Manny Medina: Building a billion-dollar company from a unicorn founder

This week's guest on The Business Leader Podcast is Manny Medina, the co-founder and CEO of Outreach, a Seattle-based sales tech company that reached unicorn status in 2018 and is valued at $5bn. He has previously held positions as CEO at the hiring platform GroupTalent and Director of Business Development for Microsoft.

We talk to Manny about the secrets to facing adversity as a CEO, how he scaled a billion-dollar company, and the importance of product-market fit to success.

Here's what we discussed:

• Can you tell us a bit about your journey to where you are now? (00:48)
• Do you believe your background being different to the normal story of a tech CEO has made you a better leader? (03:01)
• What attracts you to the idea of being a CEO of a company? (05:37)
• What do you think is the most important thing in leading a company as a CEO? (07:31)
• What is the secret to scaling a business to unicorn status? (10:51)
• When thinking about business development, what is the most important aspect of it? (14:13)
• How is the economic climate impacting your company and your users? How are you preparing the business for external strain? (17:21)
• What is the most challenging thing about being a CEO? (20:27)
• What does it take to be a great CEO and do you ever have moments of self-doubt? (25:49)
• How did you find the process of restructuring your business and transforming company culture? (29:08)
• Do you think diversity has been an integral part of Outreach’s success? (33:36)
• The Good News Postcard: What is the best and worst thing about your job? (35:39)
• What makes a great business leader? (37:14)

Thanks to India from the Jill Dando News for bringing us The Good News Postcard this week. Get your dose of positive news by visiting The Good News Post, a website collated by hundreds of young people aged 8 to 18 in the UK. They've written real-life “news that’s good for you”, covering people, animals, stories to cheer people up, and tips to make lives better.

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