Episode Details

How I Left Goldman Sachs To Start a $1B+ Company | Michael Cassau Interview

Published 2 years, 2 months ago

Imagine being in your 30s and having a track record of raising more than a billion in debt and equity.

And starting a company which is worth over $1 billion.

Here you go:

Let me introduce you to Michael Cassau.

From working at Goldman Sachs and Rocket Internet.

To founding a company that raised more than $330 million in a recent fundraising round.

Location: Germany

Name of the company: Grover

We discuss:

— Investors and the signals they follow

— What does it really take to raise 100s of millions?

— Why too many companies have a great story but still end up going bankrupt

— How high energy ensures extreme results

Show Notes:

00:00 - Introduction

00:21 - How Michael celebrated when they raised $330 million

01:35 - Michael’s first jobs after university

02:56 - Lessons while working for Rocket Internet

04:29 - Early days of Grover (marketplace model)

07:04 - The balance between raising enough equity and debt

07:53 - How to build a company where people want to invest 100s of millions

10:52 - When is the right time to step down as a CEO

11:33 - Tips for fundraising (number two is surprising)

14:49 - Few funny fundraising stories

16:51 - The ins and out of building relationships with investors

19:13 - Biggest mistakes: LPs pushing GPs; GPs keep pushing founders

21:19 - What Michael knows today but didn't know in 2015

25:40 - Who Michael looks up to

27:12 - A typical day is 8:00am to 2:00am; still finds time for family

30:40 - 4-5 “aha” moments which made all the difference

36:41 - Find the right “energy” and you can build a very large company

41:53 - What Michael learned from Novak Djokovic (winner of 24 tennis Grand Slams)

43:14 - “Next, I’m going to build the company which…”

44:25 - The GDP of US will double within the next 10 years

45:21 - Australian investors made an offer to move to Sydney to build HoldCo

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