Ben Sharf’s Post

Do you think fewer founders would quit if they knew this: We've all seen that graphic of the guy digging for diamonds. He didn't realise how close he was. And he quit right before his breakthrough. Sadly, this is how it will end for many of us. Several Founders I have worked with thought: ↳ Their product / service was no good. ↳ Their love for the brand had fizzled out. ↳ Their industry was overrun with competitors. It never gets old seeing them realise that: ↳ These were false, limiting beliefs. ↳ They didn't need to fight against competitors. ↳ Their solution was great, but their Message was poor. With that in mind, do me a favour: Try these four things with your Message before you throw in the towel. → If you'd like the complete worksheets, please DM me.

For our next 24 in 24, let's take a moment to applaud the incredible achievements of Rob Mallery, Talent and Operations Lead at Magic! 🎉 Since 2023, Rob has been involved with the StartupExperts community, contributing his exceptional skills and unwavering commitment to our collective success. We are privileged to count him among our esteemed members! During a recent discussion, we had the pleasure of gaining deeper insights into Rob's journey and ambitions. Here's a snapshot of the fascinating revelations we uncovered: 1) What aspect of your work brings you the most joy or satisfaction? "I love building world-class teams. I especially enjoy building organizations utilizing a philosophy that is less "recruiting to fill positions" and much more "build orgs in ways that orgs have never been built". The most fun talent problems are found in the latter." 2) Why did you become a StartupExperts Member, and how has the community influenced you professionally? "I was referred to StartupExperts by a former colleague of mine (Isabel Alves de Lima) who spoke very highly of the group. I don't know if the group has "influenced" me as much as it's helped me when thinking about different things I'm doing. It has been especially helpful in that I'm the first non-technical hire at my current company and StartupExperts has been a tremendous resource when seeking guidance/info for things that are outside my core competence, but are necessary for me to do being the only person at my company doing things such as finance, operations, legal, office stuff, etc etc etc in addition to my core of talent and recruiting."

I’m getting more and more convinced that if founding team can't figure something out - no one will. Let me explain. I have fallen into this trap myself and see this at my friends’ companies: don’t know how to solve a problem? Throw people at it. In my experience this never works. If the founding team cannot figure out even the most basic solution to a problem, no external person ever will. If you don’t know how to do marketing - get your founding team to do it. Yes, none of you might be good marketers or even know how to do it at all. But you know the product, tech and customers best. Everything else follows from that. Keep iterating and trying things. Most of it will fail and give you no signal at all. That’s good. You just saved 10s of thousands of € in salary of a professional who would hit the same brick wall, but slower and for more money. If it doesn’t work at all for you, chances are it won’t work for an expensive hire either. At some point, something will give you non-zero signal. Work on it. Can you see even stronger signal despite your miserable skills in this field? Good, now think of a specialist who can help you amplify it and grow from there. This is not complaining about expensive hires going in circles at an early stage venture (I feel like a lot of VCs push the narrative of money = ability to buy skills = 📈 , which makes this phenomenon really frequent). It’s also about setting those hires up for success. We paid 4-digit and 6-digit salaries to people with different seniority and the pattern is the same - if you don’t have a strong foundation, i.e. “what the hell is this person even supposed to start with after they join”, you are setting them up for failure. You lose money, time, get angry because you pay and get no results, and the hire is on a downward trajectory and will leave/you will fire them. The sad truth is - you as the founding team need to do everything yourself at the beginning.

