20VC Why SelfAwareness Is The Most Important Characteristic For Founders, When Is The Right Time For A CEO To Hand Over The Reigns & What CEO's Can Learn About Company Culture From Teaching Middle School with Lloyd Tabb, Founder & Chairman @ Looker

In the latest episode of the "20 minutes VC" podcast, host Harry Stebbings interviews Lloyd Tabb, the founder and chairman of Looker, a business intelligence leader. Tabb shares his journey from founding a video arcade business to creating Looker, which has raised over $175 million from notable investors like Capital G and Kleiner Perkins. He discusses the importance of timing in startups, his approach to hiring and maintaining a positive company culture, and his belief in work-life balance over a burnout culture. Tabb emphasizes the significance of self-awareness when deciding to hand over CEO duties and highlights the role of mentorship in his career. Throughout the conversation, Tabb's philosophy of fostering a safe and respectful learning environment, akin to his experience teaching middle school, shines through as a cornerstone of Looker's success.

• Harry Stebbings hosts the third show of the week on the 20 minutes VC.
• The episode features Lloyd Tabb, founder and chairman at Looker.
• Lloyd is recognized for his exceptional skills in people management and culture building.
• Looker is a startup leading in business intelligence and has raised significant funding.
• Lloyd has a history of impactful contributions to the internet and various startups.

Welcome back to the third and final show this week on the 20 minutes VC with me, Harry Stebbings at H Debbings with two b's on Snapchat. Now for this founders Friday, we have an exceptional founder for you.

This quote introduces the episode and highlights the presence of a notable founder, setting the stage for the discussion that follows.

• Lloyd Tabb has 25 years of experience in revolutionizing internet usage.
• He founded commerce tools, which was acquired by Netscape.
• At Netscape, he led communicator releases and helped define mozilla.org.
• Lloyd has held roles such as CTO of Liveops and co-founder of Readyforce.
• He has been involved with Looker for over five and a half years.

As for Lloyd himself, he spent the last 25 years revolutionizing how the world uses the Internet, starting with his founding of commerce tools, which was acquired by Netscape.

The quote summarizes Lloyd Tabb's extensive experience and his foundational role in the internet industry.

• Lloyd Tabb emphasizes the importance of timing for startups.
• He saved money for five years to fund his first startup due to a lack of seed investment options.
• Lloyd and a colleague attended Comdex to explore startup opportunities.
• The discovery of Mosaic led to the creation of the first application server for the web.
• Lloyd's experiences at Borland and Netscape highlight the significance of timing in his entrepreneurial journey.
• Crowdsourcing emerged as a key interest for Lloyd, influencing his future ventures.

I was wanting to do a startup. I was ready to do a startup for a year. I didn't have the right thing. And so the timing was perfect.

This quote reflects on the critical moment when Lloyd Tabb found the right opportunity to start his venture, emphasizing the vital role of timing in entrepreneurship.

• Lloyd's entrepreneurial activities began in his youth, and he has a passion for computer science and finance.
• His first company was acquired by Netscape, where he played a significant role.
• Lloyd's ventures include Looker, Liveops, Readyforce, and Illuminate.
• His interest in crowdsourcing led to involvement with projects like dmos.org and influenced his work at Liveops.

I studied finance and computer science in college. Started with business but ended up in computer science because I loved it.

This quote provides insight into Lloyd Tabb's educational background and his early passion for computer science, which paved the way for his entrepreneurial success.

• The episode includes sponsorships and product recommendations for Raiden and Simba.
• Raiden offers travel cases with unique features like a removable battery and Bluetooth.
• Simba provides advanced mattresses tailored to individual sleeping patterns.
• Both products are endorsed by Harry Stebbings and come with special offers for listeners.

Now it's also location aware with built in Bluetooth, meaning you have this incredible digital passport from your raiden.

This quote describes the innovative features of the Raiden travel case, showing how the product aligns with the needs of the podcast's audience.## Timing and Its Importance in Business Success

• Lloyd Tabb discusses the significance of timing in the success of business ventures.
• He explains that recognizing the right time for an idea is as crucial as the idea itself.
• Tabb attributes the success of his first crowdsourced business to perfect timing, as it was the right moment for putting people to work on the web.
• Looker's creation was made possible due to the architectural changes in SQL databases, which was a timely development.

"It's about having the idea. There's a concept and then there's a time for the concept."

The quote emphasizes that the success of an idea is not only about its merit but also about its timing in the market. An idea needs the right conditions and context to thrive.

