In just over three years, Alex Bouaziz has scaled Deel to more than €5B in valuation and 700 employees across 60+ different countries. In the episode, we discuss the principles, systems and choices that have put him and Deel on that trajectory of true hypergrowth.

This episode marks the first in a new era for the Soaked by Slush podcast, in which we will laser focus on company-building advice, interviewing some of the most iconic founders and investors of our generation to uncover the first principles behind the companies they have built.

---

0:42 Without which habit would you not be where you are today?

1:27 If you got to relive your early 20s, what would you spend more time on?

2:03 What are you inherently better at than most founders? What have you had to painfully cultivate?

3:15 What systems do you have in place at Deel to mitigate your lack of a knack for documentation?

4:31 Can you choose to become a founder first, and come up with ideas second?

6:11 When and why did you give up on your first company, Lifeslice?

7:51 Because of your experience at Lifeslice, what did you do differently in the early days of Deel?

9:32 How can I as a prospective founder understand whether I’m better at B2B or B2C?

10:46 How did you concretely listen to customers and iterate on the product early on?

12:50 How can you ensure that your speed of execution ripples down the organisation?

15:10 As their companies scale, how should founders manage their own responsibilities?

16:49 A common aphorism is that companies need a different CEO for each stage of growth. What are those phases? How should you adapt?

18:20 When should you promote people into leadership positions? When should you hire externally?

19:40 If you showed me your calendar, what would I find most surprising?

20:37 Who do you go to for advice?

21:53 What is the most impactful question you’ve asked the CEO of another company?

22:59 What is an important truth about company-building that few people would agree with?