E690 | Sacha Michaud, Glovo: Scaling a Hyper-Competitive Marketplace (and knowing when to exit)
Wed Feb 04 2026
This episode starts with a surprising origin story: before building one of Europe’s most iconic on-demand companies, Sacha Michaud left home at 16 to become a professional racehorse jockey.
From there, we go deep into the operator playbook behind Glovo’s rise: launching fast, expanding internationally with limited capital, choosing battles ruthlessly, and pulling out of markets quickly when the data says the flywheel won’t spin.
This is a conversation about discipline, focus, and survival in one of the most brutal categories in venture—where network effects are real, fundraising can consume the CEO, and consolidation is always lurking.
Less theory. More real-world execution.
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What’s covered:
01:10 From racehorse jockey to startup founder: discipline, sacrifice, and the founder mindset
02:20 How Glovo started: meeting Oscar, shipping in 2.5 months, and rebuilding the MVP later
05:05 International scaling principles: why Europe isn’t enough and why speed mattered
06:25 Fundraising reality: the “lead investor” trap and why multi-stage funds can matter
08:05 Split-scaling and the growth-at-all-costs era: what the ecosystem learned (and didn’t)
10:15 Expansion playbooks: the launch team model and copying what Uber did right
13:25 Competition strategy: when to enter, when to avoid, and why capital constraints shape everything
15:25 Exiting markets fast: Brazil, iFood, and the moment you realize the playbook won’t work
17:35 Network effects in delivery: why the flywheel is more extreme than most marketplaces
19:05 Exclusivity vs multi-homing: how restaurants evolved from “threat” to “channel”
25:55 Emerging markets: Latin America → Eastern Europe → Africa and what changes operationally
33:00 Glovo Cares: why executives still deliver orders and what it teaches the org
34:30 Acquisition mindset: what founders get wrong about selling (and not selling)
43:20 YELLOW VC: building a disciplined pre-seed fund without losing operator sharpness
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This episode starts with a surprising origin story: before building one of Europe’s most iconic on-demand companies, Sacha Michaud left home at 16 to become a professional racehorse jockey. From there, we go deep into the operator playbook behind Glovo’s rise: launching fast, expanding internationally with limited capital, choosing battles ruthlessly, and pulling out of markets quickly when the data says the flywheel won’t spin. This is a conversation about discipline, focus, and survival in one of the most brutal categories in venture—where network effects are real, fundraising can consume the CEO, and consolidation is always lurking. Less theory. More real-world execution. Share What’s covered: 01:10 From racehorse jockey to startup founder: discipline, sacrifice, and the founder mindset 02:20 How Glovo started: meeting Oscar, shipping in 2.5 months, and rebuilding the MVP later 05:05 International scaling principles: why Europe isn’t enough and why speed mattered 06:25 Fundraising reality: the “lead investor” trap and why multi-stage funds can matter 08:05 Split-scaling and the growth-at-all-costs era: what the ecosystem learned (and didn’t) 10:15 Expansion playbooks: the launch team model and copying what Uber did right 13:25 Competition strategy: when to enter, when to avoid, and why capital constraints shape everything 15:25 Exiting markets fast: Brazil, iFood, and the moment you realize the playbook won’t work 17:35 Network effects in delivery: why the flywheel is more extreme than most marketplaces 19:05 Exclusivity vs multi-homing: how restaurants evolved from “threat” to “channel” 25:55 Emerging markets: Latin America → Eastern Europe → Africa and what changes operationally 33:00 Glovo Cares: why executives still deliver orders and what it teaches the org 34:30 Acquisition mindset: what founders get wrong about selling (and not selling) 43:20 YELLOW VC: building a disciplined pre-seed fund without losing operator sharpness