Deel CEO, Alex Bouaziz on Raising $300M+ at a $17BN Valuation

Alex Bouaziz is the Co-Founder and CEO @ Deel, the $17BN global payroll juggernaut that just last week announced their latest $300M fundraise led by Ribbit, a16z and Coatue. Deel has been on the most insane journey, they do $1BN+ in ARR, they just had their first $100M revenue month and they have been profitable for over 3 years. ---------------------------------------------- In Today’s Episode We Discuss: 0:00 Intro 01:20 Announcing $300M Fundraise at a $17BN Valuation 03:00 How Deel grew through 13 acquisitions 03:44 Responding to Rippling and media drama 04:35 Being an outsider to Silicon Valley's inner circle 07:30 Playing Offense vs Defense as a wartime CEO 09:20 How Alex stays calm through public disputes 11:23 Why Deel's leadership culture is so hands-on 14:58 Work ethic: Alex's thoughts on the "996 hustle" 16:07 Does wealth make founders better or worse leaders? 20:09 Raising $700M over Zoom during Covid 22:22 Are high valuations and investor brands worth it? 25:35 Do investors really add value? 26:20 The truth about CMOs 35:45 Lessons from Nikolay Storonsky of Revolut 44:20 Deel's Acquisition Playbook 01:06:30 Quick-Fire Round ----------------------------------------------- Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3j2KMcZTtgTNBKwtZBMHvl?si=85bc9196860e4466 Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-twenty-minute-vc-20vc-venture-capital-startup/id958230465 Follow Harry Stebbings on X: https://x.com/HarryStebbings Follow Alex Bouaziz on X: https://x.com/Bouazizalex Follow 20VC on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/20vchq Follow 20VC on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@20vc_tok Visit our Website: https://www.20vc.com Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://www.thetwentyminutevc.com/contact ----------------------------------------------- #20vc #harrystebbings #alexbouaziz #deel #ceo #founder