Why 90% of Startup CEOs Are Failing | John Kim Sendbird

In this video, we present valuable wisdom shared by John Kim, the CEO of Sendbird. Having achieved the status of a triumphant entrepreneur after over a decade of relentless dedication, he has distilled five pivotal principles that underpinned his journey to success. Don't miss the chance to explore these invaluable insights that pave the way for achievement.
Sendbird, a remarkable startup that came into being in 2013. With a staggering funding of over $200 million and a user base exceeding 300 million individuals, Sendbird has earned the distinction of a unicorn startup. This trailblazing company offers cutting-edge services encompassing advanced chat, voice, video, and livestream messaging that can be seamlessly integrated within a matter of days.
00:00 Intro
00:54 Can you do it for 10 years?
01:40 Talk to users
03:28 Build a great Culture
05:50 Find your next step from others
07:16 Risk Great things
EO stands for Entrepreneurship & Opportunities. We're looking for more inspiring stories of entrepreneurs all over the world, so don't hesitate to contact us! :)
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Subtitles for this video were created using XL8.ai machine translation .

[@entreprenuership_opportunities]

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[@sltho]

This guy is a leader. Provides clear direction, focuses on the fundamentals, commits to a strong culture and defines it as an operating system. Hope to see more of him.

[@vnikolov88]

Don't forget the Patagonia vest, that is what makes him a true leader.

[@DevPortan]

@@vnikolov88 What's with the vest?

[@bdm8960]

@@DevPortanIt’s a joke

[@Dave_of_Mordor]

He's not saying anything

[@user-xh6hs2pq5l]

4:30 "It's not a what you write on the wall, it's what you do and live everyday, and that is the culture" love that part!

[@ZombiemanOhhellnaw]

Who needs a MBA when there's videos like this for free!

[@maheshprabhu]

You don't need an MBA to be an entrepreneur, but you do need an MBA if you are looking for a job in investment banking, marketing, sales etc.

[@setionos]

1. Customer Engagement: you need to regularly talking to customers, suggesting that founders should aim to speak with 3 to 5 customers every day to build a strong product-market fit. 2. Alignment with Strengths: Founders should choose ideas aligned with their strengths and commit to them for the long term. Don't pick ideas solely based on market trends without considering personal commitment for the next ten years. 3. Balancing Strengths: the need for balance between product development & customer engagement. Recognize your strengths, whether in product building or customer interaction, and prioritize accordingly. 4. Iterative Product Development: In the early stages, rapid iteration and feedback are crucial. (i.e. quick follow-ups within 24-48 hours, emphasizing the importance of constant product improvement) 5. Cultural Importance: Culture is likened to a superorganism. Kim discusses the impact of culture on decision-making, execution, and the need for an iterative approach to shape and maintain a positive company culture.

[@Saeb-pd7om]

GOD Bless You💪🫀🧠

[@user-wi2jw9fm8g]

김동신 대표님 좋은 인터뷰 감사합니다. Thank you for sharing great insights.

[@chan90s]

Damn . He summarized my learnings of past 3 years. Amazing guy. I'd love to work with him

[@Taskade]

Just finished watching John Kim's insights on startup CEOs and it was super enlightening!

[@alexkwesisackey6563]

it’s soo hard that if you are not passionate, any rational human being will give up and you have to do it over a period of time so if you don’t love it or if you don’t have fun doing it u will quit

[@AbracadabraFC]

These words.. reminds me of the late Steve Jobs.

[@resa574]

Doing something for a few years and seeing something not having any traction you’d either have to be crazy or very passionate to continue

[@fitfuelplanner]

So helpful, a lot of value packed in 8 minutes

[@lyonoriginal]

Delved into the fundamentals of actually running a company

[@bedit2064]

Agree with a lot of founders are not focus on their product. They are under the illusion - successful zone

[@N1GHTWOLF1]

@@EDS432You don’t need to be a multi-exited founder to understand this is true. Sometimes having an outside perspective allows you to understand things that founder doesn’t because of their tunnel vision.

