Podcast Notes Playlist: Startup

• Mailchimp was kind of an accidental business; it was originally built for just a few customers who were struggling to send out email newsletters 
• The freemium pricing option teleported Mailchimp’s user base from tens of thousand to over a million users within a year of adding it
• It is not always better to be faster 
• It’s okay to be stressed and have chaotic feelings on the inside, but a calm demeanor is important to convey as a leader 
• “The key to happiness is staying in your lane, and knowing when people need to be in their lane. Don’t get in their lane, and don’t let them get in your lane.” – Ben Chestnut 
• If you are a “hands-off” leader, ensure that you are also not an “eyes-off” leader
• How you are perceived as a leader is often dependent on the setting in which you are leading
• Founders tend to conflate their identity with that of their business; but with time, they realize that their life is not their business when they genuinely begin to reflect on their life
• Ben is grateful for easing into new levels of wealth over the course of his life instead of having a one-time, shocking liquidity event
• The happiest couples have husbands who keep their damn mouth shut   
• “What I want the most is to not want.” – Ben Chestnut 

Ben Chestnut is the Co-Founder of Mailchimp, the all-in-one marketing platform for small businesses. Last year, in Sept 2021 it was announced that Intuit would acquire Mailchimp for a reported $12BN. There are so many things to love about the Mailchimp journey to this point. First, Mailchimp was founded as the result of a side project of a design agency Ben and his co-founder, Dan, used to run. Second, Mailchimp is and has always been based in Atalanta, eschewing the notion you have to be in SF or NYC to build a massive business. Then third, they never raised venture funding for the business all the way until their $12BN acquisition. Ben led Mailchimp to over 1,200 employees and millions of global users.

1. From Mama's Kitchen to the Smell of Business and Founding Mailchimp:

• How did Ben turn a mediocre agency into the founding of Mailchimp? What was the a-ha moment?
• At what stage of the business did Ben quit the agency and go all in on Mailchimp? What sign did he need that Mailchimp had true product-market fit?
• When Ben's mother died, he bought every flower in the local town to commemorate her. How did Ben's mother impact the type of father and husband he is today? How did she impact the way that he led Mailchimp as CEO?
• Ben's fishing trips with his father played a big role in his early years, what were the single biggest lessons for Ben from his fishing trips with his father?

2. Ben Chestnut: The Leader:

• How does Ben define the term "high performance" in leadership?
• What does Ben mean when he says "the secret to happiness is to stay in your lane"?
• Why would Ben describe himself as the "leader of the misfits"? How did that early experience and labeling impact both the people he hired and the culture he created at Mailchimp?
• What does Ben mean when he says he used to have a "hands off, eyes off" leadership style? What have been the single biggest drivers in his development as a leader?

3. Ben Chestnut: The Person:

• Relationship to Money: How does Ben reflect on his relationship to money? How has it changed over time? Why does Ben still to this day buy lottery tickets with his wife?
• Conquering Fatherhood: What does being a great father to Ben mean? How does Ben attempt to instil the same work ethic and drive when his children are born into immense wealth?
• The secret to Marriage: What does Ben believe is the core to a successful and thriving marriage? How does Ben view his role in the marriage? How has it changed over time?
• Potential Lost Identity: A founder's identity is so closely tied to their company, how did Ben manage the challenge of selling his company but retaining his identity? What did Ben learn about himself through many different acquisition processes?

4. Mailchimp: The Business:

• Why did Ben never raise venture money in the 21 year journey of Mailchimp?
• Why did Ben never accept any of the acquisition offers that came before Intuit?
• How did Ben motivate his team after they knew each acquisition offer was being turned down?
• Why did Ben decide the acquisition by Intuit was the right decision for the company?
• How does Ben view his role in the company now and moving forward?

Hey Guys! I started The Value Hive Podcast three years ago on the floor of my bedroom in my parents house. Today, I interviewed the iconic green cartoon chicken Doomberg. Lesson? Work hard and you too can interview cartoon chickens. This episode is a behind the scenes of what happens inside the hen house. Going from idea generation to the first draft, then to editing and publishing. How to use twitter to create demand. Why having a good enough title is is essential for crossing the chasm into virality, and lessons learned from starting Doomberg and what the future holds.

Finally, a big thanks to the following sponsors for making the podcast a reality.

Mitimco

This episode is brought to you by MIT Investment Management Company, also known as MITIMCo, the investment office of MIT. Each year, MITIMCo invests in a handful of new emerging managers who it believes can earn exceptional long-term returns in support of MIT's mission. To help the emerging manager community more broadly, they created emergingmanagers.org, a website for emerging manager stockpickers.

