In this episode of "20 minutes vc," host Harry Stebbings interviews Howard Lerman, the founder and CEO of Yext, a company revolutionizing brand experiences across the digital universe. Lerman discusses Yext's successful IPO, which opened at $11 a share and has since climbed to a $2.65 billion market cap, reflecting his leadership and the company's innovative platform. He shares insights on leadership techniques such as Teddy Roosevelt's five-minute meetings and John Lennon's storytelling strategy, emphasizing the importance of clear, memorable communication. Lerman also delves into the evolution of information from web-based documents to database-driven "brains," predicting that businesses will transition from websites to structured databases to power AI services. The conversation covers a range of topics, including the challenges of being a CEO, the future of voice and augmented reality, and the strategic cultivation of leadership within a company.
"I'm so excited to welcome Howard Lerman, founder and CEO at Yext, the company that allows you to control your brand experience across the digital universe."
The quote highlights Harry Stebbings' anticipation for the interview with Howard Lerman, acknowledging his accomplishments and the success of Yext.
"Today, the stock price sits at about $26.85 and a market cap of 2.65 billion. So a pretty successful IPO there, Howard."
This quote emphasizes the financial success of Yext's IPO, with a significant increase in stock price and market capitalization.
"A company is really a group of people when you found it, and the most important thing you can do is pick great co-founders, which I happen to do."
This quote reflects Howard Lerman's perspective on the importance of team dynamics and the selection of co-founders in the success of a startup.
"I think they had an idea and they executed on that idea. They dominated a niche, and it turned out that that niche, which appeared to be small, was huge."
The quote explains Lerman's view on how many successful companies started with a core idea that founders believed in and executed, leading to significant growth.
"Teddy Roosevelt, in his presidency, developed a technique that we can all learn from this guy. His productivity was amazing... He would hold five minute meetings."
The quote describes how Howard Lerman was inspired by Teddy Roosevelt's method of holding brief, efficient meetings to manage a large and diverse team effectively.
"You have to stay on time. You never, ever go over, and you'd be stunned how much you can accomplish in five minutes, how much you can learn from someone in five minutes."
This quote emphasizes the importance of discipline and the surprising effectiveness of brief, focused interactions.
"The output of the day is two things. One is that you now have 75 data points times three from the other two people around. What are the critical themes going on in that office?"
The quote highlights the primary outcome of the technique: gathering a significant amount of feedback to identify common issues or ideas within the company.
"So you inspire the whole office when you sit down with every person from the executive to the janitor, because you care what they have to say, you care what they have to think."
The quote underscores the motivational impact of leaders showing genuine interest in the thoughts of all employees, regardless of their position.
"John Lennon... would intentionally not write it down... he realized that if he couldn't remember it, it probably wasn't very good."
This quote explains Lennon's rationale behind his method of testing the memorability of his song lyrics.
"The human brain is really good at remembering lines that have terrific rhythm, that have terrific poetry, that really sing to your heart."
The quote describes the cognitive bias that allows people to recall content that has an emotional and rhythmic impact, which can be leveraged in communication.
"When you memorize your lines, you create something that's memorable."
This quote conveys the idea that the process of memorization forces refinement and improvement, leading to more impactful communication.
"I carefully work with my direct reports... I also carefully work with and cultivate and frequently communicate with all my direct reports, of which there are 55."
This quote outlines Lerman's approach to leadership, which involves close collaboration with both his immediate team and a broader group of leaders within the company.
"I actually focus more on cultivating that group a bit more than the executive team because the execs are pros and the leaders need to be the ones that are carrying out the vision, the mission, the strategy, the culture in the field."
The quote indicates Lerman's strategic focus on nurturing the extended leadership team to ensure the effective execution of the company's objectives.
"There's no clock, there's no championship at the end. There's no tournament."
This quote captures the open-ended nature of entrepreneurship, highlighting the lack of definitive markers of success compared to structured competitions.
"I think I'm getting more of a CEO now than an entrepreneur."
The quote reflects Lerman's personal transition from the role of an entrepreneur to that of a CEO as his company has grown and requires different leadership skills.
"The IPO is a step along the way. It is certainly an achievement. It's an achievement that no one can ever take away."
This quote emphasizes that while an IPO is a milestone, it is part of a longer journey, not the final destination.
"You spend a couple weeks going on this crazy roadshow where you meet with at least eight meetings per day to investors that for the first time in your life, aren't just thinking about betting for you, but could also bet against you."
This quote describes the intense and novel experience of an IPO roadshow, where entrepreneurs are exposed to a broader range of investor attitudes and actions.
"It's an emotional moment when you see Yext hanging from the banner of the New York Stock Exchange and 250 people that helped you get there standing in front of it, that's the moment, you know, when you did something and you did something permanent, you did something that's going to change the world forever."
The quote captures the significance and emotional weight of the IPO day, marking a milestone in the company's history and the start of a new chapter.
"Yext is a platform in itself. We're building the brain to power every company's information in the AI-powered future."
This quote defines Yext's business model and ambition, distinguishing it from other SaaS companies and highlighting its innovative approach to information management.
"The information is moving from web based documents to what we call database based brains."
This quote outlines the conceptual shift in how information is presented and accessed, moving from traditional web documents to more intelligent, database-driven systems.
"I don't believe that brand is over because I think that voice search is only half the puzzle. While exciting, augmented reality is going to be the other part of that puzzle that completes the evolution away from the smartphone into a next generation user interface."
The quote suggests that the rise of voice search will not negate the importance of brand, as augmented reality will complement voice search to form a complete and transformative user interface.
"One I'd recommend reading right now is five stars by Carmine Gallo. It's all about storytelling, the oral tradition."
The quote provides a personal recommendation from Howard Lerman, highlighting the importance of storytelling in communication and business.
"Benioff does a great job putting on dinners... he has everyone go around the table and answer the question of what's on their mind."
This quote explains Benioff's approach to engaging a diverse group of dinner attendees, prompting them to share their thoughts to stimulate dialogue.
"Being public from a competitive perspective, you're bigger, you're badder, you have more cash... Being public is the only way to be big."
This quote summarizes Lerman's view that public companies have significant competitive advantages, including size, financial resources, and brand recognition.
"We were lucky. We had great vcs... I never had any problems with vcs."
Lerman's quote reflects his personal, positive interactions with VCs, which he attributes to his company's success and the support he received.
"It requires you totally to focus... Similarly, if you don't have complete and utter concentration on speaking Chinese, you won't succeed as a westerner."
The quote emphasizes the concentration required to learn Chinese, which Lerman uses as a stress-relief technique and a way to foster a learning culture within his company.
"It is the mission of my generation to study America and to crush you."
Lerman recounts the direct and impactful statement made by the Chinese engineer, which encapsulates his views on China's strategic intentions.
"I think it's like a marathon where when you're tired halfway or even a half an hour into it, if you just keep going, somehow you find more energy without slowing down."
This quote draws a parallel between the endurance required in a marathon and the resilience needed to overcome business challenges.
"Every business in the world that today has a website will very soon have a brain... Without structured information, a brand can't think for itself."
Lerman's quote details Yext's ambition to revolutionize how businesses use structured information to power AI and enhance their operations.