When we consider companies in which to invest, we look at the objective metrics of revenue growth, dollar based net expansion rate, free cash flow, earnings per share, etc. However one of the more subjective elements to consider is the quality of the CEO, executive management team and employees. After all, a company is a collection of employees, and the quality of those individuals have a significant impact on the success of the company.
I recently came across this interview of Dave Girouard, CEO of Upstart that was conducted the week after the company IPO’d in December, 2020. Although other interviews of Girouard have been posted on this board, I’ve not seen this one, which focuses on how he built the management team, how his early funders referred to him as “tenatious” and specifs of how he hires the absolute best people, which is a skill he learned during his days at Google.
This article provides insight into Girouard’s perspective on management, hiring, how he developed and built the company and his strengths in these areas, contrasted by his weakness in raising funding, going so far as to say he sucked at raising financing for the company. It is an excellent read, although a bit long, it’s well worth the time to get to know the leader behind this potential multi-bagger of a company.
https://review.firstround.com/fresh-off-ipo-upstarts-ceo-sha…
sjo