Mar 19, 2022Break Rules, Not LawsThe other day, I was chatting about product development with the Vice Chairman of a large bank. At one point, after I had proposed a few semi-radical suggestions, he paused, sighed deeply, and said, “Gokul, these are great ideas and I wish we could implement them. …Management3 min readManagement3 min read
May 5, 2020Member-onlyPlaying offense during a downturnMost companies have executed on defensive plans to get through the COVID-19 pandemic. Playing defense is about two primary things: Reduce burn and extend runway. This includes taking a microscope (and then a hatchet) to every cost line item on the income statement: lowering headcount costs through some combination of…Management11 min readManagement11 min read
Aug 20, 2019Member-onlyValues-based FiringThe other day, I was meeting with the CEO at a company I advise. Our goal for the meeting was to review his executive team to identify potential gaps. The CEO pulled up the list of his C-level executives and started walking me through it. I stopped him abruptly. “What…Startup5 min readStartup5 min read
Jun 25, 2019Member-onlyDeath of a startupYesterday, one of my portfolio companies died. They haven’t formally dissolved the company yet, but that step is merely a formality. The other events foreshadowing company death are firmly in motion: employees are actively interviewing (many had offers within a week, this being Silicon Valley circa 2019), investors have already…Startup4 min readStartup4 min read
Published inThinkGrowth.org·Aug 6, 2018The CEO’s most important operational responsibilityCEOs wear several hats — strategic, operational, financial. In One On One, Ben Horowitz makes a profound statement: “Perhaps the CEO’s most important operational responsibility is designing and implementing the communication architecture for her company.” My goal for this post is to dig deeper into the communication architecture that Ben…Management6 min readManagement6 min read
Aug 2, 2018The weekly CEO e-mailI got this email recently from a CEO: “Hey Gokul, I want to start a biweekly newsletter to the entire co. I read your blog post on all hands. Was super helpful. Do you have any guidance or examples on how to best structure a regular written update?” In a…Startup7 min readStartup7 min read
Jul 25, 2018The CEO’s most important operational responsibilityCEOs wear several hats — strategic, operational, financial. In One On One, Ben Horowitz makes a profound statement: “Perhaps the CEO’s most important operational responsibility is designing and implementing the communication architecture for her company.” My goal for this post is to dig deeper into the communication architecture that Ben…Management5 min readManagement5 min read
May 4, 2018How to choose the right company for youA common question I get from students or folks early in their career (or sometimes, even mid-career) is some variant of: “How should I choose a company to work for?” Over the years, I’ve given this question some thought. Hindsight being 20/20, I’ve also looked back at why I decided…Entrepreneurship4 min readEntrepreneurship4 min read
Apr 19, 2018Self-serve first: the overlooked but essential paradigm underlying great software companies“My biggest regret is that our first customer was $1M ACV*,” my friend lamented over coffee the other day. “I wish I could take it back.” “Why? What do you mean?” I asked, perplexed. He is the CEO of a company that recently raised a Series C from great investors…Product Management9 min readProduct Management9 min read
Aug 14, 2017The second most important metric for every companyWhat’s the second most important metric for every company? Let’s start by clarifying the most important metric for every company. It is the North Star Metric (NSM), which Sean Ellis elegantly defines as the “single metric that best captures the core value that your product delivers to customers.” Facebook’s NSM…Startup3 min readStartup3 min read
