S4 EP22: Mailchimp's CEO On Building a Multi-Billion Dollar Business Without Being an A$$hole
Ben Chestnut explains why his company never took VC money and how small businesses can survive Amazon.
The newsletter company Mailchimp made an impressive $700 million dollars in revenue in 2019 and, after 20 years, it's still owned and operated by co-founders Ben Chestnut and Dan Kurzius. On this episode, Ben shares his tactics for staying focused and calm through market crashes, tech disruptions, and now, playing role model for CEOs who think success requires treating employees poorly. Manoush and Jen aren't so sure about Ben's advice regarding "scaling." But as they play voice memos from listeners going through professional zigs zigs, they realize a serious truth about their own small business.
This is the last episode of ZigZag, Season 4. We'll be back with big news about the show in January. Meanwhile, go back and listen to all our episodes examining the culture of business and work...and how people are experimenting with new ways to run their companies, careers, and lives.
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CREDITS:
Matt Boynton, Audio Engineer and Sound Designer
Ania Grzesik, Audio Engineer
David Herman, Composer
Maria Wurttele, Production Coordinator
ILLUSTRATION:
