Why the founder-friendly era needs a “VP of Nothing”

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While we certainly talked about something Jack Dorsey resigns means for Twitter (and now how it affects block), I still think of a few lines from his resignation tweet.

“There is a lot of talk about the importance of having a company ‘founder-led’,” Dorsey wrote. “Ultimately, I think that’s very limiting and a single point of failure. I’ve worked hard to make sure this company can break away from its founding and its founders. ”Dorsey added that, in his opinion,“ it is critical that a company stand independently of the influence or leadership of its founder ”.

That is a bold statement: Success as a founder can look like hiring such smart people that you are no longer relevant to the day-to-day work of the company. When you go on vacation and your team can’t function without loosening you up every few minutes, it is more representative of the strength of the company than the strength of the team.

Last month I got over that. written how important it is to tell the difference – both in terms of ownership and incentive – between a founder, founding team member, advisor, investor, angel investor and early employee. This week I’d like to change gears and talk about when it’s time to unlearn, or at least develop from, these titles. As Floodgates partner Iris Choi mentioned in our last podcast on the topic of entrepreneur friendlinessYour founders will eventually become the “VP of Nothing”.

No one will contradict the notion that a startup has to be successful beyond its founder, but the process of moving that individual from the essential to the nonessential can be uncomfortable (especially in our current environment which is hyper-friendly towards founders). My opinion as I argued previously, is that due diligence will change to accommodate more than a founder’s view of their sector in a decade. Entrepreneurs could be forced to hire new employees, change their minds and understand when it’s time to leave. Removing the idea from identity so that the company does not feel inherently tied to a founder is healthy for the longevity of the company, but it does require some real conversation about attribution.

I interviewed founders and investors to get a temperature check on how comfortable they are with the idea of recommending and implementing the promise of decentralized authority in this market. For my full opinion on the matter, see my TechCrunch + column. Founders have to decouple their own idea from its creator. Alex and Amanda got in on the subject too, arguing about precedents, and that Founders aren’t rock stars so we should stop treating them as such.

For the remainder of this newsletter, we’ll talk about the rebranding season, accidental churn, and fresh company-sponsored layoffs. As always, you can follow me on Twitter @nmasc_ or on Instagram @natashathereporter.

It’s the season for a rebranding

Credit: PixelChoice (opens in a new window) / Getty Images

Jack Dorsey takes up a lot of space. Days after the Twitter co-founder stepped down from the social media platform, his other company did Square, renamed Block. The name change has reportedly been in the works for over a year, but given that Facebook changed its company branding to Meta a little over a month ago, it seems timely.

Here’s what you should know: Block is said to include Square’s growing line of products, which includes music streaming service Tidal, Cash App, TBD and of course Square. It’s also a nod to the company’s interest in blockchain technology and cryptocurrency. I don’t hate the name but if you feel like a laugh Just take a look at the executive page.

All crypto, all the time:

And the starting shot of the week is …

Credit: Vincepenman / Getty Images

Butter! The startup wants to help every subscription company has to deal with customers who accidentally churn – Pun intended – due to default. The product is not a sales technology, but a fintech service that detects renewal issues or login issues when charges are declined due to an attempt in another country.

You should know that, per CEO and co-founder Vijay Menon: The international default market is underserved by some of the largest payment providers like Stripe who focus on domestic services. Butter wants to serve growth markets such as Brazil, India and Mexico. Before founding his startup, the entrepreneur helped Microsoft win back over 10 million Xbox Live subscriptions for more than $ 100 million in revenue. Butter now has $ 7 million to tackle even more.

Recognitions:

A raise and a layoff

Credit: Andrii Yalanskyi (opens in a new window) / Getty Images

It’s more common than you think. This week, digital mortgage lender Better.com announced that it is receiving a cash infusion of $ 750 million ahead of an upcoming public market debut. Then, a day later, it announced layoffs and confirmed that it would cut 9% of its entire workforce.

Here’s what you should know: As Mary Ann Azevedo reports, it’s possible the layoffs were a condition for this deal to be approved – but it still feels tough to put millions on your balance sheet and downsize in the same breath. The layoffs are mainly in the United States and India. While we’re still a long way from getting unicorns laid off in 2020, mounting concerns about the Omicron variant and a tightening market for some sectors could add even more instability.

On to the next: