$node.PillImageNode.Description

Drew Houston, Dropbox and the Evolution of a Tech Entrepreneur

Published on18 OCT 2018
Topic:
Builders & Innovators 2018 Technology Driving Innovation

In this episode, filmed at Goldman Sachs’ Builders + Innovators Summit, Dropbox co-founder and CEO Drew Houston discusses what he has learned as he continues to grow the cloud computing company into one of the biggest disruptors in Silicon Valley.   

On evolving as a leader: “The way I think about it is, how do you keep your personal growth curve ahead of the company’s growth curve?  And one thing that was surprising to me was … we got funding …and it [was] kind of shocking how much you’re just kind of left to just figure it out for yourself.…And so, for me, realizing that, okay, no one is going to train me. I have to be responsible for my own growth and it’s really helped me to try to be systematic about it. And when I say systematic about it, I mean, trying to get a sense of where I am in the path and sort of start with the end in mind and work back.…I like to ask myself, okay, a year from now, two years from now, five years from now, what will I wish I had been learning today?”  

On adapting the company’s mission: “Our mission at the beginning might have been to get people’s life into the cloud, but in 2015 that’s kind of not the problem anymore. And so, we updated the mission to designing a more enlightened way of working – what starts with realizing and having awareness about all the ways that we could be doing better.”   

Explore More Insights