#186 Adam Spector — Disrupt Yourself Before Your Boss Does It for You

Adam Spector is the Founder and CEO of Chore, a back-office operations company that handles HR, finance, compliance, and equity for venture-backed startups. Rising to prominence as a 4x founder and investor in more than 200 startups since 2011, he became known for his conviction that founders should spend zero time on undifferentiated operational work. Under his leadership, Chore has grown from 7 to more than 40 team members, serving hundreds of venture-backed companies across the United States.

Previously, Adam co-founded AbstractOps, which raised approximately $10 million from tier-one venture capital firms before pivoting in 2022, with its operations arm spinning off to become Chore. Across his earlier three venture-backed companies, he raised a combined $30 to $40 million in funding, with one company acquired for $400 million. He also served as a Product Manager at Twitter before turning full-time to founding and investing.

Adam holds a JD/MBA and a degree from Vanderbilt University. He co-founded the Autopilot Fund, an investment vehicle focused on AI-related data sets, and hosts the Entrepreneurial Excellence Podcast, where he interviews founders on the operational realities of building companies.

Hey, Thanks for reading this. I mean that. There's a lot of content out there competing for your attention, and you spent some of it here. I hope it was worth it. Even better, I hope it prompted you to think about something differently enough that you'd share it with someone who'd get something out of it too.I started this podcast because tactics never stuck with me. What stuck were stories — business biographies, autobiographies, the decisions people made and why they made them. The principle only clicks once you know the story behind it.

So I built the thing I wanted to read. Every week I have two conversations with people who build in technology and product. Then I write the essay I wish I could find — one that puts you inside the conversation, through my eyes. What caught me off guard. What I kept thinking about after we hung up. Where the principle actually lives once you strip away the jargon.

I make this for myself first. If you read the way I do, you’ll want it too.

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