Cloudflare: Reflections on Leadership with Michelle Zatlyn

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Michelle Zatlyn, Co-founder, President, and Chief Operating Officer at Cloudflare, chats with Peak XV CMO Gayatri Yadav about building Cloudflare, the global powerhouse that stops 209 billion cyber threats a day.

In this conversation, Michelle reflects on the initial struggle to garner support for Cloudflare’s offerings and emphasizes the importance of perseverance, especially in the face of skepticism from potential investors, customers, and employees. She delves into why founders should listen to their own voice and not be deterred by doubters. Michelle also talks about Cloudflare’s approach to customer acquisition as well as the evolution of the company’s go-to-market strategy. While talking about the complexities of building and scaling a company, she also delves into the importance of hiring the right people, as well as the leadership principles that guide her.

• Founders, it’s ok if others don’t see what you see [04:19]
• Finding PMF isn’t always a slam dunk [07:20]
• Understand why potential customers don’t buy your product [12:53]
• The importance of tracking progress against a goal [16:29]
• Reimagining archetypes: “The world needs a new definition of leaders” [20:53]