Cloudflare's Michelle Zatlyn on Being Cyber Stewards | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

Cloudflare, a global network infrastructure company, provides cybersecurity, performance, and reliability solutions to make the internet faster and safer.

Key Insights

• 💨 Cloudflare's mission is to provide a safer, faster, and more secure internet by offering cybersecurity, performance, and reliability solutions.
• 🏛️ The company's transparent and principled leadership approach has helped build trust and attract top talent.
• ⚾ Cloudflare's focus on product innovation and expanding its customer base ensures sustained growth in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.
• 🪛 They prioritize data-driven decision-making and involve employees in the process to drive alignment and ownership.
• 🖐️ Cloudflare's global network infrastructure plays a vital role in connecting 20% of the web and protecting against cyber threats.
• 🏛️ The company's commitment to transparency and trust has enabled them to weather challenges and build enduring relationships with customers.
• 😌 Cloudflare's success lies in its ability to provide comprehensive solutions for cybersecurity, performance, and reliability, meeting the evolving needs of the internet ecosystem.

Transcript

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Questions & Answers

Q: What is Cloudflare's mission and how do they achieve it?

Cloudflare's mission is to provide a safer, faster, and more secure internet. They achieve this by leveraging their globally distributed network to protect against cyber attacks, enhance performance, and improve reliability for internet-connected platforms.

Q: How does Cloudflare differentiate itself from its competitors?

Cloudflare differentiates itself by offering a comprehensive suite of services that address cybersecurity, performance, and reliability. They have a strong focus on transparency, trust, and building a global network infrastructure that enables faster and safer online experiences.

Q: How does Cloudflare attract and retain top talent?

Cloudflare places a strong emphasis on recruiting and retaining top talent. They actively involve executives and hiring managers in the recruitment process to create alignment and foster a sense of purpose. The company also focuses on transparency, trust, and providing employees with opportunities to make an impact.

Q: How does Cloudflare handle challenges and prioritize decision-making?

Cloudflare believes in principled and transparent leadership. They address challenges by openly acknowledging them, sharing information with employees, and working towards solutions. Decision-making is data-driven and inclusive, with a focus on aligning expectations and clear ownership within teams.

Summary

Cloudflare co-founder, Michelle Zatlin, discusses the significance of Cloudflare in the era of rapid internet technology advancement. She explains how Cloudflare makes anything connected to the internet faster, safer, and more reliable through cybersecurity, performance, and reliability. Michelle also shares her background and journey into the tech startup world, starting Cloudflare in 2010, and attracting investors and customers. She emphasizes the importance of building a great team, creating unique strategies to attract employees, and choosing metrics to demonstrate traction. Michelle highlights proud moments such as taking Cloudflare public, customer feedback, and the company's role during the pandemic.

Questions & Answers

Q: What is the significance of Cloudflare in the era of rapid internet technology advancement?

Cloudflare plays a critical role in making anything connected to the internet faster, safer, and more reliable. They provide cybersecurity, performance, and reliability for online interactions. The company stops over 70 billion cyber attacks per day and has helped build the backbone infrastructure of the internet.

Q: How did Cloudflare attract investors and customers?

Cloudflare initially raised money based on their big vision and progress, even without revenue. They focused on raising money on a story rather than traction. Later, as the company gained revenue, they attracted investors who believed in their mission. They also built an audience and awareness through writing technical blog posts, which led to attracting top talent.

Q: How did Michelle Zatlin and her co-founders decide to get into technology and start Cloudflare?

Michelle did not have a background in technology but was driven to make an impact in the world. After attending business school at Harvard, she visited Silicon Valley and got inspired by the entrepreneurial atmosphere. She met Matthew Prince, one of her fellow classmates, who shared an idea about fighting web spammers. This idea eventually led to starting Cloudflare, where they aimed to make anything connected to the internet faster, safer, and more reliable.

Q: What major milestones is Michelle Zatlin most proud of?

Michelle takes pride in shipping a product that customers love and receiving positive feedback, knowing that Cloudflare's services have made a significant impact. She also cherishes the moments when the company went public and had the opportunity to celebrate their achievements with the entire team. Additionally, she mentions the important role Cloudflare played during the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring the internet stayed connected for people worldwide.

