Second Acts (Episode 7): Bob Moore, Crossbeam

In this episode of Second Acts, Krish is joined by Crossbeam’s (www.crossbeam....) co-founder and CEO, Bob Moore. Bob traces a clear line of inflection points across the three different SaaS startups (RJMetrics; acquired by Magento, Stitch; acquired by Talend, and Crossbeam; they recently acquired their biggest, most kindred-spirited competitor, marking a major second act) he has co-founded. In the process, he zealously expounds - replete with magnificent analogies - on the line that ties product-market fit and breakthrough scale.
Bob: “I will say, shamelessly, that being a repeat founder is an extreme cheat code to having a short-cut to product-market fit. Because not only do you have a lot of very real, tactile experiences inside of an operating company to pull from that give you a lot of conviction around your idea, not just in academic theory, which is what we came to the table with at RJ[Metrics]. But, actually, in practice, based on real-world interactions with real companies. You get that head start. But then, you just have relationships.”
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Chapters:
(03:20) Falling out of PMF (despite a glorious head start) with RJMetrics
(15:12) “2 ways to make money in business: One is to bundle; the other is unbundle.”
(18:56) Why Bob thinks being a repeat founder is an extreme cheat code for PMF
(25:34) How Stitch and Crossbeam came about in quick, high-energy succession
(30:32) How ecosystem signals can unlock the stacking of next S-curves
(35:22) Why taking ecosystem-led growth beyond the partnerships team is a force multiplier
(42:42) Bob’s earnest reflection on raising “pandemic-fuelled” mega rounds of capital
(47:12) How the Crossbeam-Reveal merger is shaping their future second acts
(55:45) The fantastically similar paths that brought Bob and Simon (Reveal’s co-founder) together
(58:05) “Suffer pain early” - Why Bob feels M&As are set up to fail and how he has approached them
(01:04:44) How poker and improv have deeply informed Bob’s sense of the core binaries of starting up
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Mentioned/Resources:
I’m Bob Moore. I’m the CEO and Co-founder at Crossbeam, and a serial SaaS founder, AMA!
(gorelay.co/t/i...)
My $2.6 Billion Ecosystem Fail
(insider.crossb...)
How to Succeed in Business by Bundling - and Unbundling
(hbr.org/2014/0...)
Breaking: Stitch acquired by California-based Talend in $60M deal
(technical.ly/s...)
Whoa: RJMetrics just got acquired
(technical.ly/s...)
It’s Happening! Crossbeam and Reveal are Joining Forces to Disrupt Go-To-Market Strategy As We Know It
(www.crossbeam....)
This Founder Built Startups in 2008, 2016 and 2018. Here’s What He’s Learned About Resiliency
(review.firstro...)
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Subscribe to catch the next episode:
Subscribe on YT: / @chargebee
Subscribe on Spotify: open.spotify.c...
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple...
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Connect with Bob:
LinkedIn
( / robertjmoore )
Twitter
(x.com/robertjm...)
Connect with Krish:
LinkedIn
( / krishs )
Twitter
(x.com/cbkrish)
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Chargebee is a revenue growth management platform that helps thousands of subscription businesses unlock second acts of scale with transformative billing, monetization, and retention infra.
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#b2b #saas #acquisitions