20VC: Startups Only Fail When Founders Stop Trying, Why the Two Weeks Following Our IPO Were the Worst of my Life & Why Tying Your Identity to Your Company is the Most Dangerous Thing and How to Avoid It with Sami Inkinen, Co-Founder & CEO @ Virta Health

Sami Inkinen is the Co-Founder and CEO of Virta Health, the company reversing type 2 diabetes. Before Virta, Sami was the Co-Founder of Trulia, steering the company to a successful IPO and its eventual sale to Zillow Group. Outside of the boardroom, he launched Fat Chance Row, a daring venture to row 2,750 miles across the Pacific, unsupported with his wife, rowing 18 hours straight per day.

In Today’s Episode with Sami Inkinen:

1. From Farm in Finland to IPO Founder: Relationship to Money

• How did Sami’s humble upbringing on a farm in Finland impact his early mindset and ambition?

• How does Sami analyze his relationship to money today? How has it changed over time?

• Why was the two weeks following Trulia’s IPO the worst two weeks of his life?

2. The Secret to Marriage: Rowing 2,750 Miles Together:

• What are some of the biggest lessons on marriage Sami has from spending 45 days rowing the Pacific with only his wife for company?

• What was their single biggest argument over the 45 days? What did Sami learn from it?

• Sami worked with his wife, what are the biggest pros and cons of working with your spouse? Would Sami recommend it?

• What does Sami believe are the core fundamentals that underpin the best marriages?

3. The Secret to Parenting: The Regret of Delegation:

• What is Sami’s biggest regret when it comes to parenting?

• How does Sami think about what it means to be a great father today? How has that changed?

• How did Sami’s relationship with his wife change when they had kids?

4. Relationship to Identity:

• Why does Sami believe tying your identity to the company, as a founder, is so dangerous?

• How does Sami advise on creating multiple personas to prevent this?

• Why does Sami believe that all the best founders are addicts to some extent?