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Blake Hall is the CEO & Co-Founder of ID.me, one of the leading US companies in identity verification with over 130 million users. Founded in 2011, ID.me has raised around $300 million in equity from BoxGroup, Blu Venture, Moonshots Capital, Capital G, Morgan Stanley, Viking Global and a long list of impressive funds and angels.
Blake is also a decorated war veteran and he was awarded 2 Bronze Star medals from the US Army for his service in Iraq.
In this episode, we discuss:
Leadership lessons from his days of combat in Iraq with the US Army
“From a leadership perspective, the thing that's fundamentally true is, the more information you give to folks, the more shared context. And if you trust your people, they're going to make better decisions.”
“Good leaders set the conditions for shared context and transparent information sharing. And then they also look at physical context to make sure that those communications can happen with less transaction costs.”
Blake spent two years serving in Iraq and found his experience transformational. He was given a lot of responsibility at an early age and demonstrated an ability to lead and deliver results. His habit of owning mistakes, diagnosing issues, and presenting actionable plans for improvement drove a culture of trust and transparency and caught the eye of his superiors. His time in Iraq instilled in him the importance of clear alignment and the willingness to learn and grow from failures—qualities he now tries to live by to drive performance and accountability within ID.me.
Transition from military service to entrepreneurship
“After I turned down McKinsey and decided I was going to start what became ID.me, I was paying myself a salary of $48,000 a year, instead of making a quarter of a million dollars a year, I was technically homeless, after finishing HBS, I was sleeping on my Rugby buddy's couch for far longer than he expected me, it was seven months.”
It should be no surprise that combat instilled in Blake a profound awareness of life's fragility and the value of seizing opportunities. After witnessing the tragic nature of war firsthand, Hall's attitude toward risk shifted dramatically and even propelled him later on to decline a full-time offer from McKinsey in favor of pursuing his entrepreneurial dreams. Accepting uncertainty and embracing bold decisions go hand in hand with his desire to build something meaningful and impactful. After talking to Blake for a few minutes, it becomes evident he’s exceptionally self-aware and committed to continuous learning. He proactively seeks mentors and tries to surround himself with complimentary people to fill his skill gaps.
What he's learned from building a friendship with Elon Musk
Over the years, Blake has had the opportunity to build a relationship with Elon Musk and he recently hosted Elon for the 2023 Army-Navy game. When asked about Musk, Blake emphasizes the extraordinary breadth and depth of Musk's domain expertise across several fields of knowledge. Whether discussing the intricacies of Ukraine-Russia geopolitics or the potential of mRNA technology in cancer treatment, Musk's command of details in diverse fields is exceptional. For Blake, this reinforces ID.me's own value "details are everything" and presses on the importance of domain mastery. Additionally, Blake was impressed by Musk's kindness and approachability with the crowd at the Army-Navy game, even amidst an overwhelming number of fans.
Importance of feedback, learning, and decision-making in the entrepreneurial journey
“You have to focus small to win big.”
“The reason that you never hit your business model projections as a startup is because you have not found a scalable business model yet. You're still running experiments and testing hypotheses that people will pay for the solution to the problem that you think you're solving.”
Blake's journey with ID.me reminds me about the importance of treating entrepreneurship as a continuous learning process. He views startups through the lens of the scientific method, where running experiments and testing hypotheses about the market is essential. For ID.me, when early feedback indicated that their initial “gated garden” model was unsustainable, Blake eventually decided to pivot to a more scalable identity wallet solution that clients were actually demanding.
He also believes in the power of vulnerability to build credibility. Openly discussing mistakes and learnings should be encouraged - in fact, Blake believes this is what can foster deep trust with an audience – be it your team, clients, or investors. Ensuring all stakeholders are aligned and understand the rationale behind strategic decisions can help gain support and drive the company forward.
Early challenges, the growing threat of identity theft and fraud… lots more!
“We won $5 million in grant funding from the Department Congress in 2013 and they thought identity theft was a problem, then. If you look at the data from 2010 until now, identity theft is up 267%. So whatever we're doing, it is not working.”
Blake is sounding the alarm when it comes to identity fraud. Identity theft has surged by 267% since 2010, a staggering increase that points to inadequate countermeasures. Unfortunately, fraud rings are not only relentless but highly innovative, reinvesting up to 30% of their fraud earnings into research and development - a level of reinvestment that rivals top Silicon Valley firms and enables these criminal organizations to constantly refine their methods. Moreover, the emergence of GenAI tools, such as FraudGPT and WormGPT, has further exacerbated the situation, making scams more convincing and harder to detect. The emotional and psychological toll of identity fraud on our society is profound. Victims often contemplate suicide and the harm of these attacks extends to a broader societal impact.
Blake’ Book Recommendations:
Four Steps to the Epiphany by Steve Blank - This book on applying the scientific method to startups was incredibly important in reframing how Blake thought about building his business. It was recommended by David Tisch, his earliest investor.
The Essays of Aristotle and Plato
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Blake Hall, CEO of ID.me – From Battlefields to Boardrooms, How Combat Gave This Veteran the Drive and Experience to Build a Tech Giant