Julian Alvarez 🚀

what city should you build your startup in? I was in SF for a few days last week and I've been reflecting on this age old debate what I've noticed about this question, is that people always talk their bags. - if you live in LA, you'll talk about quality of life - if you live in NYC, you'll talk about how cosmopolitan NYC is - if you live in SF, you'll talk about how SF is coming back - if you live in St. Louis or some other random city, you'll talk about how great remote work is having lived in 3 major hubs - SF, LA, and now NYC - I've come up with a simple heuristic for making this decision: there's a spectrum: SF -> NYC -> .... -> middle of nowhere the more advantages you have, the further right you can (not "should") move. advantages include: - strong network (of investors, hires, customers, etc) - experience in startups - experience building great software - strong work ethic - credibility in startups (e.g. multi-time founder, worked at a top tech co) - traction with your company the reality is, because SF has so much density of people who have invested in and built the most influential tech companies in the world (even still after the pandemic) and because there's basically nothing to do there except work, it is the best place to passively accumulate these advantages. this means, for most unproven, non-conventional founders (esp. who are new), SF is the best place to be. and even for folks with every advantage, it's still crucial to visit SF and build relationships with people who live there. I remember hearing a stat that YC companies based in SF were 2-3x more likely to succeed than ones that weren't. so why am I living in NYC instead of SF? family at the end of the day, stacking advantages is irrelevant if you don't have your basics accounted for. NYC is the closest tech hub to a lot of family that lives in Pittsburgh. as I've gotten older, being close to them has become more important to me. additionally, meeting a partner to start my own family is just easier in NYC than SF, which is something I'd like to do soon. I've noticed that my effectiveness as a leader is just exponentially higher when I'm in a loving relationship. having spent 8+ years in SF (on top of graduating from Berkeley and growing up in the Bay Area), I've also accumulated a lot of the advantages listed above. that coupled with staying active on twitter/linkedin and visits to SF nearly every other month, give me many of the benefits of the city without having to live there. there are many exceptions that do not follow this heuristic, but startup success is a probability game and the more things you can do to increase that probability, the better. fwiw SF is also one of the most beautiful cities in the world, this is a pic I took while on a walk during the pandemic

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When I created Founders Game, I wanted a space to empathize with founders at my level. That's why we required founders to have either raised $1M, or generated $500K ARR to even apply. Now, we're opening it up founders at all levels. If you want to join the closed beta, leave a 2 sentence pitch of your startup in the comments below.. I'll be DMing select pitches with a link to an application.

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GRIT. Grace. Gratitude. 2024 has been filled with growth, challenges, and unforgettable milestones. 🎤 My First TEDx-Style Talk A huge highlight was delivering my first TEDx-style talk, where I shared my journey as an early-stage founder and the challenges I’ve overcome. From navigating uncertainty to learning how to lead with grit and grace, it was an opportunity to speak openly about the ups and downs of building a startup. Sharing the lessons I’ve learned, especially around perseverance, vulnerability, and embracing failure, was a powerful moment that I will carry with me. 🚀 Leadership & Community Engagement This year, I had the honor of representing Nairobi County in the President’s Fellowship 2024, where I connected with visionary leaders and learned new ways to lead with purpose. I also became a Google Women Techmakers Ambassador, which has allowed me to advocate for women in tech while connecting with a global network of changemakers. 🏆 Judging & Mentorship From judging the Angaza Elimu Graduation to serving at The Rock the Ravine Challenge by The Tech Interactive, I had the privilege of supporting young innovators. Becoming a mentor at Product NBO and Partnerships for Good was another way I could pay it forward and guide others on their journey. 💪 Pitches & Major Events I pitched at some incredible events this year, including the Futurize HealthTech Summit, Latitude 59, and attended the Westerwelle Startup Haus Mombasa launch. Each pitch challenged me to refine my message, clarify my mission, and connect with like-minded innovators. 🎓 Growth & Personal Development Completing the Adira Women in Tech Leadership Masterclass and Fashionomics Africa was transformative. These experiences helped me embrace my identity as a woman in tech and gave me the tools to push forward with unapologetic confidence. Looking back, 2024 has been a year of learning, pushing past my limits, and connecting with incredible individuals. I’m grateful for every challenge I’ve faced, as it’s made me a better leader, founder, and person. I’m excited to carry these lessons into 2025 and continue building toward the future. #FounderJourney #ChallengesOvercome #Leadership #WomenInTech #Growth #2024Highlights

