Tomorrow I'm going to share about my next move 👀
But today wanted to pause and give a shoutout to @PaddleHQ 🫡
It was an honor to be a part of such a warm and thoughtful team
During my time, I got to scale the "AI Launchpad" program to 4 global cohorts serving 350+ founders with an 83 NPS on our latest batch 🤯
Here's other small wins from my time at Paddle: 👇
We brought in 40+ program partners including AWS, Google Cloud Platform, SaaStock, Gilion, Baseten etc.
They shared over $350k+ perks that became a key pillar in the 'give-first' ethos of the Launchpad community
Almost every other startup in each cohort also created and shared their own platform perks with others to continue this practice
We hosted live workshops with world-class speakers including:
→ @christianbowens (Paddle founder) → @andjdavies (Paddle) → @hlandgren (Founder, Gilion & former VP, Spotify) → @Patticus (Profitwell founder)
Many of whom did AMAs and hands-on interactive events on a wide range of topics like finding PMF, pitch decks, fundraising and even open source AI models
We started a new tradition of hosting Demo Days at the end of each cohort
The most brilliant and creative AI projects got to be in the spotlight
We livestreamed the whole thing and invited others to join
Gave away $40k+ worth cash prizes for winners
Invited founder-friendly investors to share feedback like @pitdesi @lolitataub @wwshaef @biilmann and more
The tight-knit Launchpad founder community we got to build and nurture was my most meaningful memory..
Was filled with incredibly ambitious yet kind and supportive people like @arvidkahl @zain_hoda @thisissukh_ @davidfuesser @shreya_gr
I even got a "double promotion" during this time 👶🏻 👶🏻
Went from being a dad of #1 to a dad of 3 (with twin boys)
And Paddle played a huge role in my happiness because of how supportive and flexible the team was as I navigated a generous parental leave
We had a roller coaster with baby Liam's heart surgeries but it never felt like a burden at work - thanks to the high trust culture
In fact, reminiscing about that hard time alone is why I am writing this thread to says thanks
My team put people(me) first over short term profits/KPIs .. and it left a strong impression in me for one day when I become a founder to be the same for my employees
Finally, huge thanks to my incredible managers and leaders I got to work closely with
@andjdavies is easily the most energizing and empowering leader I worked with. Jessica Hutchinson was my grounding and voice of reason
Couldn't survive without my sparring partner Tharshan who had my back 100s of times.. and lots of brilliant friends like Sarah, Hayley and many more