# Klaviyo’s Andrew Bialecki on proving a tech startup can be built anywhere

**Guest:** Andrew Bialecki
**Role:** CEO and Co-Founder of Klaviyo
**Host:** Ping Li
**Season:** Season 2
**Episode:** 1

> A conversation with the CEO and Co-Founder of Klaviyo

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## About this episode

When [Klaviyo](https://www.klaviyo.com/) became a public company in 2023, [we celebrated](https://www.accel.com/noteworthy/congrats-klaviyo) a moment over a decade in the making. In this episode of Spotlight On, [Andrew Bialecki](https://www.linkedin.com/in/bialecki) shares learnings from Klaviyo’s unique growth story, from the diligence that came from bootstrapping to the 'unfair advantage' gained by scaling a startup outside a typical tech hub.

Klaviyo is an intelligent marketing automation platform. Under Andrew’s leadership, Klaviyo has grown to support over 143,000 brands. The discussion covers how a startup changes during various stages of growth and offers an open look into the evolving nature of the CEO role—from the earliest stages to operating as a public company.

Conversation highlights:

- 00:00 – Background and Klaviyo’s founding story
- 06:03 – Reflecting on the hustle it took to gain early customers
- 10:27 – Challenges & benefits of bootstrapping, what Andrew would do differently today
- 18:36 – Launching in Boston and learnings for startups building outside of a tech hub
- 22:47 – Building enduring partnerships like [Klaviyo x Shopify](https://techcrunch.com/2022/08/02/shopify-makes-100m-strategic-investment-in-marketing-automation-startup-klaviyo/)
- 27:20 – How Klaviyo stays ahead by being a customer of their own products.
- 32:54 – Benchmarks Andrew looked for during the pre-IPO journey
- 35:53 – [Klaviyo AI,](https://www.klaviyo.com/features/ai) and the impact Andrew sees from the technology in the future
- 41:00 – Advice for the challenges a founder faces as their roles change and evolve

Featured: [Andrew Bialecki](https://www.linkedin.com/in/bialecki), CEO and Co-Founder of Klaviyo and [Ping Li,](https://www.accel.com/people/ping-li) Partner at Accel

Learn more about Accel’s relationship with Klaviyo:

- [Accel & Klaviyo](https://www.accel.com/relationships/klaviyo)
- [Our Investment in Klaviyo: e-Commerce Communication and Personalization at Scale](https://www.accel.com/noteworthy/intelligent-e-commerce-communication-and-personalization-at-scale-our-investment-in-klaviyo)
- [KVYO IPO: Congrats, Klaviyo!](https://www.accel.com/noteworthy/congrats-klaviyo)

Watch more episodes from this season:

- S2E1 | [Klaviyo’s Andrew Bialecki on proving a tech startup can be built anywhere](https://www.accel.com/podcast-episodes/klaviyo-andrew-bialecki)
- S2E2 | [Webflow’s Vlad Magdalin on the biggest lessons learned from bootstrapping and raising capital](https://www.accel.com/podcast-episodes/webflow-vlad-magdalin)
- S2E3 | [Syrup’s James Theuerkauf on building an AI-powered product that cuts through the noise](https://www.accel.com/podcast-episodes/syrup-james-theuerkauf)
- S2E4 | [Sysdig’s Suresh Vasudevan on embracing a “challenger mindset”](https://www.accel.com/podcast-episodes/sysdig-suresh-vasudevan)
- S2E5 | [CrowdStrike’s George Kurtz on building a generational company](https://www.accel.com/podcast-episodes/crowdstrike-george-kurtz)
- S2E6 | [Accel’s Amit Kumar and Ivan Zhou on being an effective startup partner when things don’t go according to plan](https://www.accel.com/podcast-episodes/accel-amit-kumar-ivan-zhou)
- S2E7 | [Remote’s Marcelo Lebre on the future of the global workforce](https://www.accel.com/podcast-episodes/remote-marcelo-lebre)
- S2E8 | [Gamma’s Jon Noronha on how early-stage startups can challenge industry incumbents](https://www.accel.com/podcast-episodes/gamma-jon-noronha)
- S2E9 | [Monte Carlo’s Barr Moses on creating a playbook for a product that’s never been built before](https://www.accel.com/podcast-episodes/montecarlo-barr-moses)
- S2E10 | [ConductorOne’s Alex Bovee on the critical ingredients of a high-growth startup](https://www.accel.com/podcast-episodes/conductorone-alex-bovee)
- S2E11 | [Netskope’s Sanjay Beri on building an iconic company through controlled innovation](https://www.accel.com/podcast-episodes/netskope-sanjay-beri)
- S2E12 | [Chainalysis’ Jackie Burns Koven on building trust in new technologies](https://www.accel.com/podcast-episodes/chainalysis-jackie-burns-koven)
- S2E13 | [Wonder's Marc Lore on blending vision and execution](https://www.accel.com/podcast-episodes/wonder-marc-lore)

Access Spotlight On Season 1 episodes [here](https://www.accel.com/spotlight-on/season-1).

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