"We're Very Much at War With Ourselves": Deel Co-founder & CEO, Alex Bouaziz

Did you see that in yourself when you were getting started? Did you believe you were going to do it to this degree? There are two parts. I could tell you yes, 100%, I always knew. But the real answer is that I don't think most entrepreneurs do. They are most excited about building something impactful, helping people, generating revenues. Most founders don't think about that part early on; it's a means to an end. So the real answer is no. What I knew was that I wanted to build, and the team I was with in London saw me through a few iterations of building. I saw myself as someone who wanted to build products, put them in people's hands, get feedback, and iterate quickly. That mindset is the most valuable. If you are driven by that, or by something that shook you at the core when you were younger, you are more likely to be successful. But what success means at scale is harder to say. I've seen founders whose businesses I knew would fail, but I knew they would be successful eventually. It's about how many times they try.

I'm a wartime CEO. That's why I have Ben Harway working with me all the time.

One thing we're not very good at, Dylan, is reflecting and patting ourselves on the back. We don't function that way. So at every instant, every week, every deal, every product release, we are intense because we feel like we are at war. But we are not at war with others; we are at war with ourselves in how we build for our customers. I think we are one of the best companies in our space. There are CEOs who are great in good times, cruising, but when the world is changing, the CEOs who create chaos that results in good outcomes are what I am. For example, adopting and navigating AI over the last three months required being full-on wartime, not just at the CEO level.

To be honest, not really. As you grow, people try to eat your lunch, especially when you are winning. But we are focused on ourselves. It's constant war with ourselves more than anything else. These things are expected. We look forward to our day in court, but it's part of growing up and building a great company. We prefer to compete on product and customer perspective, and we will keep doing that.

The values we are built on are similar. What I care about is whether we genuinely care about our customers. That's a value: genuine care. It's how I was raised. In a business dealing with people's payroll and livelihoods, that care has to be through the roof. As you scale, you risk losing empathy. When a support person takes their 300th ticket, they might not have the same empathy as the first. But with the trust customers place in us, we must carry that empathy forward. Combine that with the need to move fast, and those two principles guide us. We also have default optimism. We want to hire happy people. You spend more time with colleagues than family, so it should be with people who make you happy. That's what we carry into every hire.

No, they don't last long. Because of how we are built, it's easy to know if you'll fit into our culture.

One snapshot is early at Deel, going through YC. We brought our whole team to San Francisco. We were Silicon Valley outsiders, which is both an advantage and disadvantage. Living through that YC experience and bringing my team over was the most iconic startup thing. I remember we were very small, had just raised money, and wanted to be frugal. We all slept in the same tiny apartment. One engineer had an air mattress in the bathroom because that was the only space. That was the most iconic startup vibe. Another snapshot is seeing Deel on the sleeve of different people, especially with the Arsenal partnership. Walking through London and seeing people wearing your brand is unique. It was probably the first time my parents were proud. We don't celebrate achievements often, but that one felt big. The third snapshot is about my generation and remote work. I grew up watching cousins play video games, then playing multiplayer games like League of Legends with strangers and winning. That mindset defined my generation: we can work with people we've never met and achieve great outcomes. My very first employee, I met on Reddit. For two years, all I knew was his Reddit username, and we worked together daily. That's a generational shift: remote work feels natural to me because I can build a great company with anyone, just like winning a game with strangers.

Oh, I know who that is.

We'll be happy to invite him to a game at the Emirates whenever he wants. When you make investments like this, you don't expect that outcome. It's a unique feeling, and I'm very proud of it.

It's been really fun. I'm very lucky. Most people ask how I do it. I get to spend time with him, learn from his experiences. He had a long career and came out of retirement to build with me and Shu. It's amazing to see him in his prime, applying 40 years of experience. He stepped down as CFO and is now CSO. At first, people were skeptical, but they soon see the value. Deel wouldn't be where it is without him. I'm very thankful, and as long as he wants to work, we'll have him.

Thank you so much for having me.