Ep.98: The Evolution of a Founder as a Startup Scales—with Spenser Skates of Amplitude

The Boost VC Podcast

In the early stages of building a startup, the founders are doing all the things—all by themselves. But as a company grows, the most successful founders evolve, taking on whatever role is necessary to move the business to the next level. So, what does that journey look like? And what do you need to know as a founder in the early stages of building a business?

Spenser Skates is the Cofounder and CEO of Amplitude Analytics, the leading product intelligence platform that helps companies leverage customer data to build better products. After graduating from MIT in 2010, Spenser spent a year working in finance and convincing his cofounder, Curtis Liu, to join him in building a business full-time. They launched a voice-recognition startup, Sonalight, in 2011 and pivoted to product analytics in 2014. Today, Amplitude generates $100M in annual revenue.

On this episode of the podcast, Spenser joins us to share his journey as a founder, explaining the decision to quit working on Sonalight and build Amplitude Analytics. He offers advice on finding the right cofounder, describing what makes his relationship with Curtis work and how his role as CEO has evolved as the company has grown. Listen in for Spenser’s insight on mastering sales and management (when engineering is your strength) and learn how to allocate your time as a startup founder in the early stages of building a business.

Topics Covered

How Spenser came to build Amplitude Analytics

• Work on Sonalight voice recognition startup
• Built analytics in-house for that company
• Saw need for understanding user journey

Why Spenser made the decision to quit Sonalight

• Not passionate about product ourselves
• Product quality not enough to grow quickly
• Tech still about five years out (too early)

Spenser’s advice on finding the right cofounder

• Agree to give it two years minimum
• Need deep trust + respect, both add value

What makes Spenser & Curtis’ relationship work

• No ego around who calls shots
• Confidence to keep going without external validation

How Spenser landed Amplitude’s first customers

• Investor introduced to gaming company
• Work with sales coach to improve skills
• Ask for referrals from existing users

How startup founders should be using their time

• 50% building product
• 50% engaging with customers

How Spenser’s job has evolved as Amplitude grows

• Find product people want to use
• Focus on sales
• Grow team (sales first, then executive)

Spenser’s insight on mastering management

• Can’t really learn without doing and failing
• Learn faster from experts with experience

When to hire someone vs. do a job yourself

• Build product + talk to customers yourself early on
• First hires should be engineers and sales team

Spenser’s personal definition of success

• Pursue work with purpose beyond self
• Make world better place

Connect with Spenser

Amplitude Analytics https://amplitude.com/

Amplitude on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AmplitudeAnalytics

Amplitude on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/amplitude-analytics

Amplitude on Twitter https://twitter.com/Amplitude_HQ

Spenser on Twitter https://twitter.com/spenserskates

Spenser on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/public-profile/in/spenserskates

Resources

Y Combinator https://www.ycombinator.com/

Curtis Liu https://www.linkedin.com/in/curtisliu

Airbnb Founder Story https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/the-inside-story-behind-the-unlikely-rise-of-airbnb/

Mitch Morando http://www.morandomethod.com/

Zynga https://www.zynga.com/

Eric Vishria https://twitter.com/ericvishria

VALORANT https://playvalorant.com/en-us/

Minecraft https://www.minecraft.net/en-us

UC Berkley Computer Science Association https://www.csua.berkeley.edu/

Xerox PARC https://web.stanford.edu/dept/SUL/sites/mac/parc.html

Connect with Boost VC

Boost VC Website https://www.boost.vc/

Boost VC on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/boostvc/

Boost VC on Twitter https://twitter.com/BoostVC

Boost VC on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/boost_vc/