Wiktor Schmidt

📣 Free founders-only event below! I often see founders get a lot of early traction in signing customers and then hit a wall when trying to scale that repeatedly. Why?? Maybe it's because: 1️⃣ that 1st group of customers came through warm intros from your accelerator batch 2️⃣ you've already combed through industry connections from your previous career 3️⃣ you're just good at brute-force selling but you're only one person 4️⃣ you are still narrowing in on product market fit Next week I'm hosting a free, founders-only candid discussion with two people who have had to break through this wall out of necessity and now coach countless founders on this. More on our speakers: 📈 Ian Illig took his 1st job out of college at a friend's startup (employee #1). He quickly found himself trying to sell a product that was still finding its market fit. Fast forward years later and Ian had completely built out the sales team and revenue, allowing the company to get acquired. And then he turned around and did the same thing again with the same founding team. 👀 Sonia Baschez was one of the 1st employees at Atmos, a consumer & builder-facing product for homebuilding. She developed early marketing channels & helped the company grow from Pre-seed to Series A. Sonia optimized product launches to reach the right customers, a challenging feat given their core customers are actively NOT in the tech bubble (aka Techcrunch and a thread on X are not going to do the trick). Whether they know it or not, both Ian and Sonia have been secret superpowers for me as I've grown The Council Fund and supported portfolio companies. I'm excited to share their playbooks & expertise with founders for FREE next Wednesday. Join us 12-1pm Pacific! Link to RSVP in comments below ;)

52

3 komentarze

Basics in raising your first investment round in Europe For Pre-seed Tech Startups. About the definition, from whom, and how much? Type of Investment? Valuation? & My advice to you 1. 𝐏𝐫𝐞-𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐞? => has a complementary team => has a Minimum Viable Product => has started to talk and sell to customers => usually has revenue between €0 to €25.000 MRR 2. 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐦 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐈 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞? => Angel investors and Accelerators mostly, => But VCs also focus on the entry of the funnel (pre-seed) because they don't have munition in seed/series A/B. => There are also a few family offices, but this is a new concept in Eastern Europe, where I live. 3. 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐝𝐨 𝐈 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞? (𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐞-𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐝) => between €10k to €300k => receive all of the investment vs the investment is unlocked by milestones achieved 4. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧? => through direct equity or a convertible loan. There are some SAFE models from Ycombinator and other companies you can use. => In this part of the world, our culture is designed on Ownership. So, you will probably give away equity directly. 5. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐩 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧? => is subjective. For ex if you create equations demonstrating the valuation based on discounted cash flow, that's 0. => between €100.000 to €3.000.000 => You give away between 1% to 20% of your company. => A maximum of 15% is recommended at this stage. 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐈 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐈'𝐦 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡? => The chemistry is the most important => We need Smart, not Fool Money => Let's find the Angels/people with whom we have the chemistry and vision => and also who can offer expertise on the main business pillars that your startup has and has time to invest their knowledge and expertise in you. For this, I would think about my startup in this way >> What are the Core Foundations of this Startup? >> for ex: 1. Core Business Skilss 2. Specific Business Industry Expertise 3. Advanced Technical Expertise in the Technology we are developing it 4. Go-To-Market expertise // Sales - Marketing And I would find the right people who want to invest € and come to the table with the right expertise on my main business pillars. 𝐍𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝? I'm a message away. Let's have a talk to see if there is a match to work together. Cheers, and let me know if you have questions or want to approach in-depth subjects on this topic. Have a great day! #fundraising #techstartups #founders #preseed #adigheorghe

13

3 komentarze

Basics in raising your first investment round in Europe For Pre-seed Tech Startups. About the definition, from whom, and how much? Type of Investment? Valuation? & My advice to you 1. 𝐏𝐫𝐞-𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐞? => has a complementary team => has a Minimum Viable Product => has started to talk and sell to customers => usually has revenue between €0 to €25.000 MRR 2. 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐦 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐈 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞? => Angel investors and Accelerators mostly, => But VCs also focus on the entry of the funnel (pre-seed) because they don't have munition in seed/series A/B. => There are also a few family offices, but this is a new concept in Eastern Europe, where I live. 3. 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐝𝐨 𝐈 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞? (𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐞-𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐝) => between €10k to €300k => receive all of the investment vs the investment is unlocked by milestones achieved 4. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧? => through direct equity or a convertible loan. There are some SAFE models from Ycombinator and other companies you can use. => In this part of the world, our culture is designed on Ownership. So, you will probably give away equity directly. 5. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐩 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧? => is subjective. For ex, if you create equations demonstrating the valuation based on discounted cash flow, that's 0. => between €100.000 to €3.000.000 => You give away between 1% to 20% of your company. => A maximum of 15% is recommended at this stage. 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐈 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐈'𝐦 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡? => The chemistry is the most important => We need Smart, not Fool Money => Let's find the Angels/people with whom we have the chemistry and vision => and also who can offer expertise on the main business pillars that your startup has and has time to invest their knowledge and expertise in you. For this, I would think about my startup in this way >> What are the Core Foundations of this Startup? >> for ex: 1. Core Business Skilss 2. Specific Business Industry Expertise 3. Advanced Technical Expertise in the Technology we are developing it 4. Go-To-Market expertise // Sales - Marketing And I would find the right people who want to invest € and come to the table with the right expertise on my main business pillars. 𝐍𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝? I'm a message away. Let's have a talk to see if there is a match to work together. Cheers, and let me know if you have questions or want to approach in-depth subjects on this topic. Have a great day! #fundraising #techstartups #founders #preseed #adigheorghe

