BUILD with Blake Bartlett

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

pPatrick says work-life balance is the wrong framework. It’s more about work-life fit and finding what suits you best. This is especially true for startup founders, where your work is often all-consuming./ppbr/ppEpisode Highlights/pulli[00:32nbsp;-nbsp;02:30] Thoughts on work/life balance/li/ulpbr/ppstrongMentioned in this episode:/strong/ppa href=https://openviewpartners.com/newsletter/#.YfRAM-rMIuU rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankSign up for OpenViews weekly newsletter/a/ppConnect with Patrick on a href=https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickccampbell/ rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankLinkedIn/a/ppFollow Patrick on a href=https://twitter.com/Patticus?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankTwitter/a/ppSubscribe tonbsp;a href=https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaVvQTEaCyt2bbkoAh7wPyg rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankBlake Bartlett on YouTube/a./ppPodcast produced bynbsp;a href=https://openviewpartners.com/ rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankOpenView/a./ppView ournbsp;a href=https://openviewpartners.com/blog rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankblognbsp;/afor more context/inspiration./ppa href=https://www.linkedin.com/company/openview-/ rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankOpenView on Linkedin/a/ppa href=https://twitter.com/openviewventure rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankOpenView on Twitter/a/ppa href=https://www.instagram.com/openviewventure/ rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankOpenView on Instagram/a/ppa href=https://www.facebook.com/OpenViewVenture/ rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankOpenView on Facebook/a/p

pCulture at a startup is always tricky, but there’s one common mistake founders should avoid at all costs. It’s the desire to make everyone happy all the time. Patrick says this leads to a “culture of accommodation” which ultimately ends up not working for anyone. Hear Patrick’s journey as a founder to define the culture at ProfitWell, and how you can do the same at your startup./ppbr/ppEpisode Highlights/pulli[00:03nbsp;-nbsp;01:31] Episode intro: Patrick Campbell/lili[01:59nbsp;-nbsp;04:04] What is the role and importance of company culture in todays market environment?/lili[06:39nbsp;-nbsp;10:26] The culture of ProfitWell and the journey to get there/lili[12:15nbsp;-nbsp;16:26] The most charitable interpretation/lili[17:23nbsp;-nbsp;20:08] ProfitWell values and four principles/lili[20:21nbsp;-nbsp;23:16] Speaking their mind, being human in the most charitable way/lili[21:11nbsp;-nbsp;23:16] Values and principles must have trade-offs/lili[23:16nbsp;-nbsp;25:41] Heres how we operate, transparency in hiring/lili[25:46nbsp;-nbsp;32:10] Advice for making culture something more than theoretical, a real experience/li/ulpbr/ppstrongMentioned in this episode:/strong/ppa href=https://openviewpartners.com/newsletter/#.YfRAM-rMIuU rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankSign up for OpenViews weekly newsletter/a/ppConnect with Patrick on a href=https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickccampbell/ rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankLinkedIn/a/ppFollow Patrick on a href=https://twitter.com/Patticus?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankTwitter/a/ppSubscribe tonbsp;a href=https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaVvQTEaCyt2bbkoAh7wPyg rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankBlake Bartlett on YouTube/a./ppPodcast produced bynbsp;a href=https://openviewpartners.com/ rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankOpenView/a./ppView ournbsp;a href=https://openviewpartners.com/blog rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankblognbsp;/afor more context/inspiration./ppa href=https://www.linkedin.com/company/openview-/ rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankOpenView on Linkedin/a/ppa href=https://twitter.com/openviewventure rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankOpenView on Twitter/a/ppa href=https://www.instagram.com/openviewventure/ rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankOpenView on Instagram/a/ppa href=https://www.facebook.com/OpenViewVenture/ rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankOpenView on Facebook/a/p

