Before Andrew Bialecki took Klaviyo public and scaled the company to $6B, he bootstrapped it to over $1M in ARR. In our discussion, Andrew reveals his philosophies around fundraising, finding the best talent, cultivating entrepreneurship inside Klaviyo, scaling culture, and more.
(00:00) Intro
(01:13) Klaviyo’s Bootstrap Beginnings
(09:37) The Strategic Pivot to E-commerce and Retail
(15:02) Narrow Focus as a Catalyst for Growth
(25:48) Building a Culture of Learning and Growth
(34:02) The Entrepreneurial Path: From Engineer to Founder
(37:09) The Commute to Innovation: A Startup Journey
(37:57) From Performable to HubSpot: A Tale of Acquisition and Growth
(39:26) Building Klaviyo: Lessons in Entrepreneurship and Team Building
(40:40) Scaling a Startup: The Challenges of Leadership and Hiring
(47:04) Fostering a Culture of Experimentation and Entrepreneurship
(53:15) The Art of Hiring: Identifying Entrepreneurial Spirit
(58:39) Chronological Resumes and the Power of Storytelling in Interviews
(01:06:16) Embracing the Unsexy: The Philosophy of ‘Eating Your Vegetables’
(01:13:33) Klaviyo University: Training Future Founders and Leaders
(01:15:25) Cultivating a Culture of Learning at Klaviyo
(01:16:17) The Genesis of Klaviyo University
(01:17:05) Core Curriculum and Electives: A Deep Dive
(01:20:46) Adapting Learning Programs in a Remote World
(01:21:56) The Art and Science of Effective Business Writing
(01:28:35) Recruitment and Onboarding: Strategies for Success
(01:38:05) Building and Sustaining Company Culture
(01:41:28) Leveraging Boston’s Ecosystem for Growth
(01:47:06) The Future of Software: Productivity vs. Output
(01:52:33) Closing Thoughts and Acknowledgements
Produced: Rashad Assir & Leah Clapper
Mixed and edited: Justin Hrabovsky
Executive Producer: Josh Machiz
Check out Unsupervised Learning, Redpoint’s AI Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@UCUl-s_Vp-Kkk_XVyDylNwLA
🎙 Listen to the show
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-logan-bartlett-show/id1606770839
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5WqBqDb4br3LlyVrdqOYYb?si=3076e6c1b5c94d63&nd=1
Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS9zb0hJZkhWbg
🎥 Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCugS0jD5IAdoqzjaNYzns7w?sub_confirmation=1
Follow on Socials
📸 Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/theloganbartlettshow
🐦 Twitter – https://twitter.com/loganbartshow
🎬 Clips on TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@theloganbartlettshow
About the Show
Logan Bartlett is a Software Investor at Redpoint Ventures – a Silicon Valley-based VC with $6B AUM and investments in Snowflake, DraftKings, Twilio, and Netflix. In each episode, Logan goes behind the scenes with world-class entrepreneurs and investors. If you’re interested in the real inside baseball of tech, entrepreneurship, and start-up investing, tune in every Friday for new episodes.