[@Darth_Bateman]

@@EDS432Hopefully at least 1 in the near future. You can certainly have a successful startup without being focused on the product. But if you study the zealously successful. They always fine tune their products. Amazons product is not the products they sell on the market. Amazons product is Amazon. They have a loop that keeps their customers engaged in.

[@corail53]

@@EDS432 You clearly can't see the bigger picture in all of this. You don't have to be a founder to see how crap this all is.

[@user-xl9li6fw8z]

It that tells you the true meaning of running a startup and success😊

[@manoftomorrow5987]

Alot of new business people are not filling a gap. That's the problem that people do not understand "what gap are you filling? Why your product will standout above the rest?" Spend time perfecting your product and services before you worry about "networking"

[@kirk-geovea-travel-ai]

John thanks for sharing all of that!

[@nikoltes263]

Five advice by John Kim Sendbird -- 1.Can you do it for 10 years ? 2. Talk to users 3. Build a great culture 4. Find your next step from others 5. Risk greater things

[@set_app]

Thank you John and thank you EO 💥🚀

[@Yashb1199]

Thank you so much for this😊

[@user-mw9pi5fq8f]

Your signals and strategies really work. I've been following your recommendations for several months now and getting great results.

[@victoradedamola4797]

The comment section is full of many intelligent 🧠 people who deserve an audience. Well done.❤

[@YoungHumanClub]

Great video! Thanks for sharing!

[@user-yg6ex1bf9m]

Wonderful, I like how he gives straightforward answers on how to approach business aspects, am inspired, thanks John.

[@hiteshita]

Great video!!! How wisely you explained the company culture👏👏

[@wabbit2158]

This was amazing thanks

[@ghk050198]

Amazing person, amazing founder

[@Karagoldberg7]

I wasn't financial free until my 40’s and I’m still in my 40’s, bought my third house already, earn on a monthly through passive income, and got 4 out of 5 goals, just hope it encourages someone's that it doesn’t matter if you don’t have any of them right now, you can start TODAY regardless your age INVEST and change your future! Investing in the financial market is a grand choice I made.

[@atomix2933]

How'd you do that? Are you the CEO of a tech start-up too?

[@Thelimitless23]

Well stated

[@HarpaAI]

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 00:01 🗣️ Talking to 3-5 customers daily is crucial for startup success; strong product-market fit matters most in the early days. 01:04 🤔 Choose ideas aligned with your strengths, commit for the long term, and envision your role over the next ten years. 02:05 🛠️ Balance strengths between building a great product and engaging with customers to find product-market fit. 03:02 🔄 Iterative development cycle, prompt follow-ups, and managing expectations are essential in product development. 04:02 🧠 Culture is the collective habits, values, and strengths of an organization, influencing day-to-day decisions. 05:00 👥 Strong culture empowers good people, promotes understanding, and drives successful leadership and execution. 05:59 🚀 Seek out mentors ahead of your stage for guidance and learnings to achieve faster growth. 06:57 💼 CEO's role: Set strategy, onboard teams, allocate resources; plan ahead and upgrade leadership for growth. 07:29 🌟 Building confidence through achieving milestones helps tackle bigger challenges and longer time horizons. Made with HARPA AI

[@user-dt3pz1rg8m]

더 해주세요~

[@thelostgeneration2000]

Good point: good people start leave first.

[@bloopdaddy]

So impactful❤

[@MasterBrain182]

Great content guys 🔥🔥🔥

[@julius_chun]

amazing guy and leader!

[@user-os1qs2cz6r]

SEEK THE TRUTH, INC. AMAZING!

[@LifeOfPriyanjit]

What an amazing video!

[@_I_________________________I_]

Love this

[@sagarah8217]

Helps when one is born into money. Also it’s hysterical to watch all these start up companies fail.

[@suehaji9968]

sound advise.. Thank you

[@mertcaneyriyer]

Very inspiring

[@chaoukimachreki6422]

There should be a Wikipedia page for John Kim !

