Deel has achieved remarkable scale with over $1B in ARR, profitability for three years, and a recent $300M raise at a $17B valuation. Rather than relying on traditional Silicon Valley visibility, Deel has prioritized customer focus and operational excellence. Alex rejects conventional leadership practices like formal 1-1s, favoring continuous feedback and hands-on involvement. The company is shifting from paid acquisition to brand-building, inspired by Revolut, and leveraging AI to automate support. Deel’s aggressive acquisition strategy—13 in six years—focuses on rapid front-end relaunches and full backend rebuilds, accelerating infrastructure development by years. Key deals like Payspace enabled global expansion, while lessons learned led to a 'hell yeah or no' decision framework. Founder alignment and fair pricing are central to post-acquisition success. Despite speculation, Deel remains focused on sustainable growth, SOX readiness, and long-term vision over short-term hype, positioning itself for a future IPO without compromising its core principles.