pEvery startup wants to create a category. This is often a mistake. Or at least it’s prioritized too early by many founders and marketers. Ryan Carlson, longtime CMO at Okta, explains why this falls flat with customers and what to do instead./ppbr/ppstrongKey Takeaways: /strong/pulli[00:31nbsp;-nbsp;01:53] nbsp;A noted skeptic on category creation/lili[01:54nbsp;-nbsp;02:15] Everybody wants to be a category creator/lili[02:16nbsp;-nbsp;03:19] Focus on how theyre better than the alternative/li/ulpbr/ppstrongMentioned in this episode:/strong/ppa href=https://openviewpartners.com/newsletter/#.YfRAM-rMIuU rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankSign up for OpenViews weekly newsletter/a/ppa href=https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryancarlson/ rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankRyan Carlson, Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer at Wiz/a/ppa href=https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryancarlson/ rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankLinkedIn/a/ppa href=https://twitter.com/ryantcarlson?lang=en rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankTwitter/a/ppSubscribe tonbsp;a href=https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaVvQTEaCyt2bbkoAh7wPyg rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankBlake Bartlett on YouTube/a./ppPodcast produced bynbsp;a href=https://openviewpartners.com/ rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankOpenView/a./ppView ournbsp;a href=https://openviewpartners.com/blog rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankblognbsp;/afor more context/inspiration./ppa href=https://www.linkedin.com/company/openview-/ rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankOpenView on Linkedin/a/ppa href=https://twitter.com/openviewventure rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankOpenView on Twitter/a/ppa href=https://www.instagram.com/openviewventure/ rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankOpenView on Instagram/a/ppa href=https://www.facebook.com/OpenViewVenture/ rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankOpenView on Facebook/a/p

pOkta’s CMO for 5+ years, Ryan Carlson, says marketing’s guiding light should be the company mission and values. Marketing’s job is to tell the story of the company, not to merely promote the product or drive leads into the top of a funnel. Authentic marketing is rooted in the BIG questions. Why does this company exist? Who should care about that and why?Today’s episode will help you:/pulliUnderstand this strategic approach to marketing/liliSee the impact strategic marketing has on your audience/liliHow to hire mission/values-aligned marketers/liliLeverage Ryan’s playbook for company storytelling by working directly with customers/li/ulpbr/ppstrongKey Takeaways: /strong/pulli[00:19nbsp;-nbsp;03:37] Introduction to Ryan Carlson, and thoughts on company culture in the world of marketing/lili[03:44nbsp;-nbsp;06:53] What should define culture is the mission, values, and vision/lili[06:54nbsp;-nbsp;10:00] Imparting importance, and showing why culture mattered at Okta/lili[10:02nbsp;-nbsp;13:32] Authenticity, avoiding hyperbole and marketing BS/lili[13:43nbsp;-nbsp;16:10] Who do you hire to marketing leadership to operate more authentically?/lili[16:13nbsp;-nbsp;18:18] Hiring true believers, and avoiding a customers wrong mentality with product market fit/lili[19:26nbsp;-nbsp;22:45] Understanding why people like the product and the people behind it/lili[22:48nbsp;-nbsp;25:40] Combining pen to paper with mission, values, and vision/lili[25:42nbsp;-nbsp;28:27] Storytelling and presentations, how they impact retention/lili[28:30nbsp;-nbsp;32:26] Story and history of your company is different/lili[32:32nbsp;-nbsp;35:37] Figuring out if a company operates by its values as a candidate/li/ulpbr/ppstrongMentioned in this episode:/strong/ppa href=https://openviewpartners.com/newsletter/#.YfRAM-rMIuU rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankSign up for OpenViews weekly newsletter/a/ppa href=https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryancarlson/ rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankRyan Carlson, Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer at Wiz/a/ppa href=https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryancarlson/ rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankLinkedIn/a/ppa href=https://twitter.com/ryantcarlson?lang=en rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankTwitter/a/ppSubscribe tonbsp;a href=https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaVvQTEaCyt2bbkoAh7wPyg rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankBlake Bartlett on YouTube/a./ppPodcast produced bynbsp;a href=https://openviewpartners.com/ rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankOpenView/a./ppView ournbsp;a href=https://openviewpartners.com/blog rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankblognbsp;/afor more context/inspiration./ppa href=https://www.linkedin.com/company/openview-/ rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankOpenView on Linkedin/a/ppa href=https://twitter.com/openviewventure rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankOpenView on Twitter/a/ppa href=https://www.instagram.com/openviewventure/ rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankOpenView on Instagram/a/ppa href=https://www.facebook.com/OpenViewVenture/ rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankOpenView on Facebook/a/p

