Facing Challenges And Navigating Change with Bob Moore of Crossbeam

Bob is the CEO and Co-Founder of Crossbeam, which has raised over $100m and 15k companies use. Backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Bob already built and sold 2 businesses.

Today he takes us back to a board meeting in January 2016. 

The subject of discussion is a company he started with his Co-Founder, Jake, in 2008.

The business was a hot startup in the 2011/12 era and raised a lot of VC money. 

But technology changed. The market moved. And suddenly the forecasts were falling behind what they needed.

It left them with 3 options.

• Do you go and try to raise more money?
• Do you try and sell the business?
• Do you trim expenses and turn the business into something more self-sustaining?

Bob and his Co-Founder, Jake Stein had to navigate the daunting task of making critical decisions in a capital-constrained scenario. 

They realised that their early success was fleeting and the market, a moving target, was drifting away from their product.

But what Bob and his partner did was turn failure into a lesson, and build a different business.

Despite facing a lot of rejection, they resiliently worked toward the future of a product they knew would ultimately be successful.

Their experience emphasises the importance of continuous innovation in technology. 

In this episode we discuss,

• The importance of continuous innovation in technology
• The crucial role of optionality
• The importance of transparency, honesty, and continuous self-evaluation

As today’s episode wraps up, it leaves us with a lesson about the importance of always being able to value your business higher than anyone else. 

This mindset helped Bob and his partner navigate their challenges and emerge stronger.

From fundraising, and pivoting the business, to laying off employees, Bob is sharing the mindset of valuing the business higher than anyone else, a belief that carried them through the most challenging times.

Learn from the ups and downs of Bob Moore and Jake Stein’s journey and how they applied these lessons to their business.

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