First Round Capital

Most people describe finding PMF as an art, not a science. We're here to change that. Introducing PMF Method. After 20 years and 500+ investments in pre-product-market fit companies, we've drawn on our data and worked with some of the world's most iconic enterprise founders, distilling what they did in their first 6 months into a free 14-week intensive experience that helps sales-led B2B founders build epic companies. In tactical sessions, we help early founders discover what customers really want, build the right v1 product, and close your first sales — all while keeping 100% of your equity. You'll work alongside a tight group of other builders at your same stage, and get to learn from the hard-earned insights from founders of $1B+ B2B companies, like Vanta's Christina Cacioppo, Looker's lloyd tabb, Plaid's Zachary Perret, Ironclad's Jason Boehmig, Lattice's Jack Altman, and Verkada's Filip Kaliszan. The Summer 2024 session of PMF Method runs from 5/29 to 8/28. Any early founder working on a new B2B SaaS company is welcome to apply — just get your application in by 5/7 (or tag a founder friend below!) More details, FAQs, and application link in the comments below 👇

Startup founders and tech entrepreneurs, READ THIS>>> "Innovators often assume that their industry will welcome new ideas. Unfortunately, the world does not unfold like business school textbooks." Post here: https://lnkd.in/gZn4J_TQ Steve Blank First Round Capital #startups #startupmarketing #gotomarket #marketingexecutiongap

We've got a great read from Steve Blank on The Review today. I really liked his practical approach to making sure founders are better prepared for this problem: "Innovators often assume that their industry will welcome new ideas. Unfortunately, the world does not unfold like business school textbooks." (link in the comments)

Incumbents will try to stand in your way. Today on The Review, the one and only Steve Blank catalogs how saboteurs kill innovation in both government and commercial markets, helping you recognize the moves and prepare your defenses — whether you’re taking on an established competitor, trying to sell into a government agency, or attempting to get a new 0-1 effort off the ground at a bigger company. “Founders and innovators within bigger companies alike should expect that existing organizations and companies will defend their turf — ferociously.”

Atlassian VP of Customer Success Stephanie Berner uses a simple heuristic when hiring for CS roles: Has this person held a customer-facing job before? And did they enjoy it? This is how Berner figures out if they're a "customer-oriented person" — which is often someone who has the makings of a great CSM. For more of Berner’s customer success wisdom, listen to the full conversation on In Depth: https://lnkd.in/dGqX6AGt

On the hunt for the first marketer at your startup? Find someone who passes what Alex Kracov calls the “button-clicker test.” As marketing hire # 1 at Lattice and now as CEO and co-founder of Dock, Kracov has built a marketing operation from the ground up twice now. This execution mindset is the trait he finds most essential for early teams. For more of Kracov’s lessons in 0 to 1 marketing, check out the full article on The Review: https://lnkd.in/gaGQrNmk And if you’d prefer to listen, catch Kracov’s interview on In Depth: https://lnkd.in/gWbXe6Hy

I find First Round Capital posts on PMF consistently valuable, with great a-ha’s and reminders for every builder. Here’s an insightful 1 minute example!

One of the **FASTEST** growing companies I’ve seen, Reducto, is announcing some big news today! So I thought I’d share a bit about why we were so excited to work with Adit & Raunak and to lead their Seed round at First Round Capital in the Spring. (Blog post in the comments, along with their Business Insider article that includes their OG seed pitch deck.) As anyone who has witnessed the AI surge over the past year knows, there has been a skyrocketing demand for unstructured data to train and finetune LLMs… and while many companies try to build this in-house, we rarely find that these products have high accuracy or results. That's where Reducto comes in. They provide a reliable solution to extract unstructured data for LLM workflows & RAG pipelines. It’s something nearly every AI company needs. So it’s no surprise that Reducto's growth has been so strong, and why companies from startups to Fortune 10s have become customers. To quote from my investment memo: “Team is spikey, hacky, resourceful, & has that run-through-walls energy…. & they’re obviously very smart.” While I did feel that way when first getting to know them, now that I've worked closely with them for 5+ months, I’d say they are in the top 1% of founders I know that match those qualities. It also doesn’t hurt that their growth has been insane. I’ve seen many unicorns in the early days, and in the 6 months since I’ve worked w Reducto, it’s been a true hockey stick. I am so excited for Reducto, their customers, and everyone involved as we continue to watch magic come out of this team. Keep your eyes on them – I’m confident you’ll continue to hear about them and be impressed. They’ve really only just gotten started 🔮

How can businesses better position themselves for the next technological revolution? By avoiding a “why this won’t work” mentality. Sam Schillace, Microsoft's Deputy CTO, has seen firsthand how large organizations either adapt or fall behind when faced with emerging tech. On In Depth, he shares key questions that executives should be asking to navigate the current wave of generative AI. “Whatever it is that’s in the way of disrupting your business now, assume that gets solved. What does your business look like after that?” Listen: https://lnkd.in/ekEsk-Y4

Quick sales positioning tip that makes an impact (anecdotally) ~90% of the time I see it implemented: Customers resonate SO much more with “Here’s how Im going to SAVE you money” or “Here’s how Im going to MAKE you money” than they do with “Heres how Im going to save you time”. Even though time = money, this slight tweak in positioning sometimes makes all the difference...