Patrick: So Chris, thank you for joining me today, and congratulations. Huge milestone today. And I think for me, it’s pretty fun because this, in some ways, is a milestone that goes back, like almost two decades. I was thinking back that I, uh, when I was previously the CEO of Gigya, I tried to hire you, uh, unsuccessfully, I, I think multiple times. What was it that finally made you say yes to working together when I was able to lead your seed round four or five years ago?
Chris: I really admired your journey as an entrepreneur, being early at Gigya, leading as the CEO, navigating pivots, like really understanding how challenging startups can be, um, and also witnessing Mayfield’s support to you as a CEO during that period, ultimately leading to a very successful exit at Gigya for you. And when you reached out a little over four years ago to lead our seed round Honestly, it was like, obviously, I wanna work with someone that has been through it, that understands the ups and downs, and has chosen to go work for the fund that supported you on, on your journey building and being a CEO. And so it was, it was very obvious to me from a character perspective, from a commitment perspective, from how Mayfield and you both operate. I knew I wanted to be on the same team.
Patrick: For me, you and Robert were just, like, the ideal founding team for so many different things. Like, one is just a values alignment. I mean, that all starts with that. Just what you talked about, like, having a people-first focus and a long-term commitment and looking to surround yourself with sort of great people along the way. For me, I wanted to partner with, with folks like yourself who, like, it was a relationship, which I think it was really a fantastic one. We at Mayfield obviously value having deep relationships with the founders that we are fortunate to back and partner with. What support mattered the most to you, right, as a founder kinda going through this journey and ultimately getting to a really successful outcome?
Chris: I think in the year and a half of building the first rendition of our business, you and I would jump on a biweekly. We’re trying to figure something out. There was a, a patience but a push of just like, “Hey, you’re, you’re onto something, but is it big enough?” And the support of, “Hey, we invested in a team. Go.” And so having that support, truly people first, was exactly what I would’ve hoped.
Patrick: Awesome. Well, let me just say on behalf of the Mayfield family, thank you to yourself and Robert and the rest of the Scrunch team. We deeply appreciate and honor all the work that you all put in. It wasn’t a straight line. It wasn’t obvious from the beginning. But you did everything we would ever want as an investor, which is you put your heart and soul into the company and had an incredible, you know, outcome, I think, for everyone involved. So thank you again, and good luck as you embark on this next part of the journey, and I look forward- Yeah to watching from the sidelines.
Chris: Thank you, Patrick. Thanks for being an incredible advisor, board member, supporter as we navigated the ups and downs over the four and a half years, and knowing that your approach and character was backed by the Mayfield Fund always meant a lot to Robert and I as founders. So here’s to partnering potentially down the road again in the future, but thank you for the opportunity and, uh, appreciate all the counsel along the way.
Patrick: And we will take you up on that. Thanks, Chris.
