UiPath ft. Daniel Dines - From Bootstrapping in Bucharest to One of Software's Biggest IPOs

Key takeaways

1. Dines spent eight years bootstrapping a developer tool with few customers. A single demo request from an outsourcing company in Chennai, India led him to RPA and the pivot that made the company.
2. Dines sent three of his best people to India for three months at the company's own cost, fixing and shipping product daily at the customer's site. That showed him where real demand was.
3. Dines set a goal of $200 million in 2018 revenue when his board hoped for $70 million, and he went into several markets at once. The company reached nearly $200 million, but the speed had a cost.
4. UiPath's 2019 cash burn was projected at $150 million but came in at $400 million, and headcount grew from about 150 to about 3,000. Dines laid off 10% of staff, and the leaner company handled the pandemic better.
5. Competitors like Blue Prism sold only through channel partners and neglected support. UiPath sold direct and gave customers concierge-level service, and that set it apart.