I'm back as AppSumo CEO

I'm back as AppSumo CEO

From Noah Kagan Presents by Noah Kagan

September 30, 2025 · 12 min · Episode 380

About this episode

Noah Kagan returns as CEO of AppSumo after paternity leave, sharing insights on leadership and business challenges.

My book Million Dollar Weekend is for aspiring entrepreneurs who dream of starting their own business. I break down the process of starting into simple steps that you can do in just one weekend. After a year of paternity leave, I'm back as CEO at AppSumo… and holy moly, it's been challenging. In this episode, I share a behind-the-scenes of stepping back into my company, where we've gone wrong in my absence, and what I'm doing to fix it. From running a "listening tour" across the company, to rethinking our deal standards, this is me working in real time to bring AppSumo back stronger than ever. It's been exhausting but humbling. If you've ever faced chaos in your own business, I think you'll get a lot out of this one. In this conversation, you'll enjoy 3 BIG things: • How getting clear on "who owns what" keeps teams from drowning • Why true leadership beats management every time • Why making a call (even if it's not the right one) is always better than sitting on the fence Enjoy these 3 things plus many nuggets along the way. I have also been sharing emails on my brutally honest advice on a variety of topics. People have been loving it. Sign up at noahkagan.com and join 350k other…

People in this episode

Host: Noah Kagan

Topics covered

  • entrepreneurship
  • leadership
  • business challenges
  • team management
  • company culture

Keywords

  • AppSumo
  • entrepreneurship
  • leadership
  • business
  • Million Dollar Weekend

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: AppSumo

Books & works: Million Dollar Weekend

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