S4.E6. “They won’t miss me because I built a great team” with Matt Tucker, former COO at OLO which he led to a $3 billion IPO

Matt is a tough edit… hence this episode goes a bit longer than usual.

His sweet spot is taking companies from Series B to IPO, and it was with Olo that he hit the jackpot, and he’s modest enough to recognise that “he served his time at the right time”

But this story of “overnight success” took 9 years, starting with joining Olo as employee #7

·      His story is all about people, identifying the right ones, trusting his own judgement, and doing the proper due diligence.  He never delegates a reference check

·      How his selection criteria evolved over time – he no longer defers to industry experience or Ivy League educations but looks for bias for action and curiosity.

·      His contribution was knowing when to add structure and process, and when to let things run.

·      The magic of the partnership he had with the Olo founder Noah Glass – Matt didn’t need the title but he did need the freedom the make the call.

And what next?  Now he has the “external mark of success”… not a word about retirement. He is ready to go again and is as energised as ever.

Thanks for listening, and if you think this can help a colleague, please share.