Xaver Lehmann co-founded e-bot7 from a university dorm after seeing a Facebook post about chatbots on a train ride home from King's Day in Amsterdam. Five years later, the company had 130 employees, five European offices, and a $60 million acquisition offer from a Nasdaq company. He was 28. From the outside, it was the whole checklist.
In this episode, Xaver and I get into what it was like building with investor money as a first-time founder, the clauses in VC contracts nobody warns you about, and why he walked away from a $25 million Series B to chase the acquisition with only weeks of cash left.
We talk about the moment the deal fell apart, why he and his cofounder declined the revised terms anyway, and how the buyer came back on a Saturday and restored the original offer. Then we get into what happened after the money landed: months of depression so deep he couldn't even drive, two years working for the company that acquired him while completely burnt out, and being asked to fire 85 of his own people when the acquirer's stock collapsed.
We also talk about his relationship with money as he came into financial success and what he's building now with The Honest Founder.
If you've ever thought hitting a number would be the solution to all your problems, this one's for you.
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(01:23) How he defined success as a kid
(05:53) A Facebook post on a train that started a $60M company
(08:23) Cold-emailing corporates with no product, no website, no name
(10:19) Forbes 30 Under 30, 130 employees, but did any of it land?
(13:14) What building with VC money is actually like
(15:42) Would he raise from VCs again?
(17:08) Walking away from a $25M Series B to chase an acquisition
(19:36) Declining the revised deal with weeks of cash left
(22:54) Why he wanted to sell
(24:47) The buyer came back on a Saturday
(27:50) What having money actually felt like vs. the fantasy
(28:44) Not checking prices for the first time in his life
(30:19) Showing up burnt out for a company that wasn't his anymore
(34:00) Every Slack message felt like the end of the world
(37:11) Purpose then vs. purpose now
(39:42) Investing, coaching, and The Honest Founder
(41:23) Would he build again?
(45:58) What he'd tell founders chasing the dream he lived
Show notes:
Connect with our host:
- Follow Melissa on LinkedIn where she shares stories & lessons from her founder journey weekly.
- Connect with Melissa at melissakwan.comand subscribe to 'your founder next door', Melissa's weekly newsletter on what it's like to build a company without an abundance of resources and friends in high places.
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