Startup Growth Podcast (Fondo)

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In this podcast episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Chris Bakke, who shared his journey from working in private equity to finding success in the tech startup world. He described how his experience in private equity was challenging and often felt like a grind, which led him to seek a more fulfilling career in technology. This transition taught him the importance of hard work and resilience, especially when facing tough tasks that may seem unglamorous at first.

Chris emphasized that the key to his success was not just about having a great product but also about persistence and adaptability. He learned that building a business requires a lot of cold outreach and networking, which can be exhausting but ultimately rewarding. His insights highlight that maintaining mental health and motivation is crucial when navigating the ups and downs of entrepreneurship, as it can lead to significant achievements and personal growth

Timestamp
(0:00) - Intro

(0:17) - Origin Story: Growing Up and Early Career

(0:48) - Transition from Private Equity to Tech Startups

(3:03) - Lessons from Private Equity: The Importance of Scrappiness

(8:21) - Building Interviewed: The Idea and Early Customers

(12:01) - Sales Process: From Cold Emails to Conferences

(35:05) - Acquisition by Indeed: The Negotiation Process and Insights

Host Links:

https://x.com/davj

https://www.linkedin.com/in/davjphillips/

Guest Links:

https://x.com/ChrisJBakke

https://www.linkedin.com/in/bakk3/

Harsh Patel is a repeat founder, investor, and board member who has built and sold multiple companies, including MakerSquare, Hack Reactor, and Galvanize, which had a $165 million exit. With experience scaling businesses from zero to one, finding product-market fit, and navigating M&A, Harsh has seen it all.

In this conversation, we discuss:

• The hardest part of startup growth: Going from nothing to product-market fit
• How Harsh hacked early distribution to get first customers
• The rapid scale and exit of MakerSquare in under a year
• What made Hack Reactor grow from $1M to $8M in revenue so quickly
• How to know when to sell your startup
• The future of crypto and AI, and why meme coins might be the next big thing
• Why Harsh believes company equity will eventually live on the blockchain
• And much more!

Brought to you by:

• Fondo — The #1 accounting platform for startups. Get bookkeeping, taxes, and tax credits handled: TryFondo.com

Where to Find Harsh Patel

• X (Twitter): @HarshOnInternet
• LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/harshpatel1
• Website: https://hpatel.com

Where to Find Dav J Phillips

• X (Twitter): @davj
• LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/davjphillips

In This Episode, We Cover

• (00:00) Welcome and introduction
• (02:15) The challenge of finding product-market fit
• (06:40) Harsh’s first startup experiences in second grade and beyond
• (14:20) How he got the first users for MakerSquare using Quora
• (22:10) Scaling MakerSquare to $1M revenue in 8 months and selling
• (30:45) Growth lessons from Hack Reactor’s rapid scale to $8M revenue
• (41:00) Why Hack Reactor sold to Galvanize and what changed
• (50:35) Turning around Galvanize and selling for $165M
• (1:02:10) How startups might raise money through on-chain tokenized equity
• (1:14:00) Crypto, meme coins, and the future of decentralized businesses
• (1:22:30) Final thoughts and lessons for founders

Referenced in This Episode

• MakerSquare acquisition by Hack Reactor: TechCrunch
• Hack Reactor and Galvanize $165M exit: Forbes
• Quora's role in early startup growth: Quora
• Pump.fun: The rise of meme coins and tokenized businesses: Pump.fun
• Trump launching a meme coin and its regulatory implications: Bloomberg
• The future of AI in startups: OpenAI

https://www.tryfondo.com/