logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2024
1h 6m

20VC: Scaling ServiceNow to $5BN in ARR ...

Harry Stebbings
About this episode

David Schneider is a General Partner @ Coatue and one of the great operators of the last 20 years. Prior to Coatue, David was instrumental in ServiceNow’s growth to over $100B+ public market value. David led the growth of the company from $100M to $5BN in revenue. Before joining ServiceNow, David held senior positions at Data Domain, the company he joined at $0 in revenue and scaled to $1BN in revenue and an IPO and acquisition.

In Today's Episode with David Schneider We Discuss:

  1. ServiceNow: Secrets to Scaling to $5BN in ARR:

  • What are David's biggest lessons from scaling ServiceNow to $5BN ARR?
  • What worked? What did not work?
  • What are the most common reasons companies plateau?
  • How did ServiceNow roll out so many different products so effectively?
  • How did David hire and ramp 180 people in 90 days?

2. From OG Operator to Newbie Investor:

  • What have been the single most challenging elements of making the transition to VC?
  • What advice did David get from the biggest names on entering venture?
  • How long did it take David to do his first deal? What advice does he give other operators entering?
  • How does doing deals in 2024 compare to when David started doing deals in 2021?

3. VC Value: Do 90% of VCs Really Damage Companies:

  • Does David agree that 90% of VCs actually detract value?
  • What does David mean when he says that the worst VCs are "seagull VCs"?
  • What are David's biggest tips to founders on how to get the most out of their board?
  • What is enough ownership for David to really give the time needed to a company?

4. Lessons from the Greats: Doug Leone, Bill McDermott, Frank Slootman:

  • Doug Leone: What has David learned from Doug on what it takes to be a great investor and board member?
  • Frank Slootman: What has David learned from Bill on how to be the best leader of a mega company?
  • Bill McDermott: What has David learned from Frank about decision-making and execution.

 

