Alex Bouaziz is the Co-Founder and CEO @ Deel, the $17BN global payroll juggernaut that just last week announced their latest $300M fundraise led by Ribbit, a16z and Coatue. Deel has been on the most insane journey, they do $1BN+ in ARR, they just had their first $100M revenue month and they have been profitable for over 3 years.
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In Today’s Episode We Discuss:
0:00 Intro
01:20 Announcing $300M Fundraise at a $17BN Valuation
03:00 How Deel grew through 13 acquisitions
03:44 Responding to Rippling and media drama
04:35 Being an outsider to Silicon Valley’s inner circle
07:30 Playing Offense vs Defense as a wartime CEO
09:20 How Alex stays calm through public disputes
11:23 Why Deel’s leadership culture is so hands-on
14:58 Work ethic: Alex’s thoughts on the “996 hustle”
16:07 Does wealth make founders better or worse leaders?
20:09 Raising $700M over Zoom during Covid
22:22 Are high valuations and investor brands worth it?
25:35 Do investors really add value?
26:20 The truth about CMOs
35:45 Lessons from Nikolay Storonsky of Revolut
44:20 Deel’s Acquisition Playbook
01:06:30 Quick-Fire Round
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