WHEN: Today, Thursday, October 1st
WHERE: CNBC's "Squawk Alley"
Following is the unofficial transcript of a CNBC EXCLUSIVE interview with Lowercase Capital Founder & Chairman Chris Sacca on CNBC's "Squawk Alley" (M-F, 11AM-12PM ET) today. Following is a link to the interview on CNBC.com: http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000427944.
All references must be sourced to CNBC.
CARL QUINTANILLA: BACK TO THE BIG STORY OF THE DAY. OF COURSE, THAT IS TWITTER. DROPPING ABOUT 6% THIS MORNING AFTER NEWS THAT JACK DORSEY WILL BE NAMED PERMANENT CEO. AN ANNOUNCEMENT WHICH RE/CODE SAYS COULD COME AS EARLY AS TODAY. JOINING US EXCLUSIVELY, TWITTER SHAREHOLDER CHRIS SACCA IS THE FOUNDER AND CHAIRMAN OF LOWERCASE CAPITAL. CHRIS, IT IS GREAT TO HAVE YOU BACK THIS MORNING. GOOD MORNING.
CHRIS SACCA: GOOD TO SEE YOU, CARL.
QUINTANILLA: A LOT OF REPORTS OUT. CAN YOU CONFIRM ANY OF THEM?
SACCA: I CAN'T CONFIRM ANYTHING, OTHER THAN I'M HIGHLY CONFIDENT THAT WE'RE GOING TO GET JACK DORSEY IN THE SEAT AS THE PERMANENT CEO.
QUINTANILLA: IF THIS IS SO OBVIOUS, AND TO YOU IT HAS BEEN OBVIOUS FOR A LONG TIME, WHY DID THE BOARD INITIALLY SAY OTHERWISE?
SACCA: LOOK, THIS BOARD HAS BEEN A DISASTER FROM THE BEGINNING. IF YOU LOOK AT THE HISTORY OF THE COMPANY GOING ALL THE WAY BACK, IT'S THE OUTSIDE BOARD MEMBERS WHO FIRED BOTH OF THE FOUNDERS FROM THIS COMPANY. THOSE ARE THE FOUNDERS WHO TOOK THIS FROM ZERO USERS TO 200 MILLION USERS IN JUST A FEW YEARS. SINCE THEN, WE HAVE SEEN PROFESSIONAL MANAGERS COME IN AND GO SIDEWAYS WITH THIS. AND SO YET AGAIN, I'M NOT SHOCKED. I'M AS UPSET AS I HAVE EVER BEEN, BUT I'M NOT SHOCKED BY THIS BOARD CONTINUING TO SCREW IT UP.
JON FORTT: SO, CHRIS, IF THE BOARD IS THE PROBLEM, IT'S NOT THE BOARD THAT'S CHANGING NO MATTER WHO THE CEO IS, SHOULD THAT NOW BE A CONCERN?
SACCA: IT HAS BEEN A CONCERN FOR A LONG TIME AND I THINK WHEN WE SEE THIS CEO QUESTION RESOLVED, THERE WILL BE IMMEDIATE TURN OVER ON THIS BOARD. I MEAN, ONE OF THE THINGS WE'VE SEEN FROM JACK DORSEY OVER AT SQUARE IS HE IS GREAT AT BUILDING A TALENTED BOARD FULL OF SMART, SUCCESSFUL AND CHALLENGING MEMBERS WHO CAN KEEP THE COMPANY MOVING AT ITS BEST. WE DON'T HAVE THAT AT TWITTER RIGHT NOW AND I THINK WE'RE GOING TO SEE THAT FOR SURE. I MEAN, SOMETHING TO KEEP IN MIND IS THAT AS MUCH AS JACK AND EVAN HAVE BEEN SERVING ON THE BOARD, THEY WERE COMPLETELY SHUT OUT BY THE LAST REGIME HERE. THEIR SUGGESTIONS WEREN'T NECESSARILY HEATED. THE COMMUNICATIONS WERE SPARSE. AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS I AM MOST EXCITED ABOUT IS WE GET BOTH OF THE KEY FOUNDERS OF THE COMPANY BACK IN AND ENGAGED AND MOVING THIS THING AHEAD.
