Louis Hauvette

Sam Altman was the President of YC. Startup advice given at YC: - Launch right away - Launch 1st version you’re embarrassed about - Raise very little capital up front - Don’t take big R&D risk - Find PMF quickly, with ‘something’ Versus how he launched OpenAI: - Raised 1B dollars of capital before any PMF - Took 4 to 5 years after launch to release - Didn’t talk to users upon release Moral of the story? Be careful of textbook advice, no matter who it came from. Prioritise finding smart people with solid analytical skills, instead. Then, make educated bets together.

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Does being a great VC = being a great manager ? Basically no.  Because the two are very different things.  (It’s not me, Kyle Harrison is saying so!) What's important for a VC can be summed up like that : "The two most important things are (1) performance, and (2) teamwork. But if you don't have number 1 then nothing else matters." Being a good VC is making the right investments to have a solid track record. The currency in VC is getting credit for getting deals done. This leaves little room for investors to train newcomers (ie. Associates/Analysts) because you don’t get recognition from that. So being a good manager isn’t valued as much as being a good investor. But problem is, building a solid track record is very different from building a long lasting investment firm, which can only be done by training associates and so being a good manager. David Haber compare the way VC are working with the way Chicago Bulls won championships in 1991-92 meaning winning on the back of 1 or 2 players (1 or 2 good investors) So the structural incentive rewards only deals getting done leaving on the side building a team that knows how to work together. Everything outside track record could be considered pointless. And that’s why VC can’t be considered as an apprenticeship business. But the the positive thing is, a lot of smart VC (ex: Sequoia Capital (US) or Serena (FR)) already know that training new generations is equally important as having a great track record if you want to survive on the long run. So remember as a VC, find great deals but don’t forget to find a great Associate that can succeed you ;) PS: I’m not going to say it but I could: Automate as much as possible to have time for your Associate. Many thanks to Kyle for this interesting piece! Link in comments 👇

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A woman co-founder built one of the most successful apps in Europe, without millions in VC money. Here’s how: Julie Chapon, along with François MARTIN and Benoit MARTIN, launched Yuka in January 2017. From day one, Julie knew they weren’t going to be just another startup chasing big fundraising. Yuka was about impact and value, helping people make healthier choices by scanning barcodes to see the real health impact of food and cosmetics. They grew fast, but on their own terms. By January 2018, they hit over 1 million users, far beyond their expectations. They raised a small round in June 2018, not from VCs but from business angels who aligned with their mission. It was just enough to grow the team and add cosmetics analysis, all while staying true to their values. Since then, Yuka has grown organically with their business model, proving that profitability and purpose can go hand in hand. Fast forward to today: Yuka has over 40 million users worldwide, including millions in the U.S., where it’s quickly become a favorite for conscious consumers. This is a success story about focus, transparency, and doing it without chasing the biggest checks. Know other women founders who’ve built successful startups without VC money? Tag them below. 👇 _____________________ 👋🏻 Hi there, welcome! ✨ I'm Sarah. I help women founders develop winning business models, gain market traction, and secure funding through my FundHER accelerator program. As a woman founder, follow me here on LinkedIn for insights and support to help you launch, grow and fund your startup.

