Are Two C.E.O.s Better Than One? (Update)
Spotify, Oracle, and Comcast have each recently announced they’re going with co-C.E.O.s. In this 2023 episode, we dig into the research and hear firsthand stories of triumph and disaster. Also: lessons from computer programmers, Simon and Garfunkel, and bears versus alligators.
SOURCES:Jim Balsillie, retired chairman and co-C.E.O. of Research In Motion.
Mike Cannon-Brookes, co-founder and C.E.O. of Atlassian.
Scott Farquhar, co-founder and former co-C.E.O. of Atlassian.
Marc Feigen, C.E.O. advisor.
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, professor of management studies and senior associate dean at the Yale School of Management and founding president of the Chief Executive Leadership Institute.
Laurie Williams, professor of computer science at North Carolina State University.
RESOURCES:"Scott Farquhar to resign as joint CEO of Atlassian," by Jonathan Barrett (The Guardian, 2024).
"Is It Time to Consider Co-C.E.O.s?" by Marc A. Feigen, Michael Jenkins, and Anton Warendh (Harvard Business Review, 2022).
"The Costs and Benefits of Pair Programming," by Alistair Cockburn and Laurie Williams (2000).
"Strengthening the Case for Pair Programming," by Laurie Williams, Robert R. Kessler, Ward Cunningham, and Ron Jeffries (IEEE Software, 2000).
EXTRAS:"The Secret Life of a C.E.O.," series by Freakonomics Radio (2018).
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Rapid Response: What’s wrong with the remote vs. in-office debate? w/Atlassian co-CEO Scott Farquhar
The backlash against remote work is in full swing, with 90% of CEOs reportedly rewarding in-office workers with more promotions and raises. But to Scott Farquhar, co-CEO of Atlassian, that’s a big mistake — and in a just-released study, he’s got hard numbers to back him up. Scott talks with Rapid Response host Bob Safian about how the 10,000-person collaboration-software company — Australia’s premier tech startup — is defying the trend with a bold gambit called Team Anywhere. Adhering to an Atlassian core value (“no bullshit”), Scott shares insights about work flexibility, productivity, and the unexpected power of sporadic, but intentional gatherings. To prepare for the future of work, he says, business leaders need to take risks.
If you're interested in learning more from Atlassian and Scott be sure to check out "Lessons Learned," a report about how Atlassian has navigated distributed work at scale, including experiments they've run, data they've collected, and stories Atlassian employees have shared: https://www.atlassian.com/solutions/distributed/lessons-learned
Read a transcript of this episode: https://mastersofscale.com
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20VC: Atlassian Co-Founder Scott Farquhar on The Biggest Lessons Scaling Atlassian to $50BN Market Cap; The Four Roles of the CEO, The Funding Round That Net Accel $6BN, The Regrets of Omission and Commission & The Honeymoon Cut Short
Scott Farquhar is the Co-Founder & Co-CEO @ Atlassian. Scott co-founded the company with his university friend, Mike Cannon-Brookes, in 2002 from Australia. Over an incredible 20-year journey they have grown to a market cap of $50BN today, over 11,000 staff globally and serving over 260,000 customers. Scott is also a co-founder of Skip Capital, a private investment fund with a portfolio including Figma, Snyk, Canva and more.
In Today's Episode with Scott Farquhar We Discuss:
1. The 20-Year Journey to $50BN Market Cap:
How did Scott first make his way into the world of tech and come to co-found Atlassian?
What does Scott know now that he wishes he had known at the beginning?
From 20 years with Mike, what is Scott's biggest advice on choosing your co-founder?
2. The Fundraising Masterclass with Atlassian:
An emergency phone call, a honeymoon cut short; how did the first funding round for Atlassian come to be? Where was the business revenue-wise at the time?
Why did Scott not like the traditional fundraising process? What did he do to add game theory and ensure that they got the best deal as a company?
Why did Scott choose Accel with their offer? How did Peter Fenton lose a $3BN deal with Atlassian?
3. Lessons Scaling Atlassian to $4BN in Revenue:
What does Scott believe are the 4 core roles of the CEO? Is resource allocation the most important?
What are the single biggest acts of commission and omission that Scott regrets?
What are the biggest lessons Scott has from shutting down Stride, their Slack competitor?
4. Scott: The Father, Husband and Philanthropist:
What does great fatherhood mean to Scott today?
What is the secret to a truly successful marriage?
How does Scott assess his relationship to money today? How has it changed with time?
How does Scott think about bringing children up in a world of affluence and abundance?
Fun Fact: Every single 20VC episode is recorded with Riverside.FM. It is the one product that I could not live without. Try it today here (https://creators.riverside.fm/20VC) and use the code 20VC for 15% off.
Bootstrapping to IPO, product-led growth, & scaling SaaS with Atlassian's Scott Farquhar | E1800
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Today’s show:
Atlassian Co-CEO Scott Farquhar joins Jason to break down how he and his Co-Founder bootstrapped Atlassian to an IPO (1:34), his lessons from acquiring, growing and eventually selling HipChat (13:43), thoughts on product-led growth (29:27), generative AI tools for the enterprise (39:43), and more!
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Time stamps:
(0:00) Atlassian Co-CEO Scott Farquhar joins Jason!
(1:34) Atlassian origins, bootstrapping to IPO
(12:22) Squarespace - Use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain at https://Squarespace.com/TWIST
(13:43) Lessons from HipChat: Acquiring and growing the service, selling to Slack, what Scott would do differently
(19:39) Atlassian's two playbooks: bootstrapping and aggressive growth
(27:57) Supergut - Get 25% off with code TWIST at https://supergut.com
(29:27) How product-led growth leads to a sharper product team, how Atlassian is thinking about LLMs and generative AI
(38:20) Miro - Sign up for a free account at https://miro.com/startups
(39:43) Remaining flexible re: AI tools, utilizing customer data, when to expect major knowledge work breakthroughs in AI
(47:27) How Scott thinks about AI, remote work, and efficiency
(1:01:39) Staying motivated in Atlassian's third decade
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Check out Atlassian: https://www.atlassian.com
FOLLOW Scott: https://twitter.com/scottfarkas
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Australia vs Facebook — and how regulation is splintering the internet, with Atlassian CEO Scott Farquhar
Nilay Patel talks with Atlassian CEO Scott Farquhar about Australia's Media Bargaining Code, which requires social platforms and search engines to pay news publishers for linking to their work. They also discuss how to run a global company in an increasingly fractured world and why understanding public policy is now key to running a tech company.
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Atlassian: Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar
In 2001, Mike Cannon-Brookes sent an email to his college classmates in Sydney, asking if anyone was interested in helping him launch a tech startup after graduation. Back then, entrepreneurship wasn't a popular career path in Australia; and Mike's only taker was Scott Farquhar, a fellow student who shared Mike's passion for computers and his frustration for the corporate grind. Together they launched Atlassian, a two-man tech support service that they managed from their bedrooms at all hours of the night. Unable to make money, Scott and Mike decided to pivot and sell some of the software they'd developed for themselves. Out of that grew Jira, a project-management tool that's used in all sorts of endeavors, from pizza delivery to the exploration of Mars. Today, Atlassian is valued at over $50 billion and Scott and Mike are Australia's first startup-to-IPO tech billionaires.
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