Zack Urlocker, Scaling to a Billion and Beyond, BoS USA 2016
26
Scaling To A Billion With the power of disruption Zack Urlocker COO, Duo Security [email protected] Twitter: @Zurlocker
Transcript of Zack Urlocker, Scaling to a Billion and Beyond, BoS USA 2016
Scaling To A BillionWith the power of disruption
Zack UrlockerCOO, Duo [email protected]: @Zurlocker
Who Am I ?• Software exec, advisor, investor
• Chief Operating Officer, Duo Security• DataStax, Hubspot, PagerDuty, Puppet Labs, PubNub…
• Three billion dollar exits• Zendesk, MySQL, Active Software
• Reformed marathoner
Who Am I ?• Software exec, advisor, investor
• Chief Operating Officer, Duo Security• DataStax, Hubspot, PagerDuty, Puppet Labs, PubNub…
• Three billion dollar exits• Zendesk, MySQL, Active Software
• Reformed marathoner• Bass Player
• Best open source rock opera of 2016
Duo Security• Venture-backed SaaS security• Protect users, devices, applications• 75% of customers self-deploy in 24 hrs
Four Key Ideas• Scaling requires repeatable patterns• Scale after you have market fit• Disruption changes the game• Optimize for velocity
Yes, you need a product roadmap…
90% of Startups Self-Destruct• Validation takes 2-3x longer • Wrong-phase errors burn cash, time
$0-$2m$2m-$5m
$5m-$15m
$15m-$50m
$50m-$100m+
Most Companies Scale too Fast• Find a repeatable model• Make it efficient, then scale
$0-$2m$2m-$5m
$5m-$15m
$15m-$50m
$50m-$100m+
Find Repeatable Patterns• What is driving adoption?• What are the common problems?• What are the common traits?
• Industry, title, demographics• Context, competition• Lead sources
Optimize for Specific Patterns• Don’t scale until it’s working:
Marketing, sales efforts have a predictable yield
• Look to continuously improve performance around patterns
Continuously Experiment• Create a learning culture• Don’t worry if experiments fail• Bad news is good news!
Beware The False Dawn• Not every success is repeatable• Don’t compromise scalability for
one-off successes• Headcount growth should be
slower than revenue growth
Signs You’re Not Scaling• Every deal is customized• All decisions made at C-level• Some reps hit quota, many do not• Everyone working 60+ hours/week• More marketing spend has little impact
Disruption Changes The Game• An inferior solution• For an unattractive market• That changes the game
Are You a Disruptor?• There is an existing market• There are underserved users• You compete on different criteria• The new business is inherently
unattractive to the incumbents
Relational Database Market• $30b oligopoly market• Oracle, IBM DB2, SQL Server• Ingres, Sybase,
Informix…
Disrupting the Database MarketMySQL
• Web applications• Commodity x86• Free Open Source• Widespread distribution• Small footprint• Fast read-access
Incumbents• Mission critical• Expensive hardware• High prices• Direct sales model• Complex features• TCP benchmarks
Are You Being Disrupted?• Price becomes key• Trusted plays no longer work• New products fail to catch on• Inferior entrants are winning• Management needs a miracle
Velocity Trumps Everything• Make your product easy to
understand, easy to buy, easy to use• Every decision has impact on speed• The faster you get customers to buy,
the more robust your business
When in doubt, simplify
What Increases Efficiency?Efficiency Levers
Increased deal size Higher value marketsHigher value products
Increased win rate Better segmentationMarketing tools, Sales skills
Lower acquisition cost More inbound marketingMore A/B testingBetter targeting
Lower service costs Better product qualityMore one-to-many services
Increased velocity More automationLess human frictionMore transparency
Build a Culture That Scales• Hire people who can scale as you grow• Hire consciously competent managers with
a track record of growth & learning• Push decision making down• Diversity breeds creativity
Find Your Own Path• Focus on customers• Don’t obsess over competition• Don’t worry about categories• Listen to the market
Know More Than Your Board• Understand your market, customers
and competition• Don’t worry about how things look;
focus on how things are• Get input on strategy• Own the decisions
What Else?• Be positive• Make a difference• Perfect is the enemy of Good• Most problems are people problems
Resources• The Innovator’s Dilemma, Christensen• HBR What Makes an Effective Executive, Drucker• Art of the Start, Kawasaki• Company, Barry