pRaj says that most of the PLG advice out there today is missing a key foundational point: data. Many PLG companies still rely on traditional sales amp; marketing software that keeps data in silos. The key to winning in PLG starts with your data infrastructure, and wiring it up early helps you scale later./ppbr/ppstrongMentioned in this episode:/strong/ppa href=https://openviewpartners.com/newsletter/#.YfRAM-rMIuU rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankSign up for OpenViews weekly newsletter/a/ppa href=https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajsarkar/ rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankRaj Sarkar, CMO amp; Advisor/a/ppa href=https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajsarkar/ rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankLinkedIn/a/ppa href=https://twitter.com/rajsarkar?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankTwitter/a/ppSubscribe tonbsp;a href=https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaVvQTEaCyt2bbkoAh7wPyg rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankBlake Bartlett on YouTube/a./ppPodcast produced bynbsp;a href=https://openviewpartners.com/ rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankOpenView/a./ppView ournbsp;a href=https://openviewpartners.com/blog rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankblognbsp;/afor more context/inspiration./ppa href=https://www.linkedin.com/company/openview-/ rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankOpenView on Linkedin/a/ppa href=https://twitter.com/openviewventure rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankOpenView on Twitter/a/ppa href=https://www.instagram.com/openviewventure/ rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankOpenView on Instagram/a/ppa href=https://www.facebook.com/OpenViewVenture/ rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankOpenView on Facebook/a/p

pB2B marketers usually overlook brand in their marketing mix. Brand marketing is only for CPG companies, right? Raj makes the case that brand marketing is not optional, if you want to win your category./ppbr/ppBut brand marketing isn’t just buying a Super Bowl ad. Before you think about channels, you need to define your brand identity and build awareness. Done right, brand marketing can become an infinitely scalable strategy to drive growth./ppbr/ppstrongKey Takeaways: /strong/pulli[01:19nbsp;-nbsp;04:05] What exactly is brand marketing? And why is it important?/lili[04:06nbsp;-nbsp;05:41] Why we should dive deep into brand/lili[05:41nbsp;-nbsp;07:36] Differentiation in branding, infinitely scalable/lili[07:39nbsp;-nbsp;11:38] When to start thinking about brand, SEO, and the funnel/lili[13:36nbsp;-nbsp;15:36] Determining your mission and values, brand attributes/lili[15:36nbsp;-nbsp;17:26] Speaking ways that is consistent with identity/lili[17:28nbsp;-nbsp;19:45] Balancing different brand attributes in messaging/lili[19:47nbsp;-nbsp;21:04] House of brands or a branded house/lili[22:08nbsp;-nbsp;25:31] Amplifying brand marketing and the channels of choice/lili[25:38nbsp;-nbsp;28:58] Tracking efficacy in print and non-digital formats with modern tools/lili[28:58nbsp;-nbsp;30:47] Where to take action on Rajs advice/li/ulpbr/ppstrongMentioned in this episode:/strong/ppa href=https://openviewpartners.com/newsletter/#.YfRAM-rMIuU rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankSign up for OpenViews weekly newsletter/a/ppa href=https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajsarkar/ rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankRaj Sarkar, CMO amp; Advisor/a/ppa href=https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajsarkar/ rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankLinkedIn/a/ppa href=https://twitter.com/rajsarkar?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankTwitter/a/ppSubscribe tonbsp;a href=https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaVvQTEaCyt2bbkoAh7wPyg rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankBlake Bartlett on YouTube/a./ppPodcast produced bynbsp;a href=https://openviewpartners.com/ rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankOpenView/a./ppView ournbsp;a href=https://openviewpartners.com/blog rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankblognbsp;/afor more context/inspiration./ppa href=https://www.linkedin.com/company/openview-/ rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankOpenView on Linkedin/a/ppa href=https://twitter.com/openviewventure rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankOpenView on Twitter/a/ppa href=https://www.instagram.com/openviewventure/ rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankOpenView on Instagram/a/ppa href=https://www.facebook.com/OpenViewVenture/ rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankOpenView on Facebook/a/p