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The most important fundraising KPI: 1st pitch → 2nd meeting conversion rate Is yours low? (< 30-50%) Something is wrong. Here's how to diagnose your issue and fix it: There are two types of potential problems... 1️⃣ Investor targeting 2️⃣ Pitching 𝐈𝐍𝐕𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐆𝐄𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆: The most common issue is targeting the wrong investors. Usually you're reaching out to investors that focus on a different stage or industry. Do some research on the investors that didn't convert to a second meeting. The most important resource: their portfolio page. Ignore the "about" section, or their blog. That's mostly about marketing to potential investors in their fund. Instead, look at what they've actually invested in and the stage at which they invested (Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A, etc.) Remember: trust the portfolio, not the thesis. __ The other main issue is unclear outbound messaging. Investors think you do one thing (industry, business model, tech, etc.) but you actually do something else. I recommend sending your outbound email template to 5+ friends that don't know anything about your startup. Ask them: • What kinds of customers do you think we serve? • What benefits do you think we provide for them? • What product features do you think we have? • What technologies do you think we use? If more 20% of your friends answer these questions incorrectly, you need to write new outreach emails. 𝐏𝐈𝐓𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆: The most common issue is just that your pitch is weak. Usually because you aren't telling a story. You're just sharing disconnected data. The best pitches are stories that foreshadow the only possible outcome: your startup's tremendous success. It feels inevitable. The easiest test to figure out if you're telling a story: try connecting the main idea of each of your slides with "but," "so" or one of their synonyms. If the natural link between slides is "and" or if you can move the order around, you don't have a story. Chronology matters in storytelling. Go back to the drawing board and try to write your inevitable success story. __ Maybe your overall pitch isn't weak. But VCs may still be spotting a red flag when you pitch. It turns them off right away. If you think this might be your issue, it's important to start asking questions. Most pitches have time for you to ask questions at the end. Here's my go-to to diagnose this issue: "What would you need to see in order to get excited about investing in <<STARTUP>>?" If they tell you a primary KPI that you need to improve, then you've probably identified the issue. The other possibility: They try to avoid giving you a specific answer. If they're evading your question, you NEED to dig in to get to the bottom of it. Your fundraising success may depend on it. —— Was this helpful? 👍 like and ♻️ repost it to help other founders!

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SAFE is a tool to accept investment with minimum paperwork and negotiation with investors. It's really good at the beginning and helps both investors and founders save time. You just need to understand how the tool works to use it correctly. Mistakes happen when people don't know how it works: ✅ There’s nothing wrong with using a Valuation Cap. As a founder, you should understand that if you raise funds at a valuation lower than the valuation cap in your SAFEs, you’ll end up giving away a larger portion of your company. That said, you really want to pay attention whether the SAFE contains the MFN (Most Favorable Nation) provision or not and make sure you understand how this provision works. ✅ There’s nothing wrong with anti-dilution protection against future options. In fact, it gives investors a clearer understanding of the minimum equity they’re receiving and prevents founders from manipulating the Cap Table after the investment is accepted. If you’re a founder using a SAFE or an angel investor, please take the time to familiarize yourself with this tool and understand how it works. It’s only a 5-8 page document and is well-written (kudos to the YC lawyers).

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Don’t stack post-money SAFEs. I know YC backs them & I, as an investor, love them. But for founders, 1 post-money SAFE is fine—2+ can be deadly: What if I told you I’ll lead your seed round but I want: 1- Full ratchet anti-dilution rights. If your next round is say at a 50% lower valuation, my share price gets lowered by 50%. 2- Anti-dilution against future options. If you if you increase the size of your ESOP, 100% of the dilution goes to founders and existing employees. 3- Anti-dilution against future notes. If you raise a pre-or post money SAFE or a convertible note, only the founders and employees get diluted, not me. You’d tell me I’m crazy, right? You’d at least tell me it’s not market, not standard? But it is market, it is standard, and it’s called a post money SAFE. #startups #founders #venturecapital

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Big companies tend to over invest. Start-ups have the benefit of starvation. In order to succeed 0 to 1 at a big company, you need to create scarcity. I'm paraphrasing Tanguy Crusson here on Lenny's Newsletter Podcast (link in the comments) but the spirit of this comment is so true. Tanguy developed Jira Product Discovery internally at Atlassian and highlights so many of the challenges of innovating at big companies: - Big companies tend to want to use a playbook that worked in their first market into a new opportunity, but that often fails. There are new nuances to learn in new markets and humility is required to acknowledge this. - Chances are new products are going to fail. Big companies need to acknowledge this to avoid overinvesting until there is sufficient signal from the marketplace. - New products/businesses at big companies need to be judged differently in the early stages than the cash cows that got the company big in the first place. Zero to one needs room to stumble and learn and iterate to find a path to become cash cows themselves. - "Why now" is often the most important question to ask (and one I hear from my friends at Madrona Venture Labs as well). Why do we need to do this now? It's hard to get resources at a big company outside of the core. A new product/business needs an urgency in order to get the necessary attention to succeed. #startups #0to1 #entrepreneurship #productmanagement

