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

ℹ️ EPISODE INFO

Released

October 20, 2025

Duration

1h 17m

Channel

The Twenty Minute VC

Watch on YouTube

▶ Open ↗

📝 EPISODE DESCRIPTION

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

🎤 SPEAKERS

• Alex Bouaziz

  guest

• Harry Stebbings

  host

🧾 EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of The Twenty Minute VC, featuring Alex Bouaziz and Harry Stebbings, Deel CEO, Alex Bouaziz on Raising $300M+ at a $17BN Valuation explores deel’s Alex Bouaziz: Profitable Hypergrowth, Wartime Leadership, And Smart M&A Deel CEO Alex Bouaziz discusses raising over $300M at a $17B+ valuation while remaining profitable for three years and recently hitting a $100M-revenue month. He explains why he chose these specific investors (Ribbit, Andreessen Horowitz, Coatue), how media and litigation with Rippling influence but don’t define the business, and why he still runs the company in “constant wartime mode.”

🔗 RELATED EPISODES

Inside Legora: Jude Law Generated $50M Pipeline | Are They Undervalued at $5.5BN? | Patrick Forquer

Cliff Weitzman: What I Learned from 100 of the World’s Top CEOs & Why Tokens Will Outspend Salaries

Shopify CEO on How AI is a Scapegoat for Mass Layoffs & Trump Derangement Syndrome in Canada

Inside Clay's Sales Playbook | Becca Lindquist

Jackie Reses: The Most Powerful Woman in Finance; Making $50BN for Yahoo on Alibaba | E996

Tom Hulme & Stan Boland: Lessons from Jensen Huang & How to Fix the UK Tech Ecosystem