#15 | Scott Harper: Started With $50. IBM Bought Us in 2022.

Scott Harper and his co-founder quit over an ethical disagreement and started Dialexa with $50 and a domain name. Twelve years later IBM bought it.More on Scott Harper and this episode: thedealtablepodcast.com/episodes/scott-harperHe is specific about the parts founders usually skip. Selling consulting before he had the experience to deliver it. Hiring for talent over experience, then fixing the mismatches that creates. The difference between corporate DNA and entrepreneurial DNA in the people you bring in. Going from control freak to chief executive, and hiring a chief operating officer to make growth survivable.The exit sequence is the useful part for any owner. He sold a minority stake to a private equity group in February 2020, one month before COVID. Then he decided to run an actual process rather than wait for a buyer to knock, and chose on price, fit and people, with equity distributed to employees.Along the way Dialexa served Uber, Amazon and Toyota, helped define digital product engineering as a category, and incubated ventures including Vinli and Robin Autopilot.Scott Harper co-founded Dialexa in 2010 and grew it into a digital product engineering firm serving Uber, Amazon and Toyota before IBM acquired it in 2022. He has incubated ventures including Vinli and Robin Autopilot, and was named EY Entrepreneur of the Year.KEY MOMENTS00:00 Quitting over ethics, starting with $5005:20 Consulting without the experience07:40 Product engineering against IT20:00 Spinning out Vinli and Robin26:00 Hiring talent over experience33:00 Corporate DNA against founder DNA39:50 From control freak to CEO44:00 Hiring a COO to grow48:30 Run a process, do not wait54:30 Equity and employee ownershipNewsletter: thedealtablepodcast.com/connectLane Carrick on selling a business, The Optima Advantage: amzn.to/48nLElWInstagram: instagram.com/thedealtablepodcast/LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/the-deal-table/The Deal Table is hosted by Ryan Harper and Lane Carrick, filmed in Dallas, and produced by Harper Belmont Media.