Silicon Valley CEO & VC Insights
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Fireside Chat: Leadership in a Crisis
Silicon Valley CEO and VC Insights
Featuring:
Doug Knopper, Co-founder & former Co-CEO of FreeWheel
Stacey Bishop, Partner, Scale Venture Partners
David Yuan, General Partner, TCV
May 1st 2020 @ 1:30pm EDT
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Introduction
A discussion with David Yuan (General Partner – TCV), Stacey Bishop (Partner – Scale Venture Partners) and Doug Knopper (Co-Founder & former CEO of FreeWheel, acquired by Comcast for $375 million). Moderated by Michael Seidler, Founder + CEO of Madison Alley, the strategic M&A and capital advisory firm for digital marketing, media and advertising companies.
Distinguished Panelists
- Doug Knopper:
- Co-founder & former Co-CEO, FreeWheel
- Led FreeWheel to $375M acquisition by Comcast
- Stacey Bishop:
- Partner, Scale Venture Partners
- Notable investments: HubSpot (NYSE: HUBS), Bill.com (NYSE: BILL), ExactTarget ($2.5B, Salesforce), Omniture ($1.8B, Adobe), Vitrue ($320M, Oracle)
- David Yuan:
- General Partner, TCV
- Forbes Top 100 Tech Investor, 4 IPOs and M&A exits, including:
- Facebook (NASD: FB), LinkedIn, ExactTarget ($2.5B, Salesforce), Merkle ($1.5B, Dentsu), AppNexus ($1.B+, AT&T)
Key Discussion Topics
On Leadership
The panel discussed effective leadership practices during the COVID-19 crisis, emphasizing the importance of maintaining composure, clear communication, and adaptability in uncertain times. CEOs are expected to provide vision and reassurance while making difficult decisions about staff, costs, and strategic direction.
Client Relationships
The discussion covered strategies for maintaining and strengthening client relationships during economic uncertainty, including creative approaches to payment terms, contract extensions, and providing value during difficult times.
Product Innovation
Panelists emphasized the opportunity to work on product architecture, UI, and onboarding processes during quieter periods. They highlighted the importance of listening to client needs and aligning product development with both short-term gaps and long-term growth strategies.
Capital Management
The panel provided guidance on cash management, runway extension, and the strategic considerations around raising capital during uncertain economic times. They discussed the importance of maintaining financial flexibility and having multiple forecast scenarios.
Summary
The webinar provided tangible insights from different stages of investment and customer engagement during the massive shift brought by COVID-19. Key themes included the acceleration of automation, machine learning adoption, digitization expenditures, and the need for new product launches while maintaining cost controls.
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