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According to Harvard Business School, around 65% of promising startups fail due to co-founder disagreements. And yet the general thinking - according to YC - is that it’s still more advisable to look for a co-founder than to go solo. So if the pressure of finding your ideal co-founding team wasn’t enough, it becomes even more daunting when you’re aware of the risks. And yet, I find it interesting that some of the most successful partnerships arise more or less serendipitously. Take Dropbox as an example: initially a solo venture, Drew Houston was advised by Paul Graham to find a co-founder if he was serious about YC. Through friends of friends, he met his co-founder, Arash Ferdowsi, spent a grand total of 2 hours talking in a coffee house, and in his words, “got married on the first date”. Against all odds, the two had an incredibly successful collaboration that lasted 13 years. Embracing serendipity whilst actively seeking out compatible partners seems like a contradiction - but it’s often the case that when it does work, it’s really something to see. 🍀 Check out Drew's story below! #cofounders #founderstories #ycombinator #startups #founders

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Best tools for startup and scaleup CFOs - French tools only 🇫🇷 Whether you're launching your company or scaling your finance stack, we've got you covered. This list is not exhaustive, and we also want to share our feedback after nearly 2 years of using these tools at Hyperline. --- 🏦 Banking: Qonto / Memo Bank → We use both! Qonto handles our daily operations, while Memo Bank manages our term deposits (DAT in French). 🥸 Accounting: Pennylane → We've chosen Pennylane as the go-to accounting solution (and our accounting partner loves it too!). Bonus: seamless integration with Hyperline to collect all invoices. 💳 Spend management: Spendesk → A must-have as your team scales. Bonus: your team will love their autonomy with own card! (Lucas Bédout, as former VP of Engineering, insisted we include them in the list...🤪) 💸 Billing and invoicing: Hyperline → We love using our own product daily. The best solution on the market for managing finance operations from quote to cash (I'm not biased at all 😇). 💼 Procurement: Pivot / Payflows → If you're looking for a procurement solution, that's a good sign for your business. Simplify your life with next-gen procurement solutions! 🦸🏻‍♀️ People and Payroll: PayFit France / Lucca → We've been using PayFit since day one at Hyperline. I remember closing the first payroll with just myself 😂. Very user-friendly with excellent support, perfect for an admin novice like me. 💰 Cap table management: Equify → Your investors will appreciate a clear view of your latest round and future prospects. This was one of the first tools we implemented after our Seed round. --- I’m probably missing some tools. Please help me to complete this list in comment.

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Its tempting to say AI is the new oil. But oil is what is burnt. The engine burns the oil. Data and Information continue to be the Oil. We are in that same Information Age as theorised by Manuel Castells et. al. What's new is that we have just invented our Engine! And that's GenAI. Now we can put the Data to use... #genaiadoption #nlightn

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Doing what you did in your early stage phase for too long will kill 💀 your startup. 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐲: In the early stage, you fuel hyper through acquisition. You rock a low CAC Payback and reinvest the $ in more growth. With scale, your ARR composition changes. Most of the ARR comes from existing customers. 𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞: ARR = $100M ($50M New, $50M Existing) To maintain a 3X growth ($300M) on this composition through acquisition, you need to 5X your New ARR ($250M). It’s not doable, especially while maintaining a low CAC Payback. Hence, relying mainly on acquisition is no longer a viable option. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨? The game has changed. It’s about monetizing and expanding ($) your base (NRR / GRR). AND maintaining the efficient acquisition engine. You have to do both. How do you expand ($) your base? More value! The second product add-ons, new services, and additional monetization layers. Value! Value! Value! It’s a mindset and a strategy shift. People tend to keep doing what’s working. But in this case, your startup will stagnate if the switch is made too late. #Growth #PLG #SaaS #B2B #Scaleup #Product

