Today’s the day! This afternoon at 2 p.m. EDT/11 a.m. PDT, Yext CEO Howard Lerman will join TechCrunch for a live chat.
The conversation is part of our continuing Extra Crunch Live series, now in its second season. What are we up to in the second installment of the conversations? The same as before, bringing the most interesting founders and investors ’round for a chat that you can contribute to by bringing your own questions. (Make sure you’re signed up so you can jump right in.)
As we wrote last week, Lerman is not just another public company CEO: His company, Yext, has some old-fashioned history with TechCrunch, having pitched at one of our events back in 2009. It went well, with Yext quickly raising money afterward.
We’ll spend a little bit of time in the past talking about Yext’s history as a startup. I want to know at what stage did Howard begin to consciously prep Yext for an IPO — the company went public in 2017 — and how long until he felt the company was ready? Given that we just came off one of the most active quarters in recent history for technology companies going public, it’s a good time to dig into the matter.
2020 IPO report card: Are tech’s newest public companies meeting expectations?
We’ll also get Howard’s take on the public markets in 2020 and whether he was happy with Yext’s IPO timing.
For the early-stage founders in the crowd, we have stuff prepped for you as well. Yext has moved from a business best-known for building a system that helps companies keep their diverse online listings up to date with their most pertinent information, to a search-first company that is leading its customer acquisition cycles with its “Answers” product.
How did the company manage to build the latter while eating off the former, and how has the company balanced its continued development since? What can startups learn from the choices that Yext has made?
And, TechCrunch recently reviewed Howard’s social media posts regarding Black Lives Matter: “As CEO, I will see to it that our company continues to be advocates for equality and justice.” So, how does he view the role of politics inside of tech companies, and what advice does he have for founders who are looking to build a lasting culture?
It’s going to be a great chat. Make sure you’ve signed up for Extra Crunch and I’ll see you in a few hours.
Bring your best questions. Howard is a good chat, so he’ll have something to say if you ask something great. Details after the jump.
Details
Below are links to add the event to your calendar and to save the Zoom link. We’ll share the YouTube link shortly before the discussion:
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