KAYLA TAUSCHE: IF THIS WERE, IN FACT, CHRIS, GOOD NEWS FOR THE COMPANY, YOU WOULD THINK THE STOCK WOULD BE MOVING UP. INSTEAD IT'S DOWN ABOUT 6% AND YOU HAVE BEEN CRITICAL OF THOSE WHO ARE SHORTING THIS STOCK, BUT THE PERFORMANCE TODAY WOULD SEEM TO BE ANOTHER ARROW IN THEIR QUIVER. WHAT DO YOU SAY?
QUINTANILLA: WE MIGHT HAVE LOST AUDIO IN CHRIS' EAR. CHRIS, CAN YOU HEAR US? YEAH, GIVE US A SECOND TO WORK THAT OUT. OBVIOUSLY CHRIS IS NEVER ONE TO MINCE WORDS CONTINUES TO HOLD THAT PATTERN SAYING THE BOARD HAS BEEN A DISASTER FROM THE BEGINNING. AND HIGHLY CONFIDENT I GUESS IS AS FAR AS WE ARE GOING TO BE ABLE TO PUSH HIM UNTIL WE GET HIM BACK.
TAUSCHE: AND HE IS NOT THE ONLY PERSON WHO HAS BEEN CRITICAL OF THIS BOARD. NICK BILTON WILL BE JOINING US LATER. HE TOO HAS BEEN CRITICAL OF THIS BOARD. THE BOARD, WE SHOULD NOTE, ONLY HAS EIGHT MEMBERS ON IT. SPENCER STEWART, WHICH IRONICALLY HAS BEEN LEADING THE CEO SEARCH FOR TWITTER, PUT OUT A REPORT A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO THAT THE AVERAGE BOARD IN THE UNITED STATES IS 11 PEOPLE. SO THEY ARE A FEW HEADS SHY.
FORTT: WATCHING THESE TURN AROUNDS, OR ATTEMPTED TURN AROUNDS IN TECH, I HAVE BECOME CONVINCED THAT THE BOARD, THE BOARD COMPOSITION IS ABSOLUTELY KEY. AND STEVE JOBS GOT A LOT OF CRITICISM EARLY ON FOR HOW HE STACKED UP THE APPLE BOARD WHEN HE CAME BACK AS PERMANENT CEO WITH LARRY ELLISON. WITH MICKEY DREXLER, WITH SOME OTHER FOLKS. BUT THE FACT IS THAT GAVE HIM THE RUNNING ROOM THAT HE NEEDED TO DO SOME VERY CONTROVERSIAL THINGS, INCLUDING THE APPLE RETAIL STORES WHICH A LOT OF PEOPLE THOUGHT WERE DOOMED TO FAIL IN THE BEGINNING. MARISSA MAYER HAS DONE A DECENT JOB GETTING ACTIVISTS OFF THE BOARD AT YAHOO!. THOUGH OF COURSE, HER CRITICS AREN'T TOO HAPPY ABOUT THAT. THE QUESTION IS WHETHER JACK WOULD BE ABLE TO DO THE SAME.
QUINTANILLA: CHRIS, I THINK WE HAVE YOUR AUDIO ISSUE RESOLVED. ONE OF THE PERILS OF LIVE TELEVISION. CAN YOU HEAR US AGAIN?
SACCA: YEAH. MAYBE YOU GUYS SHOULD USE PERISCOPE.
QUINTANILLA: BELIEVE ME, WE THOUGHT ABOUT DOING THAT. JACK, YOU KNOW, HIS PRIOR TENURE SOME ARGUE IS BEING ROMANTICIZED A LITTLE BIT. I MEAN, HE LEFT INITIALLY FOR A REASON. WHY DO YOU ARGUE WE'RE NOT PAINTING A BETTER PICTURE OF HIS TENURE THAN IT REALLY WAS?