4

This year we are restructuring our business model to include the operations for the projects we invest into. It's something that for many years I thought was not scalable or attractive for Venture Capitalists. As a startup founder, I believed that I should stick to the traditional route. But after struggling with this decision, I realized that it was the right way to do it. Not every business needs to be a "startup" and you don't need to call yourself a "founder" to have a great scale or have the business you dream of. Depending on your model venture capital has its advantages, but it also comes with a lot of negative pressure to grow your business and valuation fast or die trying. Most people founding startups are business owners, and that's completely fine. At the beginning, don't fear to do unscalable things, things that are hard to operate, or things where you cannot have crazy margins. Try to understand where you are really good at and that has real value for people, then figure out how to make money and scale from there. It's easier this way than the other, believe me, I have tried. The path is challenging, but it doesn't have to be depressing and ruin your life. At the beginning, I only heard things about how horribly I had to live to demonstrate that I was putting my 1000% into my business and that I was willing to make a harder effort than anyone else. From hearing that Elon Musk lived on a mattress in his office while growing PayPal to hearing all crazy stories of other founders. Nobody, and I mean nobody, can give it all to his business if his health, mental capacity, and emotional wellbeing are in shambles. Remember, success is not just about achieving your goals but also about enjoying the journey.

24

1 komentarz

🚨You might never look at startup validation the same way after reading this.🚨 Hi am Nick, some of you know me as a seasoned Product Strategist and owner of axiomy - Product Validation and Design Studio, organizer of the Startup Activator 5.0 or even an owner of pizza places in Varna. I will share in a second, what unconventional techniques I use when validating business ideas (I have a lot), features or a whole software product. As It is just a LinkedIn post, I can't put everything I know in one piece but if you are interested in how I use these techniques, write a comment below and I will send you my case studies. My experience spans from FinTech to FoodTech, equipping me with a unique understanding of the diverse challenges faced by entrepreneurs. Having walked the challenging path of startup validation alongside numerous clients, I am well-versed in navigating the complexities of launching successful ventures across various industries. Long story short: We all know the orthodox ways to validate ideas but I've discovered some potent validation techniques that are often the least conventional. Here we go: 🔴 Wizard of Oz MVP - Don’t have the product yet? No problem. Create the facade of a functional product and manually handle the operations behind the scenes. It sounds deceptive, but it’s a goldmine for gathering user feedback without full-scale development. I’ve seen clients amass invaluable insights this way, shaping their products to precisely meet user expectations. 🔴 Prototyping on Social Media - This is where you turn likes, shares, and comments into a gold standard for product validation. I've worked with brands that crafted product mock-ups, shared them on social platforms, and gauged interest based on real-time user interactions. It's fast, it's public, and it can significantly pivot your product direction with minimal spending. 🔴 Fake Door Testing - Place a button for a non-existent feature and measure interest by the number of clicks it receives. This method helped one of my clients scrap a feature that would have wasted $200K in development costs. Turns out, not many were keen on clicking that shiny new button. 🔴 Sell Before You Build - Imagine selling your product before it even exists. Sounds tricky, right? But it's incredibly effective. This approach not only validates the market demand but also secures some initial funding. I’ve guided startups to use pre-sales as a litmus test for their product viability. 🔴 Letter of Intent - Nothing screams ‘market validation’ louder than a signed letter of intent from a potential buyer. It's a commitment that validates your idea like no other. Whether it’s a bulk purchase or a subscription before launch, these letters have helped my clients lock in demand and attract further investment. Whether it’s your first venture or the next big pivot, let’s validate your idea and pave the way for your startup’s success. #startup #ideavalidation #productdevelopment #strategies

9

5 komentarzy

A number of you have been there, investing your own hard-earned money or money under management from others. While once a company has reached a certain level of maturity, there are numbers to look at, which give part of the story, at early-stage, it's really down to assessing people. We all have gut instinct, which is good to use in particular when it does don't feel right, but it's also good to have some reference frameworks to use and practice on. Credit Chris and Ruben for this high-quality content.