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Success lies not just in the technology or execution, but in the ability to craft products that resonate deeply with people. Products that are beautiful, unique, and impactful leave a lasting mark. This is the foundation of my Investment Thesis: I invest in creators who combine originality, depth, and market relevance. Through AI Product Accelerator, I guide founders to: 1️⃣ Simplify complexity. 2️⃣ Define their unique edge. 3️⃣ Build scalable systems that connect with their audience authentically. The journey isn’t just about building a product. It’s about telling a story, creating value, and making an impact. Let’s shape the future, one meaningful product at a time.

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𝗗𝗼 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗡𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗿? If you can afford it, the answer is YES. Outsource fundraising prep just like you’d outsource coding, design, or hiring—but never outsource pitching. Why? Because investors want to talk to the founder, the person they’re betting on. Here’s a quick breakdown of the 3 types of fundraisers: 1️⃣ Success Fee Only (1-10%): - Share your pitch deck with their network of 20-30 investors. - No additional outreach if their network isn’t interested. - Often juggle 50+ clients at a time. - Results? Rarely worth your time—your pitch sits in cold mode. 2️⃣ Success Fee (1-10%) + Fixed Fee ($2k–$15k/month): - Rely on both their warm network and cold outreach. - Main focus is still on their existing connections. 3️⃣ Fixed Fee Only ($2k–$15k/month): - Primarily depend on cold outreach. - Rarely leverage warm network connections. What Makes a Good Fundraiser? - They never pitch for the founder—that’s your job. - They evaluate your chances upfront and flag potential issues early. - They review your entire dataroom to identify red flags before you start fundraising. Fundraising is a marathon, not a sprint. The right support can make a huge difference, but it all starts and ends with you—the founder. —— To automate the entire fundraising process, we’re building the AI Fundraising Copilot. Join the waitlist here: https://taskinfinity.com

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Quick update on The Runway Ventures's website. (exclusive partner deals for you) Throughout my startup journey as a founder, I learned that using the right tools and joining the right communities are the biggest leverage any founder could possibly get. ❌ I’ve tried tons of tools and joined tons of communities. I’ve also quit tons of tools and communities because they’re simply not useful to me (or not valuable enough for the long term). ✅ At the end, there are a few tools and communities that I can’t live without and I’m using them every day because of the huge productivity and revenue boosts to me. 🎁 Because of that, I’m working with these partners to bring exclusive deals to you and give you the leverage to 10x your productivity and revenue. 1. beehiiv: The only newsletter platform built for growth (The Runway Ventures is built entirely using Beehiiv) 2. Angel School: The best program to learn angel investing in 10 hours (learning directly from Jed N. is the real deal) 3. Fathom - AI Meeting Assistant: The best AI notetaker for all my meetings (never take notes again) 4. Notion: My Second Brain to 10x my productivity (seriously) Steal the partner deals here: https://lnkd.in/gYEyQf4Z Are you using any of these tools or platforms? 🤝🏻 #startup

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This is what I learned as a Y Combinator alum Coming out of YC, I've realized the real founder's life is about so much more than the intensity of a 3-month sprint. It's about the day-to-day grind, making tough decisions, and continuously finding ways to grow—both for your startup and for yourself. We pivoted, we iterated, and we built. And now, we're in the next phase: talking to users, improving our product, and navigating the rollercoaster of early startup life. Some days are full of wins, and others are full of lessons. For any founders out there wrapping up YC or thinking about applying: the end of the batch isn't the finish line. It's just the beginning of a long, challenging, and incredibly rewarding journey. Onward! Lmk if you're navigating a similar path—I'd love to hear your thoughts.