SACCA: I MEAN, HE LEFT YEARS AND YEARS AGO AND HAS GONE ON TO BUILD A MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR SUCCESSFUL COMPANY AND ALONG THE WAY HAS GROWN A LOT AS A MANAGER, AS A LEADER. YOU KNOW, THIS ISN'T A HYPOTHETICAL SITUATION. HE HAS BEEN BACK IN CHARGE OF TWITTER NOW FOR OVER A QUARTER. AND DURING THAT TIME, WE'VE SEEN THE PRODUCT ROAD MAP ACCELERATE DRAMATICALLY. THEY ARE LAUNCHING STUFF, THEY'VE REDESIGNED THE MAIN iOS CLIENT, YOU'VE SEEN BUY BUTTONS NOW AVAILABLE TO OVER A MILLION MERCHANTS. WE'VE GOT DEEP UNIVERSAL LINKING, THE GOOGLE PARTNERSHIP. LIGHTNING IS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER. THEY'RE STARTING TO MONETIZE LOGGED OUT USERS, WE'VE SEEN PHENOMENAL GROWTH IN THE PERISCOPE PRODUCT, AND THIS IS ALL HAPPENING UNDER JACK. AND THEN IF YOU ACTUALLY GO TALK TO THE EMPLOYEES THERE, THEY'LL TELL YOU THE PRODUCT PROCESS IS NOW UNSTUCK FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A LONG TIME. NEW IDEAS ARE COMING TO THE FOREFRONT, YOU'VE HEARD A LITTLE BIT OF TALK ABOUT POSSIBLE ABANDONMENT OF SOME OF THE 140 CHARACTER RELIGION. THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT ONLY A FOUNDER AND WITH FOUNDER GRAVITAS CAN DO. AND BETWEEN JACK, EVAN AND ADAM BAIN, I THINK THE VISION IS THERE AND THE EXECUTION IS THERE TO INSPIRE THE EMPLOYEES TO GET A LOT OF THIS STUFF DONE IN A WAY THAT NOBODY ELSE CAN.
TAUSCHE: INSPIRATION IS ONE THING, CHRIS. THE BOTTOM LINE IS ANOTHER. AND I'M WONDERING HOW YOU THINK WE SHOULD BE INTERPRETING THE FACT THAT THIS STOCK IS DOWN 5.5% ON THIS NEWS.
SACCA: WELL, THERE'S OVER 40 PLUS MILLION SHARES SHORT ON THIS, AND SO THERE IS A DEEP SEEDED INTEREST IN KEEPING THIS THING SUPPRESSED. I DON'T THINK ANYONE SHOULD JUST BUY IT ON FAITH TODAY. I THINK WE'RE GOING TO LOOK AT A QUARTER THAT I'M EXPECTING THEM AS AN OUTSIDER TO DO QUITE WELL. I MEAN, EXPECTATIONS COULDN'T BE POSSIBLY LOWER. BUT SOME OF THE THINGS THEY ARE DOING RIGHT NOW ARE GOING TO TAKE SOME WHILE TO REALLY SEE RESULTS, BUT THIS COMPANY IS MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. TO BRING THE TEAM BACK IN THAT GREW IT EXPONENTIALLY IN THE FIRST PLACE, I DON'T DOUBT THEIR ABILITY TO MAKE THIS THING WORK AGAIN. I MEAN, YOU HAVE A COMPANY WHERE 66 MILLION AMERICANS USE IT EVERY MONTH. THAT'S MORE THAN WATCH THE NBA FINALS, THE MLB FINALS, AND THE NHL FINALS COMBINED. THIS IS A MAINSTREAM ATTENTION COMPANY, AND IF YOU START TO MONETIZE NOT JUST WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE CLIENT, BUT WHAT'S HAPPENING LOGGED OUT, YOU HAVE A BEHEMOTH HERE.