5

Europe’s tech sector makes up only 7.5% of our public markets, while the US tech industry dominates with 31.7%. We’re falling behind. This is nothing new. But AI is making it even more OBVIOUS. Our startups are trapped in a fragmented system of 20+ legal frameworks, making it nearly impossible to scale. While American and Asian companies surge forward, Europe struggles with red tape and complexity. But it doesn’t have to be this way. What’s holding us back? It’s not a lack of talent — Europe has some of the brightest minds It’s not a lack of funding — venture capital is pouring in The real issue is legal fragmentation 🧩 In the US, one office can reach 330 million people. In Europe, startups must navigate a maze of taxes, laws, and regulations across multiple countries, stalling growth and innovation. The solution? >> Unite Europe << A pan-European strategy would allow startups to scale across borders without hurdles. Like a single framework that removes these barriers and frees our tech ecosystem to thrive. Imagine a Europe where the next trillion-dollar company emerges from Berlin or Lisbon, creating jobs and driving innovation. We can make this a reality. Let’s unite, simplify, and build a single tech ecosystem across Europe. ________ If that topic is of interest, Google it. Lots of really great initiatives out there. My heart goes to the “EU Inc” movement 👊 (amazing job here Andreas Klinger) If you’re interested, they just launched a petition. It’s worth a read: https:/eu-inc.org The moment is here. Let’s seize it. 🇪🇺

99

33 komentarze

Why do many founders feel stuck in a world full of information? A common theme stands out in talks with many founders: despite vast online resources, they crave real human interaction for their projects - just to make the first step. We have endless access to information and tutorials. Yet, often, we need someone to listen, challenge us, give feedback, and clarify the next steps. I once spoke with a founder aiming to create an automated real estate valuation service. He planned to include crowdfunding and detailed reports. He thought all this was essential. However, our chat made him realize he only needed the valuation model to start. That's where the demand was. Sometimes, a conversation is all we need for clarity and the confidence to move forward. #startups #MVP #productdevelopment #founders

7

Don't find a co-founder just for the sake of It! If you've tried raising money from VCs, you know they love companies with co-founders. It's become a checklist item and almost a requirement for building a company now. In my own case, I thought I needed a business co-founder to handle the business side while I focused on product development. But when I got into Y Combinator, they gave me a fresh perspective: if I made it to YC and am passionate about building FifthTry, then I should continue as the CEO and not worry about ticking the co-founder box. Choosing a co-founder is a huge decision — almost like choosing a work spouse! So, take your time. Don’t settle. Build your vision with conviction, even if it means going solo. #YC #FifthTry #fastn

118

7 komentarzy

This week, 3 SaaS startup founders told me that people are telling them to raise a seed round of VC funding. They asked me if they should listen to these experienced mentors and play the big funding game. - They each have an early product, some revenue, and a few customers. - Their products are showing good results with customers. - Other prospects are already interested in their software products. Here's what I asked them before recommending anything: 1) If someone offered to buy your startup now for $30 million in cash, would you take it? If you would, don't raise VC funding ever. Be very careful about raising any savvy angel investment. They would all expect you to bet your company and the next 5-10 years of your life on growing the company and selling it for $100M or more. A $30M exit for a startup already in revenue won't be an interesting return for serious investors. Don't waste your time--or theirs. 2) Do you expect this company to grow fast (100-200% a year) and reach at least $50M in revenue in the next 5-7 years? That's annual growth rates of triple, triple, double, double, double—with high growth potential after that. Very few SaaS businesses grow that fast or get that big. But that's the game that VCs expect when they invest. Get Big Fast, or you're out. Some have this potential, and a few make it, but most don't. 3) Are you ready to fire your co-founders and leaders, and maybe yourself as CEO, if you don't get the fast growth results you signed up for? That's just one of the control issues you'll deal with if you start the VC funding game. You'll have invested partners who will have a say in how you run your business, how fast you go, and when you sell. Again, many founders are up for this big VC game, and it sometimes works. Those are the big headlines we read about. But are you really clear how this big VC funding game is played, for better or worse? 4) Did those who recommended VC funding ask you these questions? Did they spend a few hours with you to ensure you understand this all-or-nothing game and that big funding is your best choice? If they didn't spend the time to ask these questions, then two things are going on: A) They don't know that the B2B software game AND the VC funding game have changed drastically in the last 5-10 years. They are recommending what used to work in the old days. They are naively giving you bad advice. B) They are selling something and will benefit if you raise a round. A lot of people have something to gain by getting you on the funding drugs. Funders, service providers, accelerators, and ecosystems love to recommend funding and then cheer when you get it. Do they tell you this rarely works out for founders? For each of these founders this week, playing the funding game with angels, VCs, or anyone else wasn't good advice. They were bootstrapping, growing revenues, and being very efficient. And they loved their optionality and control. #practicalfounders

