🎓 Who Is Chris Kuenne?
Chris Kuenne started Rosetta & grew it to become the largest independent digital agency in the world before selling to Publicis for $575mil.
Now he runs Rosemark, investing in companies with revenues of $30–60mil. Chris teaches high-tech entrepreneurship at Princeton University.
🧠 What You’ll Learn:
– how Chris pre-sold $1mil of contracts before launching his agency
– four personality types of builders
– the opportunity to solve expensive problems + merge software with services
– how acquisitions fueled growth before selling for $575mil
– lessons in hiring 1200+ people
– breaking down implications of money raised + liquidation in his sale
⏳Time Stamps (YouTube)
00:00:00 Intro
00:01:57 Behind A $575M Deal
00:06:42 What Would You Do Differently?
00:10:35 Turning Down A Larger $600M Offer
00:13:23 How Much Does A Founder Keep After A Huge Sale?
00:18:52 Venture Waterfall + Preference Stack
00:21:47 What Changed After the Deal
00:26:19 Early Years At Rosetta
00:30:56 Pre-Selling $1mil In Sales Before Quitting His Job
00:34:29 Find An Expensive Problem – The Mckinsey Approach
00:38:10 Expensive Problems To Work On In 2021
00:41:01 Using Data To Create A Quantitative Persona
00:42:55 Opportunities To Combine Software + Services
00:45:09 Who’s Doing It Well In SaaS?
00:49:35 Lessons In Hiring 1200+ People
00:56:14 The Right Way To Fire Someone
00:58:53 4 Builder Personalities: Driver, Explorer, Crusader + Captain
01:00:38 The Driver: Apple
01:03:18 The Explorer: Facebook
01:04:26 The Crusader: Google
01:05:24 The Captain: Alibaba
01:07:45 Wrap Up
⏳Time Stamps (Podcast)
00:00:00 Intro
00:02:23 Behind A $575M Deal
00:07:08 What Would You Do Differently?
00:11:01 Turning Down A Larger $600M Offer
00:13:49 How Much Does A Founder Keep After A Huge Sale?
00:19:18 Venture Waterfall + Preference Stack
00:22:13 What Changed After the Deal
00:26:45 Early Years At Rosetta
00:31:22 Pre-Selling $1mil In Sales Before Quitting His Job
00:34:55 Find An Expensive Problem – The Mckinsey Approach
00:38:36 Expensive Problems To Work On In 2021
00:41:27 Using Data To Create A Quantitative Persona
00:43:21 Opportunities To Combine Software + Services
00:45:35 Who’s Doing It Well In SaaS?
00:50:01 Lessons In Hiring 1200+ People
00:56:40 The Right Way To Fire Someone
00:59:19 4 Builder Personalities: Driver, Explorer, Crusader + Captain
01:01:04 The Driver: Apple
01:03:44 The Explorer: Facebook
01:04:52 The Crusader: Google
01:05:50 The Captain: Alibaba
01:08:11 Wrap Up
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