FORTT: SO CHRIS, ONE OF MY FRUSTRATIONS, OF COURSE, COVERING THE FINANCIAL END AS WELL AS THE TECHNOLOGY END IS PEOPLE LOOK AT THE STOCK PRICE AND ASSUME THAT THAT REFLECTS EVERYTHING THAT'S GOING ON WITH THE COMPANY. THE TWITTER STOCK IS DOWN OVER THE LAST THREE MONTHS MORE THAN 28%. BUT WERE YOU TEAM JACK FROM DAY ONE, AS SOON AS YOU KNEW THAT TWITTER WAS LOOKING FOR A NEW CEO? AND IF NOT, WHAT WAS IT THAT CONVINCED YOU ALONG THE WAY AND YOUR COMMUNICATIONS WITH MANAGEMENT, WITH EMPLOYEES THAT REALLY HE IS THE GUY.
SACCA: YEAH, I HAVE BEEN TEAM FOUNDERS FROM THE BEGINNING. LET'S GET THE GUYS BACK IN WHO HAVE ALL THE VISION AND WHO CAN SEE THE FUTURE OF THIS COMPANY. RIGHT? I WROTE AN 8,500 WORD MEMO A FEW MONTHS AGO ABOUT THE OBVIOUS THINGS THAT SHOULD BE DONE NOW, THE THINGS THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE FOR A FEW YEARS, BUT IT'S ONLY THE FOUNDERS WHO CAN REALLY SEE SO MANY YEARS IN THE FUTURE TO KNOW WHAT WE NEED TO DO TO MOVE THIS THING FORWARD. AND SO I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN DEEPLY IN SUPPORT OF BRINGING THAT TEAM BACK IN. YOU KNOW, ADAM BAIN IS A KEY COMPONENT OF THIS. THAT GUY, I REALLY HOPE THEY WILL ELEVATE HIM INTO A BIGGER OPERATING ROLE. NOBODY KNOWS HOW TO EXECUTE AND SELL LIKE HE DOES. SO I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN ADVOCATING FROM THIS TEAM FROM THE BEGINNING.
QUINTANILLA: CHRIS, HAVE YOU BEEN CONTACTED ABOUT JOINING THE BOARD?
SACCA: NO, AND I WON'T JOIN THE BOARD. I MEAN, LOOK, YOU GET ALL THE SUPPORT FROM ME YOU WANT AS AN OUTSIDER HERE. YOU'LL GET MY MEMOS, YOU'LL GET THEM PRIVATELY, YOU'LL GET ME MAKING NOISE. LIKE, THERE'S NO SHORTAGE OF OPPORTUNITIES TO BE IN TOUCH WITH ME. BUT I THINK THERE IS SOME INCREDIBLE BOARD MEMBERS HERE. I THINK THEY CAN BRING IN SOME POWERFUL WOMEN, SOME PEOPLE OF COLOR, SOME REALLY SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS LEADERS. I HAVE NO DOUBT THAT WITH JACK THERE, THEY'LL BE ABLE TO ATTRACT INCREDIBLY HIGH-CALIBER BOARD MEMBERS WHO CAN JUST GIVE THIS COMPANY A CHANCE TO GET OUT OF ITS OWN WAY.
QUINTANILLA: WELL, WE ARE LOOKING AT A SLATE OF THE BOARD RIGHT THERE. YOU CALL THEM A DISASTER. ARE YOU SINGLING OUT ANY MEMBERS IN PARTICULAR?
