Sampo Accelerator

Yesterday I coached a $300k/mth founder How to scale to $1M/mth by 2026. Here’s how he will by fixing these 5 mistakes: 1) He's losing 1,000's of leads every month Even though he's sending 1M cold email a month. When you send cold emails, you need to share hyper specific lead magnets, as a CTA asking for a reply. • It improves deliverability when they respond • It will get you a 15%+ reply rate when correct • It opens up for you to have a conversation. My coach (Hormozi's ex coach) is one of the worlds leading experts in direct response copywriting. And he told me the ONLY goal of the email is to get them to respond. That's it. If he does this, he will 10x leads from email. My client Jesse implemented this and gets dozens of leads extra each week. 2) He doesn't have a nurture sequence for new leads After learning how to create lead magnets in our program, he posts 1 a week that generates 500-3,000 leads. But he's been making 3 mistakes we need to fix 1) He's not tracking the leads in Kondo 2) He's not starting a conversation with them 3) He's not nurturing the leads via email to book calls. Let's go Number 3. The biggest mistake your making with lead magnets, is not having a new lead 14 day nurture sequence. That gives them value, that show how you can help and that piches a call at the end. He will ad AT LEAST 4-5 calls a week with this. 3) He’s not tracking his lead in stages. When a call is booked, he tracks it in his CRM, and he’s onto it. But he’s also starting 1,000s of conversations from his lead magnet posts in the LinkedIn DMs, that aren’t being tracked or nurtured. I advised him to setup Kondo and tag all leads in 7 stages 1 - Waiting for response 2 - Being Qualified 3 - Meeting Proposed 4 - Meeting Booked 5 - Closed Lost 6 - Followup This way he can track all his ideal client leads, never lose them, and nurture and build trust with them for months till they need his help. Because only 3% of your market is ready to buy But 97% will be ready, you just need to remind them. 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗪𝗮𝘀 𝗧𝗼𝗼 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴 - 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝟰 & 𝟱

Paul Graham's Framework to Get Startup Ideas.... Back in November 2012, Paul Graham wrote "How to Get Startup Ideas?"—and his advice is just as relevant today. Let’s break it down 👇 Paul Graham believes that there are ten ways to get startup ideas: 1️⃣ Utility vs. Novelty → Aim for highly useful ideas rather than highly novel ones → Revolutionary ideas are rare (1% of patents) → Incremental & evolutionary ideas have a better chance of success → Build for the Few Who Want a Lot 2️⃣ Target a small group with an urgent need → Visualize ideas as "wells" on a graph: → Width: How many people want it → Depth: How much people want it → Optimize for depth (urgency) and speed initially 3️⃣ Live in the Future, Build What's Missing → Become the type of person who has good ideas → Be at the leading edge of a rapidly changing field → Run a background process looking for missing things → Pay attention to personal irritations → Work on interesting side projects 4️⃣ Scratch Your Own Itch → Solve personal problems → Being both maker and user allows for faster iteration → Deeper understanding of the problem and solution 5️⃣ Explore New Domains → Combine expertise in one field with interest in another → Fresh perspective can challenge the status quo → Look for areas where your skills are underrepresented 6️⃣ Don't Fear Competition → Good ideas often seem obvious → Startups rarely killed by competitors → Focus on users and differentiation → Crowded markets indicate high demand 7️⃣ Remove Mental Filters → Consider unsexy, tedious, unpleasant, or scary problems → Less competition in these areas → Ask: "What problem do I wish someone else would solve for me?" 8️⃣ The Hedgehog Concept → Focus on the intersection of: a. What you're passionate about b. What you can be the best at c. What can make you enough money 9️⃣ Lean Startup Methodology → "Just Do It" with scientific rigor → Test assumptions and iterate quickly → Validate ideas through real-world feedback That's it. You can find the link of original article in the comments. Image Credits: Dan Ankle . #startups #founders #investors #funding #fund #vc #ideas #entrepreneur #market #founder