452

89 komentarzy

Founders should be able to sell secondary whenever they’d like to do so. If you make something - and that thing is valuable - you should be able to sell it. Actually selling that secondary can be tricky. Let's go through the actual steps (or read the whole essay https://lnkd.in/eajr238N): 1. Get the term sheet. 2. Negotiate “normal” major terms: dollars in, price, board, etc. 3. Don’t forget about re-vesting. Founders often do. 4. Sign the term sheet. Go out and start figuring out allocations for the remaining dollars. 5. If you’re lucky enough to have more demand than you do space, you have the opportunity to sell some secondary. Figure out how much excess demand you have. 6. Talk to your lawyer and your accountant about what you want to do. Ask them to explain the pros and cons of selling secondary as common shares vs. preferred shares (which is a bit out of scope for this essay). 7. Decide how much secondary you want - ideally this is “reasonable,” which is a moving target. One good way to frame “reasonable” is to give a clear reason as to why you want to sell. This is particularly important in early rounds. Good reasons include: “Need to pay off student debt” and “Just had our first kid after years at below market salary.” Less good reasons include “Need a new Porsche” and “LinkedIn ghostwriter prices went up.” 8. Go to your new lead investor and say “Hey! Great news! We have 2x demand for available shares. It would mean quite a lot to me and my cofounder if we could take (insert reasonable amount here) off the table because (insert reasonable reason) here. Obviously as our lead, you get first access. Sound good?” 9. Work with the buyer to figure out if you are selling common shares or preferred shares. (a) If you are selling common shares, and the buyer is willing to buy these at the same price as preferred, great! Just make sure that you aren’t creating any challenges around voting by giving those shares to an outside party. Also, talk to your lawyer and accountant. (b) If you are selling preferred shares, go back to your lawyer and accountant to make sure you’re not creating any issues for yourself. You’ll also need to confirm with your existing investors that they are ok with you doing this because it will change the preference stack - which impacts them. 10. Triple check your numbers. 11. Complete your transaction and close the round.

16

1 komentarz

📊 Interesting chart from Meritech Capital on Public SaaS ARR Multiples by Quartile: With similar metrics, you can assume that the intrinsic value of your small SaaS company in terms of ARR multiples is at least 30% lower. Or to put it the other way around: If you are running a small SaaS business, you need better KPIs to get a similar market multiple. As you can see, the ACV / retention metrics of all groups are still quite decent. It's almost impossible to get there with a pure PLG SaaS business - which is why they are usually "worth a bit less" than Enterprise SaaS businesses with a sticky, mission-critical product. Exceptions prove the rule. What surprises you most about this diagram? For me, it was the high ARR/FTE values.

59

18 komentarzy

Vital Laptenok What a powerful reminder! It’s easy to get caught up in numbers and results, but at the core of every successful business is the human element. Founders need partners who truly care, not just about their business performance, but about them as individuals. That personal connection builds trust and resilience. Kudos to the VCs who prioritize this—it’s what sets great investors apart.

2

There should be a checklist for founders to determine if they've achieved Product-Market Fit.

