Dubbed the ‘Jeff Bezos of Russia’ early in her career, Maëlle, without a doubt, is one of the most captivating and successful executives in Technology today. She is a global entrepreneur, investor, and the best-selling author of ‘Trampled by Unicorns: Big Tech’s Empathy Problem and How to Fix It’. Maëlle is the CEO of Techstars, the global platform for investment & innovation that has graduated nearly 2800 companies, which in turn have raised $19B and have reached a combined market cap of over $54B.
Show notes
00:00 – Start
02:15 – Tell me a little bit about building OZON, the internet of Russia, as a young French female executive in a world of oligarchs.
04:31 – When you built that business and went through all the challenges that you faced, how hard was it to finally get the top tier investment from index in a company where 80% of the cash was handed over to the drivers when they delivered?
07:29 – You accomplished so much and had a ton of success at OZON, what made you decide to leave and join Priceline Group, moving from an HQ in Moscow to an HQ in Connecticut?
10:36 – Did you find that your leadership style, which might have been shaped by your time in Moscow and OZON, needed to be reshaped when you came back to the U.S.?
14:16 – Did you find that hiring in Russia, after having worked globally, was different? Was there a challenge finding people who had been through growth stories?
15:37 – Do you think that gave you a really strong muscle memory for what good might look like for young executives when you came back to the U.S.?
17:32 – What is your thought on the current state of tech in Europe and how do you feel about that state since you wrote your book?
21:19 – You’ve said that Techstars is the best job you’ve ever had, why is that?
23:45 – With everything that’s happened over the last couple of years like the pandemic, are you seeing founders try to solve these problems, whether that be across health & wellness or work from home?
26:05 – Have you seen founders coming to you with businesses where they feel less capitalistic in their mindset and simply want to change the world? And how do you approach those businesses?
28:12 – What do you think, as a consultant, really helped make you the executive you are today, and does that experience really shape your EQ or do you see those consultants moving into operational roles to really be able to learn that?
30:31 – As you start to reflect on your years in tech, who do you look to as your mentors? How did they shape you as an executive in your journey?
32:41 – What was that experience like for you, going from leading a large organization to being left with your thoughts to write?
36:16 – It’s interesting, based on the topic of your book, that you parachuted into Techstars after that, which seems to be right at the heart of everything you discussed.
39:29 – End