pChris was Snowflake’s first sales hire, and he built the commercial business from $0 to $1B+ ARR. What is the optimal relationship between a VP Sales and the Founder/CEO during this journey?/ppbr/ppMany sales leaders solely focus on hitting their number. That’s certainly important, but sales also plays a pivotal role in product strategy by acting as the voice of the customer. The goal is to achieve a collaborative push-pull relationship with founders and sales leaders that drives more customer value.nbsp;/ppbr/ppstrongKey Takeaways: /strong/pulli[00:34nbsp;-nbsp;01:39] Feedback and writing SQL/lili[01:39nbsp;-nbsp;02:47] Founders interacting with customers to make product adjustments/lili[02:47nbsp;-nbsp;03:25] Pivoting based on feedback/lili[03:25nbsp;-nbsp;04:38] Early days are less about profit, more about scaling and feedback/li/ul

pChris is CRO at Snowflake and has been leading sales there for 9 years. He’s helped grow from $0 to $1B+ ARR. He’s clearly a software sales legend. So how is Chris coaching his reps and leaders during today’s recessionary environment? What should you change about your sales playbook in order to keep winning in a down market?nbsp;/ppbr/ppThis is the perfect episode for sales reps, sales leaders, and founders/CEOs who are looking for advice on how to navigate selling in a downturn.nbsp;/ppbr/ppstrongKey Takeaways: /strong/pulli[01:58nbsp;-nbsp;03:52] The mindset and action plan of a great sales reps in a recession/lili[03:52nbsp;-nbsp;05:37] A passion and conviction for what youre selling/lili[05:42nbsp;-nbsp;07:09] Addressing specific challenges of today, adding value, saving money/lili[07:16nbsp;-nbsp;10:29] Understanding customer pain in difficult macro environments, solving for competitor gaps/lili[10:34nbsp;-nbsp;13:03] Dont waste peoples time, have a genuine conversation/lili[13:06nbsp;-nbsp;15:27] The business value of Snowflakes model/lili[15:28nbsp;-nbsp;18:42] Increasing sales, driving cost savings and business value/lili[19:38nbsp;-nbsp;26:34] How sales reps and leadership should be thinking about success/lili[26:35nbsp;-nbsp;31:27] Pipeline generation and sales success/lili[31:26nbsp;-nbsp;32:45] Its easy to blame others/lili[32:45nbsp;-nbsp;36:27] Dealing with smaller budgets and cultivating empathy and problem solving/lili[36:27nbsp;-nbsp;39:14] Preparing for 2023 budgets and planning differently/li/ulpbr/ppbr/p

pToday’s shorter episode is a follow up to my longer conversation with Alex Su, Head of Community at Ironclad. In that conversation, we talk about his TikTok channel @legaltechbro and how he developed a personal brand strategy that compliments Ironclad’s community-focused GTM strategy. So if you haven’t heard that yet, go check it out now. In today’s episode, we dive into TikTok more specifically and why you shouldn’t overlook this huge new channel./ppbr/ppstrongMentioned in this episode:/strong/ppa href=https://openviewpartners.com/newsletter/#.YfRAM-rMIuU rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankSign up for OpenViews weekly newsletter/a/ppa href=https://www.heyitsalexsu.com/about-me rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankAlex Su, @legaltechbro/a/ppa href=https://ironcladapp.com/ rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankIronclad/a/ppa href=https://www.tiktok.com/@legaltechbro?lang=en rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankTikTok/a/ppa href=https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-su/ rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankLinkedIn/a/ppa href=http://heyitsalexsu/ rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankTwitter/a/ppSubscribe tonbsp;a href=https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaVvQTEaCyt2bbkoAh7wPyg rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankBlake Bartlett on YouTube/a./ppPodcast produced bynbsp;a href=https://openviewpartners.com/ rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankOpenView/a./ppView ournbsp;a href=https://openviewpartners.com/blog rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankblognbsp;/afor more context/inspiration./ppa href=https://www.linkedin.com/company/openview-/ rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankOpenView on Linkedin/a/ppa href=https://twitter.com/openviewventure rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankOpenView on Twitter/a/ppa href=https://www.instagram.com/openviewventure/ rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankOpenView on Instagram/a/ppa href=https://www.facebook.com/OpenViewVenture/ rel=noopener noreferrer target=_blankOpenView on Facebook/a/p