Posted on 27th September 2023 by Harry

Christian Lanng is the Founder and Former CEO @ Tradeshift, a company he took from garage to unicorn raising over $900M for with a latest price of $2.7BN in 2021. Just last month, Christian stepped away from the company and is now Chairman @ Beyond Work, building a better work experience through AI native software.

In Today’s Episode with Christian Lanng We Discuss:

1. Burnout: When it Hits:

• How did Christian know when something was really seriously wrong? What were the signs?
• How did being a founder literally almost kill Christian? How was that not a wakeup moment?
• How does being a founder make you so out of touch with reality?

2. The Things We Are Never Told:

• Why does Christian think one of the biggest crimes is the myth that everyone can be a founder?
• What are the single biggest things about VCs that founders are not told?
• Why does Christian believe fundraising is absolutely a game? What are the rules to win it?
• What makes the best VCs? What makes the worst VCs?
• Why does Christian not like to take a discount for a brand name VC?

3. The Chaos That Happens Inside a Company:

• Why does Christian believe politics should not be discussed within companies?
• What are Christian’s biggest lessons on working with friends? Why after 14 years does Christian only have 3 friends that still talk to him?
• How did Christian fire 50% of his leadership team and productivity not change at all?
• Why does Christian believe US startups are inherently better than European ones?

4. Parenting and Relationship to Money:

• Does Christian regret not being a present father for his child when building Tradeshift?
• What are the two options as a founder you have when bringing up kids?
• Was Christian scared to leave Tradeshift? How does he reflect on his relationship to money?

5. AI: Co-Pilot is BS, The Future Business Model and more…

• Why does Christian believe co-pilot is the last dying breathe attempt from incumbents?
• Why does Christian believe that per-seat pricing will die? What will replace it?
• Why does Christian believe that AI will negate the importance of consumer-facing brands?
• In what way does Christian believe that UI is total BS? How does it change over time?