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One of my biggest mistakes as a founder of an early-stage growth company was realizing too late what “scale” truly means. 🤦🏻‍♂️ Looking back, I now see it clearly: I didn’t fully understand that scale isn’t just about growth—it’s about leverage, alignment, and adaptability. Scaling is about leveraging yourself, then others, then building teams of teams that focus on what matters most to drive growth. It’s about symbiosis, communication, alignment, learning, empowerment—all key behaviors of high-performing venture-backed teams creating things that have never been done before. Early on, I missed the essential realization that every day, from day one to day 10,000, is about discovery. It’s about envisioning, planning, executing, and having a cadence that allows adaptability. In one of my early companies, I made the mistake of thinking we just needed the right plan to execute. I was wrong. I didn’t recognize that our plan needed to be alive, constantly evolving as new information came in. Without an effective operating system—a clear rhythm of alignment, learning, and adapting—our growth was slower than it could’ve been. Having a living, breathing plan isn’t a luxury—it’s a necessity when you’re building something new. It allows you to keep moving, stay aligned, and continuously adapt to every new frontier. I believe that with the right mindset and support, every team can evolve and scale. ✨ Let’s scale together. If you are seeking support to truly scale, learn more about scaling with a Peak Coach >>> https://lnkd.in/gZ4Hydv5 If you’ve been in the growth trenches and want to scale companies with us—check out becoming a Peak Coach >>> https://lnkd.in/gSVWS4Uf 🚀⛰️ #Scaling #ceo #founder #venturecapital #peakos #cofounder #growth #startup #mistakes

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There are two levers an early stage founder can pull to grow their startup: → deliver the same use case for more segments → expand the use cases your product can deliver (either for one segment or multiple segments) Calendly is a rare example of a growth stage startup that has remained remarkably focused on one use primary use case: → scheduling meetings online Over time, they have used their incredible distribution to reach more and more segments and industries that have this specific need. They've become the "Kleenex" of scheduling tools and are the default even as large incumbents add scheduling tools to their much broader product suites. ClickUp has taken almost the exact opposite approach. They have expanded what use cases their product can deliver in effort to be the all-in-one solution for the entire business. The difficulty of pulling off this second strategy (for an early stage startup specifically) should become obvious when you look at the arrows. When taking the second growth strategy, the product and GTM teams are immediately pulled in multiple directions. In the first strategy, the entire business is rowing in the same direction. Each strategy has its pros and cons — and both of these companies are KILLING it. But when figuring out YOUR growth strategy, try to be honest about what your (likely very small) team can handle... and what they can't.

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Founders, don’t make this common mistake early on (#4 in series): Rely too heavily on referrals without any process. Every founder knows referrals are the holy grail of hiring. Who doesn’t want a warm intro to a strong candidate that comes vouched for? So founders ask their team for referrals anytime a new role opens up. Maybe they’ll get a few leads. But without structure, referrals stall: • Current employees get distracted by their day-to-day. • They forget to tap their networks. • High-quality references dry up quick. Your new goal: Systematize referrals. • Set aside dedicated time every quarter to re-engage your team on referrals. Remind them of open roles and relevant skill sets you seek. • Provide clear guidelines on who and how to refer. For example, share ideal candidate criteria and specifics on where they should introduce you. • Incentivize referrals with gift cards or team rewards. And track submissions to notify when a referee gets hired. Putting a structured referral program in place reduces ad-hoc asks and motivates your team to proactively tap their trusted contacts. You’ll see candidate quality and hiring velocity increase overnight. P.S. This is post #4 in my series uncovering common founder hiring mistakes that burn cash. Follow me to catch the rest of the series.

