Rob LoCascio of LivePerson – TWiST #174 Bonus

0:00-1:00 Welcome everyone to this special NYC TWiST. 1:00-2:45 Thank you to Carbonite for sponsoring the show. Jason demonstrates how easy it is to back up your files using Carbonite. 2:45-3:00 I’m here with Rob LoCascio of LivePerson. 3:30-3:30 When did you found the company and what’s the mission? 3:30-4:15 Before SaaS existed, was it server-based in the beginning? 4:15-5:00 How did you come up with the idea of pop-up help boxes on websites? 5:00-5:45 15 years later, where is the company now? 5:45-7:15 You went public when? 7:15-7:45 What was that time like for your company? 7:45-8:15 It is crushing to let people go as an entrepreneur, isn’t it? 8:15-9:15 There’s no good way to lay people off, is there? 9:15-11:30 That same year was September 11th, wasn’t it? 11:30-12:45 But New Yorkers are very resilient, and you started to see signs of life a few years later, yes? 12:45-13:15 So you can have successes, but breakout success could happen in year ten? 13:15-13:45 What are some of the mistakes? 13:45-15:45 If you hadn’t raised a round, how did you fund the company for the first five years? 15:45-16:15 Does today’s climate of “money is free, revenue doesn’t matter” feel a little like deja vu? 16:15-17:15 Groupon feels more like a Web 1.0 company, doesn’t it? 17:15-18:00 So you don’t think we’re going to have an IPO frenzy? What was Robert LoCascio’s childhood dream? 18:00-18:45 A lot of people say the top reason to go public is to have the currency to buy other companies …