Unicorn Builders

Unicorn Builders

By FrontLines.ioBusiness
Download on the App Store

Unicorn Builders episodes

  • Jack Newton: The GTM Story of Clio ($100M+ in ARR)

    In today's episode of Unicorn Builders, we speak with Jack Newton, CEO and Founder of Clio, a legal tech company that's raised $386 million in funding and surpassed $100 million in annual revenue, making Clio our first Centaur interviewed on the show. 

    Topics Discussed: 

    • The backstory of Clio, and how it helps lawyers run every aspect of their practice from a business perspective
  • The biggest barrier that Clio faced as a newly-created business, and what Jack and his team did to overcome it
  • Thought leadership and its role in Jack’s work with Clio, and how Jack approaches marketing when working with SMBs
  • When to create a category — and when not to
  • What were the toughest times for Clio, and Jack’s advice to CEOs facing difficulties
    • 42 min
  • Kyle Clark: The GTM Story of Beta ($1.2 Billion Valuation)

    In today's episode of Unicorn Builders, we speak with Kyle Clark, Founder of Beta, an electric aerospace company that's raised $900 Million in funding.

    Topics Discussed:

    • Kyle’s background, including his time as a hockey player, his passion for airplanes since he was a kid, and studying at Harvard
  • Founders in the aviation space who inspire Kyle
  • Why aviation is currently operating outside of sustainability, and what it’s like to fly an electric airplane that takes off like a helicopter
  • The present and future of electric aircraft, and the origin story of Beta
  • Why shipping and logistics are the key to making aviation more green, and how Kyle plans to achieve that through Beta
    • 44 min
  • Jerome Ternynck: The GTM Story of SmartRecruiter ($1.5 Billion Valuation)

    In today's episode of Unicorn Builders, we speak with Jerome Ternynck, Founder and CEO of SmartRecruiters, a hiring success platform that's raised $225 Million in funding.

    Topics Discussed: 

    • Jerome’s background: a family of French entrepreneurs, and working in recruiting in Central and Eastern Europe before the Internet
  • Founding a tech company in London in the 2000s, and the tech market changed after 9/11
  • What are the people and books that inspired Jerome
  • How SmartRecruiters helps companies attract and select the best candidates
  • How Jerome dealt with Covid so that, against the industry trend, his bookings went up by 70% in 2020

    •  

    Favorite book: 

    Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela

    33 min
  • Sean Duffy: The GTM Story of Omada Health ($1+ Billion Valuation)

    In today's episode of Unicorn Builders we speak with Sean Duffy, Co-Founder and CEO of Omada Health, a virtual first chronic care provider that's raised nearly $500 Million in funding.

    Topics Discussed:

    • Sean’s background in medicine and tech, including his time at Google and Harvard
  • The reasons why Sean finds Netflix’ Reed Hastings an inspirational entrepreneur, and why he loves the book The Martian
  • How Omada brings the best design of technology into health care, and how this helps both patients and people working in that space
  • Why publishing studies was a good way for Sean to market his product, and the crucial factor behind every “overnight success” story
  • What it was like to become an unicorn, and how Sean manages to stay invested in Omada after more than ten years

    •  

    Favorite book:

    The Martian

    27 min
  • Johanna Småros: The GTM Story of RELEX Solutions ($5.7 Billion Valuation)

    In today's episode of Unicorn Builders we speak with Johanna Småros, Co-Founder of RELEX Solutions, a supply chain and retail planning platform that's raised over $700 Million in funding.

    Topics Discussed:

    • Johanna’s background in engineering and management, and how a series of random unplanned events led her to where she is today
  • Finland’s startup scene, and whether or not Finland is “the happiest place on earth”
  • The two reasons why Johanna is reluctant to get inspired by individual founders, and why she likes to read fiction rather than practical books
  • How planning processes in supply chain management and operational execution are siloed, and what RELEX does to help integrate them, to maximize business impact
  • Why it’s good to fall in love with the problem rather than the technology, and what’s the most painful thing that can happen to an entrepreneur

    •  

    Favorite book: 

    The End of Eddy: A Novel

    42 min
  • Karl Siebrecht: The GTM Story of Flexe (1+ Billion Valuation)

    In today's episode of Unicorn Builders, we speak with Karl Siebrecht, Co-Founder and CEO of Flexe, an omni-channel logistics solution that's raised $263 Million in funding.