SACCA: I HAVEN'T BEEN PARTICULARLY IMPRESSED BY MOST OF THE OUTSIDE BOARD MEMBERS. IN PARTICULAR THOUGH, PETER CURRIE IS THE ONE LEADING THE OUTSIDE SEARCH COMMITTEE RIGHT NOW. IT'S BEYOND FRUSTRATING. I THINK TO THE EXTENT TO WHICH HE HAS LEFT A LOT OF THE MANAGEMENT TEAM IN THE DARK, THE CALIBER OF CANDIDATES HE HAS BEEN TALKING TO OUTSIDE THE COMPANY, THIS ENTIRE PROCESS, THE PRESS RELEASE SAYING THAT TWITTER WOULD ONLY WORK WITH SOMEBODY WHO IS WILLING TO COMMIT FULL-TIME TO IT, ALL THAT HAS JUST BEEN INEXPLICABLE AND MOTIVATED BY SOMETHING THAT I DON'T THINK HAS BEEN IN THE BEST INTEREST OF SHAREHOLDERS. SO I WOULD LIKE TO SEE PEOPLE WITH SKIN IN THE GAME ON THE BOARD AND THEN SOME SUCCESSFUL, INDEPENDENT, INSPIRING BOARD MEMBERS TO COMPLEMENT THEM.
TAUSCHE: CHRIS, SO ARE YOU SAYING THAT IF SOMEONE DIFFERENT WERE LEADING THE SEARCH COMMITTEE FOR THE BOARD THAT THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO BRING IN HIGHER CALIBER OUTSIDE CANDIDATES FOR THIS JOB?
SACCA; NO, I DON'T THINK THERE ARE ACTUALLY OTHER CANDIDATES FOR THIS JOB. I THINK EVERYONE HAS KNOWN THAT. I THINK THE EMPLOYEES HAVE KNOWN THAT, THE MAJOR SHAREHOLDERS HAVE KNOWN THAT, THE FOUNDERS HAVE KNOWN THAT, THE MANAGEMENT TEAM HAS KNOWN THAT. THAT'S THE THING. IF YOU LOOK AT WHO IS IN THE COLUMN OF LINED UP IN SUPPORT OF JACK AND ADAM AND EVAN TO RUN THIS COMPANY, THERE'S LITERALLY ONE OR TWO PEOPLE LINED UP IN OPPOSITION TO THEM. WE'VE HEARD FROM RIZVI, WE'VE HEARD FROM KINGDOM, WE'VE HEARD FROM MYSELF, WE'VE HEARD, YOU KNOW – WE KNOW THE BOARD MEMBERS WHO SUPPORT JACK. EVAN AND JACK ARE BOTH OBVIOUSLY IN FAVOR OF THIS. THE TWO LARGEST INDIVIDUAL SHAREHOLDERS ON THAT LINE. WE'VE EVEN HEARD FROM PEOPLE OVER AT SQUARE LIKE ROELOF FROM SEQUOIA, AND KEITH – WHO BOTH, YOU KNOW, HUGE STAKEHOLDERS OVER THERE WHO HAVE SAID THEY WOULD REALLY LIKE TO SEE JACK RUN BOTH COMPANIES. AND SO WHEN YOU HAVE EVERYONE AROUND THE TABLE AT BOTH COMPANIES POUNDING FOR THIS, IT'S AMAZING THAT THIS BOARD HAS STILL GOTTEN IN THE WAY OF IT. I MEAN, GO TO GLASSDOOR. LOOK, JACK HAS 100% RATING. THE EMPLOYEES LOVE HIM, ADVERTISERS LOVE HIM, PARTNERS LOVE HIM, AND WE'VE SEEN ALREADY THE IMPROVEMENTS HE HAS HAD EVEN AS AN INTERIM CEO IN THREE MONTHS.
FORTT: SO CHRIS, THE LANDSCAPE FOR TWITTER HAS CHANGED DRAMATICALLY OVER THE PAST TWO, THREE YEARS. AND YOU NEED LOOK NO FURTHER THAN INSTAGRAM AND EVEN WHAT'S APP TO SEE THAT. TWITTER IN SOCIAL WAS ONCE MENTIONED RIGHT UP THERE WITH FACEBOOK, AND NOW THE ARGUMENT ALWAYS HAS TO BE WELL, FACEBOOK IS A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT ANIMAL. DON'T COMPARE IT TO TWITTER. THESE SUBSIDIARIES, THESE BRANCH-OFFS FROM FACEBOOK, INCLUDING INSTAGRAM, NOW GROWING AT A RATE FASTER THAN TWITTER IS. WHAT IS TWITTER'S NECESSARY PATH FROM HERE? AND YOU HAVE OUTLINED SOME OF THIS IN YOUR WRITINGS IN THE PAST, BUT WHEN YOU COMPARE IT TO AN INSTAGRAM, YOU LOOK AT THE GROWTH RATE, YOU LOOK AT THE ADVERTISING POSSIBILITIES, HOW DO YOU SQUARE THAT?
