Steven Wang

This is so valuable. Unfortunately the YC network is large and really messes with the algorithm for #startups #founders 1. Do understand a convertible note. YC calls it a Safe. 2. Do understand revenue as it is the most potent traction you can have. 3. Move to SF. This is the most underrated advice I can provide.

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Increasingly we see a lot of fundraising news "leaked" before the fundraising is done. This week there's a $300M at $2B+ story on Physical Intelligence as well as a $500M at $8B+ story about Perplexity AI. Earlier this year we heard rumors around OpenAI's raise and Figure AI's raise. What's going on here? Why all the leaking? As a founder, I try to understand which way the winds are blowing in the fundraising landscape. We've never leaked or had our fundraising details leaked, so I've been curious how it happens and why. Aren't fundraising deals fragile and this adds risk? In practice, usually these are being leaked by someone friendly with the company that is fundraising. Most of the time though, they're leaked after the company has a strong enough hand to get the fundraising deal done. Looks really bad if it leaks and then the fundraising doesn't get done. But the idea is to drum up more investor interest and to force investors who might be on the sideline to jump in by creating a little extra FOMO. Investors understand this game, so rather than a sign of weakness ("wow, that deal's gone on so long that it must be all just rumors"), leaking the fundraise details can be seen as a sign of strength ("wow, they must be pretty confident to put that out there"). The fact that investors are excited about the robotics space and the fusion of AI and robotics is terrific news I think for those of us active in this space. I happen to believe a) everyone knows how important the foundation models for robotics will be and we're going to see multiple models emerge like we have with LLMs b) the winning companies will have a vertically integrated robotics story direct to customers. This is why I think companies like Perplexity AI and Glean are extremely interesting and companies with more academic and less commercial roots like Character AI or Covariant have folded and been acqui-hired. Time will tell how the robotics foundation models space plays out. Our own work on foundation models has revealed both a lot of potential and some significant bottlenecks [links in the comments]. We track everyone and we hear lots of claims, but so far haven't seen an approach that busts through the bottlenecks and nothing that seems protectable or defensible when NVIDIA, Google, Amazon, Meta, Hugging Face, OpenAI are also all investing here. Good luck to PI as they work to close this round! Hopefully this article helps push the deal over the line with the terms they want! https://lnkd.in/dpp24QcY

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35 Days into YC: 3 Real Startup Lessons We Didn't Expect 🪄 #1 Master the Art of the Impromptu Pitch - Keep it magical: Your demo should always tell a story — keep the focal point your users, and make sure they experience the “WOW” moment of your trick. 🎯 #2 Activation Trumps Acquisition: The Real Metric That Matters - At Spur (YC S24) we measure activation by measuring the frequency with our users are creating and running tests on the platform. - Signing up for a demo, a pilot, or even onboarding does *not* signal activation The question that really matters: are your users actually using your product and finding value from it? ✨#3 Make things ridiculously easy for your customers - Set up easy channels of communication with your customers, and be proactive about using them. - Handoff doesn't cut it, your customers should hit the ground running when you onboard them — even if it means you are doing the work to set them up P.S. 👀 Keep an eye out! Exciting things to come from us early next week #ycombinator #AI #Testing

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How a developer missed out on an extra $150K/year. (And how to not repeat his costly mistake.) He worked on a project for a client and: → Integrated Stripe as their payment processor → His client went on to process $50M per month → The developer got a sum total of $0 from Stripe Had he chosen Zenti’s payment processor instead ↴ He could have earned uncapped commissions, bringing in an additional $150K in passive income that year. Same work. Same project. A major difference in income. Don't be like him. Make smarter choices ↴ Earn uncapped commissions. The opportunities are there, make sure to grab them. If you are ready to create a new revenue stream: 1. Visit my website. 2. Click on the Revenue Share Program. 3. And finally, sign up to "Become a Partner." Or, you can also DM me "Referral Partner.”

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🚨🚨 🚨 Unlocking Innovation: The Power of the Adjacent Possible Innovation programs can stall when the team tries to ideate way beyond their collective perspective and frame of reference. Like a software engineer brainstorming genetic modification of mycelia, or a senior executive ideating process improvements which they haven't been participated in for decades. It's challenging, exhausting, and ultimately self-defeating. Enter the concept of the "Adjacent Possible" - a game-changer for innovation. What is it? The Adjacent Possible, coined by Stuart Kauffman, represents the realm of new ideas within reach based on our current knowledge, resources, and capabilities. Why it matters: ➡️ Realistic Innovation: it focuses on achievable advancements, not far-fetched concepts. ➡️ Incremental Progress: each innovation opens doors to new possibilities. How to leverage it: • Constantly explore the boundaries of your adjacent possible. What's in your line of sight is what you know best. • Combine existing ideas in novel ways. Even small perturbations from status quo can generate large innovation leaps. • Stay curious about developments in adjacent industries. Cross-domain patterns create fresh sources of ideas, while also expanding the adjacent possible. Most of all, it takes the 'genius' pressure off the team. No one knows everything, but each one of us knows a lot about something, and we can all drive plenty of innovation potential by focusing on the spaces we know best. Are you exploring your Adjacent Possible? Share your thoughts below! 👇 #Innovation #innovationsystems #AdjacentPossible

