START pod: Chris Bakke, Founder with exits to X, Indeed, and Zillow

Chris Bakke never pitched Elon. He just posted good ideas in public for nine months straight.Laskie was sourcing engineers on Twitter while everyone else lived on LinkedIn.Along the way Chris started tweeting his own takes on how Twitter should fix recruiting.Not as a pitch - just because he had strong opinions about what was broken.Elon liked one. Then followed him. For the next nine months Chris kept the takes sharp on purpose, knowing exactly who was watching.Then the DM came. A phone number and a note to call that Saturday. His wife was sure he was getting catfished. He called anyway, and Elon picked up on the first ring.Six minutes later it was an invite to dinner at the Tesla Fremont factory that week.Deal closed in 45 days - Elon's first acquisition at TwitterThen Twitter became X, X got acquired by xAI, xAI got acquired by SpaceX.Chris came out the other side holding SpaceX sharesNone of it happens if he builds quietly. The ideas did the outreach for him.🎙️ Chris Bakke, Founder with exits to @X @Indeed @Zillow to on Fondo START pod02:08 Building Laskie as a recruiting startup in the COVID remote-work wave03:24 The thesis: reverse-arbitrage engineering talent outside the US04:41 Why being in an exponentially growing space matters more than anything05:17 The Twitter takes that got Elon to follow, then DM06:33 What it's like getting a DM from the richest man in the world07:06 The Saturday phone call and the Tesla Fremont dinner08:29 Why you never take the acquirer's first number09:14 Using optionality as leverage10:48 Selling from a point of weakness as the hiring market collapsed11:22 Two years at X and xAI, and a deal around $50M12:05 The acquisition chain: shell company to Twitter to X to xAI13:19 SpaceX deal, and the shares he keptVisit www.chrisbakke.com to learn more