Stephane Kurgan: Lessons Scaling King from 100 Employees to 2,400; How to Find Great Talent | E1041

ℹ️ EPISODE INFO

Released

July 28, 2023

Duration

1h 5m

Channel

The Twenty Minute VC

Watch on YouTube

▶ Open ↗

📝 EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Stephane Kurgan is widely considered one of the best operators in Europe. During his tenure as COO @ King, King went from $65m to $2.4B in bookings, from 100 to 2,400 employees, and did a $7B IPO before being acquired by Activision Blizzard. Prior to joining King, Stephane served as CFO of Tideway Ltd. (acquired by BMC Software) and was the co-founder and CEO of Digital Reserve. Today, Stephane serves as a Venture Partner at Index Ventures, one of the leading venture firms of the last decade and more recently as an executive advisor at Technology Crossover Ventures. ------------------------------------------------ Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 00:58 Entrepreneurial Journey and Startup Insights 08:30 Relationship Building and Leadership Development 15:08 Effective Communication and Trust in Teams 22:08 Goal Setting and Feedback for Success 35:32 Scaling and Building Successful Companies 52:13 Personal and Philosophical Insights 1:01:42 Quick-Fire Round ------------------------------------------------ In Today’s Episode with Stephane Kurgan We Discuss:

1. From Belgium Boy to Europe’s Leading Operator: How a CD Rom company was the starting place for one of Europe’s best executives? What does Steph believe he is running away from? What does Steph know now that he wishes he had known when he started?

1. Four Criteria of Truly Great Leaders: What four traits do all truly special leaders have? What are the 1-2 that are the hardest to find in great leaders today? Why does Steph believe that even the best leaders are wrong 40% of the time? How does Steph approach decision-making? How has it changed over time? What is the most toxic element of decisions within companies today? When does Steph change plan because a decision is wrong vs stick to it?

1. Speed of Execution and Mission Statements: How important does Steph believe speed of execution is today? What are the elements that one can go fast on vs go slow and be very deliberate on? What elements has Steph gone fast on in the past that led to a mistake? How would he have changed his approach with the benefit of hindsight? Why does Steph believe that mission statements have different value at different company stages? What is Steph’s biggest advice to founders on creating mission statements?

1. Delivering Feedback and Maintaining Trust: What are 1-2 of Steph’s biggest lessons when it comes to delivering feedback well? What are the biggest mistakes founders make when delivering feedback today? Can trust be regained once lost? How? Does Steph start from a position of full trust or is it gained gradually over time? ------------------------------------------------ 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 Twitter: https://twitter.com/HarryStebbings Follow Stephane Kurgan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/stephane_kurgan Follow 20VC on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/20vc_reels 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 ------------------------------------------------ #StephaneKurgan #IndexVentures #HarryStebbings

🎤 SPEAKERS

• Stephane Kurgan

  guest

• Harry Stebbings

  host

🧾 EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of The Twenty Minute VC, featuring Stephane Kurgan and Harry Stebbings, Stephane Kurgan: Lessons Scaling King from 100 Employees to 2,400; How to Find Great Talent | E1041 explores from Candy Crush To Coaching: Stéphane Kurgan’s Playbook For Scale Stéphane Kurgan, former COO of King and now VC at Index, reflects on scaling King from 100 to 2,400 employees and the principles that guided its growth, culture and ethics. He emphasizes data-driven decision-making, radical but pragmatic transparency, and the importance of communication, trust and speed of execution in scaling organizations. Kurgan also shares frameworks for evaluating leaders, hiring and retaining top talent, setting goals, and giving feedback, along with candid stories about failure, career droughts, and repairing his relationship with his father. The conversation closes with how his operational background shapes his investing, his views on luck, money, and parenting, and what he looks for in founders today.

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