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💡 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐕𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐈𝐬 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞! 🌍 Fundraising is hard, but finding the right investors doesn’t have to be. This guide is your shortcut to 5000+ VCs, angels, and family offices across:  • 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: US, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa, and MENA.  • 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀: SaaS, Web3, ClimateTech, DeepTech, and more.  • 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀: Pre-seed angels, fund-of-funds, and diversity-focused investors. What you’ll get:  • Verified global VC lists, tailored by stage and geography.  • Specialized directories like AI angels, accelerators, and niche family offices.  • Tools to focus your outreach and scale smarter. Check it out here: https://lnkd.in/dtdyuUqP

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Why SanFran as city is unique + Europe can’t compete ? 300 000 millionaires & 80 Billionaires Even without capital raising, the probability of good knowledge transfer about how to build substantial (software) businesses seems to be working better on an order magnitude in that city, than in Europe as a whole

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Sifted just released their list of the most promising SaaS startups in Europe. https://lnkd.in/erxJRGzi If you are looking to leave your corporate job for a startup but aren’t sure where to get started, do this. 1. Look at sifted lift of promising startups and pick 10 that really interest you. 2. Based on your skill set, use linked look up the lead of the department you think you would be interested in. For example, if you want to get into sales then look up the VP of sales. 3. Send them a DM on why you want to work for the company and what impact you could have in your first 100 days working there. Don’t send your CV until asked for it. 4. Follow up diligently every few days. If after the third try, no one has got back to you, move to the next 10 on the list. It sounds simple, and it is. Recruitment is the hardest thing for growth stage startups, and no one enjoyed paying 25% recruiter fees. Good luck

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I led 20 deals and spoke to thousands of startups in the last 6 years. Here's how I'd expect a good cold email to be structured👇🏻 𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭: 𝐁𝐧𝐝𝐥 - $𝟑𝐌 𝐒𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝, 𝐔𝐒-𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝, 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞 Hi Elena, I'm Alex, the founder of Bndl, a U.S.-based company. We're currently raising a $3M Seed round with a great consumer-focused VC as the lead investor, [name of the VC]. I'm looking for partners to fill the rest of the round. I looked through your portfolio and believe we align well with your thesis. Below is a quick overview of Bndl. Please let me know if you'd be open to a conversation. Best, Alex *** The global video streaming market is currently valued at $50B, projected to hit $330B by 2030. Yet, 85% of U.S. households can afford only one streaming service. Only 7% can afford six or more. Bndl makes streaming accessible for all, offering top shows across major platforms for just $20/month. Users can access everything through Bndl, instead of subscribing separately to HBO just to watch "House of the Dragon," Hulu just for "The Kardashians," or Amazon Prime just for "The Boys." ▪️ Traction: $10k MRR; ongoing negotiations with Disney+ and Netflix; integrations with HBO, Hulu, and Amazon Prime. ▪️ Team: Alex, CEO – 5 yrs in VC (One Ventures, Two Ventures); John, CBDO – ex-Netflix, ex-Spotify; Emily, CTO – ex-Reddit, ex-Stripe. ▪️ Backed by: XX, YY, and angels from Wise, Google, and Revolut. We're raising a $3M round, led by [name of the VC], and expect to close within the next month. [Brief note on the lead investor]. P.S. a catchy picture for your attention 🐾

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How we turned a 20% decline in ARR into nearly 100% growth in less than 6 months (and what it taught me about the real startup journey): At the start of 2023, we set an ambitious goal at Chezie: grow to $1M in revenue - a nearly 150% increase. The path looked simple: 1. maintain momentum 2. close deals in our pipeline 3. hit our targets The reality? Four months into the year, we had actually *lost* a customer, and revenue had declined. Eight months into the year we had only grown 20%. I started having thoughts I never expected: - Should we shut down? - How do we return investor money? - Is this the end? Then, something clicked in Q3 and Q4. We closed more deals in 4 months than we had all year. We ended 2024 short of our goal but still up nearly 100% YoY. Now, I'm more optimistic than ever about 2025. But this journey taught me three things: 1. The path is never straight 2. Progress isn't linear 3. Most of the game is just showing up every day, even when it feels hopeless So, if you're in the "struggling" or "feeling lost" phase of your journey right now, keep going. The breakthrough might be right around the corner. What unexpected turns has your startup journey taken? 👇🏾