• Lloyd Tabb talks about the ideation process behind Looker and his partnership with co-founder Ben Porterfield.
• He highlights the complementary skills between himself and Porterfield, which was critical to Looker's success.
• Tabb uses a metaphor of covering a white wall with paintballs to illustrate the importance of having a skill set that can address various startup needs.

"Ben Porterfield is my brilliant co-founder. He is very complementary in terms of skills."

This quote introduces Ben Porterfield as an essential partner in Looker's founding, whose skills complemented Tabb's, thereby contributing to a successful collaboration.

• Lloyd Tabb discusses the importance of self-awareness for entrepreneurs, particularly knowing one's strengths and limitations.
• He identifies himself as a world-class CTO but not a world-class CEO, which led to his decision to hand over the CEO reins.
• Tabb stresses the importance of knowing when to delegate responsibilities to others who are more suited for the role.

"I'm a world class CTO... I am not a world class CEO."

This quote reveals Tabb's self-assessment of his capabilities, acknowledging his strengths in technology and product development over running a company as a CEO.

• Lloyd Tabb recalls a specific moment during a board meeting when he realized he was out of his league in terms of scaling the sales team.
• He acknowledges the complexity of hiring and managing a sales team, which was beyond his expertise.
• This realization prompted Tabb to seek a COO and eventually transition the CEO role to someone else.

"I realized I was totally out of my league at that point. It's like, I don't know how to do that. I've never done that."

Tabb candidly shares the moment he understood the limits of his experience, particularly in sales management, which was pivotal in deciding to step down as CEO.

• Lloyd Tabb describes the process of finding a COO and eventually transitioning the CEO role to Frank, who initially joined as president.
• The decision was based on building trust over time and recognizing the complementary strengths between Tabb and Frank.
• Tabb emphasizes the alignment of values and trust as key factors in handing over the CEO position.

"After doing the fundraise and seeing how well Frank and I worked together... I realized, well, okay, I trust this guy."

This quote captures Tabb's reflection on the decision to appoint Frank as CEO, which was based on a developed trust and successful collaboration during fundraising.

• Lloyd Tabb shares how his experience teaching middle school contributed to his understanding of creating a great startup culture.
• He discusses the importance of creating a safe learning environment and how it parallels creating a positive culture in a startup.
• Tabb emphasizes the significance of making people feel safe to ask questions and learn, which he applied to his role in fostering startup culture.

"I learned from the school was about how to make a safe learning environment for kids."

Tabb draws a parallel between his experience in education and his approach to startup culture, focusing on a supportive environment that encourages learning and growth.## Culture of Learning at Looker

• Looker has a unique culture emphasizing continuous learning and knowledge sharing.
• Employees are encouraged to ask questions freely and receive answers without judgment.
• Mutual respect and absence of shaming for not knowing something are core values.
• The culture is likened to an ideal middle school environment, where curiosity is nurtured.

"And at know when starting Looker, I realized that we're trying to teach the world a whole new way of doing data." This quote highlights the innovative approach Looker takes towards data management, different from traditional methods.

"And so, setting up Looker, the first rule is that if anybody asks you a question at Looker, you stop and answer it." This quote emphasizes the importance of prioritizing learning and knowledge sharing within the company culture.

• Challenges of maintaining a cohesive culture during rapid growth are acknowledged.
• The importance of hiring the right people with aligned values and attitudes is stressed.
• Looker is described as being fundamentally about its people, their ideas, and interactions.

"And the analogy that I'd give is that if you came into looker on the weekend and you were going to rob the place, you'd walk into this beautiful building... But there are no computers in here." This quote metaphorically illustrates that the true value of Looker lies not in physical assets but in its people and their intellectual contributions.

• Advocates for a balanced work approach, equating a good life to a series of good days.
• Emphasizes the importance of attitude and conscientiousness over long work hours.
• Creativity and problem-solving are often enhanced by taking breaks and stepping away from the work.

"I think a good life is a series of good days." This quote reflects the belief that maintaining a positive daily experience is crucial for overall life satisfaction and productivity.

"Some of the best programming I've ever done has been on my bicycle." This quote suggests that taking breaks and engaging in different activities can lead to breakthroughs and solutions in one's work.

• Transparency and honesty are advocated when dealing with problems.
• Sharing personal experiences of handling system outages and the importance of making customers whole.
• The concept of the "lemon" as a cultural symbol to balance risk-taking and responsibility is introduced.

