Ep.230: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Anand Sanwal (@anandsanwal).

My guest today is Anand Sanwal, founder and former CEO of CB Insights, which provides data and intelligence on private markets, companies, and investors. Anand recently hired a new CEO for CB Insights and stepped into a chairman role. Anand ran the company for 14 years and developed a unique perspective on leading that I was really excited to learn more about. He’s a deep thinker, and if you liked recent episodes with Henry Schuck and Ayman Al-Abdullah, you’ll love this one too.

Anand and I talk about why he stepped out of the CEO role and the type of person he looked for to replace him, how new CEOs should start their first couple months in a new company, how CB Insights has shaped his views on private markets, and the new entrepreneurial school he’s launching to turn young kids into business pros.

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Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/

Links:
CB Insights
Anand on LinkedIn

Topics:
(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:03:47) - Evaluating the effectiveness of a CEO
(00:06:21) - Building repeatable processes
(00:09:05) - Executive recruiting strategies
(00:19:06) - Evaluating the instincts of a candidate
(00:21:44) - What are the best ways to effectively spend your time as a new CEO?
(00:27:06) - Tactics for influencing culture
(00:33:33) - How do you think about moving quickly and effectively?
(00:36:52) - Being an insurgent company
(00:40:07) - Growth advantages
(00:42:38) - What have incumbent companies eliminated in order to move faster?
(00:45:07) - Are there any founders or CEOs you study?
(00:54:49) - Anand’s entrepreneurship school
(01:10:35) - Thoughts on private markets