PEF Event <> Founder Evolution: Inception, IPO, PE Exit (Tien Tzuo @ Zuora & Richard Hagberg)
Based on decades of empirical research and data, Founders, Keepers gives founders a practical roadmap for navigating the inevitable challenges that come with startup growth.
It’s a brutal paradox—the same founder attributes required to put a startup in motion will invariably blow it up. The difference between success and failure lies in the personal journey that every founder must pursue to avoid their own worst impulses.
Steeped in nearly forty years of research in leadership psychology, Founders, Keepers begins with the same personality assessment Rich Hagberg, a psychologist and executive management coach, gives his clients. Hagberg and Tien Tzuo, founder and CEO of Zuora, help founders build a Swiss Army knife of practical tools that will give them a much better chance of making it to the next level of success.
A guide for founders, investors, and academics alike, the result of a decade-long collaboration between a successful CEO and Silicon Valley’s “CEO Whisperer” offers readers insights into:
The differentiators between successful and unsuccessful founders
The three pillars of leadership that every founder needs to be successful
The essential skills founders need to master to be successful over the long haul
An examination of the common personality traits that lead founders to make fatally flawed decisions
What makes founders tick, including the default tendencies and leadership styles that often undermine their success
How founders frustrate their investors, partners, and employees
Founders may not be able to account for all the complexities of their companies, but they can account for themselves. It’s a difficult but unavoidable truth: to grow your startup, you have to grow as a person. And that’s where Founders, Keepers comes in.
Tien's bio:
Tien Tzuo is the Founder and CEO of Zuora. Beginning in 2007, Tien evangelized the shift to subscription and service-based business models, coining the phrase “Subscription Economy.” In an effort to empower this new economy, Tien created what became an award-winning monetization platform purpose-built for modern business, capable of powering any recurring revenue model, and to solve the complex billing structures they inherit. Before Zuora, Tien was one of the “original forces” at Salesforce, joining as employee number 11. In his 9 years at Salesforce (1999-2008), Tien built its original billing system, later serving as Chief Marketing Officer (2003-2005), and Chief Strategy Officer (2005-2008). Tien is the author of the best selling book, “SUBSCRIBED: Why the Subscription Model Will be Your Company's Future - and What to Do About It,” published in 2018 and co-author of “Founders, Keepers: Why Founders Are Built to Fail, and What it Takes to Succeed,” published in 2025. Tien has been on the cover of Forbes AI and profiled in stories by Forbes, Fortune and the Wall Street Journal. He received the SIIA 2021 CODiE Lifetime Achievement Award in Business Technology and was named Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young in 2016 and CEO of the Year by The Silicon Valley Business Journal in 2018. He has spoken at the G-20 Summit, Web Summit, Dell World, and SaaStr. Tien holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from Cornell and an MBA from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. He is a member of the board of directors of Amplitude and Network For Good.
Rich’s Bio:
Dr. Rich Hagberg is a consulting psychologist and executive leadership coach with over 45 years of experience partnering with more than 500 companies globally. Author of "Founders Keepers: Why Founders are Built to Fail and What It Takes to Succeed," Rich specializes in understanding the unique strengths and pitfalls of startup founders and senior executives. Drawing from extensive research and his own experience as a founder, he helps leaders enhance self-awareness, improve decision-making, and develop strategic thinking skills. Rich's work emphasizes creating sustainable, high-performing cultures by promoting empowerment, accountability, and collaboration. Having spent years collaborating with leading Silicon Valley tech firms, Rich now resides on Whidbey Island in Washington State, providing expert coaching to startup teams and established organizations around the world. His practical insights and deep psychological expertise equip leaders to thrive amidst complexity and rapid change.