2019 Building an Enterprise Enterprise! | Todd McKinnon Co-Founder & CEO, Okta with David Weiden

TL;DR

Todd McKinnon, Founder and CEO of Okta, discusses the journey of Okta, an Enterprise identity company, and shares insights on strategy, execution, and leadership.

Transcript

good morning I'm excited to get to chat with all of you and Todd McKinnon the founder co-founder and CEO of octa and Todd is distinguished by being able to do several challenging things one I just learned of which is he's a acclaimed CrossFit athlete and he also survived a number of years of me interacting with him on his board and and lived to tel... Read More

Key Insights

• 🏛️ Starting a company and building it into a successful venture requires perseverance and the ability to adapt to challenges.
• 🤗 Transparency and open communication with the team are crucial for building trust and solving problems effectively.
• ⌛ Confidence and decisiveness as a leader can inspire trust and provide clarity during uncertain times.
• 🏂 Contextualizing board discussions and continuously updating the board on company progress can lead to more valuable insights and guidance.
• 🍗 When recruiting, focusing on personal connections and selling the company's vision can be more effective than trying to fit in with industry trends.
• 🥺 Building a great company culture starts with aligning the team with a shared vision and leading by example.
• 👀 Effective hiring and managing requires looking beyond the interview stage and conducting thorough reference checks.

Questions & Answers

Q: How does Okta manage security and identity across different use cases?

Okta's platform, called the Okta Identity Cloud, provides identity and security management for employee logins, customer portals, and partner logins.

Q: How long has Okta been in business, and what is its current revenue?

Okta has been in business for 10 years and its revenue in the last quarter was $115 million.

Q: How did Todd McKinnon navigate the challenging early years of Okta?

McKinnon faced difficulties during the initial years of Okta, including the struggle to meet expectations and build traction. However, he persevered, embraced transparency, and took decisive actions to turn things around.

Q: How did McKinnon deal with competition from larger companies?

When larger companies, such as Microsoft, Salesforce, and Google, entered the market with competitive products, Okta focused on executing its vision, building a strong team, and maintaining independence as a technology company.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Okta is an Enterprise identity company that manages security and identity across different use cases such as employee logins, customer portals, and partner logins.

• Todd McKinnon started Okta 10 years ago and the company has grown successfully, with a revenue of $115 million in the last quarter.

• McKinnon shares key insights on building a successful company, including the importance of perseverance, transparency, and decisive leadership.