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ISBN 9781119772576 (Hardback)
ISBN 9781119774068 (ePub)
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This book is dedicated to the entrepreneurs, founders, and leadership teams in startups and scaleups everywhere who are constantly striving to do better so they can turn ideas into products and companies that transform communities, markets, and the world.
If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.
—African proverb
I haven't come this far, only to come this far.
—Unknown
Foreword
As a first‐time tech founder and CEO at ExactTarget, one phrase kept ringing through my head: “I don't know what I don't know.” Even with 10+ years of business experience and a freshly minted MBA degree, I had so many blind spots having never built software, raised venture capital or even led a multi‐functional organization. Filling in these gaps took many years and lots of trial and error.
One of my gap‐filling strategies was to learn from other CEOs going through similar highs and lows of scaling their company. On this journey, I was fortunate to meet Matt Blumberg. As CEO of Return Path, Matt was building a high growth company in the same digital marketing industry as me. I was impressed by his leadership, strategic thinking, and commitment to helping other entrepreneurs. We became fast friends and we both looked forward to learning from one another.
Matt was always gracious and willing to take my call or have dinner together. Our conversations covered every topic imaginable from leadership to board management to strategic partnerships to international expansion. My advice to entrepreneurs and leaders—build your peer network and spend time developing and nurturing these relationships. While board members and advisors are an important source of knowledge, learning from peers can be invaluable.
One of the highlights of my relationship with Matt was when we were both invited to the White House to witness President Obama signing the Jumpstart our Business Startups Act (or JOBS Act) in April of 2012. With bi‐partisan support, the law opened up crowdfunding for startups and streamlined the IPO path. ExactTarget had just gone public two weeks prior so I knew the benefits that the JOBS Act would bring to entrepreneurs. But what I didn't know in April 2012 was that the event would foreshadow my relationship with Matt and how we would work together supporting entrepreneurs and startup ecosystems.
Fast forward to 2021. We are facing unprecedented challenges in the world and the need for innovation and leadership has never been greater. CEOs and functional leaders need tools and resources to accelerate their learning curves and the learning curves of those around them. Speed of learning, thought, and action are more important now than ever. This is why I am so excited about Matt's latest book, Startup CXO.
Startup CXO provides a comprehensive field guide to starting and scaling tech companies. Really, the information is super helpful to any company. It provides a “book within a book” framework to enable and empower readers to jump into any section as needed. And it's written by practitioners who provide tons of tangible advice and actionable insights. By reading this book, I believe that leaders will be better equipped to build great companies and anticipate what's around every corner.
In my view, the best CEOs have a grasp of all functions. They can go a mile wide and a couple inches deep. They hire A+ talent and build a culture that brings out the very best in people. They understand how Sales and Marketing fit together, they value HR, Finance, and Legal and understand their interdependencies, they have a clear vision for how Product and Engineering fit together, they know how to be aggressive and how to manage risk, and so much more.
So, Startup CXO is an amazing resource for CEOs but also for functional leaders and professionals at any stage of their career. The best functional leaders and professionals understand that cross‐functional teamwork is everything. It's so important to have insight and empathy for how other areas of the organization operate. The big picture is needed to see how all of the puzzle pieces fit together.
I feel so lucky that through our venture studio, High Alpha, I have the opportunity to work with Matt and his leadership team as we build Bolster—a talent marketplace for startup and scaleup tech companies. We are living and applying the concepts and lessons contained in this very book!
My wish for you is that reading Startup CXO minimizes your “I don't know what I don't know” list; that it accelerates your development, your curiosity, your ability to ask the right questions, and helps you surround yourself with the right talent. My wish is that you dream big, lead with purpose and integrity, and master your craft. I hope—and believe—that Startup CXO will be a helpful companion for you on your company‐building journey.
Good luck!
Scott Dorsey
Managing Partner, High Alpha
April 2021
Part One Introduction
Matt Blumberg