Michelle Zatlyn is the Co-founder and President of Cloudflare, a global internet infrastructure that keeps the world safe and secure online operating 20% of the global web with over 4,000 employees.
Born and raised in Saskatchewan, Canada, Michelle began her career studying chemistry, aiming to become a doctor. But a pivotal turning point during a hospital internship set her on a new path - one that eventually led to Silicon Valley.
In this episode, Michelle shares the formative experiences that shaped her, the unexpected pivots in her career, and dives into the tough decisions she’s had to make. She also unpacks the gritty realities of early-stage startup life, the challenges of scaling, and what it really takes to lead a high-growth tech company.
For a deeper dive into the episode, check out Carly's Substack: https://carlymalatskey.substack.com/
Referenced:
- Cloudflare: https://www.cloudflare.com
- Harvard Business School (HBS): https://www.hbs.edu/
- Lee Holloway (Cloudflare co-founder): https://www.linkedin.com/in/lee-holloway-159152/
- Matthew Prince (Cloudflare co-founder & CEO): https://www.linkedin.com/in/mprince/
- Project Honey Pot: https://www.projecthoneypot.org/
- Toshiba: https://www.toshiba.com/tai/
- WIRED Article about Lee Holloway: https://www.wired.com/story/lee-holloway-devastating-decline-brilliant-young-coder/
Timestamps:
(1:46) Growing up in Saskatchewan
(6:04) The decision not to pursue medicine
(9:51) Falling into business and technology
(13:39) The first taste of entrepreneurship
(16:27) Finding community and clarity at HBS
(17:28) The “essay line” that guided her
(19:28) Turning down LinkedIn to start Cloudflare
(25:05) How to improve your decision-making
(29:15) Choosing a meaningful mission
(32:18) Being the non-technical founder
(34:33) Early team challenges
(38:24) The grind from 1 to 100M
(41:32) Getting product-market fit
(44:23) The slow burn of success
(47:49) Being a founder impacts personal life
(51:52) Raising up the next-gen tech leaders
(54:12) The power of small teams and shared purpose
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