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🚀 Product Intuitiveness: The Ultimate SaaS Revenue Operations Hack ?! 🚀 💬 feedback during a Sales Demo: “You worked on intuitiveness and simplicity, it's cool! It's been only 30sec since we started talking, and I've already understood clearly what you are talking about…” Lucie from Yousign This is a huge win for our 3-month-old venture! 🥳 Our focus on user-friendly design is paying off. Are we on tracks to democratize Voice AI usage with our platform? Absolutely! ❓But why is this feedback so significant? ⬇️ In the world of SaaS, product intuitiveness isn't just a nice-to-have—it's a game changer: 📣 Marketing: Generate effortless converting content adapted to your Go-To-Market. 🤝 Sales: Impactful demos, faster trust-building and competition killer. Driving Sales Efficiency 🚀. 🌟 Customer Success: Enhanced self-service reduces pressure on CSM teams and accelerates onboarding for both new customers and hires. 🛠️ Tech: Streamlined maintenance and documentation due to an intuitive UI/UX. 💵 Finance: Lower churn and reduced CSM ratios boost growth margins 📈 But...how to nail product intuitiveness? 🧱 Long-term: Track Sales Velocity, Churn Rate, and Product Usage. 🏃‍♂️ Quick Wins: Sales demo feedbacks, customer reviews, competition benchmark. 👤 Focus & Celebrate Wins! Build an internal culture that emphasizes positive feedback on intuitiveness. Aren’t all SaaS on a mission over user friction? Any tips on your side? Let’s go 🚀 PS: Forrester reports that every $1 spent fixing a problem in design saves $5 during development and $30 post-release. #Product #UI #SaaS #Demo #VoiceAI #RevOps #CX

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Fundraising is like an enterprise sales motion. Your goal is to try to sell part of your company, but every VC has their own buying process, just like you do. And with any enterprise motion, there are: ➝ Multiple stakeholders ➝ Different people need to be convinced about different things ➝ An economic buyer you need access to And so on. But the thing is: I only realized this once I made that analogy. The hardest thing when dealing with VCs is knowing whether you’re actually landing the deal or not. Are people actually telling you the truth when they say they’re interested? With VCs, they’re not motivated to tell you the news because their overall goal is to cultivate the relationship. So, map out the fundraising process as an enterprise sales motion. Then, the rest of the process will become intuitive. For example, if the VC tells you things are great, but doesn’t put you in touch with the economic buyer – then are they really interested? Thinking of it in this way has helped me understand the different players and what they’re actually saying between the lines. The best advice—ask them about their company evaluation process. Every firm operates in such different ways that there’s no point trying to figure out how they operate. If you ask them, they tend to give you pretty high clarity in terms of how they move companies through their process. PS: Apologies for the low-quality video here, my webcam didn't want to focus for some reason.

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€25M, to build the one finance platform to rule them all. Proud to be partner of Pauline Glikman and Joseph A. from Day 0! When we first invested in Payflows, there were many other FinTech SaaS startups focusing on individual pain points felt by CFOs and their teams. Some of these companies try to improve accounts payable or procurement. Others tackle cash management or try to modernize the payment stack. Payflows stands apart by offering this and more as modules within an automated platform bigger than the sum of its parts. Each module can be purchased and deployed independently, but the offering becomes much more powerful when all the pieces of the puzzle are combined.   We partnered with Payflows team on their €5M Seed round, together with Ribbit Capital - all thanks to an intro from my friend Salomon Aiach, GP at Origins Fund. Their product quickly turned out to be such a customer hit that they never had time to announce the round. Fast forward one year. Customers include both public enterprise companies as well as growth-stage tech companies like Ornikar, Spendesk, and Swile and Podimo. Welcome Balderton Capital in today’s combined €25M funding round! In the comments, the story on Les Echos and an in-depth piece on why we invested. Can't wait to continue seeing the ultimate financial automation platform come together! (Photo by Samuel Sotto)

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