What a Series B Co-Founder looks for in their Leadership Team with Dee Murthy (Co-Founder, Ghost)

Chat with Dee Murthy (Co-Founder, Ghost)

Welcome to this week’s free article of Level Up: Your source for career growth solutions & community by retired Amazon Vice President, Ethan Evans. If you’d like to become a paid member, see the benefits here, and feel free to use this expense template to ask your manager.

​Dee Murthy — known for his candid advice and hot takes — is the Co-Founder of Ghost, a private B2B platform for surplus inventory. Ghost raised a $20M Series A and $30M Series B. Dee is also the Co-Founder of Five Four Group (the holding company for fashion brands and services) and a Co-Host of Group Chat, a popular business, culture, and current events podcast.

In our fireside chat, Dee and Jason Yoong (Ethan’s Operating Partner) discuss:

1. ​What Dee looks for when hiring leaders & executives (and how big company leaders get startup attention).

2. Common advice that is BS.

3. How to cold email Dee to get a response (he gets 500+ messages a day).

4. ​How to successfully scale a startup (plus a lesson Dee learned the hard way).

Note: Live attendance was exclusive to paid newsletter members.

Here are 4 hot takes and 2 pieces of advice.

(1) Chaos experience is priceless.

1. If you’ve only worked at big companies, startup founders think you’re unwilling to get your hands dirty.

2. What counts as chaos?

   1. Failed startup.

   2. Hyper-growth (e.g. Uber 8 years ago, not 2).

   3. Big company operator on a small under-resourced team that built something special.

(2) There is no work/life balance…speed at a startup is everything.

1. Know what you are signing up for.

(3) In-person is a requirement for executives.

1. Startups are already impossible.

2. Always interview in person (no Zoom interviews).

(4) Executives have 90 days to deliver results before getting axed.

1. Compare that with the 90-day onboarding plan for big companies.

2. Why? Because 90 days in startups is 1 year for big companies.

(5) How do I guarantee an interview for an executive role?

1. Strong referrals and warm intros.

   1. 90% of Ghost’s executive team are network referrals (the non-referred executive came via a recruiter).

   2. 80% of leadership jobs (per Forbes magazine, 2023) come through networking connections.

   3. A strong network is your most powerful, portable long-term career asset. If you want to learn how leaders build great networks and use them to their advantage, consider Ethan’s on-demand course, Leadership Networking.

(6) Use the ‘Airport Test’.

1. Never underestimate likeability. If it comes down to you and another qualified candidate, likeability will be the tie-breaker.

   1. The ‘Airport Test’: If I got stuck at an airport (or on a plane) with this person, do I feel energized or drained?

   2. Small talk is an important skill set to disarm people.

   3. The ability to talk to all walks of life signals you can handle all types of personalities.

Follow Dee on LinkedIn, Twitter, listen to his podcast Group Chat, and check out roles at Ghost.

What Level Up Community Members said:

“Really insightful event - Dee was an absolute banger of a guest!”

“I also really enjoyed the blunt honesty.”

“I was so happy to be able to talk to Dee live. I also related to all of the questions that everyone asked. The knowledge I gain today will help me take the next step in my career.”

“Great event. Thank you for bringing Dee.”

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Early Stage Startup Investing with Ethan Evans & Peter Mueller (Co-Founding Partner at Breakwater Ventures)

Level Up newsletter paid members are invited to join this live discussion followed by audience Q&A on May 30 (Thursday), where Ethan and Peter will discuss:

1. ​​Peter's investment thesis and how he picks winners as a VC.

2. ​What do founders need to do to get funded?

3. ​How do you approach a VC?

4. ​What makes a good/bad VC pitch?

5. ​How do executives and operators know which winning startups to join?

6. ​What is the track to becoming an EIR?

7. ​How do people get involved with / help a VC firm?

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Connect With Ethan & Jason

• Follow Ethan on LinkedIn.

• Connect with Jason (Ethan’s operating partner) on LinkedIn.

• Get Ethan’s career advice on YouTube.

• Explore Ethan’s website.

Level Up is your source for career growth solutions & community by retired Amazon Vice President, Ethan Evans.