Q: Why does Cloudflare have a low attrition rate compared to other companies?

Cloudflare's low attrition rate is attributed to the strong company culture and values. The company emphasizes the importance of building a great team and demonstrates this by actively participating in the recruiting process alongside their hiring managers. By being involved and showcasing passion for the company's mission, Cloudflare creates a sense of camaraderie and alignment that motivates employees to stay. Additionally, their focus on creating valuable technical content through their blog has attracted and retained top talent.

Q: Can you give some insights into Cloudflare's unique strategies to attract employees?

Cloudflare's strategy involves active involvement from the co-founders and hiring managers in the recruiting process. They personally reach out and engage with candidates, showcasing their passion and conviction for the company. This personalized approach differentiates them from other startups that primarily rely on recruiters. In addition, the company's technical blog, written by engineers, has been a successful way to build awareness and attract talent who resonate with Cloudflare's technical challenges and mission.

Q: How did Cloudflare think about attracting employees and achieving traction in the early stages?

In the early stages, Cloudflare focused on picking metrics that demonstrated traction, even before revenue. They selected metrics that would change quickly and reflect the progress they were making. For example, they measured the number of customers and page views, as these metrics could grow rapidly as the company served more web applications and websites. This allowed them to showcase traction and progress, even without significant revenue.

Q: How did Michelle Zatlin handle the departure of early team members at Cloudflare?

Michelle initially struggled with team members leaving and reacted negatively when she learned about it. However, she learned a valuable lesson that the people who start the journey are not always the ones who finish it. She realized that some team members might choose to leave sooner, and it's important to accept this and maintain positive relationships. Building a great team involves understanding that not everyone will stay for the entire duration of the company's journey.

Q: How did Cloudflare handle the increase in internet traffic during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Cloudflare played a critical role during the pandemic when internet traffic doubled overnight. They ensured that infrastructure and services remained reliable for millions of users worldwide. This allowed people to stay connected, work remotely, and access online services. Cloudflare's services became even more essential during this time, creating a sense of purpose and pride for the entire team.

Q: What advice does Michelle Zatlin have for founders and leaders in building successful companies?

Michelle advises founders and leaders to focus on building a great team and to be actively involved in the recruiting process. Taking the time to engage with candidates personally can make a significant difference in attracting top talent. She also emphasizes the importance of defining relevant metrics to demonstrate traction, especially in the early stages when revenue might not be available. Additionally, creating valuable content and building an audience through mediums like blogs can help attract talent and showcase a company's unique challenges and mission.

Q: How does Michelle Zatlin see the future of Cloudflare?

Michelle believes Cloudflare's future lies in continuing to innovate and improve their services to make the internet faster, safer, and more reliable. As technology continues to advance, new challenges and threats arise, creating opportunities for Cloudflare to provide solutions. The company will focus on staying at the forefront of cybersecurity, performance, and reliability for anything connected to the internet.

Takeaways

Cloudflare's significance in the era of rapid internet technology advancement is immense as they provide cybersecurity, performance, and reliability to make anything connected to the internet faster, safer, and more reliable. Michelle Zatlin emphasizes the importance of building a great team and being personally involved in the recruiting process. Cloudflare attracts employees by showcasing passion for their mission and creating unique strategies like writing technical blog posts. The company demonstrates traction through carefully selected metrics, even before revenue. Cloudflare's proud moments include going public, receiving positive customer feedback, and supporting the world during the COVID-19 pandemic. The company's low attrition rate is attributed to a strong culture and values. Michelle Zatlin advises founders and leaders to focus on building a great team, defining relevant metrics for traction, and creating valuable content to attract talent. The future of Cloudflare lies in continuous innovation and addressing evolving challenges in internet technology.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Cloudflare ensures a safer, faster, and more reliable internet by mitigating cyber attacks and providing security, performance, and reliability solutions.

• With over 27 million internet properties using their service, Cloudflare plays a critical role as the backbone of the internet, connecting 20% of the web.

• The company focuses on attracting and retaining top talent, emphasizing the importance of transparency, trust, and strong leadership.