The Intraprenuer: 25 Years Of Learnings On Innovation From Rob LoCascio

What this episode covers

This episode of The Jake Dunlap Show features Robert LoCascio, Founder and CEO of LivePerson. Growing up middle class with an entrepreneur father opened up Robert's eyes that the road to success is not a straight line. While financial insecurity produced his own insecurities, it also taught him about powering through uncertainty. He shares an anecdote of when he was in Prague when the Berlin Wall was still up. Robert realized then that what is true can only really be confirmed with your own eyes, a lesson which he has brought with him his whole life. He shares the story of his brief stint as an employee and the compelling reason he vowed never to work for another company again. He then got introduced to the internet and decided that he wanted to be part of this nascent industry. Robert looks back on the hardships of the first years of his company, how he invented chat, and the boom they experienced. The events of 9/11 were also formative as he solidified his core value to lead with empathy. Robert is excited to develop conversational AI that will fulfill the most important intentions in human life. He believes their core value of empathy is the strongest bet to make this empathic AI become a reality. Quotes: 06:52 "People have their filters on what truth is and I've always felt anytime there was an issue or something, I'll get on the field of play deeply in that area because, until you can feel it and see it, you should assume that it's not the truth that you may believe." 08:40 "As any entrepreneur goes or anything, I think just in life, you have to be curious to go outside what you're thinking. Once you can experience different things that even are very uncomfortable." 15:52 "I learned there to lead to empathy. There was no textbook written about leading through 9/11 or the dot com but I saw we had a person in the company that had a sales after 9/11. It was like, we got to go, everyone come to work... I had to get rid of him." 17:55 "You've got to lead with your heart. You've got to lead with your ears, not your mouth." 19:22 "I fundamentally believe there needs to be an AI in our life that we can trust, that we think is empathetic, that loves us, that will fulfill our most important intentions in life." More about Robert Robert LoCascio founded LivePerson in 1995 before the dot com boom and bust. He is the longest-standing tech CEO and took his company went public just 5 years after its founding. During this tumultuous time, and especially after the events of 9/11, Robert learned that it is only by leading with empathy that his company will survive these dark times. Robert actually lived out of his office space and slept on a couch for two years. This couch still sits in the LivePerson office today. Ten years after that, LivePerson experienced a resurgence and its stock returned to its original price after disastrous crashes. Philanthropy is at the core of Robert's identity. He founded the Dream Big Foundation and has since helped 70,000 families get food to eat. Robert also helps fund the restoration of important works of art in the Vatican Museum. By 2011, LivePerson was named one of Fortune's 100 Fastest Growing Companies and one of Forbes’ 25 Fastest Growing Tech Companies. And in 2020, his company was named one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies in the World. LivePerson is excited to deliver emphatic AI solutions in the near future. Find out more about Robert and connect with him in the following links: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/rlocascio/ Website (LivePerson) - https://www.liveperson.com/ Learn more about Jake Dunlap and Skaled by visiting the links below: Jake Dunlap: Personal Site - http://jakedunlap.com/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakedunlap/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/JakeTDunlap Instagram - http://instagram.com/jake_dunlap_ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/JakeTDunlap/ Skaled: Website - https://skaled.com/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/skaled YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsw_03rSlbGQkeLGMGiDf4Q