Recode Decode: OpenDoor CEO Eric Wu / Evite CEO Victor Cho

Competition

Victor Cho, CEO of Evite, shares insights on how the company navigates competitive pressures in the tech industry. He emphasizes the importance of maintaining a robust platform that integrates text, email, and social media, making it difficult for new entrants to disrupt their market position. Cho notes, "Our net promoter rating is up in the high seventies or low eighties for the experience and that's five years of constant iteration and fixes."

Our net promoter rating is up in the high seventies or low eighties for the experience and that's five years of constant iteration and fixes.

--- Victor Cho

Additionally, he highlights the talent landscape shift, where smaller companies like Evite benefit from cross-industry talent migration, particularly from larger tech hubs like the Bay Area 1 2.

   

Historical Lessons

Victor Cho reflects on the lessons learned from Kodak's failure to adapt to digital photography, despite having invented the digital camera. Kodak's mistake was not in missing the digital curve but in mistiming its impact, leading to a rapid decline when digital technology took over. Cho explains, "They were aware of it, but it was sort of like, well, we're in the horse business, so what do you want us to do?"

They were aware of it, but it was sort of like, well, we're in the horse business, so what do you want us to do?

--- Victor Cho

He also discusses Evite's strategic phases of repair and growth, focusing on resolving customer pain points to prevent a "MySpace slide" and stabilize the business 3 4.