CFO: Name ONE successful company prioritizing brand over performance. CMO: How about six? CFO: *rolls eyes* Let me guess - massive companies we can't learn from? CMO: Plot twist - these are companies at every stage. And I've got video receipts of their CEOs spilling the tea. CFO: Fine, prove it. CMO: First up - the world's most successful investor. Warren Buffett says brand is the #1 thing he looks for. It's the only moat protecting profits from competition: https://lnkd.in/g63CYMD9 CFO: That's just one old-school investor's view though. CMO: Here's Bezos then - explains why Amazon's most valuable asset isn't selection or shipping, it's brand: https://bit.ly/BezosBrand CFO: Their marketing budget is infinite. We actually have to show ROI. CMO: Then you'll love this - He acquired HOKA when tiny (now a multi-billion dollar powerhouse). Here's why he's not acquiring DTC brands: https://bit.ly/Hoka-CEO CFO: *channeling my inner Shark Tank* Great story, but where's the ROI? CMO: Check Airbnb's shift from pure performance to brand balance. Their profits exploded after. Brian Chesky explains why: https://bit.ly/AirbnbBrand CFO: But we're tiny compared to Airbnb... CFO: But they all had huge budgets... CMO: Wrong again. Here's two bootstrapped brands. CFO: Let me guess - VC-backed? CMO: No VC money. No infinite budgets. (So you can't use that excuse anymore). CFO: hashtag intrigued CMO: True Classic (two-part deep dive on finding brand balance): https://bit.ly/4g8eYhm and https://bit.ly/3E0lN7B. Plus DUDE Wipes' path to $150M (part 1: https://bit.ly/4anHevn, part 2: https://bit.ly/3PLdJKy) CFO: *rubbing temples* But HOW do we actually do this? CMO: The world's leading researchers on this stuff studied thousands of companies over 20+ years. Les Binet reveals the ideal brand/performance mix: https://bit.ly/40H4nWk and how brand reduces price sensitivity: https://bit.ly/42mrXZH. Plus Ehrenberg Bass Institute proves how mental availability and the 95/5 rule accelerate profit growth: https://bit.ly/42mrXZH CFO: So you're telling me... CMO: I'm telling you every company that's built sustainable equity value found their balance of brand and performance. The others? Still trying to make their CAC work on TikTok. CFO: *long pause* Send me a proposal by EOD. CMO: Already in your inbox. With enough ROI data to make Mark Cuban say 'and for that reason, I'm in'

Can 𝐄𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 be taught? ✨ Lidia Rauramo gave a brilliant answer on the 'Demystifying with Andrew' podcast (Episode 7 - 𝐆𝐞𝐭 𝐚 𝐆𝐫𝐢𝐩! 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐟-𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩). 🔹 Simply lecturing about EQ is not teaching, it's informing. 🔹 To teach we have to put students through an exercise. The exercise is very simple: 1. Break the group into pairs. 2. Ask every pair to come up with a topic that is super-interesting to both participants. 3. Participants discuss the chosen topic, but (!important) they do so while deliberately trying to appear disinterested and closed off. Observe what happens. 4. Repeat the exercise, however, this time participants choose a boring topic and discuss it in an engaged and open manner, using welcoming body language. See what happens now! What do you think? Can EQ be taught? 🤔 Link to the full episode in the comments if you are curious to learn more 👇 #emotionalintelligence #eq #curioustalent #podcast

How to increase a VC’s attention span 10X: You spent weeks building a beautiful deck. Most investors review for < 1 minute. That's less than 5 seconds per slide. You can't sell anything in that time. Your startup deserves better. Get your pitch the attention it needs. Here's the playbook I recommend... 👇 —— Was this helpful? 👍 like and ♻️ repost it to help other founders!

Ah, startup fundraising. The sacred art of getting strangers to believe in your vision enough to write a check. Simple, right? Not if you’ve spent any time on LinkedIn.  “Always have a pitch deck,” says Chad Deckerson, self-proclaimed VC whisperer.   “Skip the deck, send a deal memo,” counters Karen Summary, CEO of One-Pagers R Us.   “Show the founders first, investors bet on people,” advises Tony BioSlide, who definitely knows someone who raised money once.   “No, save the team for last,” insists Dr. Idea First, author of *Decks That Close.*   “Use the YC template, it’s the gold standard,” chimes in Emily Format, serial commenter.   “No, Sequoia’s deck is the one that actually works,” argues Brad Template, who may or may not have raised a pre-seed round in 2008.  Here’s the thing: opinions are like assholes. Everyone has one, and most of the time, they stink.  The truth is, fundraising is messy and full of contradictions. There’s no one size fits all playbook because investors are people with quirks, biases, and preferences. What works for one might completely bomb with another.  Instead of chasing the perfect formula, focus on telling your story in a way that feels authentic and resonates with who you are as a founder. Investors connect with passion, clarity, and a strong narrative that reflects the unique value of your business. The only pitch that matters is the one that gets the deal done.  What’s the worst or funniest advice you’ve heard about fundraising? Let me know, I need the laugh.

