1. Mistakes that Didn’t
Kill My Company
Bill Spruill

2. 2
Overview
The GDC Story Mistakes Made Key Learnings
Business
Background and
Overview
Scaling the
Business and Exit
Defining Mistakes
and their Impact
“Turning Lemons
(mistakes) into
Lemonade (good or
great outcomes)”
Firing Too Slowly Culture Wars
Commission Snafu Wrong Investor
Mistakes I Made

3. 3
The GDC Story
“Every good story has a long and deep backstory”

4. • Founded in 2010 by Bill Spruill and Charles Gaddy
• Enabled enterprises to quickly and confidently
verify individuals and businesses via a single API
• Serviced 73 customers in 60+ countries
• Leveraged 100 data partners and 300 data
sources
• No capital raised until 2020…
4
Origin Stories – Global Data Consortium (GDC) Overview
Business Overview

5. $1
$8
$20
$28
$5
$40
$150
$300
2016 2020 2021 2022
Revenues Valuation
Before
Fundraising
After
Fundraising
Exit
5
Origin Stories – Global Data Consortium (GDC) Overview
Cont.
Scaling and Exit Key Data Points1 (in Millions)
1
All numbers presented are approximations
• Capital efficiency combined with outside capital
allowed company to scale quickly and profitably
• Considered raising Series B, however, ultimately
decided to accept an outright acquisition
• Acquired by London Stock Exchange Group in 2022
for $300mm
• Strong outcomes for leadership, team, and investors
• 27 new millionaires created through acquisition

6. 6
Mistakes That Didn’t Kill My Company
“I make grave mistakes all the time”

7. 7
Defining Mistakes
Types of Decisions (The Bezos Method)
“Not all decisions are
created equal”
• Business decisions are
changeable / reversible
• Decisions should be made
quickly by small groups
One-Way Door
• Business decisions that are
irreversible
• Decisions should be made
carefully and methodically
Two-Way Door
OR

8. 8
Mistake #1 – Firing too Slowly
Story #1 Story #2
• Hired multiple roles that interviewed
well and came recommended
• Realized quickly that it wasn’t going
to work out
• Took over a year to finally fire THEM
• Was a good fit in the beginning,
but then things started changing…
• Pursued other business interests
while he was still working for us
• Became unhappy with his
compensation, and eventually lost
his commitment
Be honest with yourself when things are not working out

9. 9
Mistake #2 – Culture Wars
Ping pong table appears
in conference room
The Ping Pong Table
Other managers didn’t
say no…
The hammer got
dropped…
Set the Culture Fire the Outliers
Hire the Culture
The ping pong table
was removed
Steps to Managing Culture

10. 10
Mistake #3 – Sales Commission Snafus
• Two great sales members were
driving strong growth for the org
• As a result, their comp was
increasing exponentially….
• They were making so much that
there was no incentive to seek
out new business
• Compensation / Motivation was
why they both ultimately left
Communicate explicitly
about compensation and
expectations
How much is too much?
Do not be afraid to adjust
compensation to ensure
alignment of interests

11. 11
Mistake #4 – Picking the Wrong Investor
• Struggled with fundraising, finally
gained traction with one investor
• Tried to walk away from deal
multiple times, but team wanted
to give them a chance
• Investor changed terms at the
last second…that was the last
straw for us
• Opened up opportunities with
other, more aligned, investors
Investor #1
Which of these investors
makes a better long-term
business partner?
Story Would You Go To Dinner with Them?
• Concerning Behavior
• Disrespectful
• Questionable ethics
Investor #2
• Stronger relationship
• Good understanding
of the business

12. 12
Lessons Learned
“The burned hand teaches best”

13. 13
Lessons Learned
Be Decisive
Fear is the Mind Killer
Trust Your Gut
Err on the Side of Doing the Right Thing

14. 14
Thank You / Q&A