Today we talk to Henry Schuck, Co-Founder and CEO of ZoomInfo (formerly DiscoverOrg) about best practices for steering the ship of a startup and scaling it until it goes public. ZoomInfo provides subscription-based sales and marketing intelligence to its clients in the form of accurate B2B content and company information to accelerate the growth of their marketing teams! Henry starts by summing up his education and career, sharing the story of co-founding DiscoverOrg, wearing multiple hats while scaling it to the point of going public, and then acquiring ZoomInfo. From there, we get into some of Henry’s habits that took him from startup CEO to public company CEO. He talks about mastering the skills needed to see DiscoverOrg through its first five years, how to let go of staff who served their purpose but are now holding the company back, and how bringing on investors changed the internal dynamics of the firm for the better. Henry also gets into his ‘pebble in the shoe’ method for aligning his teams with his vision, what goes into ZoomInfo's growth engine, and the people and resources he consults to stay sharp and constantly get better. For all this and more on the topic of continuous improvement and directing a publicly owned company from Henry, be sure to tune in.

TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:

• [00:21] Before we jump into today’s interview, please rate, review, and subscribe to the Leveling Up Podcast!
• [01:00] Henry’s education and how he co-founded DiscoverOrg and acquired ZoomInfo.
• [03:11] Wearing multiple hats, imposter syndrome, and the first five years of DiscoverOrg. 
• [05:00] Why Henry decided to bring on investors and what he learned about hiring after.
• [07:25] How Henry dealt with being accountable to people other than his co-founder after going public.
• [08:21] Dealing with letting go of employees who aren’t good enough to help you scale.
• [12:35] How Henry handled scaling so well; constantly mastering the skills involved.
• [14:00] Get great at something, train somebody else to do it, and then move on.
• [15:36] How Henry steers the ship by pointing out what’s wrong with existing systems. 
• [16:52] Winning by constantly iterating versus ‘that’s how it’s always been done’ thinking.
• [19:02] ZoomInfo’s growth engine and how it works using a specialization sales funnel.
• [20:41] Figuring out how to get, and take action on, metrics for one’s business.
• [22:50] People Henry consults with to get advice on how to be a better CEO.
• [23:52] Why the reMarkable tablet is a tool that’s made a recent impact on Henry.
• [24:28] Henry reads analyst reports to get better and stay informed.
• [25:27] Two must-read book recommendations from Henry.
• [27:17] The most compelling thing Henry recently read: Every analyst report on ZoomInfo!
• [28:03] How to find Henry online, get in touch with him, and learn more about him.

 

 

Resources From The Interview:

 

• Henry Schuck on Twitter
• Henry Schuck on LinkedIn
• Henry Schuck Email
• ZoomInfo
• DiscoverOrg
• University of Nevada
• Ohio State University
• The Carlyle Group
• The E-Myth
• YPO
• EO
• Oura Ring
• Evernote
• reMarkable
• Smartsheet
• Morgan Stanley
• Ben Horowitz

Must read book: Ogilvy on Advertising, The Hard Thing About Hard Things

 

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