His startup powers OpenAI's Voice Mode. Last month, they became a unicorn. | Russ d’Sa, Co-Founder of LiveKit

The dark side of selling your startup nobody talks about

LiveKit's co-founder opens up about the challenging reality of actively trying to sell a company when you've lost passion for it. He discusses hiring bankers, exploring acquihires, and why there's no clear playbook for founders in this difficult situation.

LiveKit's cofounders used good cop bad cop to negotiate with investors

LiveKit's co-founder Russ d'Sa reveals how he and his cofounder strategically used a 'good cop, bad cop' approach during investor negotiations. One founder would negotiate while positioning the other as unwilling to accept certain terms, creating leverage in fundraising discussions.

Why you can't just email Uber to buy your startup

LiveKit's co-founder explains why startup acquisitions are relationship-driven, not transactional. He argues that companies are sold through personal connections and favors, not cold outreach to corporate development teams. The insight comes from advice he received from legendary investor Ron Conway.

And they went and they did it. They, like, bought the company for Ron Conway. Crazy. He, like, made the the strong-arm them into doing it. It's like, it is pretty wild, like, how those connections...

LiveKit founder's first organic startup happened by accident during pandemic

Russ d'Sa explains how LiveKit was born organically during the pandemic, unlike his four previous intentional startup attempts that failed. After selling his company to Medium in 2019, the pandemic created a sudden need for video communication tools, setting the stage for LiveKit's creation.

From COVID to 911 calls: How LiveKit raised $7M and deployed nationwide

LiveKit's co-founder shares how they raised their first $7M seed round from Redpoint during COVID, driven by demand for their distributed WebRTC technology. He reveals a surprising early use case where their platform was deployed in 911 dispatch centers across the US within just three weeks of launch.