For those looking to start a stock-picking fund or just looking to learn about how others have done it, I highly recommend the site. You'll find essays and interviews by successful emerging managers, service providers used by MIT's own managers, essays MITIMCo has written for emerging managers and more!

Quartr

Quartr is revolutionizing the way investors interact with IR departments, listen to conference calls, and conduct research. The best way to think of Quartr is like Spotify for investor conference calls. Quartr is 100% free and includes markets from 12+ countries (with plans to expand in the future!). Investors can easily request new companies, and Quartr is quick to add them. You can learn more about Quartr by visiting their site, Quartr.se

If you're interested in changing the way you research companies, download the app today and give it a try on Apple and Android.

Tegus

Tegus has the world’s largest collection of instantly available interviews on all the public and private companies you care about. Tegus actually makes primary research fun and effortless, too. Instead of weeks and months, you can learn a new industry or company in hours, and all from those that know it best.

I spend nearly all my time reading Tegus calls. And I know you will too. If you’re interested, head on over to tegus.co/valuehive for a free trial to see for yourself.

TIKR

TIKR is THE BEST resource for all stock market data, I use TIKR every day in my process, and I know you will too. Make sure to check them out at TIKR.com/hive.

Nik Sharma is a brand builder. He's the creator of Sharma Brands (a marketing agency that's worked with MrBeast and Emma Chamberlain). In this conversation, we spoke about not going to college, how he's used Twitter effectively, the two skills everyone should learn if they're about to graduate college, and how he got in contact with Mark Cuban via cold email.

(0:00) Bob The Builder

(2:16) Nik’s Childhood Teacher

(6:39) Skills To Learn

(9:49) Mark Cuban Email

(13:45) Vibes

(14:40) David Perell Friendship

(16:08) Saving Cousin’s Life

(18:49) Death

(21:11) Building A Brand

(26:55) Working With MrBeast

(33:30) Working With Emma Chamberlain

(37:04) Small Inflection Points

(40:45) Not Going To College

(47:00) Gary Vaynerchuk

(49:55) Scaling Sharma Brands

(53:39) Twitter

(59:20) Challenge

Nik's Links

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mrsharma

Cold Email Thread: https://twitter.com/mrsharma/status/1463205121979002890

My Links

✉️ Newsletter: https://dannymiranda.substack.com

🎙 Podcast: https://anchor.fm/dannymiranda

🎥 YouTube: https://youtube.com/dannymiranda

🐣 Twitter: https://twitter.com/heydannymiranda

📸 Instagram: https://instagram.com/heydannymiranda

🕺 TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@heydannymiranda

• Check Out the 20VC Episode Page & Show Notes

Chris Sacca is the Founder and Chairman @ Lowercase Capital, one of the best performing funds in the history of venture capital with a portfolio including Uber, Stripe, Twitter, Instagram, Twilio, Docker and many more.

• From interviewing some of the world's richest married couples, how did gaining wealth change their relationship and marriage?
• What does Chris do to actively ensure his children remain hungry and know the value of money?

Chamath Palihapitiya is Founder & CEO @ Social Capital. Social’s portfolio includes the likes of Slack, Yammer, Front, Intercom and Carta to name a few.

• What does Chamath mean when he says we need to think through the mindset of "infinite games" not finite games? How does this change how you think about money?
• How does Chamath think about his relationship to risk today as a result?

Brad Gerstner is the Founder and CEO of Altimeter. Brad’s notable deals that he has helped lead include Snowflake, Mongo, Bytedance, Gusto, Unity, Okta, dbt, Modern Treasury, EPIC Games, Hotel Tonight and Zillow.

• What is the most important thing parents can do to ensure that despite wealth, their children remain grounded and ambitious?
• Why does Brad, despite being a billionaire, still live in a modest house and not spend on the excesses of life? How does Brad embrace essentialism with wealth?

Cyan Banister is one of the most successful and renowned early-stage investors in the last decade. Her portfolio includes the likes of SpaceX, Uber, Affirm, Opendoor Postmates, Niantic and Thumbtack to name a few.

• Why did Cyan used to hate money? Why was she "anti-capitalist"?
• How does Cyan approach risk management today? Why does she invest every dollar she makes back into the ecosystem?

George Zachary is a General Partner @ CRV, one of the nation's oldest and most successful early-stage venture capital firms with a portfolio including the likes of Airtable, DoorDash, Dropbox, Niantic and many more.

• What did George learn about how the way people view you changes with your increasing wealth?
• Why does George believe rich people like to hang out with rich people?

Biz Stone is best known as the Co-Founder of Twitter and Medium. Biz is also an investor in the likes of Slack, Square, Intercom, Beyond Meat and Blue Bottle Coffee.

• What does Biz mean when he says, "wealth only serves to amplify the person you are?"