3

Startups are high-stakes gaming. How do you master the art of the bet? (Day 84). I'm not a gambler. I never understood why people bet when they know that the odds are in favor of the house. And yet, here I am, running a startup. The entrepreneurial casino has 2 types of bets: > The Stupid gamble > The Smart gamble Let's start with the odds of the "Stupid" gamble. Out of 1,000 Startups: > 900 fail > 25 return less than invested > 25 return 1-3x > 25 return 3-10x > 15 return 10-30x > 9 return 30-100x > 1 returns 100x+ The math ain't mathing. If you're at a casino, knowing these odds, would you bet your life savings and a decade of your life? That's why it's the "Stupid" gamble... but there's a good reason people make it. When Jeff Bezos quit his cushy Hedge Fund job to start Cadabra (renamed to Amazon), he said that you have to be crazy enough to believe that you can beat the odds. He also said: "I knew that if I failed, I wouldn't regret that, but I knew the one thing I might regret is not trying." The stupid gamble doesn't make sense, but it feels right... and sometimes you do hit the jackpot. So, what's the "Smart" gamble? Remember: When you enter the race, you start with literally no thing. Everything you build, add, buy, sell, hire is a decision with uncertain outcome and in uncharted territory - a bet. This builds your entrepreneurial "scar tissue". It's like counting cards, because the track record of your bets' outcomes helps you make more educated bets, slowly improving your odds. This whole dynamic is what makes it frightening yet exciting at the same time. When I was a consultant, we'd often come in if a company was losing money because costs > revenue, and we were tasked to fix it.  > Downsize an inefficient org? > Prioritize a bloated product lineup? > Improve your messaging with marketing/rebrand? > Spur growth with bold moves? We'd figure because we had data. Early-stage startups don't (yes, that's why the "MBB / banker" fares much better as employee at scale-ups). Often, you navigate with little more than a hunch and a prayer. The biggest bets at startups are: > Do we need more time to finetune (persist) or do we pursue something else we had traction in (pivot)? > Am I doing this thing that seems to make a lot of sense (low hanging fruit) or do I stick to what I believe in (why you started)? Spoiler #1: No one has the answer. Spoiler #2: There's no such thing as a low-hanging fruit. Spiler #3: Forget about sunk costs for goodness' sake (note to self). So, what's the takeaway? Welcome to the casino, baby: > Every decision is a bet. > Indecision kills - so does waffling. > Trust your gut but question your biases. > To play the game, get comfortable rolling the dice. > Be prepared to fold when the odds turn against you. > Remember why you sat down at this table in the first place. What are your thoughts on all this? Any war stories? // 100-day challenge of daily #RealTalk

5

Last week we got the whole Equals team together and in one of the days we did a hackathon. The theme: make Dashboards even better. Many months ago we shipped Dashboards and it’s been a game changer for our customers. It’s also been huge for us - we’ve seen adoption of Equals grow within accounts from more exposure. And with that adoption has come a lot of feedback and requests! We asked the team to build anything and everything they could to address that feedback and make dashboards even more exciting. Here’s a super sneak preview for what we worked on and what you might see some day (soon?) in Equals. ✨ New visualization types. Sparklines, aka baby charts 📈🦈 ✨ New and improved tables and padding within dashboards ✨ Dashboard filters ✨ Tailored CRM reporting (just like our ARR reporting offering) ✨ Present mode (aka a slide deck) and more… Stay tuned. Big things coming.

90

12 komentarzy

For founders who are in a fundraising process, remember it is a business transaction. It is not a matter of faith: You may be a great entrepreneur, but your company might not be in the VC investment thesis. You should not compare yourself to other companies that have raised funds with a silly project, and ask for a fundraise based on the fact that you think you are better. Venture Capitalists make mistakes as well, they do not want you to be there next one even though it is a volume game. So it causes a lot of emotions. Don’t use it to get enraged by cherry picking small things and make it personal. A VC should be a simple to understand partner to participate in the company’s growth. That is how you should select them and how most of them want to work as well. Again, it is a volume game for them, and they count on you to focus on your business. The customer is complicated enough to deal with, founders and VCs are ideally supposed to have a very simple relationship.

15

3 komentarze

https://lnkd.in/dNa5pfAT? The numbers are out! Yes, 2024 was a terrible year to start a startup 😨 And despite what the report says, "being in AI" is not enough, as will probably come out in the report next year (see below). Sign up to Forum Ventures to get the full report, which (as usual) is an amazing look at the early-stage funding world. I can definitely say that having been through this past 1.5yrs on/off the fundraising route, and having raised in the past for a previous startup, that the #VC world is a *very* different place! There is a quote in the report that you've probably seen, that essentially, "if you're not in #AI, then you have no chance to raise". However, I think this is "last year's news", and will be even worse in 2025. The reason is - and I say this from having spoken to many VCs this year - is that far too many #startups overpromised last year on the capabilities of AI. Things I had VCs say to me this past year+: 1. "I funded a startup whose AI will be constantly learning" 2. "I funded a startup that will personalize the AI experience to every user" 3. "My startup spent a year fine-tuning an LLM to get the best results". Well, the first 2 were things that anyone with actual experience/knowledge in the current state of AI tech would know is nonsense, and the last one is really only important for a very small niche of fields, where LLMs haven't already been trained on. [It's not that getting data is bad - but that hundreds of startups spent millions doing what the big companies did anyways]. We're still only scratching the surface on Vertical AI applications, and am looking forward to seeing many more cool innovations this year - just not sure how they'll be funded if VC has pulled back so much [Bootstrapping is not enough for most]

4