20VC: Why VC is Distorting a Generation of SaaS Companies & With $900M in ARR and a Market Cap of $2.6BN is Lightspeed the Most Misunderstood Public Company with Dax Dasilva, Founder & CEO @ Lightspeed

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch

Dax Dasilva is the Founder & CEO Lightspeed Commerce, one of the most incredible stories in startups. For 7 years they did not raise outside funding and ran a very profitable business. Ultimately they partnered with Accel and Innovia before going public on the Canadian Stock Exchange with just $70M in ARR. Lightspeed also undertook 9 acquisitions over the course of a four year period to consolidate the global market. Today they have a whopping $900M in ARR but are only valued at $2.6BN. Today we ask the question, is Lightspeed one of the public market's most misunderstood companies?

In Today's Episode with Dax Dasilva We Discuss:

1. VC Funding is Distorting SaaS:

• Why did Dax decide not to raise money for Lightspeed in the early days?
• Does Dax believe Lightspeed would have been successful had they have raised a seed round like many do today in SaaS?
• Why does Dax believe venture funding is distorting a generation of SaaS companies today?
• How does Dax advise founders scaling their business today from $0-$1M in ARR?

2. What Went Wrong: The Founder Returns:

• Why did Dax feel he had to come back to the role of CEO in 2024? What was not working?
• What was the single biggest problem that the public markets had with Lightspeed?
• What were some of the biggest challenges that came with the intense amount of M&A?
• What would Dax most like to do that the public market will not allow?

3. What Makes a Great Leader: How it Changes:

• What required skills in leadership change with the changing scale of the company?
• What skill does Dax have that he is slightly ashamed of but has most contributed to his success?
• What did Dax not know when he founded Lightspeed that he wishes he had known?
• What question is Dax never asked that he should be asked more?