20VC: Klaviyo's Andrew Bialecki on Going Public in an IPO Winter, Is Klaviyo Under-Priced in Public Markets and Why, Why Every VC Turned Klaviyo Down in the Early Days & How Shopify's Partnership Changed the Game

Andrew Bialecki is the Co-Founder and CEO of Klaviyo, the platform that powers smarter digital relationships for businesses and their data. To date, Klaviyo has raised over $778M from the likes of Accel, Summit Partners, Sands Capital, and Shopify, and raised an additional $700M after its IPO in September 2023. In Today’s Episode with Andrew Bialecki We Discuss: 1.

Founding a $6.23BN Machine in Klaviyo: The Aha Moment 2. •

What was the aha moment for Klaviyo? • •

How important does Andrew think it is for founders to stick with their initial vision vs when is the right time to pivot? • •

Does a great product sell itself? If you build it, will they come? • 1.

Bootstrapping Klaviyo: Would it Have Worked with More VC Cash Earlier? 2. •

Why did Andrew decide to bootstrap & not take VC money with Klaviyo? • •

Does Andrew think Klaviyo would have been successful if they raised a seed round? What would they have done differently? • •

Why does Andrew believe companies should take their time to find product-market fit? What are the most common mistakes founders make? • •

What is Andrew’s advice to founders on fundraising? • •

When did Andrew decide to raise a seed round when he did? • 1.

How to IPO in an IPO Winter: Advice & Lessons 2. •

Why did Andrew decide to take Klaviyo public in a bad public market? • •

How was the IPO roadshow process? What were Andrew’s lessons from it? • •

How has Andrew’s role as CEO changed after taking Klaviyo public? • •

Does Andrew think Klaviyo is undervalued today? • •

What is Andrew’s advice to founders on secondaries? • 1.

Behind the Shopify Partnership 2. •

How did Klaviyo’s partnership with Shopify happen? What were Andrew’s lessons working with Tobi Lütke & Harley Finklestein? • •

How does Andrew define a win-win partnership? • •

What does Andrew mean by “Partnerships are like a tug of war?” • •

What does Andrew think are the most common reasons partnerships go sideways? •