I met Shuo Wang, Co-Founder and CEO of Deel, at an event recently.
In just 5 years, her company scaled from $0 to $1B+ in ARR.
What I witnessed next revealed everything about what separates billion-dollar founders from the rest.
Always Selling
I watched as she met person after person, always asking two questions:
- “How many employees do you have?”
- “Would you consider a new payroll provider?”
If the answer was yes, she’d get their number and say, “I’ll text you — let’s get time on the calendar next week.”
The Surprise
I was stunned.
I asked her: “Wait… how many people are on your sales team?” — thinking it must be tiny if she’s doing direct outreach herself.
She smiled: “1200.”
That’s when it clicked.
The Difference
She didn’t need to sell. She wanted to.
Because founders like her don’t waste opportunities. They create them.
I share more about what I’m building and investing in on my Now page.
What I Noticed in the First 5 Minutes
Before the selling started, I noticed something else. She was fully present in every single conversation. No phone. No scanning the room for someone more important.
She made eye contact. Asked follow-up questions. Remembered names from people she’d met 20 minutes earlier.
That’s not a tactic. That’s a default setting. And it’s rare.
The Pattern Across Every Unicorn Founder I’ve Met
I’ve now had the chance to spend time with quite a few founders who’ve built at scale. A few things keep showing up.
First: they never stop being the best salesperson in the room, even with 1,200 on the team. They understand that the founder’s pitch is different from any rep’s pitch. It carries weight no one else can replicate.
Second: they treat every room like there’s a deal in it. Not out of desperation. Out of genuine curiosity about what people need.
Third: they play a different time horizon. While most people are thinking about this quarter, they’re thinking about what this conversation could become in three years.
Is that level of sustained hunger something you can build, or is it something you’re born with?
Conclusion
This is how you build a $1B company in five years.
While others delegate and distance themselves from the front lines, unicorn founders stay hungry. They see every conversation as a potential door to their next big break.