Ep145 – Ashik Ahmed (Co-founder & CEO – Deputy) on COVID, conviction and customer obsession

The Startup Playbook PodcastInsights and lessons from the world's best entrepreneurs and investors Twitter Facebook YouTube Instagram Ep145 – Ashik Ahmed (Co-founder & CEO – Deputy) on COVID, conviction and customer obsession April 1, 2021 rohitbhargava Podcast My guest for Ep145 of The Startup Playbook Podcast was the Co-founder & CEO of Deputy, Ashik Ahmed. Ashik launched Deputy in 2008, initially as the co-founder and CTO of the business.  He transitioned to the CEO role after Deputy raised there Series A funding round in 2017. Deputy has since gone on to being used by 250,000 businesses across more than 100 countries and the company has raised a total of AUD$144M ($101M USD) including Australia’s largest ever Series B funding round of AUD$111M ($81M USD). However, it hasn’t been all plain sailing with the company suffering significantly through COVID last year having to stand down 30% of it’s staff. In this interview we covered a wide range of topics including: How Deputy and Ashik managed the challenges of COVIDWhy founders need to retain their customer obsession and love customers who complainAshik’s journey from software developer to the CEO roleAshik’s approach to fundraising and building relationships with VCs and investorsWhy more companies die from indigestion rather than starvation& much more! Timestamps 2.08 – An introduction to Ashik and his company Deputy2.47 – What the early days of Deputy where like and how that formed how the company operates today4.09 – The importance of customers loving your product and using Net Promoter Score (NPS) to inform product changes7.29 – When you should start measuring NPS and why it should continue even as the company grows9.10 – How to incorporate customer feedback and be accessible to customers whilst growing11.24 – Transitioning from Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) during a period of growth and Series A fundraising16.51 – Learning to be a CEO and growing with the company whilst remaining humble19.47 – The tools and approach Ashik used to develop his CEO skills21.44 – Surviving and pivoting during the challenges of 202028.58 – Managing a team through COVID and letting people go32.42 – The importance of values for culture and always aiming for success36.44 – Ashik’s advice for founders on how to define your companies’ values39.45 – How to build and maintain relationships with investors44.23 – Focusing on the right goals, staying focused and executing quickly48.14 – Where to find Ashik and Deputy Links Mentioned Ashik’s Links Ashik’s TwitterAshik’s LinkedInDeputyDeputy careers People Mentioned Howard LeibermanSteve LoughlinLisi SchappiSimon Griffiths Dave ZinmanDHHMat BeechePaul BassatTobi LutkeMelanie PerkinsElon MuskJeff BezosJason Fried Companies Mentioned OpenViewSquarePeg Capital Resources Mentioned: How OpenView won the Deputy Deal – Article by Howard Leiberman Past Episodes Mentioned Ep120 – Simon GriffithsEp119 – DHH Special Thanks: Special thanks to Lisi Schappi,  Paul Bassat and Howard Leibman for their help with research for this interview  . Feedback/connect/say hello: [email protected]@RohitBhargava7 (Twitter)/rohbhargava (LinkedIn)@rohit_bhargava (Instagram)My Youtube Channel Credits: Music: Joakim Karud – Dreams Other channels: Don’t have iTunes? The podcast is also available on Spotify, Soundcloud & Stitcher Audio Player. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/startupplaybook/Ep145_-_Ashik_Ahmed_Co-founder__CEO_-_Deputy_on_COVID_conviction_and_customer_obsession.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download | EmbedSubscribe: RSS admin January 1, 2014 Reply Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat admin January 1, 2014 Reply Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. 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