[@stw123ghb-nd4ln]

❤There is only one rule, "Don't watch adds simply"❤

[@mastershredder2002]

90% of startups are failing and 99% of fake VCs are failing, just like this guy.

[@lailaalfaddil7389]

The greater the automated income you can build, the freer you will become. Taking the first step is the hardest, but 5 houses later living off automated income since July 6, 2016. You’ve got to start taking steps to achieve your goal.

[@corail53]

Bad bot

[@chidexkofi]

Facts try to do the things that you will still keep doing even In the next 10_90yeaes

[@nonefvnfvnjnjnjevjenjvonej3384]

$200m+ of funding. I don't trust these companies who are highly powered by VC money

[@devinosborne3396]

This guy is actually reasonable and helpful. Not just a classic corporate slave.

[@j4s0n67]

what is the best approach to talk to an diverse group of customer? I really want to have an genuine response

[@foundational]

… also u need to code 3-5 house a day preferably with 2 laptops for each hand, then plan like 3-5 hours a day, make sure u dont sleep more than 2-3 hours on preferably on a beany bag near your desk, wear VC uniform(Patagonia west) so they trust you coz u look like them… and all that for the next 10 years!

[@bshimekit]

Thanks

[@ReflectionOcean]

- Engage with customers frequently to understand their needs (0:09) - Commit to your business idea for the long term, envisioning at least a ten-year journey (1:20) - Balance your strengths with necessary activities like customer engagement and product development (2:20) - Establish a regular cadence for product updates to manage customer expectations (3:05) - Cultivate a strong company culture from the start and recognize its impact on daily operations (3:29) - Learn from companies or individuals who are one or two stages ahead in their journey (6:04) - As CEO, focus on strategy, assembling the right team, and securing resources (6:57) - Aim for bigger dreams with a longer time horizon and the patience to take risks (7:19)

[@As1fAhmad]

Damn! He's good

[@ER-sv1np]

0:10 คุยลูกค้าเยอะๆ รู้จัก ทั้งกลุ่มให้ได้ ยึด niche แรกให้ได้ก่อน $ สำคัญ - ดูคู่แข่ง อย่าชนเจ้าใหญ่ หา niche ตัวเองให้เจอ ยิ่ง barrier สูงจนต่างชาติเข้าไม่ได้ ยิ่งดีก่อน - ใช้ทุนให้น้อย เพราะ ไทยไม่รวย คนรวยไม่ซื้อของไทย 0:21 ไม่มีอะไรสำคัญกว่า จะเจอ Hero SKU นั่นแหละจุดเริ่ม ที่จะเริ่มทำธุรกิจ ขยายตลาดของจริง Distributor Agent คือต้องหาสินค้าดีๆ มานำเสนอ หน้าที่แค่นี้ คือหาของดีมาแทน ลูกค้า

[@mikkeljensen1603]

That vest tells me he is successfull

[@atangbingana283]

rockstar

[@nothingavailableleft]

He is so handsome omg

[@jeindel_]

3. 조직문화를 형성하라

[@jeindel_]

5. 더 큰 위험을 감수하라

[@adolfvikram3305]

Guys which mic your using??please answer it

[@barayoon-vq6ey]

It looks like Sony utx - b40

[@adolfvikram3305]

@@barayoon-vq6ey thank u soo much bro.... ❤️

[@barayoon-vq6ey]

No problem 🎉

[@inkyuhwang6702]

0:27 English subtitles say that John is the CEO of Stanford

[@jeindel_]

2. 고객과 대화하라

[@shephusted2714]

too much emphasis on hard work and planning not enough emphasis on core ideas - the core ideas are 10x more important - of course you have to execute and iterate but that is easier when you have the right idea - it happens naturally - lots of these thought leaders had zero goals or idea they would end up where they are, it was almost accidental

[@barayoon-vq6ey]

Easy rules, hard to execute.

[@Paragon269]

My business isn’t going to fail I promise you that.

[@MrLouanderson]

yeah, try doing B2B enterprise. Most of your customer wont have time to talk to you in the day time.