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A handy advice for every startup. From the Idea stage to scale & pivot. In a startup, it's essential to maximize lean and agile methodology. The crucial part is speed, appearing in the market as soon as possible, rather than trying to build the "PERFECT" product that doesn't exist. Thanks to Markus for sharing the timeline of prominent products. #startup #entrepreneurship #vc #angelinvesting #product #technology

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Being truly contrarian is a quality often overlooked in founders. If you hated even the thought of doing an ICO back in 2018, or launching an "AI company" now when everyone else is doing it, and if you don't understand why you "should" apply to YC because everyone else expects you to do so, then you have higher odds of building something big. Outsize successes happen when entrepreneurs go in a totally different direction than the crowd or conventional way of thinking, or in other words, "they zig when others zag" (a famous quote). However, there is nothing wrong with going with the crowd and doing what a lot of other people are doing at the same moment. In this case, you likely won't be able to generate as much value as if you were contrarian, and thus your piece of the pie is going to be much smaller, which could result in a good lifestyle cash-generating business, which is also a good option. What is really important is to decide what game you are going to play and then consistently stick to it for at least 10 years or more.

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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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if you know, you know (ai) peter (competition is for losers) theil funds sentient.foundation as a ahhhh response to Google Meta Facebook concentrating (ai) wow. i mean. wow. mr. paypal. mr. billy boy. mr. first cheque into zuck Facebook. mr. zero to one. mr. monopolies are the way to go. has a problem. and has had for many years barking, yelling from the mountain tops. Google is evil. some(one) must stop them. that sergey. that larry. hahahahahahahahahah. this is rich. truly. it appears that peter theil is something of a double agent. one second facebook good. next facebook bad. huh? and in his well known playbook has decided to make investments who's thesis is simple. his thesis is not only against universities. enter theil foundation. his thesis is not only against powers that control payments. enter PayPal this thesis is not only against competition. enter his book zero to one. competition is for losers. you want to be counter-culture. you want to find an existing market and take it from their hands. you want to simply become a loathing, hateful person and then point your emotions towards those who also have been f'd by Google & Meta and get them behind you. to create a new tech that will break down the monopoly. caesar. those who truly do control the internet through means of servers, chips, fibre optic cables, routers, datacenters. well you have another 'ting coming. and here we are. it is not for the sake of some new invention. perhaps this is where capital likes to go. find the enemies. play them against one another. offer this hate into an investment. and then ask for others to join your journey. be apart of your tribe. and so the thesis is simply that of the celts. the barbarians. peter theil is a barbarian. and perhaps in the natural world we see this. we are able to identify forces that challenge simply for the sake of challenging. it's not about a thesis. it's jealousy. perhaps arrogance. that is you didn't see it coming. and it did. and now when you see others who came up with you making more billys. and you are not. well perhaps this is the true driver masked intellectually. the chess board displays a master. someone who understands that there is a 'ting about us as (hu)man behaviour. we may want abundance. although narcissists appear to be funded. take 'em down. they don't deserve to the first. let's take them down. this is not an investment thesis. this is anger. pointed. personal. masked. deflecting. wanting to be the monopoly. wanting power. pow er and so how much you looking for. 85 millys. why not? let's go. source: https://lnkd.in/ee4325Dd < . >

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We're trying a new thing: Company spotlights to help people better understand what various health IT vendors actually do 🔦 We’ll be cutting through the marketing speak to give short, to-the-point descriptions of a company’s product and/or service + some context on how they see their differentiators. Tag any companies in the comments you'd like to see us cover (and follow Elion if you want to stay in the loop!)

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YC vibe shift?? Notice anything missing from Y Combinator’s 2024 Request for Startups? On the list: - Government software - Public safety technology - US manufacturing - Stablecoins 2.0 - Chip design LLMs - Fintech 2.0 - Space companies - AI engineering tools - 1M jobs 2.0 Not on the list: - Enterprise SaaS (gov’t software being one exception) If you look at recent YC batches, SaaS has dominated. And within that broader category, sales tech has dominated. Not anymore. Very much a vibe shift IMO.

