Latest news with #DVxVentures
TechCrunch
2 days ago
- Automotive
- TechCrunch
Former Tesla president discloses the secret to scaling a company
Few companies have grown as quickly as Tesla, especially just before and after the company launched the Model 3, its first affordable EV. 'We scaled Tesla in 30 months from $2 billion in revenue to $20 billion in revenue,' Jon McNeil, the former president of Tesla who is now co-founder and CEO of DVx Ventures, told the crowd at TechCrunch's All Stage event in Boston. It wasn't McNeil's first time scaling companies, nor would it be his last. Previously, he founded six different companies, and after Tesla, he joined Lyft as COO before starting his own venture firm, where he's launched a dozen startups. Over the years, McNeil has developed a playbook that helps him identify when a company is ripe for scaling. He shared those insights last week with the audience at TechCrunch All Stage 2025. When assessing a company's potential to scale, McNeil primarily judges them on two different measures, product-market fit and go-to-market fit. It's not unusual for investors to focus on those concepts, but McNeil has distilled them into two objective measures. For product-market fit, he asks each startup, 'do 40% of your customers say they cannot live without your product,' he said. If not, then the company isn't ready. 'We keep adding, adding, adding and tweaking the product until we get to 40% and then we say, okay, boom, now we've got product market fit,' McNeil said. 'It's actually objective and measured. It's not a feeling, it's not a sense. It's a metric.' Techcrunch event Tech and VC heavyweights join the Disrupt 2025 agenda Netflix, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Sequoia Capital — just a few of the heavy hitters joining the Disrupt 2025 agenda. They're here to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don't miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch Disrupt, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech — grab your ticket now and save up to $675 before prices rise. Tech and VC heavyweights join the Disrupt 2025 agenda Netflix, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Sequoia Capital — just a few of the heavy hitters joining the Disrupt 2025 agenda. They're here to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don't miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch Disrupt, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech — grab your ticket now and save up to $675 before prices rise. San Francisco | REGISTER NOW McNeil added, 'We did a study of businesses that actually achieved breakout, and those businesses achieved breakout at roughly that 40% acceptance level.' Second, McNeil looks at whether the company has a mature go-to-market strategy. Specifically, he's interested in whether the amount a company spends to acquire customers, known as customer acquisition cost (CAC), is sufficiently below the total lifetime value (LTV) that the customer will bring the company. When a company starts pulling in four times more money over the life of the customer than it spent to acquire them — an LTV to CAC ratio of four-to-one — that's when he knows the company is ready. 'Then we pour in the cash. But before then, we're doling out cash $100,000 at a time just to get to different stage gates,' he said.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Former Tesla president discloses the secret to scaling a company
Few companies have grown as quickly as Tesla, especially just before and after the company launched the Model 3, its first affordable EV. 'We scaled Tesla in 30 months from $2 billion in revenue to $20 billion in revenue,' Jon McNeil, the former president of Tesla who is now co-founder and CEO of DVx Ventures, told the crowd at TechCrunch's All Stage event in Boston. It wasn't McNeil's first time scaling companies, nor would it be his last. Previously, he founded six different companies, and after Tesla, he joined Lyft as COO before starting his own venture firm, where he's launched a dozen startups. Over the years, McNeil has developed a playbook that helps him identify when a company is ripe for scaling. He shared those insights last week with the audience at TechCrunch All Stage 2025. When assessing a company's potential to scale, McNeil primarily judges them on two different measures, product-market fit and go-to-market fit. It's not unusual for investors to focus on those concepts, but McNeil has distilled them into two objective measures. For product-market fit, he asks each startup, 'do 40% of your customers say they cannot live without your product,' he said. If not, then the company isn't ready. 'We keep adding, adding, adding and tweaking the product until we get to 40% and then we say, okay, boom, now we've got product market fit,' McNeil said. 'It's actually objective and measured. It's not a feeling, it's not a sense. It's a metric.' McNeil added, 'We did a study of businesses that actually achieved breakout, and those businesses achieved breakout at roughly that 40% acceptance level.' Second, McNeil looks at whether the company has a mature go-to-market strategy. Specifically, he's interested in whether the amount a company spends to acquire customers, known as customer acquisition cost (CAC), is sufficiently below the total lifetime value (LTV) that the customer will bring the company. When a company starts pulling in four times more money over the life of the customer than it spent to acquire them — an LTV to CAC ratio of four-to-one — that's when he knows the company is ready. 'Then we pour in the cash. But before then, we're doling out cash $100,000 at a time just to get to different stage gates,' he said. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Bloomberg
10-07-2025
- Automotive
- Bloomberg
Former Tesla President Weighs In on Musk's Leadership
Jon McNeill, chief executive officer of venture capital firm DVx Ventures and former president of Tesla, says Tesla is "showing its age" and needs to return to focusing on the product on "Bloomberg The Close." (Source: Bloomberg)
CNBC
08-07-2025
- Automotive
- CNBC
DVx Ventures' Jon McNeill: Tesla board will be wrestling with how product line-up can compete
Jon McNeill, DVx Ventures CEO and former Tesla president, joins CNBC's 'Squawk on the Street' to discuss Tesla's path forward following Elon Musk's announcement of a potential political run, reactions to Waymo's expansion to new cities, and more.
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Jon McNeill brings the operator's playbook to TechCrunch All Stage
Founders are often told to chase product-market fit before anything else, but what if scaling too soon, too fast, is what's really holding them back? At TechCrunch All Stage 2025 on July 15 in Boston, Jon McNeill, CEO and co-founder of DVx Ventures (and former president of Tesla and COO of Lyft), will take the Scale Stage to flip the script on conventional startup growth advice. His session, 'The Operator's Playbook for Building and Scaling Sustainable Companies,' explores why the next generation of enduring companies will be built differently — by operators who validate both product and go-to-market strategy before lighting the growth fuse. With a career that spans founding six companies, scaling Tesla from $2B to $20B in revenue, and helping take Lyft public, McNeill knows the difference between momentum and sustainable growth. At DVx, he and his team have already launched 12 companies with a focus on profitability, impact, and long-term value, not just speed. In this session, McNeill will share tactical insights from building and backing companies in electrification, transportation, and AI. Attendees can expect hard-won lessons around capital efficiency, operating discipline, and how to break the traditional VC mold by building businesses that last. If you're a founder navigating hypergrowth or an investor looking for new models that prioritize long-term impact, this session delivers a grounded, operator-first roadmap. On July 15, TechCrunch All Stage takes over Boston's SoWa Power Station. It's the founder summit built for scaling, packed with tactical takeaways, real conversations, and connections with investors and builders at every stage. Grab your pass now before prices rise at the door. Sign in to access your portfolio