As an investor, there are few things as important as keeping a strong pulse on the portfolio. Which companies are thriving versus just surviving? What companies need tactical support from our team? Are there emerging challenges affecting a cross section of our portfolio? Oftentimes, the source for this critical information is the investor update - a monthly or quarterly snapshot of what’s going on behind the scenes. Who should you send investor updates to? Your investors, obviously! The best companies send regular updates to their investors to give them an opportunity to see what’s under the hood. But this is also a great opportunity to stay in regular contact with prospective investors, advisors, or even those who may have passed during this round (just make sure you ask). You may want to create a skinny version that goes out to this list, but providing them with consistent updates on your founder journey keeps you at the top of their minds as you progress. What should you put in your investor updates? While every founder has their own framework for updates, the best ones include a few key elements: - Company overview: I know it sounds silly, but you have to remember that many investors get dozens if not hundreds of these updates. Reminding your audience what your company does provides important context for what follows. - Key metrics: This is one of the most salient parts of an update. While different companies have different KPIs, there are a few that are pretty important across the board. These include revenue, customers, cash balance, and burn rate/runway. - Highlights: A win is a win, so unapologetically brag about your successes! Here is where you can share more about shipping new product features or winning a pitch competition. This is valuable for investors to have in mind as they facilitate introductions and consider you for relevant speaking or PR opportunities. - Lowlights: The founder journey is tough! There are always ups and downs and it’s important to be transparent about challenges or obstacles you may be facing, whether they be external (e.g. unexpected regulatory hurdles, supplier issues) or internal (e.g. unsuccessful pilots, pending layoffs). - Asks: Your investors are in your corner, so you shouldn’t be shy about asking them for specific tactical support. This can range from reviewing a press release to introducing you to new investors to connecting you with high priority customers. What else? Investor updates also provide you as a founder a regular opportunity to reflect on recent growth and understand your big picture progress. A few things to keep in mind: - Cadence is critical: try to share updates monthly or quarterly. - It doesn’t have to be fancy: regular old email’s fine, but remember bullet points are your friend. - Don’t be afraid to share a personal update! At Visible Hands, we love to hear about new babies, recent relos, or shifting priorities!

I've been keeping this a secret for a while... 🤫 I've only shared this resource with close friends & execs who want to determine if the company they're interviewing at will become the next unicorn. Everyone has told me that I should share this with the public given it's helped them optimize their winners and subsequently filter out the losers. For some, it's been the difference between a major career launching pad, while strategically avoiding that "smoke-and-mirrors" startup that is winding down. Excited to share the diligence framework that I use to assess companies with the world. Tap the "like" button and comment "T2D3" and I'll send you the doc in it's entirety. If we're not connected, make sure to add me. Here's a sneak peek:

Q: What kind of open source founders usually work with me on positioning? A: Second-time founders. A serious trend I've noticed in the type of founders who work with me is that they're usually (though not always) second-time founders, and they are usually over 35. It's not necessarily their second VC-backed company, or their second product company -- but the type of people who tend to hire me are those who've built a company (successfully or not) before. When it's not your first rodeo, you tend to value strategy more. You tend to value positioning more. 🤔 --

There are many myths around who a perfect founder should be. First of all there should be two of them: Hewlett and Packard, Jobs and Wozniak, Page and Brin. Second, they should be young. Paul Graham, the founder of the famous Y Combinator said the age limit is 32 (I have no idea how he has come up to this number). Yet, Reed Hastings founded Netflix at 37, Arianna Huffington founded HuffPost at 55 and Ray Croc founded McDonald's well over fifty. There is some academic research showing that solopreneurs are better than those that start in twos. There is opposite research too. There is contradictory research that friends make better founders and vice versa- strangers are better. My takeaway- everything relies on a particular case. And what is your take ? #founder #founders #vc

Most service-based founders quit in the 1st year. It's tough out here. I’m learning that to make it you need: ❶ A strong brand ❷ Effective systems ❸ A reliable sales process ❹ A solid content strategy And that’s just the foundation. We have to tackle the right problems from the start. When you do, you’ll get: → An offer that improves with feedback → A stronger, more supportive network → Clients who value what you do The biggest lesson is it's not about quick wins… It's about building something that lasts. What’s one thing you’re excited to achieve this year?

Do founders ever have days off? After working for 14 years for various companies, I quit a 9-5 job to work 24/7 at my own company. 👀 Honest opinion? It’s been one of the scariest & the best decisions I’ve ever made. Not to make it all rainbows & butterflies, the transition came with its own challenges. When I founded PartnerGap, I quickly realized that no matter how much experience you gather, nothing truly prepares you for the leap. Too many people hesitate, waiting for the perfect moment or more experience. But the truth is, you don’t need to be “ready.” The only way to get there is by starting. I had to let go of the comfort of a structured role and embrace the unpredictability that comes with building something from scratch. The challenges? Gosh, plenty. The 9-5 safety net disappears, and suddenly, every decision rests on your shoulders. But the rewards? Immense. There’s nothing quite like seeing your own vision take shape and create real impact. 💃 You don’t need the perfect idea or years of experience to become a founder. Just the courage to explore, experiment, and persist, and maybe someone, who will push you to take that leap 😉