I met a founder who burned all his savings—then lost his only 2 customers. “I was going to shut down”. 6 years later, he’s in 2,500 stores & $10M+ in ARR: Josh quit his investment job and started Flashfood, a grocery app that helps shoppers save money. Two years in, he’d burned all his savings. He was $40K in debt. Then his only two pilot customers cancelled. They liked the idea—but didn’t need it. "I was gonna shut down the company... I tried for 2.5 years to sell into grocery. The grocers had told me they're not gonna do this." At the last minute, he got connected to an exec at Loblaws, the largest retailer in Canada. They tried it in 3 stores— then they went all in. "We went from 3 stores to 400 over a span of six weeks." A year later, Flashfood hit $1.5M ARR. They raised a seed round from General Catalyst. Today, they're in 2,500 stores. They’ve helped shoppers save $250M+ on groceries. It sounds like luck— but it isn’t. As a founder you take many meetings that lead to nothing. You hold on for much longer than you probably should. You do things most would consider irrational, unreasonable, or even insane. Josh once drove 4 hours to a meeting that lasted just 10 minutes. The customer he got from that meeting ended up churning. It seemed like a total waste of time. Then that customer made an important introduction— one that literally saved the company: He got Loblaws involved. /// Listen to the full story on The Product Market Fit Show #startups #venturecapital #founders

New data for founders: how much of your company will you own after each round of venture fundraising? Also known as the single most frequent question I get asked 😁 This is a question worthy of a deep dive - so we built a 20 chart report with answers like: 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 • Number of founders per founding team • How VCs prefer teams with cofounders • How likely your cofounder is to leave 𝗜𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗦𝗽𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘀 • Do founders split 50/50? • Ownership at the start for the non-CEO founders • Splits by industry and incorporation year 𝗢𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲 • How much equity does the founding team hold after each round? • How has that percentage shifted in recent years? • Splits by physical vs digital startups • Ownership by valuation or by cash raised • Ownership for the CEO (!) specifically And a new interactive graphic that allows the reader to see founding team ownership by stage for their specific sector. One key finding (but you need to read the full report, worth it I promise): The moment the founding team falls under 50% ownership 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 the same moment when VCs own the majority of shares thanks to the expanding employee option pool. Interesting to watch these percentages shift as questions about control are always top of mind! Read the full report for free here: https://lnkd.in/gC2Y-xfR #startups #founders #equity #ownership

I know in the first 30 seconds if I'm interested. Your investor pitch deck just got opened. The next 3 seconds will determine everything. Here's the truth: You don't have 10 minutes. You have: 1 seconds for the cover 3 seconds for first 3 slides 30 seconds if you're lucky 3 minutes if you're exceptional It's your pitch before the pitch. The 3-Second Reality Check: 1. Cover slide 2. Problem 3. Solution That's it. Make it count. Here's what makes investors instantly close your deck: ❌ Unclear problem statement ❌ Paragraphs of text ❌ Too many bullet points ❌ Marketing language to investors ❌ Hyperbolic statements ("We're disrupting everything!") 1. What actually works: - Cover Slide Magic - Clear one-line pitch - No fluff or buzz words - Professional layout - Sets the tone for everything 2. Problem Slide Power - Be concise but compelling - Show size (e.g., "40M teenagers face this") - Make it impossible to ignore - No generic statements ("Banking is broken") 3. Solution Slide Success - Match exactly to the problem - Show why you're different - Be specific, not fluffy - Demonstrate deep understanding The Hidden Truth: You're not pitching for investment in the first deck. You're pitching for the "maybe pile." That's it. There is no "yes pile" at this stage. Remember: - Simple > complex - Clarity > creativity - Evidence > promises - Numbers > adjectives Want to know if your deck works? Show it to someone for 30 seconds. If they can't repeat your pitch back to you... Start over. Drop a comment if this helped you! 🧿  #StartupAdvice  #PitchDeck  #VentureCapital  #Entrepreneurship -------------------- Follow for more startup reality checks that nobody talks about https://lnkd.in/dvj3pkNC

Founders - use this post to push back on advisors who ask for 1% of your pre-seed startup. Advisors - apologies! Some of you really are worth 1% or more to these early founders. But you gotta make the case as to why you're in the top decile of startup advisors. Resurfacing this data after a unsolicited wave of DMs on the subject, seems like a lot of companies are considering taking on advisors as we kick off the new year (which is cool). Data in the graphic reflects the full option grant % given to advisors by stage. Split into low (25th pct), medium (50th pct), high (75th pct) and super high (90th pct). And please ensure these advisors have a vesting schedule! Typically 2-years with a short cliff or you can set specific performance milestones (eg Advisor A gets 0.1% equity after they complete the following tasks for the business). #startups #advisors #advisorequity #preseed Big report on early-stage cofounder equity due out on Jan 21st - get your copy here: https://lnkd.in/gC2Y-xfR