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Dear First-Time Founder, You. Have. To. Be. Resourceful. Entrepreneurship is all about finding a way to make the biggest impact with the smallest amount of cash. ✘ Skills swapping (time spent, not money) ✘ Targeted connections (quality, not quantity) ✘ Giving away equity (strategically) At the start, there's no money. So you need to find clever ways to make it work. It's not about spending money, it's about getting creative. Follow- Rohitha Reddy Co-founder & CEO WhiteScholars #Entrepreneurship #StartupLife #Resourcefulness #Leadership #Innovation #Founders #BusinessTips #StartupAdvice

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Forget your pitch deck. Your founder's story is what seals the deal. One of my clients recently raised a pre-seed round with just her MVP and no revenue yet. We collaborated closely to perfect her founder story, making it compelling enough for investors to believe in her vision. In her pitch, she highlighted her resilience, specific knowledge, and relevant experience. She showcased her hunger for success and her knack for storytelling. Her journey and passion resonated with the investors, and they chose to bet on her. This success reinforces my belief: a great story can be your most powerful asset. Don’t just present facts—share your journey, your challenges, and your wins. Make it personal, make it real! Let’s connect and transform your pitch with a story that investors can’t ignore. _____________________ 👋🏻 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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A valuable YC advice that I often remind myself of is: "We know bad founders when they keep showing up to office hours with the same question(s)" Good founders find answers and move on, and by the next office hour, they have new questions and new problems to solve. Every time you have a meeting with your team, ask yourself if you're repeating questions from previous meetings. #founders #startups #yc #pmf

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Thanks Kai Nicol-Schwarz for including my thoughts in this piece on areas investors are looking for health startups in!

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Founder mode is real! Brian Chesky (Airbnb) gave a talk at YC on the damages he saw following some of the conventional wisdoms on how to run a large business. And Paul Graham followed up with a banger essay on this theme, as he saw this lesson being shared by YC most successful founders (if you haven't, read it!!). Feels super timely, a couple weeks ago I saw this take from Rahul Vohra (Superhuman) who seemed to have reach the same conclusion. He found great folks to run the machine, got back to founder mode, and it Superhuman has never shipped like today. Honestly, it feels like a breath of fresh air to see this topic spreading. I got back at doing what I love, building and selling, in the last 6 months, and I never felt as useful than in the 4 previous years where I mostly managed a team of head ofs and tried my best to follow the best practices out there to make Slite succeed. My 2 cts: it's about keeping what made a founder succeed in the first place. We all learnt that promoting a best performer to a manager role is a seemingly good idea that can turn very wrong. The same applies to founders. PS - If you haven't hope in the comments to check the essay!

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Getting unstuck IS possible.  After a decade of transforming stuck startups into breakout winners, I've distilled the process into these seven crucial steps, each of which has a dedicated chapter in my book, Reignition. The journey isn't easy, but it's worth it. You can define your own success and eliminate the dangers of competing in a game with few winners. Are you in the midst of reigniting your startup's potential? Or have you been through this before? Which step resonates the most? #StartupTransformation #Reignition #EntrepreneurshipAdvice #BusinessGrowth

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YC gives one piece of advice I strongly disagree with: “Don’t meet investors unless you are actively raising” This is my take👇 Get into regular comms with investors from day one. Why? Raising a seed round is going to take many  conversations to close out a round. Of course, your chances are best when you condense those conversations into 3-6 weeks and begin your raise when you’re happy with your metrics. But let’s face it - who has that time as a founder to focus solely on investor meetings for weeks? Definitely not me. Every founder should spend 10-20% of their time meeting with angels, syndicates, VCs etc - WAY before raising. I’ve said many times before to not treat investors as cash machines - they’re humans. Get to know them as  individuals, the thesis of the firms they work for, etc. If they like you, you can offer to stay in touch or add them to your update list. Build it out like a sales pipeline. You add value back (if you can) but at a minimum remind them you exist and the progress your startup is making. Oh, and you might find some great customers / employees / partners / friends along the way. #Startups #YCombinator #SeedFunding #VCFunding #Founders 

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2024 gave me something precious: Time with 30+ founders who dared to build. Not because the markets were perfect. Not because they had it all figured out. But because they believed their ideas mattered more than their fears. As we enter 2025, I want to thank every entrepreneur who trusted me with their vision. Who showed up to pitch meetings with shaky hands but steady conviction. Who kept building when others quit. You remind me why I love this work. To everyone reading: Happy New Year. May your boldest ideas find their way into the world. And if you're wondering whether to take that first step - my door is open. Eva PS: Here's to making 2025 count, one brave decision at a time.

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