Chris Yeh: Blitzscaling and Lifelong Learning

OutsideVoices with Mark Bidwell

Chris Yeh is an entrepreneur, investor and author of several books, including two with the founder of LinkedIn, Reid Hoffman, the most recent of which is called "Blitzscaling." Today we cover the fascinating topic of blitzscaling - how to scale a business in record time, how to take advantage of significant market opportunities that are in front of you, how to focus on distribution, and leverage network effects.

Whether you're a founder, a CEO, an investor in early stage companies, a developer, or leading a business unit or a function in a large organisation which might be at risk of going ex-growth, you’ll learn valuable lessons from a lifelong learner such as Chris Yeh.

What is Covered:

- The definition of blitzscaling: prioritising speed over efficiency in the environment of uncertainty

- What kind of companies can blitzscale and in what kind of markets

- Key growth factors and key growth limiters in blitzscaling

- The counterintuitive rules of blitzscaling and what kind of CEO it requires

- Examples of the companies which successfully blitzscaled

Key Learnings and Takeaways:

- A company would decide to blitzscale if it is facing a winner take most market that could be worth billions or trillions of dollars, and the company’s objective should be to win that market.

- In blitzscaling, product market fit is necessary but insufficient; necessary, because without product market fit, you can't have sustainable success, but insufficient, because other things like the winner take most market and the distribution are ultimately more important.

- The reason to raise the money is not to spend it, but to give you that ability to adapt, and then ultimately to move faster when the time comes.

- The main danger for entrepreneurs is getting caught up in a local market that is not large enough to give them a stable position within the overall global economy.

Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

- “Blitzscaling: The Lightning-Fast Path to Building Massively Valuable Companies” by Reid Hoffman and Chris Yeh https://www.blitzscaling.com/

- “The Alliance: Managing Talent in the Networked Age” by Reid Hoffman, Ben Casnocha and Chris Yeh https://www.amazon.com/Alliance-Managing-Talent-Networked-Age/dp/1625275773

- “The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses” by Eric Ries https://www.amazon.com/The-Lean-Startup-Eric-Ries-audiobook/dp/B005MM7HY8/

- Blitzscaling Ventures https://www.blitzscalingvc.com/

- Blitzscaling Academy https://www.blitzscalingacademy.com/

- Chris Yeh Podcast https://anchor.fm/chris-yeh-podcast

- Chris Yeh Website https://chrisyeh.com/

- Greylock Partners https://greylock.com/

- Greymatter Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/greymatter/id1089013200

- Sahar Hashemi OBE: Anyone Can Do It - Sahar’s Remarkable Entrepreneurial Journey on OutsideVoices https://outsidelens.com/anyone-can-do-it-sahars-remarkable-entrepreneurial-journey/

- Safi Bachall: Loonshots - Innovation Through the Lens of a Physicist on OutsideVoices https://outsidelens.com/safi-bachall-loonshots-innovation-though-the-lens-of-a-physicist/

Connect with Mark Bidwell: - LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/markbidwell/

- Twitter https://twitter.com/markehb