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20VC: Hims Founder Andrew Dudum on Hims Going Public, The Reasoning and Benefits of SPACs, The Biggest Misconceptions of Successful Company Building & Wall St's Changing Perceptions Towards Growth and Profitability

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Jan 21, 2021

Andrew Dudum, Founder and CEO of Hims & Hers, shares insights from his dynamic journey in the health and wellness industry. He discusses the challenges and misconceptions of building a successful company, emphasizing that small teams can drive efficiency. Andrew reflects on Hims' rapid growth to a $1 billion valuation and his timeliness in opting for a SPAC IPO. He also delves into improving productivity through innovative time management strategies and shares his vision for the future of healthcare accessibility.

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INSIGHT

Early IPO Rationale

Hims went public early to offer a unique opportunity in the public market.
Andrew saw a lack of fast-growing, efficient companies in healthcare.

INSIGHT

SPAC Advantages

SPACs offer advantages in efficiency, investor involvement, and pricing.
Hims chose a SPAC due to its speed and alignment with long-term investors.

INSIGHT

The IPO "Pop" Myth

While IPO "pops" generate buzz, they often represent inefficient pricing.
Long-term success depends on execution, not initial hype.

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Andrew Dudum is the Founder & CEO @ Hims & Hers, offering a modern approach to health and wellness and one of the fastest-growing companies to reach $1Bn. Prior to their going public on Tuesday this week, Hims raised over $158M from some of the best including Thrive, Forerunner, Founders Fund, IVP, Redpoint and more. As for Andrew, alongside his role at Hims he is also Co-Founder of Atomic, a company builder and venture fund all in one, backed by Peter Thiel and Marc Andreesen to name two. Prior to Atomic, Andrew led product at TokBox managing a team of 30 leading to their acquisition by Telefonica in 2012.

In Today's Episode You Will Learn:

1.) How Andrew made his way from Head of Product at Tokbox to venture capitalist with Atomic to changing healthcare with Hims?

2.) What are the biggest misconceptions people have with regards to what it takes to build a successful company? Why do you not need big teams? How can leaders drive efficiency within small teams? What have been Andrew's biggest lessons in acquiring the best talent in market? What works?

3.) Hims is the fastest company to scale to $1Bn, how does Andrew reflect on how he managed hyper-growth? What did he do well? What was the first to break? What would he do differently? When is the right time to go from generalist to specialist? When is the right time to add more products?

4.) Why did Andrew believe now was the right time to IPO just 4 years into the founding of the business? How did the SPAC process play out? What are the core advantages to Andrew of the SPAC over an IPO? Why will more founders use it in the future? How does Andrew assess the importance or lack of, when it comes to the pricing pop on IPO day?

5.) How does Andrew reflect on his relationship to money? Why does he feel more scared of it now than ever before? How does he think about bringing up his children with an appreciation and respect for money? What 3 traits would Andrew most like his children to have?

Item's Mentioned In Today's Episode

Andrew's Favourite Book: The Planet Remade: How Geoengineering Could Change the World

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