"Never hide it. First of all, that's going to create a degree of pain and shame that you're not going to want to live with." This quote underlines the importance of facing and addressing issues head-on rather than concealing them.

"So we culturally built something called the lemon... If you never get the lemon, you're not trying hard enough." This quote explains the "lemon" as a cultural tool used to encourage risk-taking while managing accountability within the company.

• The transcript ends with an introduction to the topic of bike sessions that the speaker conducts with employees.
• The purpose and outcomes of these sessions are not discussed in the provided transcript.

(Note: The transcript ends before the speaker can elaborate on the bike sessions, therefore, there are no quotes or explanations related to this theme.)## Company Culture and Team Building

• Looker encourages team building and social activities among employees.
• There is a variety of clubs and activities available, including biking, surfing, skateboarding, kickball, book clubs, and game nights.
• The company endorses and facilitates these activities, believing it is beneficial for employees to enjoy each other's company.
• Every Thursday, Looker sponsors an early leave for employees to go mountain biking, providing bike rentals for those without bikes.
• These activities provide opportunities for cross-departmental interaction and conversation, enhancing communication and understanding within the company.

"I really think that hiring people that like to be with each other is great and that the company should figure out how to help make that happen. Like, it should endorse that."

This quote emphasizes the importance of hiring employees who enjoy social interaction and the company's role in fostering an environment that supports and encourages such interaction.

"And we invite people outside the company sometimes come along, and it's a great chance for people from different teams to talk together."

This quote highlights the inclusiveness of the company's activities and the benefits of team members from different departments interacting in an informal setting.

• Lloyd Tabb expresses his admiration for Seth Godin's books and their insights on market changes and the impact of the internet.
• He shares his belief that forging one's path can be safer than following conventional wisdom, which he thinks is often incorrect.
• Mentors have played a significant role in Lloyd's career, and he encourages others to seek out mentors by being useful to them.

"I love all Seth Godin's books. He's really good at seeing the change that's happening in the world and the way to approach markets in the world."

Lloyd appreciates Seth Godin's perspective on market dynamics and the transformative effects of the internet, indicating the influence of Godin's ideas on his own thinking.

"I think that if you choose your path, it's much safer than following what the conventional wisdom of the path is of the safe path is."

Lloyd challenges the notion of safety in conformity, advocating for individual paths to success over traditional advice.

"Is there any know there are mentors all around you. Look around to see who's doing something that you want to know how to do and be useful to them."

This advice suggests that mentors are readily available and that offering help is a key strategy for engaging with potential mentors.

• Lloyd discusses the difficulty of delegating responsibilities within Looker, having initially performed every job in the company.
• He sees the process of letting go of control as a challenging but necessary part of the company's growth and his personal development.

"The biggest challenge has been letting go of various know, I essentially did every job in the company and have given every job away."

This quote reveals Lloyd's hands-on experience with all roles in Looker and the emotional difficulty he faces when delegating those responsibilities.

• Lloyd Tabb has ambitious plans for Looker, aiming for it to be the go-to solution for data access and analysis.
• He believes Looker offers a unique and powerful way to interrogate large data sets, setting it apart from competitors.
• The company's potential for growth and market size remains an open question, driving Lloyd's commitment to further work and development.

"Our manifest destiny is everybody who uses data, which is just about everybody."

Lloyd expresses Looker's broad ambition to serve any individual or organization that relies on data, underlining the company's expansive target market.

"I think we have a lot more work to do. So I'm excited to do that."

This quote conveys Lloyd's enthusiasm for the ongoing efforts to grow Looker and his anticipation of the company's future achievements.

• Harry Stebbings expresses gratitude to Lloyd Tabb for the engaging conversation and to the individuals who contributed insightful questions.
• Tech products like Raiden suitcases and Simba mattresses are recommended for their innovative features that cater to frequent travelers and those seeking quality sleep.
• Harry encourages following Lloyd on Twitter and himself on Snapchat for more behind-the-scenes content.

"A big thank you to Tim at Pivot North, Tom at Redpoint and Bill at first round, without which we would not have had such brilliant and insightful questions."

Harry thanks the contributors for their role in shaping a thoughtful and informative discussion.

"It's genuinely changed the game for me. With a removable battery and two external USB ports, I never have to worry about a dead battery when traveling."

This quote is a personal endorsement of the Raiden suitcase, highlighting its practical features for travelers.

"It offers the perfect support for two people a mattress that responds to you and your partner's sleeping patterns."

Harry recommends the Simba hybrid mattress for its advanced technology and comfort, attributing his good sleep to the product.