The Mint Recap: Fireside Chat with Jason Gardner of Marqeta
We had Jason Gardner, Founder of Marqeta, as our special guest at The Mint.
His story is both inspiring and unconventional. It took almost seven years for the company to hit its stride, and at one point, it nearly ran out of money. Eventually, Marqeta went public with a $15B valuation.
Jason shared valuable insights about starting and growing Marqeta. Here are some key takeaways:
- Don’t be too proud to pivot.
- In the early days, everything should focus on finding Product Market Fit ("PMF").
- Maintain a laser-like focus on building the business.
- Truly understand your customer’s problems.
- Weld yourself to your customers.
- Feedback, in any form, is a gift.
More below!
1. Don’t be too proud to pivot.
Many founders hold their ideas or business models in high regard, making it challenging to shift directions. However, Jason emphasized the importance of staying flexible and listening to customer feedback. The signals you’ll receive from customers, employees, competitors, and investors should not be dismissed. Use them to formulate product and company strategy.
Marqeta started as a consumer business, offering something similar to Groupon on a card. When Facebook expressed interest in their technology, pivoting was challenging, but Jason recognized that in the early days, the goal was to find PMF.
2. In the early days, everything should focus on finding PMF.
As a founder, your primary job is to find PMF.
Your attention should be focused on understanding and solving your customers' problems, iterating on the product based on feedback, and ensuring that the solution meets market needs.
3. Maintain a laser-like focus on building the business.
Jason stressed that companies rarely fail because of a lack of opportunity. They fail because they try to do too much. Staying disciplined and saying “no” to distractions was critical to Marqeta’s success.
Initially, Marqeta focused exclusively on on-demand delivery, landing major customers like DoorDash. Only after mastering that vertical did they expand to others, like BNPL.
4. Truly understand your customer’s problems.
Founders need to be immersed in their customers' challenges. In the earliest stages, it’s important not to focus on selling. Instead, explore how your customers' problems impact them and their businesses.
This approach helps you understand the nuances of their pain points, allowing you to find the right wedge to solve their problems.
Jason highlighted the importance of this deep understanding and iterative feedback in refining the product and achieving product-market fit.
5. Weld yourself to your customers.
Jason spoke about the importance of creating deep integration with customers
By embedding itself in its customers' operations, Marqeta became indispensable. This approach made it difficult for customers to switch providers, further solidifying its value.
6. Feedback, in any form, is a gift.
Whether good, bad, or indifferent, feedback should always be considered a gift. Jason encouraged founders not to get defensive or frustrated with negative feedback but to explore it with the person offering it.
By understanding their perspective, you can gain valuable insights into what works and what doesn’t.