    Topics Discussed:

    • Karl’s background, his time as a Special Operations diving officer in the US Navy and his start in tech in the late 90s
  • Why Karl admires Nike’s Phil Knight and likes the novel The Goal
  • The problems that static warehouses pose for logistics chains, and how Flex offers warehouse operators and their clients a marketplace that taps into wasted infrastructure
  • Problems, challenges and opportunities that Flexe faced and overcame
  • The importance of customer focus, and what advice Karl would give to early-stage tech startup founders

    •  

    Favorite book: 

    The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement

    39 min
  • David Blake: The GTM Story of Degreed ($1.3 Billion Valuation)

    In today's episode of Unicorn Builders we speak with David Blake, CEO and Co-Founder of Degreed, a learning platform that has raised nearly $400 Million in funding.

    Topics Discussed:

    • Why the current education system is outdated, the personal experience that made David want to change it, and being a great learner vs. being a great student
  • How Degreed aggregates all that a person has learned and showcases it as skills
  • Degreed’s monetization model, and how corporate learning has changed in the past 15 years
  • A decisive experience David went through as a young founder that highlights the importance of kindness and empathy 
  • The feeling of becoming an unicorn, and transitioning out of the role of CEO, then back into it
    • 38 min
  • Tomer Shiran: The GTM Story of Dremio ($2 Billion Valuation)

    In today's episode of Unicorn Builders, we speak with Tomer Shiran, Founder and CPO of Dremio, a data lakehouse platform that has raised $400 Million in funding.

    Topics Discussed:

    • Tomer’s background, getting a book published at a young age, and the lessons he learned from being a very young Navy commander 
  • Why the geographical location of a startup matters less now than it did in the past
  • The challenges of a bigger company versus those of a startup, and why work never gets boring for Tomer
  • How Dremio helps companies store and use their data in a flexible way, and the advantages of moving into an existing market category versus creating one
  • What it’s like being a CPO, a near-death experience Dremio went through, and building trust with customers
    • 42 min
  • Tom Livne: The GTM Story of Verbit ($2 Billion Valuation)

    In today's episode of Unicorn Builders, we speak with Tom Livne, Founder and CEO of Verbit, an AI-powered transcription platform that's raised over $600 Million in funding.

    Topics Discussed:

    • Tom’s background, including lessons learned from his time in the Israeli military, and founding his first tech company in his 20s
  • His favorite book, and why Walt Disney is the founder who most inspires him.
  • How the startup and unicorn ecosystem in Israel evolved, and what it’s like today
  • How Tom’s time as a practicing lawyer led him to identify a problem and start Verbit
  • Resisting the temptation of premature multi-million dollars SPAC deals, the importance of taking a stance when you believe in something, and the state of Israeli democracy
    • Favorite book: 

    The Alchemist

    37 min
  • Justin Borgman: The GTM Story of Starburst ($3+ Billion Valuation)

    In today's episode of Unicorn Builders, we speak with Justin Borgman, CEO and Co-Founder of Starburst, a data lake analytics platform that's raised $414 Million in funding.

    Topics Discussed:

    • Why Justin prefers to be called a “workhorse” rather than an unicorn
  • The entropy in the data universe and how Starburst aims at giving customers the freedom to analyze their data regardless of where it’s stored
  • Why Justin has over 10 co-founders, and how this has been an advantage for Starburst
  • Justin’s transitioning away from sales, what keeps him awake at night, and what he does to balance his work and personal life
  • The lowest point for Justin as a founder, the importance of finding the right mentors, and the day Starburst became a unicorn
    • 33 min

About Unicorn Builders

From the publisher's feed

Learn from GTM journeys of B2B tech founders who’ve built companies worth more than $1 billion. This show is brought to you by FrontLines.io