Laura Behrens Wu is the Founder & CEO at Shippo, a company that has raised $100m+ and was last valued at $1b in 2021. Shippo provides an API and dashboard that makes shipping easy for e-commerce businesses, marketplaces, and platforms. Prior to starting Shippo, Laura graduated from Harvard University, and was heavily influenced by a short internship at LendUp, which exposed her to Silicon Valley and startup culture.
In today’s episode we discuss:
- Shippo’s pivot-stricken origin story
- Finding product-market-fit, again and again and again
- Laura’s unique take on founder-market-fit
- Advice on talking to users
- The 3 Horizons Framework for prioritizing resources across a core business and longer-term bets
- The email Laura sends every Sunday because of Frank Slootman’s advice
Referenced:
- Amp It Up by Frank Slootman: https://www.amazon.com/Amp-Unlocking-Hypergrowth-Expectations-Intensity/dp/1119836115
- Expedia: https://www.expedia.com/
- FedEx: https://www.fedex.com/
- Frank Slootman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/frankslootman/
- Jerry Colonna: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jerry-colonna-reboot/
- Josh Koppelman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jkoppelman/
- Khalid Halim: https://review.firstround.com/the-science-of-speaking-is-the-art-of-being-heard
- LendUp: https://www.lendup.com/
- Shippo: https://goshippo.com/
- Shopify: https://www.shopify.com/
- SMBs: https://www.fool.com/the-ascent/small-business/articles/smb-business/
- Stripe: https://stripe.com/
- UPS: https://www.ups.com/us/en/global.page
- 70/20/10 rule from Google: https://www.itonics-innovation.com/blog/702010-rule-of-innovation
Where to find Todd Jackson:
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/tjack
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/toddj0
Where to find Laura Behrens Wu:
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/LauraBehrensWu
- LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurabehrenswu
- Personal website: https://laurabehrenswu.com/
Where to find First Round Capital:
- Website: https://firstround.com/
- First Round Review: https://review.firstround.com/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/firstround
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@FirstRoundCapital
- This podcast on all platforms: https://review.firstround.com/podcast
Timestamps
(02:36) The Shippo origin story
(06:57) Why they pivoted into Shippo
(11:01) How they got their first customers
(13:27) The role of timing in Shippo's early success
(14:40) The value of being an outsider
(17:49) When founder-market-fit is and isn't necessary
(19:07) The path to product-market-fit
(22:06) What kept the Shippo team persisting
(24:41) Advice on talking to users
(29:28) Shippo's fundraising journey
(34:26) Finding product-market-fit again and again
(37:54) The 3 Horizons Framework
(45:04) Shippo's culture and early team
(49:17) Hiring people you can learn from
(50:40) Laura's most impactful hires
(52:12) Frank Slootman's "Sunday Email”
(55:43) Laura's #1 piece of advice for founders
(57:34) The most memorable influences on Laura's career
