Leading Auth0 to a $6.5 billion acquisition

Key takeaways

Failure and rejection provide invaluable feedback for growth, not just setbacks.
Building a successful company requires clarity of purpose, a strong culture, and non-negotiable core behaviors.
Long-term thinking and viewing business as an infinite game support sustainable success.
Resilience, continuous learning, and the ability to adapt are critical for entrepreneurial success.
Strategic patience and perseverance, coupled with a long-term vision, are fundamental to creating impactful, scalable technology companies.

Summary

The Entrepreneurial Journey: Lessons from Failure and Success

Eugenio Pace shares his entrepreneurial path, starting from his early days in Argentina where resources were scarce and the environment was challenging. His first company, started immediately after college, was driven by his passion for engineering and solving problems but didn’t succeed, mainly due to a limited view of building a complete business beyond product development. He emphasizes that failures are valuable feedback and stresses the importance of a learning mindset in entrepreneurship. Through his experience, including his long tenure at Microsoft and a military stint, Eugenio learned key lessons about building technology at scale, the importance of a strong team, and the value of perseverance. The segment underscores that success often stems from resilience, learning from rejection, and maintaining a growth mindset.

Building Auth0: From Cloud Concerns to a Billion-Dollar Valuation

Eugenio discusses the genesis of Auth0, highlighting how early exposure to cloud computing challenges, especially identity and access management, sparked the idea for his second company. His time at Microsoft equipped him with invaluable knowledge about scaling technology and understanding market needs, which he leveraged to develop Auth0. The story details the company's journey through numerous rejections before securing a significant funding round, ultimately raising $120 million and achieving a valuation of around $1.92 billion. The narrative stresses the importance of clarity in core purpose, company culture with non-negotiable behaviors, and the role of resilience and continuous improvement in creating a successful, impactful company.

The Philosophy of Long-Term Vision and Company Culture

A recurring theme is the importance of thinking long-term and viewing business growth as a continuous journey rather than a finite goal. Eugenio emphasizes the significance of cultivating a strong company culture based on four key questions—why the company exists, what it provides, how it behaves, and how it wins. He shares his core values such as care, continuous improvement, and teamwork, which guide decision-making and foster a cohesive environment. The conversation also explores the idea of viewing business as an infinite game—focusing on sustainability, ongoing growth, and enduring impact rather than short-term wins or exits.

The Power of Feedback, Rejection, and Resilience in Entrepreneurship

Eugenio reflects deeply on how confronting rejection and negative feedback is essential for growth. He recounts instances where he faced rejection from investors and mentors, but instead of taking these as defeats, he used them as opportunities to improve his approach, messages, and understanding. He highlights that setbacks are often rooted in incomplete context, and it’s crucial to differentiate between personal identity and external feedback. The discussion underscores that perseverance, embracing obstacles as growth opportunities, and maintaining a positive, learning-oriented attitude are vital traits of successful entrepreneurs.

Show notes

This week Adam is joined by Eugenio Pace, co-founder and CEO of Auth0. Auth0 is a for developers, by developers identity, access, security, and authentication platform built for the cloud that secures billions of logins every year. Mid 2020 they raised $120 million at a $1.92 billion valuation after being told no several times. Then, earlier this year in March they announced they were being acquired by Okta for $6.5 billion, in a bold and future-thinking all stock deal. This episode is full of wisdom, inspiration, and tactical advice that Eugenio has used to build Auth0.