[@fitnessnature]

Customers ? People are customers ? What happen to PEOPLE ? Who do you raise money from if not from people ?

[@user-oj9sw3st1b]

5:51

[@sunnyside100]

Pagodania vest omg😂

[@jeindel_]

4. 앞서 간 사람들을 찾아라

[@auguststas7770]

Yes Elon Musk was going door to door and then bought Tesla. Yes.

[@bjvu9460]

90 percent of all business fails regardless if that business talked to their customers or not. It has nothing to do with talking to customers. 9 out of 10 times, most customers dont have a clue what they want. The only reason these silicon valley types say this is because they are parroting what they have heard from Paul Graham. I can bet that most YC companies FAIL . I can also bet that they talked to their customers and you arent the only one doing it. Becoming a successful company is almost like gambling and the reason YC invest in so many companies is due to the odds of success is within 10 % . If building a successful company was as easy as this guy makes it sound , and all the founder had to do was talk with their customers, then , most companies would be successful; this is nonsense that he is repeating. Its the same nonsense that investors claimed that having early customers increased the chance of success which if that was the case, their companies with 1000s of customers wouldnt fail since having customers guarantee success. Most successful companies dont talk to their customers. When last have you bought a tesla or toyota and they asked you for your opinion, or a burger, or using google or apple or microsoft or bank of america or any of the fortune 500 companies ! How did all of these companies make it without consulting with their customers before they started a business or grow their business. who did the wright brothers consult with before making the plane? who did ford consult with before building ford? how can a customer tell you what you should be building when he doesnt even know what he wants? If it was up to customers, Salesforce would not have existed but Marc told them that they needed Salesforce! Who did Uber consult with since most people were against it? Now, what happened is that someone took a chance and built something they saw themselves using. Some of them succeeded and some failed. This guy success doesnt legitimize the notion that talking to customers make a business successful. All it does, is say that it worked for him and rather yet, who knows if that is why his business is a success. A wise man once said this, not because you did something gaining a favorable outcome meant that what you did is the reason you gained that outcome. Centuries ago, people had rubbed dirt in their cuts because they thought the earth healed the wound . But as modern medicine have shown, that is not a great idea so we dont do that any more .

[@ely99]

You bring up some compelling ͏poin͏ts, and I agree that͏ the landscape ͏of startup succe͏ss ͏is much more nuanced than any one-si͏ze-fits-all advice might suggest. First, let me clarify that talking to customers isn't the sole determinant of a startup's success, but it is a vital ͏part. Many big companies have built systems to collect customer feedback in various forms, even if it's not as dire͏ct as what startups might do.͏ Tesla, Apple, Google͏ - they all pay close attention to user behavior, customer reviews, and other forms of indirect feedback. Plus, they have the resources to conduct extensive market research before even launching a product. As ͏for the examples like the Wright Brothers, Ford, and Ube͏r, I th͏ink they fall into a category of "visionary risk-taking," which is another path ͏to success, albeit a le͏ss pred͏ictable one. These are ͏the outliers, the busin͏esses that succeeded against the odds. For every Uber, there are͏ thousands of failed startups that ͏also didn't consult ͏customers and didn't succeed. At Learn2b, we believe in a balanced͏ ͏approach. We have a vision for ͏disrupting the educational technology space, but we also understand the importance of market feedback to refine that vision. Especially in sectors like healthte͏ch and fintech, ignorin͏g the end-users ͏can be͏ disastrous, given the regulat͏ory and compliance hurdles. You're correct that YC and other investors spread their bets wide, anticipating that most will fail. But they also pro͏vide a framework, including customer development, to increase each startup's odds of being in that 10% success bracket. No, it's not a guarantee,͏ but it's a methodology ͏to reduce risk. Last͏ly, your point about cause and effect is well-taken. Correlation does not imply causation. But in the absence of a surefire formula for success, we'll employ strategies that have shown to mitigate risk ͏and improve the odds. And customer feedback is one such strategy that has stood the test of time, even if it isn't the only factor in a startup's success.

