Uri Levine is a co-founder of Waze (which was acquired by Google for $1.3 billion in 2013), along with nine other companies (including another company he sold for over $1 billion). He’s also been on 20 boards and has been an advisor to over 50 startups. He recently released a new chapter of his best-selling book Fall in Love with the Problem, Not the Solution, which provides a guide to surviving crises at your company. In this episode, we cover:
• The two types of startup crisis and how to handle them
• Why speed of action is the most important thing
• How to keep your team motivated when things look dire
• A framework for deciding whether or not to pivot
• What to do when product-market fit disappears
• How to approach raising money during a crisis
• More
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Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/a-founders-guide-to-crisis-management-uri-levine
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Where to find Uri Levine:
• X: https://twitter.com/urilevine1
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/uri-levine
• Website: https://urilevine.com
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Where to find Lenny:
• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com
• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/
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In this episode, we cover:
(00:00) Welcome back, Uri!
(05:10) The new chapter: navigating crises
(08:15) Types of crises founders face
(29:10) Navigating cash crises
(38:31) The importance of never giving up
(46:26) How to keep people engaged through a crises
(47:59) Transparency in crisis management
(56:58) Navigating product-market-fit challenges
(59:27) Deciding when to pivot or shut down
(01:13:34) Real-life startup survival stories
(01:17:06) Avoiding and preparing for crises
(01:21:21) Final thoughts and book promotion
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Referenced:
• Waze: https://www.waze.com/
• Moovit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moovit
• Order Chat: https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/order-chat
• Fibo: https://finder.startupnationcentral.org/company_page/fibo
• Behind the founder: Drew Houston (Dropbox): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/behind-the-founder-drew-houston-dr
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