Filip Kaliszan’s entrepreneurial journey is a testament to resilience, learning from failure, and the ability to turn ideas into impactful products. As one of the co-founders and CEO of Verkada, a company now valued at $3.5 billion with over 20,000 global customers, Filip has taken a fascinating path. Starting from a Stanford dorm room project to creating a suite of video security solutions, his story offers valuable insights into product development, company scaling, and leadership.
The Beginning: Stanford and CourseRank
Filip’s journey started in 2006 during his undergraduate years at Stanford University. Like many students, he wasn’t initially sure what path he would take. After taking computer science classes, he realized the potential to turn simple ideas into real-world applications. This curiosity led to his first entrepreneurial endeavor—CourseRank, an innovative web application designed to help students choose classes more efficiently.
At the time, Stanford’s course selection system was outdated, still relying on printed materials. Filip and his friends saw an opportunity to digitize the process. What began as a small dorm-room project quickly gained traction across campus, with thousands of students using it to manage their courses. This initial success taught Filip some critical lessons about product-market fit and the importance of working with a team. It also gave him his first taste of scaling a product.
Key Lessons from CourseRank: Building, Trust, and Teamwork
While CourseRank became a staple for students, Filip and his co-founders learned valuable lessons about working together as a small team. They quickly realized that delegation and trust were essential. Each team member brought unique skills, but they initially struggled to divide responsibilities effectively. Over time, they learned to leverage each other’s strengths and create a smooth operational flow, a lesson that would prove crucial in Filip’s future ventures.
When CourseRank was eventually acquired by Chegg, a company shifting from textbook rentals to digital student services, Filip found himself in uncharted territory. He was suddenly thrust into evaluating acquisitions and helping Chegg integrate new companies into their portfolio. This experience taught him how challenging it is to merge different teams, technologies, and products—a lesson that would later influence his leadership at Verkada.
The Birth of Verkada: From Idea to Prototype
In 2016, after taking time off to explore ideas with his co-founders, Filip identified an opportunity in the growing market for physical security. They noticed that the video security industry, with an annual spend of around $15 to $20 billion, was ripe for disruption. Schools, businesses, and governments were in need of modern, cloud-connected solutions for managing video surveillance and other security measures.
Filip and his team got to work quickly, building a Raspberry Pi-based prototype of a security camera. They assembled the cameras in his living room, writing basic software to stream and store video. Despite these humble beginnings, their focus was clear: develop a product that solved real customer pain points.
Facing Reality: From Prototype to Market
The early stages of Verkada were challenging. After producing around 60 prototypes, the team distributed them to friends and volunteers to gather feedback. This feedback quickly exposed the gaps in their product—such as video streaming issues and the limitations of internet connections with multiple cameras. Yet, it was precisely this feedback that helped shape their roadmap.
By 2017, the team had moved from a prototype to a manufacturable product, placing an order for 250 cameras. However, when the cameras arrived from Taiwan, they were stored in Filip’s garage, signaling a turning point in the journey. Filip remembers feeling the weight of that moment: most of their cash was tied up in inventory, and they had no customers yet. But this pressure, rather than paralyzing the team, became a driving force. With limited runway, they were forced to launch their product sooner than planned, quickly gaining critical insights from real-world usage.
Navigating Growth: Challenges in Scaling and Leadership
As Verkada began to gain momentum, Filip encountered new challenges—particularly in scaling the team and building a cohesive company culture. By 2019, the company had grown to around 200 employees, but there were internal issues. Some employees engaged in inappropriate behavior, which tested Filip’s leadership for the first time. He initially hesitated to take decisive action, but soon learned the importance of sending a clear message about company culture. This experience underscored the need for consistent communication and maintaining high ethical standards.
Another challenge arose as the company scaled. Unlike a small startup, where everyone knows each other, a company of hundreds—and eventually thousands—of employees requires structured communication. Filip realized that he had to actively shape how he and other leaders were perceived across the organization. To address this, Verkada introduced regular all-hands meetings, small group lunches, and other touchpoints to foster open communication and alignment.
Product Development Strategy: Listening to Customers
Verkada’s rapid success can largely be attributed to its product development strategy. Filip and his team took customer feedback seriously, incorporating insights into their roadmap. Initially, there was a disconnect between the features they thought were essential and what early customers valued most. However, by listening to these users, they quickly iterated on the product, improving functionality and addressing pain points.
This customer-centric approach helped them build not just video cameras, but a broader platform for physical security. Today, Verkada offers solutions that include access control systems, sensors, and alarms—all managed through a unified, cloud-based platform.
Scaling Product Categories: A Startup Within a Startup
One of the key moments in Verkada’s growth was expanding beyond cameras to new product categories, such as access control systems. However, their first attempt wasn’t smooth. The engineers assigned to the new project kept getting pulled back into their core responsibilities. To solve this, Filip and his team took a bold approach: they physically moved the engineers to a different office basement, giving them crummy snacks and a mandate not to come out until they had a product ready.
This strategy worked, resulting in faster progress and a successful launch. This “startup within a startup” mindset became a critical part of Verkada’s product development process, allowing teams to focus and move quickly while avoiding distractions from other parts of the business.
Building Culture: In-Office Collaboration and Engagement
Verkada’s culture emphasizes in-person collaboration, especially important for a company developing physical security products. Engineers and product teams need to interact with the hardware, testing everything from badge readers to camera functionality. But it’s not just about the work—the company fosters an engaging office environment with unique touches like different snacks and drinks on each floor to encourage employees to interact with colleagues they might not normally see.
Filip believes that these small efforts make work more enjoyable and help energize the team. By creating a fun, collaborative atmosphere, Verkada has built a strong in-office culture that drives productivity and innovation.
Key Takeaways for Entrepreneurs
Filip’s journey offers several key lessons for aspiring entrepreneurs:
Start small and learn quickly: Verkada’s success was built on rapid iteration and learning from customer feedback. Instead of waiting for a perfect product, they launched early and improved based on real-world input.
Focus on teamwork and trust: Building a startup is a team effort. Trusting your co-founders and knowing when to delegate is crucial to scaling successfully.
Be decisive in leadership: Company culture and ethics are non-negotiable. When issues arise, leaders need to act swiftly and communicate clearly.
Be persistent through highs and lows: Building a company involves constant ups and downs. Storing energy during good times can help sustain the team when challenges inevitably arise.
Create a positive company culture: A happy and engaged team is more productive. Small efforts like encouraging social interactions and creating a collaborative atmosphere can make a big difference.
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