Up next
Today
20VC: Daniel Gross and Nat Friedman: Acquired by Meta | OpenAI’s SBC Bombshell: More Stock Comp Than Revenue | Privat Equity is Back: Olo Bought for $2BN | Microsoft Lays Off 9,000 People: Is This Just the Start | Will Sequoia Part with Shaun Maguire
Agenda: [00:00] The AI Talent Crisis No One’s Ready For [03:00] Daniel Gross and Nat Friedman: Why Two Legendary VCs Walked Away From $1B to Join Meta [12:00] Meta’s AI Talent Magnet: Will It Actually Work? [15:00] Cursor Is Breaking the Market: Can Anyone Compete? [18:30] OpenAI ... Show More
1h 7m
Jul 7
20VC: Scott Galloway on Are Billionaires Happy & The Impact of Money on Psychology and Self-Worth | Becoming a Better Father & Husband | Why We Should Drink More and Not Work From Home | The Tinder Effect & How it Makes Young Men Radical
Scott Galloway is a Professor of Marketing at NYU Stern, where he’s taught for over two decades. He’s the founder of several successful companies, including L2 (acquired by Gartner for over $150M), Red Envelope, and Prophet. He’s a New York Times bestselling author of four books ... Show More
1h 10m
Jul 3
20VC: Figma's IPO: The Full Breakdown | Index Returns $3.5BN on Two Deals | Why Melio's $2.5BN Acquisition is "Discouraging" | Asana's New CEO and the Great Founder Exodus | Oracle's $30BN AI Deal and What it Means for Incumbents
AGENDA: 00:00 – $400B in AI CapEx: Rational Investment or Madness? 05:00 – Figma's IPO: Rule of 80, $1.5B in cash, 40% margins. Unreal. 08:00 – Adobe Screwed the Deal—Should They Have Just Bought Canva? 16:00 – Pay-to-Play Deals: Heroic Hail Mary or Guaranteed Write-Off? 21:30 – ... Show More
1h 11m
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2024
Minisode: What’s the Real Value Add of VCs?
Nick & Beezer go inside their recent conversation with Jason Shuman and Will Quist to discuss the right way to be a contrarian investor, how to do no harm as a VC, and dive into the answer to their burning question: do VCs actually add value? Learn more about Sapphire Partners: h ... Show More
8m 20s
Feb 2025
Scaling AI: Building the Right AI Team
You’re smart. You know your business. But do you know how to build the right AI team? It’s harder than it looks, and the old playbook won’t cut it. In this episode, host Courtney Baker is joined by CEO David DeWolf, Chief Product & Technology Officer Mohan Rao, and NordLight CEO ... Show More
33m 21s
Feb 2020
E35: “Angel” Podcast: Sarah Tavel, Partner at Benchmark shares insights on getting recruited by Peter Fenton, disrupting VC gender norms from the inside, transitioning from operator to investor & more
0:50 Jason intros Benchmark's Sarah Tavel 1:20 Aside from Slack, what other companies grew like consumer-facing but charge like enterprise? 3:19 How was Sarah recruited to Benchmark? How is Benchmark different from other major VC firms? 12:04 Limited upside of talking to the pres ... Show More
1h 33m
Feb 2025
A founder’s guide to crisis management | Uri Levine (Waze co-founder, serial entrepreneur)
Uri Levine is a co-founder of Waze (which was acquired by Google for $1.3 billion in 2013), along with nine other companies (including another company he sold for over $1 billion). He’s also been on 20 boards and has been an advisor to over 50 startups. He recently released a new ... Show More
1h 23m
Apr 8
GTM 141: Timeless Growth Tips From a $7.4B Oracle Exit and Scaling Carta to $450M in Revenue | Jeff Perry
Jeff Perry is a truly iconic revenue leader and the Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) at Carta, responsible for core software revenue across New Business, Upsell, Cross Sell, and Customer Success. Prior to Carta, Jeff led SMB Sales at DocuSign, and started his career at Oracle, where h ... Show More
50m 14s
Aug 2024
Client Retention and the Performance Economy
In the evolving landscape of AI, professional service companies face a critical juncture: productize or risk being left behind. But what does it mean to productize services in an AI-driven economy? Join Knownwell's Chief Marketing Officer, Courtney Baker, CEO David DeWolf, Chief ... Show More
37m 14s
Dec 2024
Investing & Fundraising - The Truth About VC w/ Nick Crocker (Replay)
How much value do VCs truly bring beyond their capital? And what makes the difference between a supportive partnership and a dysfunctional founder-investor relationship? In this episode, Chris Saad and Yaniv Bernstein welcome Nick Crocker, General Partner at Blackbird Ventures, t ... Show More
54m 38s
Oct 2024
4 questions Shreyas Doshi wishes he’d asked himself sooner | Former PM leader at Stripe, Twitter, Google
Shreyas Doshi is a former product leader at Stripe, Twitter, Google, and Yahoo. He’s now a full-time advisor and coach to founders and executives. Shreyas is known for his incredibly insightful writing on products, which has garnered him a passionate following in the PM and start ... Show More
45m 34s
Jun 2024
Venture Capitalist Who Called 2021 “Everything Bubble” Thinks VC Valuations Are “Reasonable” | Fabrice Grinda, Super Angel Investor, on Geopolitical Threats, AI, and Yield-Bearing Stablecoins
Forward Guidance is sponsored by VanEck. Learn more about the VanEck Morningstar Wide MOAT ETF (MOAT) at https://vaneck.com/MOATFG.Midas’ website: https://midas.app/Follow Midas on Twitter https://x.com/midasrwaFabrice Grinda’s website: https://fabricegrinda.com/Fabrice Grinda on ... Show More
1h 30m
Dec 2024
AI Governance and Strategy for Long-Term Impact - with Steven Eliuk of IBM
Today’s guest is Steven Eliuk, VP & CTO for AI, Governance and Data, Product Software Development at IBM. Steven joins Emerj CEO and Head of Research Daniel Faggella on today’s episode to explore the critical barriers organizations face in operationalizing AI. Steven shares insig ... Show More
21m 53s