In a Harvard Business School commencement speech, Sheryl Sandberg famously said, “If you’re offered a seat on a rocket ship, don’t ask what seat. Just get on.” This was advice given to her by Google’s then-CEO Eric Schmidt when Sheryl was contemplating taking a job offer at Google.
This advice would hold true 6 years later, when Sheryl left Google to become Facebook’s COO. While it sounds like a no brainer now, can you imagine being offered a seat on a rocketship and turning it down?
That’s exactly what our guest on First Pitches, Michelle Zatlyn, did. Michelle is the co-founder and COO of Cloudflare, a cybersecurity company with a mission to help build a better Internet. While in business school, Michelle was given an offer to join LinkedIn pre-IPO.
But instead, she turned it down to go build Cloudflare with her co-founders. Not only did she turn down a seat on a rocket ship, but she did so to start a business during an economic downturn.
“And I was like, this is so hard, but like, there’s this idea and I don’t even know where it’s going to go. I don’t even know where I want it to go, but I have to see where it goes.” – Michelle Zatlyn
While most people would see this as extremely risky, Michelle trusted her instincts, and today she is in a very small club of female executives who have founded public companies and the only one running one worth over $10 billion today. You’ll have to listen to find out how the rest of the story unfolds.
In this episode you’ll learn:
- 3:15 – Michelle Zatlyn’s thoughts on making the biggest mistake of her life.
- 6:40 – How Cloudflare started as a school business plan pitch competition.
- 17:10 – Why it’s important to build a business where the opportunities expand over time.
- 21:35 – How Michelle’s background as a research scientist helps her with decision making.
- 29:40 – Why it’s possible to build a profitable business and make an impact in the world at the same time.
- 32:40 – The importance of solving a meaningful problem when it comes to starting a business.
This episode has been brought to you by:
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Frank, Rimerman + Co. is a professional services firm based in Silicon Valley. For over 70 years, we have served the diverse needs of the founders and funders of Silicon Valley. Our clients are at the forefront of the technology world and are changing the world through innovation.
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