LivePerson’s Robert LoCascio got in mental shape to build a $3.5 billion business

Venture Voice – interviews with entrepreneurs

Born into a family of entrepreneurs, LivePerson founder and CEO Robert LoCascio always had the entrepreneurial spirit, going back to his teens when he and a friend started an auto detailing business. After graduating college, he had a brief stint in a “real” job, but that experience — he ended up getting fired via fax — convinced him that he never wanted to work for someone else again. Determined to control his own destiny, he took out $50,000 on credit cards to fund his first business, IKON. When a customer asked them to build a website, he made a bold decision to shift the business and, in the process, get himself in the mental shape necessary to be the entrepreneur he wanted to be. In this candid conversation, Robert reveals not just the business side but also the psychological and emotional journey involved with being an entrepreneur. His story is one of many ups and downs — from being hounded by credit card companies to taking his company public just before the dot com bubble burst to narrowly avoiding stock delisting and then ultimately steering his company to its current $3.5 billion value. In some uniquely disruptive times, Robert also hasn’t been afraid to disrupt his own businesses. He believes the doubts and the dark days have something important to teach us, and that’s why he says the biggest lesson all entrepreneurs should take away from his story is this: Never quit when you’re down. *** If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than a minute and helps us continue to attract the entrepreneurs you want to hear and learn from. For show notes, past guests and transcripts, visit venturevoice.com Sign up for the Venture Voice email newsletter at venturevoice.substack.com/welcome Follow and connect on social: On Twitter: twitter.com/gregory On Instagram: instagram.com/gregory On YouTube: youtube.com/c/GregoryGalant On LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/galant/ Learn more about Muck Rack at muckrack.com and The Shorty Awards at shortyawards.com Produced by PodcastTech.com