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As a founder at an early stage pre-PMF startup, I organize my week around the "Build, Tell, Sell" (BTS) framework: 1. Build Bucket: Key tasks include advancing your Minimum Viable Product (MVP), iterating based on user feedback, fixing bugs, and adding features. - Collaborating on execution with developers and designers - Creating UI/UX mockups - User testing of prototypes - Planning future development 2. Tell Bucket: Building compelling narratives and generating momentum are crucial for survival and growth. - Updating your website or blog with the latest product news - Engaging on social media - Participating in media interviews - Creating content like ebooks or webinars - Networking at industry events - Connecting with influencers in your field 3. Sell Bucket: Continuous sales efforts are crucial for us. - Identifying and emailing potential clients - Arranging sales calls or demos - Negotiating contracts - Following up on leads - Refining sales scripts and processes - Analyzing sales data and funnel metrics

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adding onto Yurii Rebryk list 15 startup lies (non mainstream YC version)👇: 01) "Our product will be first to market." → "We don’t even have a product yet." 02) "We currently have a $50mn valuation." → "That’s just what the pitch deck says." 03) "This is the best time to invest." → "We’re one week away from running out of cash." 04) "We have significant client interest." → "We sent 500 cold emails, and no one replied." 05) "We already have signed investors." → "My cousin chipped in some money." 06) "We've gotten significant interest from major cloud partners." → "AWS gave us $100 in free credits." 07) "We've hired top talent from all around the globe." → "One freelancer in another timezone is doing everything." 08) "We're moving at the speed of light." → "We have no idea where we’re heading." 09) "We're focused on improving our digital presence." → "We spent $1,000 on ads for 5 clicks." 10) "We're going to pivot." → "We royally screwed up." 11) "We're leveraging cutting-edge AI." → "We just glued an API to our app." 12) "We're scaling quickly." → "We got two new users. One was my mom." 13) "We have an agile workflow." → "Slack arguments are our stand-up meetings." 14) "We’re disrupting the market." → "We don’t actually know what our market is." 15) "Our burn rate is under control." → "We haven’t paid ourselves in months." Missing anything? Comment below. ALSO hit me up to tap into my network I love to help 😊 #startuplife #bootstrap #turntheworldupsidedown

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Bessemer Venture Partners series on VerticalAI is insanely good. If you haven't read it yet, you should. Link in first comment below 🔽 #VerticalAI

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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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Today BASED @ YC Alumni got officially listed as a YC alumni group. In under ten days we are at over two hundred members. Super smart founders with strong personalities and different viewpoints all debating passionately but respectfully. If you are in YC, this is more fun that X just given the quality of people in the group and the only rule is to be BASED (bold, authentic, uncensored). This is how it should be, to be able to debate different view points passionately and unapologetically as opposed to being in your own echo chambers.

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Startups don’t just “run out of money.” They wait too long to discover and validate real problems or unmet needs. Problems get rationalized until it’s too late. Funding creates a false sense of security, exacerbating this issue. Founders need to get back to basic business building. Focus on achieving product-market revenue fit, and less on raising capital too early. Talk to customers, invalidate hypotheses and assumptions, iterate, and address problems early. Stay focused and be in the trenches. 💡 #Startup #Entrepreneurship

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Founders, it’s okay to roll your eyes when a VC asks, “what’s your technical moat?” Technical moats in software are outdated. Once, a strong tech team could secure a 2-3 year advantage. Now, better engineers, leveling platforms, and AI enable everyone to build quality software fast. While a differentiated product and a 10x team matter, your competitor likely has these too. Today’s moats are different: - Shipping velocity - Network effects - GTM motion - Community - Brand - Story - Data - ROI - Customer love - Positioning Other critical moats include: - Exceptional UX and design - Top-notch customer support - Strategic partnerships - Regulatory compliance - Scalability and reliability - Strong data security - Customization and flexibility - Sustainable practices - Global reach and localization - Thought leadership What other moats do you see in this era of technical parity? Upsparks Capital Vinay Jain Shivam Prasad

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Recently, in talking to a Y Combinator backed Founder friend he shared the most of the companies in his batch have struggled to find product-market fit and it's been a couple of years since they got started. To make matters worse, most of these founders have already raised significant amounts of funding and are now under the gun to grow rapidly. This sets up a "perfect storm" for these founders because finding PMF takes time, because selling takes time. Time and resources spent perfecting the pitch deck are a colossal waste of time pre-PMF. On the other hand, when you have PMF, the pitch deck almost writes itself! This is why the First Round Capital PMF program fills such a burning need in the market. https://pmf.firstround.com A great initiative by Todd Jackson and the First Round Capital Team to start this program. I think many others will follow. For more details see video link of Lenny Rachitsky interview with Todd Jackson in the comments below #productmarketfit #pmf #founder #startup #yc #ycombinator

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