Laura Behrens Wu is the Founder & CEO at Shippo, a company that has raised $100m+ and was last valued at $1b in 2021. Shippo provides an API and dashboard that makes shipping easy for e-commerce businesses, marketplaces, and platforms. Prior to starting Shippo, Laura graduated from Harvard University, and was heavily influenced by a short internship at LendUp, which exposed her to Silicon Valley and startup culture. 

In today’s episode we discuss:

Referenced:

Where to find Todd Jackson:

Where to find Laura Behrens Wu:

Where to find First Round Capital:

Timestamps

(02:36) The Shippo origin story

(06:57) Why they pivoted into Shippo

(11:01) How they got their first customers

(13:27) The role of timing in Shippo's early success

(14:40) The value of being an outsider

(17:49) When founder-market-fit is and isn't necessary

(19:07) The path to product-market-fit

(22:06) What kept the Shippo team persisting

(24:41) Advice on talking to users

(29:28) Shippo's fundraising journey

(34:26) Finding product-market-fit again and again

(37:54) The 3 Horizons Framework

(45:04) Shippo's culture and early team

(49:17) Hiring people you can learn from

(50:40) Laura's most impactful hires

(52:12) Frank Slootman's "Sunday Email”

(55:43) Laura's #1 piece of advice for founders

(57:34) The most memorable influences on Laura's career