[@danielogega]

Thank you. You nailed it.

[@the_god_killah]

I think the whole point went over you head. U talk to your customer when u create ur minimum viable product and then you iterate.Every company did that at the beginning

[@bahroum69]

While what you are saying kinda makes sense, i think you missed the point. He was talking pre-product market fit. He did not say that finding PMF will ensure you will be successful. But not finding will for sure kill you. Hence talking to users to make something people want and finding PMF asap.

[@shahadatmh]

I absolutely find these videos funny. More funny who follows them. If this guy knows how to make billions then what is he doing in KZbin making videos. Why is he not a billionaire?? Anyone ??

[@albejaine]

Inspirational videos. Not everyone will make it but it does help as a starter.

[@lofiasmr13]

He sounds great but the product Sendbird is terrible though. My company uses it and it has so many problems and bugs that we have to stop using it.

[@user-jv4em6gu6n]

이거 한국 자막이 있는 영상은 없나요?

[@barayoon-vq6ey]

자막 설정 한국어로 \바꿀 수 있어요.

[@barayoon-vq6ey]

설정 -> 자막 -> 한국어

[@M3ta1]

Apparently a sweater vest is required to be successful. 😂

[@jeffcook6457]

I wonder if Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, and Steve Jobs attended all of these "networking" parties in the early days 🤔 . I believe it's safe to say that Mark Zuckerberg didn't... Just saying 🤷🏾

[@user-wr4yl7tx3w]

Was Steve Jobs talking to customers?

[@alohaaloha2384]

Unless you're a steve jobs

[@bedit2064]

LOL I guess it depends what services you are making on. As Steve Jobs are not the answer for everyone, John’s advice is not the answer for everyone.

[@sanskarpandey6213]

He actually was. There is a common misconception that Jobs NEVER talked to his customers. That's simply not true, he used to talk to customers all the time, especially after product releases, and especially more so later in his career, which is when he truly became legendary. Furthermore, he also had an approach similar to Bezos/Amazon, wherein he had insight into what would be really attractive to a user (Macintosh, etc). It was a fair gamble that paid off.

[@bahroum69]

Yes, especially when he started NEXT.

[@HouseJawn]

See an asian talk about how to make money, i click 😆 😎

[@user-no3gv8nz3l]

😂جججتمنرمدن

[@ibrahimseth8646]

Loan=2000M Yield=6% Loan(30 Year)=1.06^30*2000M Loan(30 Year)=12000M Insurans: Premium=? Yield=16% Year=30 Premium=12000M/1.16^30 Premium=140M DebtFree=Loan-Premium DebtFree=2000M-140M DebtFree=1860M(FreeMoney). Thank you.

[@justusgreen8498]

This guy is saying absolutely nothing different than what I see on Twitter

[@williamrobinson4265]

wishy washy nonsense all smoke screen very self conscious individual false confidence - didnt have anything specific to say here

[@Ma-pz5kl]

i m already tired of listening after 5 mn....

[@redgrant4897]

It is like a university lecture.

[@ChiekoGamers]

Labor exploitation.

[@shamlankhaled9901]

Quarter of a billion sounds more interesting then 250 million

[@patsonlim528]

like I said I will be happy I can make 20$us a day constantly and consistently everyday and I will worship the dollar 💵

[@evurohardware]

No time to talk to everybody

[@msl2356]

He is a very smart person... but what he doesn't tell you that life is 95% luck and 5% effort. If everyone did exactly what he did and copied everything he did how many people do you think will have billion dollar company. Internet only shows those who made it... They never shows the 99% those who failed. Those who want to succeed in life should never listen to those who are already successful. Whether you agree or not in my opinion your life path is already written when you are born. There are thousands and thousands of people die everyday of illness and accidents... I don't think they wake up one day and choose to die. Do you still think you have control over your life?

[@TheEsotericProgrammer]

Saying 99% failed is also misrepresentative, what are you basing that off?