E918 Stack Overflow Joel Spolsky: 100m+ mo visitors, leadership, pivots, Trello sale, stepping aside
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Stack Overflow CEO & co-founder Joel Spolsky shares lessons growing his groundbreaking Q&A site to 100m+ monthly visitors, insights on leading, pivoting, selling Trello, engaging with VCs, becoming focused & what he's looking for in his replacement as CEO
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Show notes:
0:51 - Jason introduces Joel Spolsky. Joel talks about why he sold Trello to Atlassian, founding Stack Overflow, and Union Square Ventures.
9:20 - Jason thanks sponsor Segment. To see if you or a startup you know qualifies, check out segment.com/twist.
11:33 - Anti-VC rhetoric and the power dynamic between investors and entrepreneurs.
17:07 - Conversation around the Q&A space: missteps/triangulation that made Stack Overflow what it is today, why so many companies in the Q&A space got it wrong, the messy middle for Stack Overflow.
28:40 - Jason thanks sponsor LinkedIn. Redeem your first free $100 ad credit by visiting linkedin.com/thisweekinstartups.
30:58 - Joel talks about what Stack Overflow would become if he didn’t have control over the board, and Glitch vs. Git.
35:45 - Lessons learned from the “second act” and leadership, and looking for a new CEO.
43:55 - Jason thanks sponsor Capterra. Visit capterra.com/twist to find the right business software for you.
45:48 - Audience Q&A: Explaining to investors the benefits of a past pivot, Joel’s future plans, and tactical skills that made a big impact.