Discover/EUVC

E690 | Sacha Michaud, Glovo: Scaling a Hyper-Competitive Marketplace (and knowing when to exit)

EUVCFeb 4, 202647 min

Sacha Michaud, founder of Glovo, delivers hard-won insights from building one of Europe's largest on-demand delivery platforms in a brutal competitive landscape. His contrarian take on founder-VC alignment during exits and strategic framework for geographic expansion offer rare transparency into the realities of scaling marketplaces at the highest level.

Key takeaways

  • •Kill your favorite product features ruthlessly when data contradicts your instincts—emotional attachment to ideas destroys focus.
  • •VCs often oppose acquisitions that founders want because portfolio dynamics favor moonshot IPOs over reasonable exits.
  • •Consumers care about maximum two product attributes—companies fail by trying to build something 'too perfect' across multiple dimensions.
  • •Strategic market exits can be more valuable than expansion—Glovo left Latin America to concentrate capital in Eastern Europe despite strong performance.
  • •Founder-VC interests fundamentally diverge on exit decisions, creating a management challenge you can't resolve through typical board sparring.

Listen to full episode

0:00
marketplace-scalingproduct-focusexits-acquisitionsvc-founder-dynamicsinternational-expansion

Best moment

25:26· 22stactical advice

Why successful founders kill their favorite projects when data says no

25:26 / 25:48

Yeah. Being radical. I mean, being very mature about you know, we all have ideas and things we love and and but if the if the data's not not coming back and it's it's really at the end, you just have to pull the plug on it and focus on on less things. I think it's very important to to to focus on very few things and do them really well than than do a lot of nice to haves.

Full clip page →

“VCs do not always want an acquisition to happen because oftentimes, it's not in the best interest of a VC.”

at 36:37

6 clips

Ordered by timestamp. Jump to the moment you care about.

EUVC

Origin Story

I left home at 16. My grandparents knew a trainer, and I was, I I loved sports as a kid, and but I was the smallest smallest guy in the school, and everyone would guess, from about 13 onwards, 14 was saying, you should be your jockey. So I actually had the contact, and he said, yeah. Yeah. I mean, 16, tell him to pack his bags and come and work for me.

Unexpected founder origin story - from jockey to tech CEO. The 'smallest guy in school' detail and leaving home at 16 creates a compelling underdog narrative. Unique background that differentiates from typical tech founder stories.

2:27 - 3:0436s

EUVC

tactical advice

Why consumers only care about one or two things in your product

Sacha Michaud explains why startups should focus on nailing just one or two core features that consumers actually want, rather than trying to build something perfect with too many features. He reflects on how Glovo's approach evolved over ten years, starting simple and adding complexity only after getting the basics right.

13:00 - 13:1919s
product-focusfeature-prioritizationconsumer-behavior

EUVC

tactical advice

Why successful founders kill their favorite projects when data says no

Glovo's Sacha Michaud explains the importance of being ruthless with product decisions, even when it means killing ideas you personally love. He emphasizes that mature leadership means following the data over emotions and focusing intensely on fewer initiatives rather than spreading resources across many 'nice to have' features.

25:26 - 25:4822s
product-prioritizationdata-driven-decisionsfocus-strategy

EUVC

founder story

Glovo's strategic exit from Latin America to double down on Eastern Europe

Sacha Michaud explains Glovo's decision to exit Latin American markets despite early success, choosing to sell to a competitor and reinvest that capital into their expanding Eastern European and Central Asian operations. He discusses the strategic thinking behind knowing when to exit a competitive market even when things are going well.

27:29 - 28:0233s
market-exitgeographic-expansioncapital-allocation

EUVC

contrarian take

VCs don't always want your startup to get acquired - here's why

Sacha Michaud reveals a critical founder insight about VC incentives during exits. He explains how VCs often prefer to swing for IPOs rather than acquisitions because it delivers better returns for their funds, creating potential misalignment with founders who might benefit from earlier exit opportunities.

36:37 - 37:0730s
vc-founder-alignmentexit-strategyacquisition-dynamics

EUVC

contrarian take

Why your VCs have different interests than you when it comes to exits

Glovo founder Sacha Michaud reveals the uncomfortable truth about founder-VC alignment during exit decisions. He explains how VCs' primary obligation to generate returns for their LPs can create misaligned incentives with founders, particularly around timing and exit strategies.

36:58 - 37:3335s
founder-vc-dynamicsexit-strategyinvestor-alignment

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