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He Sold His First Startup To Yahoo, His Second One To Google And Now His Third Is Worth $500 Million

Craig Walker has pulled off an incredible string of successful startups. He has achieved multiple exits with the most prized buyers while raising funding from the who’s who of Silicon Valley— all while empowering today’s modern businesses to operate leaner and more efficiently.

ByAlejandro CremadesContributor




He Sold His First Startup To Yahoo, His Second One To Google And Now His Third Is Worth $500 Million

Craig Walker CRAIG WALKER

Craig Walker has pulled off an incredible string of successful startups. He has achieved multiple exits with the most prized buyers while raising funding from the who’s who of Silicon Valley— all while empowering today’s modern businesses to operate leaner and more efficiently.

Walker recently appeared on the

DealMakers Podcast

, where he shared thoughts on his journey up the ranks of the Valley, the patterns of success he’s seen, the toughest days you can expect to face as an entrepreneur, and many more topics.

Growing Up Next to Steve Jobs

Craig was born and raised in Cupertino. He lived on a little street, where Steve Jobs and his crew were starting Apple just eight houses down.

He attended Berkeley as an undergrad and went on to get his MBA at Georgetown. After business school, Craig spent some time working at Apple while taking the LSAT, and then returned to law school at Berkeley.

Being a lawyer provided a great view of all that was happening in Silicon Valley. He got to represent startups, big public companies that were acquiring startups, venture capitalists and investment bankers— the perfect way to see the entire growth cycle of a company over and over again.

81,115 viewsJun 13, 2019, 07:58am

EntrepreneursAuthor of The Art of Startup Fundraising & Serial Entrepreneur


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This Entrepreneur Built A $2 Billion Business With 1,000 Employees By Disrupting The Legal Industry

Brian is a leader in legal tech innovation and was the founding CEO behind LegalZoom. Liu recently appeared on the DealMakers Podcast to share his entrepreneurial journey, how to save money on legal fees, as well as what he is doing with his latest venture, BizCounsel.

ByAlejandro CremadesContributor



Brian Liu

This Entrepreneur Built A $2 Billion Business With 1,000 Employees By Disrupting The Legal Industry


BRIAN LIU

Brian Liu is not just an amazing example of achieving the American Dream but has built a multi-billion dollar startup which is empowering millions of others to do the same. Brian is a leader in legal tech innovation and was the founding CEO behind LegalZoom.

Liu recently appeared on the DealMakers Podcast where he streamed us his scoop on his entrepreneurial journey, the process of going from corporate to startup, how to save money on legal fees, raising capital from top tier investors, how he is doing things differently with his latest venture, BizCounsel, and many more topics.

Recovering Lawyers, Startup Addicts

A growing number of lawyers appear to be leaving the legal field for the world of entrepreneurship. Once they get a taste of building businesses, it gets in your DNA and seems incomprehensible to do anything else.

While many still aspire to law school, Brian told listeners that his one top piece of advice for those considering starting their own businesses would be, "Be confident. Be confident that you've got what it takes."


6,231 views |
Jun 11, 2019
6,233 viewsJun 11, 2019, 07:12am

EntrepreneursAuthor of The Art of Startup Fundraising & Serial Entrepreneur



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This Entrepreneur Went From Zero Customers To A ... - forbes.com

https://www.forbes.com/sites/alejandrocremades/2019/06/09/this-entrepreneur-went-from-zero-customers-to-a-1-billion-business-by-learning-one-simple-lesson/

Jun 09, 2019 · Daniel Saks is an entrepreneur with a vision, who has raised hundreds of millions of dollars to make technology more accessible and has brought his own unique brush strokes growth through mergers ...

Daniel Saks: From Zero Customers To A $1B Business By ...

Daniel Saks is the co-founder and co-CEO of AppDirect which provides an end-to-end cloud commerce platform for succeeding in the digital economy. The company has raised so far $300 million from investors such as Foundry Group, Inovia Capital, StarVest, Peter Thiel, and Mithril Capital.


This Entrepreneur Went From Zero Customers To A $1 Billion ...

Forbes - Alejandro Cremades Daniel Saks is an entrepreneur with a vision, who has raised hundreds of millions of dollars to make technology more accessible and has brought his own unique brush strokes growth through mergers and acquisitions.

Daniel Saks - President & Co-CEO - AppDirect | LinkedIn

Daniel Saks is President and Co-CEO of AppDirect. An expert in cloud technologies, he was named to the 2015 Forbes 30 Under 30 Enterprise Technology list and has spoken at numerous industry ...



AppDirect snags $35 mln Series C funds

PE Hub|5 years ago

We're well on our way to making that vision a reality, and with this investment, we'll be able to accelerate and go even faster," said Daniel Saks ... value-based growth," added Saks. Recently named a Forbes Most Promising Company for 2014 ...