SACCA: WELL, LOOK, I AM – YOU KNOW, I WAS AN ORIGINAL AN INSTAGRAM INVESTOR. I AM INCREDIBLY PROUD OF WHAT THE TEAM THERE HAS DONE. KEVIN SYSTROM IS AN INSPIRING LEADER, I REALLY ADMIRE HIM. THAT SAID, A USER IS NOT A USER, IS NOT A USER. AT THE END OF THE DAY, I WANT A TWITTER USER TO MONETIZE. THEY ARE BASED INTO AN INTEREST GRAPH. I KNOW MORE ABOUT THEM AND I KNOW HOW TO MARKET TO THEM. IN FACT, THEY OPT IN TO BE FOLLOWING BRANDS. AND SO NOW WITH THE BUY BUTTON THERE AND THE COMMERCE OPPORTUNITIES, IF I'M AN INVESTOR AND IF I'M A MARKETER, I WANT ACCESS TO A TWITTER USER. REMEMBER MAUs, MONTHLY ACTIVE USERS, IS NOT THE ONLY JUDGE OF THE REACH OF A COMPANY. TWITTER HAS A MUCH BIGGER REACH THAN ANY OF THOSE PEERS THAT IT OFTEN GETS ASSOCIATED WITH ON THE MAU BASIS. WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, DO THE PERVASIVE NATURE OF TWEETS IN THE NEWS ACROSS TELEVISION, ET CETERA, IS SOMETHING THAT TWITTER WILL GET BETTER AT STARTING TO MONETIZE. IT WASN'T AN EMPHASIS FOREVER, AND YOU'RE GOING TO SEE THINGS LIKE THAT INEVITABLY START SOON. AND SO I'M BULLISH, AND BY THE WAY, IF TWITTER WEREN'T SUCH A HOT BUSINESS, THEN FACEBOOK WOULDN'T CONSTANTLY KEEP TRYING TO COPY ASPECTS OF THAT BUSINESS.
QUINTANILLA: YEAH, WE'VE HEARD THAT BEFORE. FINALLY, I ASSUME YOU'RE GOING TO TAKE SOME OF THIS FIRE AND POUR IT INTO "SHARK TANK."
SACCA: YEAH, I'M EXCITED TO BE – I FILMED A FEW EPISODES OF "SHARK TANK," JUST FILMED A FEW MORE RECENTLY. I LOVE SITTING IN THE SHARK CHAIR. AND, FRANKLY, YOU KNOW, IF YOU ARE A FAN OF THE SHOW, I'M SURE YOU FIND YOURSELF SHOUTING BACK AT THE TELEVISION ALL THE TIME. SO WHEN THEY GAVE ME THE OPPORTUNITY, I WAS, LIKE, "WAIT, I GET TO GO ON SCREEN AND FIGHT WITH O'LEARY AND CUBAN?" LIKE, THAT'S A DREAM. SO, REALLY EXCITED. I THINK MY FIRST EPISODE COMES UP END OF THE MONTH, AND CAN'T WAIT.
QUINTANILLA: WELL, YOU'LL DEFINITELY GIVE PEOPLE SOMETHING TO SHOUT ABOUT. CHRIS, PLEASE COME BACK SOON. IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN.
SACCA: YEAH. THANKS, GUYS.
QUINTANILLA: CHRIS SACCA JOINING US THERE TALKING ABOUT TWITTER.
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