Denis Ladegaillerie: Believe Founder and CEO on Startup Founder Mentality

At our Trapital Summit, we had to talk about Founder Mode vs. Manager Mode. We were joined by the founder and CEO of Believe, Denis Ladegaillerie. Believe is a global music company that owns TuneCore and had its IPO in 2021. But in 2024, a consortium led by Ladegaillerie tried to take the company private, while fending off a takeover attempt from Warner Music Group.

We talked about that experience, Believe’s plans to 2025, and more.

Note: This conversation was recorded on October 3, 2024, before Universal Music Group’s claims for copyright infringement from Believe. The topic was not discussed in our conversation.

In this episode, we discussed:

• The process of taking Believe public and then private
• Differences between founder mode and manager mode
• How Denis balances deep engagement with strategic oversight
• The importance of regaining control over artist development levers
• Navigating the complexities of the global music market
• Believe’s acquisition strategy and what’s next in their growth
• Lessons from managing an independent, artist-first company
And more!

#TrapitalSummit #FounderMode #ManagerMode #DenisLadegaillerie #Believe #TuneCore #MusicIndustry #IPO #ArtistDevelopment #GlobalMusicMarket #MusicBusiness #AcquisitionStrategy #ArtistFirst #MusicGrowth #Leadership #MusicInnovation

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