Ep 72: From (almost) DropKick to Scaling Fast-Growing Startups | Vincent Wei (Head of Growth, VEED.IO)

Vincent Wei is the Head of Growth (Product & growth) at
VEED.IO, one of the fastest growing startups by revenue in the
world. 


He was first introduced to the world of startups when he began
CodeCreate, one of Australia’s first coding school for kids,
while still at university. The school generated 6-figure revenue
but his next startup unfortunately didn’t do so well.


Burnt out, Vincent decided to take a break and travel the world
before returning as Employee #3 on the growth team at AirTasker -
which later became one of Australia’s largest marketplace for
services. That was no mean feat, given that the startup was
burning $35 million annually and on the verge on collapse then!


They managed to turn the startup around but Vincent left before
AirTasker IPOed in 2021 (and we discuss why in this episode!) to
join VEED.io - the Canva of video editing - as Head of Growth.
VEED recently raised $35M from Sequoia and is currently going
through an exciting growth phase, so this is definitely a startup
to keep an eye on!


Highlights:


3:32 How Harry Potter helped Vincent learn English

5:20 Being driven to succeed

8:41 Not wanting to be a dropkick

13:51 Founding CodeCreate to teach kids how to build
Minecraft

18:48 How CodeCreate’s cohort went from 3 to 86 kids

23:00 Getting a contract role at Suncorp

29:29 Founding his 2nd startup

32:37 How Lambda School inspired them

35:48 Why Cody failed

38:16 Travelling the world

42:35 The power of LinkedIn outreach & chatting with
James Clear

47:26 Joining AirTasker when it was burning $30 million
annually

49:27 How they turned AirTasker around

54:51 Why Vincent left AirTasker

56:25 How Vincent’s role at VEED has evolved over time

59:09 What Vincent looks for when he hires

1:01:08 Influencing others virtually






Show notes:
www.sothisismywhy.com/72                


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P/S: "Dropkick" is an Australian slang that refers to someone who
isn't very smart & hasn't made it very far in life.