Cloud Service Commerce Leader AppDirect to Drive Innovation and Growth in the Global Cloud Economy

Business Wire|4 years ago

"We are committed to making software accessible and empowering the global software economy through cloud service commerce," said Daniel Saks, co-founder and co-CEO ... Recognition this year includes Forbes 30 Under 30, Forbes Most Promising Company ...

How the Cloud Will Transform in the Next Decade

Cloud|16 days ago

I can't wait to see what the next 10 years will bring. Daniel Saks is President and Co-CEO of AppDirect. An expert in cloud technologies, he was named to the 2015 Forbes 30 Under 30 Enterprise Technology list and has spoken at numerous industry ...

Traction Conf SF Brings Tech Unicorns to Share Insights on Driving Growth and Revenue

Marketwired|4 years ago

AppDirect CEO Daniel Saks and many more. Traction Conf takes place on Thursday, Oct 8th at the InterContinental Hotel in SF. The conference will kick off with an opening reception the evening of Oct 7th at Exploratorium on Pier 15, one of San Francisco's ...

Forbes Names AppDirect One of America's Most Promising Companies for 2014

Yahoo Finance|5 years ago

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - Jan 30, 2014) - AppDirect, the leading cloud service marketplace and management company, announced today that it has been named one of Forbes Most Promising Companies for 2014 ... company," said Daniel Saks, co-CEO ...

Cloud service commerce platform AppDirect nets $50 mln in Series D round

PE Hub|4 years ago

"We are committed to making software accessible and empowering the global software economy through cloud service commerce," said Daniel Saks, co-founder and co-CEO ... Recognition this year includes Forbes 30 Under 30, Forbes Most Promising Company ...

Succeed in the Digital Economy

Cloud|14 years ago

Daniel Saks is President and Co-CEO of AppDirect. An expert in cloud technologies, he was named to the 2015 Forbes 30 Under 30 Enterprise Technology list and has spoken at numerous industry conferences (Web Summit, Collision, and more). He is an advocate ...


“When I got into McGill Commerce my mom encouraged me to go into the Arts program, and I never really could figure out why. I said ‘Mom, I got into McGill Management, I should take the program.’ But she said, ‘You’re so much of a business person, you really have to be more well-rounded.’”

For Saks, balance is everything, and he has carried this lesson with him throughout his career. He believes that his BA degree did indeed help him become a well-rounded entrepreneur. He credits his psychology course with opening up his mind, and his urban geography class with forcing him to question norms.

However, he does think there are lessons to be learned in business school, but perhaps not the way they are being taught.

“You can learn a lot about how to raise capital, or how to market, or how to sell. What you don’t learn is how to fire a friend, or how to deal with stress when multiple customers are calling you when something goes wrong. Textbook learning may not effectively prepare you for what’s going to happen.


What he suggests is case studies, with a focus on failure.

“If people had opportunities to hear from others, not only about successes, but specifically about the challenges, it would be tremendously valuable. I think that there is a mantra of celebrating success, so you only hear about success stories. It’s interesting, no one really asks about the hardest thing you had to go through. It doesn’t get deep enough.”

Saks is no stranger to failure. Three years into AppDirect, he recalls that they had few visitors to the platform. As he thinks back, Saks says he could have easily given up. Yet, he believes that failure can create balance. What’s more, failure can create drive.

Saks had complete conviction of his vision and believed he would have success. Perhaps his well-rounded education had prepared him, or maybe it was his young, blissful naïveté. What cannot be discounted is the importance of what Saks learned by studying other founders. Understanding how Gates, Brin, Page or Bezos created enduring companies has allowed AppDirect to grow into its own success. He considers three elements necessary to create successful, endurable companies.

Firstly, founders need to define their vision from Day One. This vision drives “True North,” AppDirect’s term for owning customer focus by executing business in such a way that, not unlike a compass needle, it is always moving the company and the product in one direction.

Secondly, founders need to have very clearly defined values. This will unite the company as a whole, and make decision-making easier. However, this doesn’t mean making everyone happy, which is an important lesson Saks learned.


“I think when you grow up, you watch all these leaders and you assume that they are so impressive. But what you realize over time is that good leadership doesn’t mean making everyone happy. One of the things I struggled with in the early days is that I really wanted to make everyone happy. You have to learn over time to really put your values and the long-term mission ahead of any one person. That causes you to make difficult decisions. For me, the challenges never had to do with the businesses issues themselves, it’s always issues of perception, communication and managing people’s expectations.”

Thirdly, there must be an innovation framework implemented within the business. Finding a balance between these three elements can help founders persevere in the face of failure.

“What we find is that the combination of a stated vision, values and an innovation framework; with a long-term approach; helps be your North Star to guide you through the challenges.”

What’s clear is that there isn’t one path to success. But Saks urges people to step out of their comfort zone and open their minds.

“What the world needs is more people who are well-rounded. People who don’t say I’m an engineer first, or a salesperson first, or a business person first; but say I understand deeply how to question things.”

This interview has been condensed