw (Clearbit Reflect): Everything I’ve Learned as Startup Founder

pAlex MacCaw is the founder of Clearbit and Reflect, and his journey with each company has been wildly different. Clearbit took more of a “classic” startup approach—raising VC money, hiring hundreds of people, and working from an office in SF.nbsp;/ppbr/ppIn 2020, he charted a new course by replacing himself as CEO at Clearbit, selling all his possessions and living full-time on a sailboat in the Atlantic. /ppbr/ppAnd now he’s building his new company Reflect in with a totally different approach —building a fully remote amp; asynchronous “lifestyle” company that decidedly eschews VC money and the other common hallmarks of a tech startup.nbsp;/ppbr/ppAlex shares everything he’s learned as a founder and why he believes building startups should not be one-size-fits-all. /ppbr/ppBlake and Alex talk through: /pp(7:07) Pros/Cons of being asynchronous by design/pp(09:01) Why Alex doesn’t believe in remote work for large companies/pp(10:11) Remote work pitfalls/pp(14:21) When to replace yourself as CEO/pp(15:52) How to find your zone of genius/pp(18:31) When do startups hire a CFO or COO?/pp(21:14) #1 piece of advice for founders/pp(24:14) Things to know before you found a startup (B2B vs. B2C)/pp(27:27) Why not raise venture capital/pp(28:28) When startups should (or shouldn’t) raise venture capital/pp(29:40) How Reflect started crowdfunding/pp(39:14) What AI and ChatGPT is good for/pp(44:13) Best time to start a company/pp(46:20) Not all startups need VC funding/pp(47:16) Advice for VCs from a founder/p