20VC: Why CEOs Must Read Less & Listen Less, What VC Funding, Shelf Space & Time Have In Common & Why CEOs Must Look After Themselves Like Athletes with Sami Inkinen, Founder @ Virta Health & Trulia

Sami Inkinen is the Founder & CEO @ Virta Health, the startup on a mission to reverse type 2 diabetes for 100m people by 2025. They have raised over $35m in funding from the likes of Max Levchin, Ev William’s Obvious Ventures, Paypal, Ray Tonsing @ Caffeinated Capital and previous 20VC guest, Bob Kocher @ Venrock. Previously, Sami was a co-founder, COO and President of Trulia until it’s IPO and eventual sale for $3.6B. Sami, an avid athlete, is a triathlon world champion in his age group, and recently rowed across the Pacific Ocean from California to Hawaii unsupported with his wife at a record speed to raise awareness about healthy nutrition.

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In Today’s Episode You Will Learn:

1.) How Sami made his way into the world of startups, came to co-found Trulia and then realized his mission to reverse type 2 diabetes with Virta?

2.) Why does Sami disagree with conventional wisdom and say you learn “more from success than you do from failure”? What are the educational benefits of success that you do not get from failure? What did Sami learn from his Trulia journey?

3.) Why does Sami believe that CEOs should read less and listen less? What are the benefits to not empathizing extensively with the problems of the team? What operational structure must be in place for this level of management to occur?

4.) How does Sami compare VC funding to real estate mortgages? Why does Sami believe that it is always better to raise little? What is the one thing time, money and shelf-space all have in common?

5.) What does Sami mean when he says “CEOs must look after themselves like athletes”? What are Sami’s top health and nutrition tips for founders and operators with hugely busy lives?

Items Mentioned In Today’s Show:

Sami’s Fave Book: Unbroken

As always you can follow Harry, The Twenty Minute VC and Sami on Twitter here!

Likewise, you can follow Harry on Snapchat here for mojito madness and all things 20VC.

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