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Selina Tobaccowala at the Female Founders Conference 2016
20 segments available
Selina Tobaccowala speaks with Y Combinator's Colleen Taylor about her work as President and CTO of SurveyMonkey, co-founding Evite, and building her new startup.
Segments Timeline
From SurveyMonkey to New Ventures
Selina Tobaccowala shares her transition from being the President and CTO of SurveyMonkey to embarking on a new startup journey with her co-founder from Evite. She reflects on her time at SurveyMonkey and the excitement of starting something new after six and a half years.
"all right Cellino we have so much to talk about and you know I'm very excited for this because um I know you were just introduced as the CTO and president of SurveyMonkey which is where you been for t..."
The Early Days of Evite
Selina discusses the origins of Evite, one of the enduring brands in consumer internet. She reflects on her early interest in engineering and how the entrepreneurial spirit at Stanford influenced her decision to start a company in the late 90s.
"something again great so very exciting and so just to start I want to go back to those early early days because as you mentioned Selina was a co-founder of evite which is really one of the more enduri..."
Finding the Right Co-Founder
Selina shares insights on teaming up with her co-founder from Evite, emphasizing the importance of aligning on goals and values from the start. She discusses how their shared vision has been crucial for their new venture.
"as the engineering side that was something I did always know I mean I was kind of on computers right from an early age developing my own programs for kind of to play with and it was something that was..."
Lessons from Raising Capital
Reflecting on her experience with Evite, Selina talks about the challenges of raising capital, specifically the $37 million raised for online invitations. She emphasizes the importance of strategic funding decisions for future ventures.
"in about the summer of 98 so we really were at it for over a year we came up with you buddy Wow and how did you team up with your co-founder do you have any advice because obviously it worked out beca..."
Scaling Insights from SurveyMonkey
Selina discusses her experience scaling SurveyMonkey from 20 to 600 employees and achieving significant revenue growth. She shares key advice for early-stage founders on scaling their businesses effectively.
"than trying to actually think about that upfront similarly is what is the type of values that you actually want to build so when we got together now and we had the conversation that you know bringing ..."
Global Thinking in Business
Selina emphasizes the importance of considering global markets from the outset. She provides practical advice on designing products for international audiences and the necessity of supporting multiple languages and currencies.
"important we're there were there any things that you learned the hard way the first time around that you didn't quite do in the early days that now you'd know to do I think that it was how much money ..."
Data-Driven Culture for Scaling
Discussing the role of data in scaling, Selina shares her experience with A/B testing at Evite and how it shaped user engagement. She stresses the importance of integrating a data-driven culture in startups from the beginning.
"I mean to give a little bit of backstory at SurveyMonkey when I joined Survey Monkey there were about 20 people and we were doing and I didn't we were now we're at about 600 people and we're doing abo..."
Building for International Markets
Selina provides actionable steps for startups to consider international markets early in their development. She discusses the challenges and strategies for accommodating diverse user needs across different regions.
"experience design another thing that i've that we found was really really important when you're thinking about scaling is how you use that quantitative and qualitative data and how you build that into..."
Assembling Effective Boards
Selina shares her insights on the importance of assembling a diverse and effective board of directors early in a startup's journey. She highlights the value of independent board members and resources for finding strong female leaders.
"like such a massive problem I mean there were so many countries in the world there are there's so many different things is there an easy like a couple of easy steps that you would give specifically su..."
Finding Mentorship as a Female Founder
In this segment, Selina offers advice to female founders on finding mentors. She suggests attending events, utilizing resources like the Board List, and ensuring that mentors come from diverse networks, not just investor circles, to provide genuine support and guidance.
"and experience super super important how would you advise people beside looking at things like the board list and coming to events like this I mean how would you advise especially female founders to f..."
Leading a Technical Team
Tobaccowala reflects on her experience as CTO of SurveyMonkey, emphasizing the need for engineers to understand the impact of their work. She discusses the importance of communication within growing teams and how embedding business analysts can help engineers connect their efforts to broader company goals.
"you got this feature out the door it's gonna have such a great business impact and she looked at me and she's like thank you but why and my you know heart sort of found in my stomach I thought oK we'v..."
Choosing the Right Opportunity
Selina shares her journey to joining SurveyMonkey, highlighting the factors that influenced her decision. She emphasizes the significance of the people, product, and learning opportunities in her choice, reflecting on her past experiences and the desire for innovation and family balance.
"doing is super important and going back to when you joined Survey Monkey how did that decision come about I know there's a bit of an interesting story here this is Irving time in your life and how did..."
Lessons from Loss: Building Resilience
In the wake of Dave Goldberg's passing, Selina discusses the lessons learned about leadership and company culture. She emphasizes the importance of hiring individuals who align with the company's mission and the value of promoting from within to navigate challenging times.
"company I want work for wow that's incredible and you mentioned briefly Dave Goldberg's passing and I was curious if now you know 11 months out if there are any lessons or advice that you could share ..."
Why Start a Company Now?
Selina discusses the current landscape for startups, noting the tightening of capital markets as a positive sign for quality ideas. She reflects on her own readiness to start a new venture, leveraging her accumulated knowledge and experience from her previous successes.
"time yeah and what you're doing now you're starting something new I imagine you went through those four questions again you know why now why start a company now there's a lot of people in here everyon..."
The Process of Idea Validation
Selina shares her approach to vetting new ideas for startups, advocating for open communication and customer feedback. She stresses the importance of understanding market size and consumer needs, and how early engagement with potential customers can lead to successful product-market fit.
"than I think it was a few years ago okay and I know you don't want to talk about ideas or it's still very very early stage but what advice do you have for people I mean when you went through those ear..."
Building a Strong Company Culture
Reflecting on her experiences, Selina emphasizes the critical role of company culture in a startup's success. She discusses the importance of compensation structures, vacation policies, and collaborative environments in fostering a positive workplace culture that aligns with the company's mission.
"things is by talking to a load of consumers or businesses obviously if it's more of a business idea and then talking to a load of people who understand that market and so we were just you know out the..."
Creating a Family-Friendly Workplace
Selina discusses the importance of building a family-friendly culture in startups. She emphasizes the need for flexibility and trust in the workplace, sharing her own experiences balancing work and family life while ensuring that employees can meet their personal and professional goals.
"everybody now says that but what does that actually mean like what are the interview questions that you're asking so like one of the important questions that I tend to ask and I've this worked for us ..."
Defining Personal Priorities
In this segment, Selina reflects on the importance of defining personal priorities when balancing career and family. She shares her own experiences and stresses the need for clarity in what matters most to individuals, both personally and professionally.
"family-friendly so again I think that you know having those that trust environment where you have key goals key goals for every quarter like it is important to say this is what we're gonna get done ov..."
Lessons from Early Entrepreneurship
Selina offers valuable advice for aspiring entrepreneurs, particularly regarding funding and control. She discusses the lessons learned from her experience with Evite, emphasizing the importance of maintaining a positive gross margin and focusing on sustainable revenue generation.
"story yeah I mean I I have I think for its figuring out which one of those things are important to you like Spurs one of my friends is really important to her that she drops her kids off at school for..."
Navigating Investment Decisions
In this concluding segment, Selina addresses the complexities of accepting investment offers. She highlights the importance of strategic spending and maintaining control over the business, providing insights for entrepreneurs on how to approach funding responsibly.
"business is working like to me I think that's the most important lesson do you have a rule of thumb for how much is too much if you're a company and like and you know at your at a certain stage and so..."