Danny Lieberman’s Post

Founder-mode all the way. 🚀 From our last startup, we've seen first-hand two different organizations when it was either: 1. Led by founders who were still in the CXO 2. Led by hired C-suite managers who were in the CXO It was very clear to the folks internally, which organization was going to outlast the competition and innovate with first-principles thinking rather than being focused on internal politics and member ranks. 😔 "Usually when everyone around you disagrees with you, your default assumption should be that you're mistaken. But this is one of the rare exceptions. VCs who haven't been founders themselves don't know how founders should run companies, and C-level execs, as a class, include some of the most skilful liars in the world." Brilliant PG essay shared amongst some of the top founders now in Silicon Valley. Read the full copy here: https://lnkd.in/gcDK_KQP

Kevin Ryan has to be one of the most underrated founders in the world. 🌎 His track record: 💰 MongoDB: $26BN 💰 DoubleClick: $3BN 💰 Zola: $500M 💰 Business Insider: $450M 💰 Gilt Group: $250M ---------------- 🏦 Total: $30.2BN ---------------- My 6 key takeaways 👇 1. MongoDB Did Not Make a Profit for the First 10 Years We’ve lost a billion dollars before we had a profitable quarter. We would not have been able to invest and grow as much today. Not a lot of industries would give you a billion dollars to lose besides AI. 2. From WeWork Write Off to $80M Exit We bought Meetup from WeWork for $10M when the pandemic started. It was a unique buying opportunity & I knew the CEO from DoubleClick. We went from a $20M loss on $32M revenue to $6M in profit. 3. Why I Do Not Care About Ownership You will miss out on so many great companies by always focusing on ownership. I would pay a bigger price for an incredible team & opportunity. Getting less of a company doesn’t make it a bad investment. 4. The Danger of Signaling Risk If a huge fund invests but doesn’t lead your next round, your company’s dead. This doesn’t apply in seed investing because you’re expected to find someone else afterwards. This happened to one of my companies because we lost faith. 5. So Much VC Cash on the Side There is a ton of VC cash sitting on the sidelines. That money won’t be given back & will be spent. We’re only debating if they’ll do it in 2.5 years or 5. 6. Why Biden Deserves More Praise for the Economy  The collaboration between the Biden administration and the Federal Reserve has been remarkable. We’re attracting more foreign companies to build in America. Not a single economist thought this would happen. (links in comments) #founder #funding #business #investing #vc #venturecapital #entrepreneur #startup #seed #funding

Tips and tricks to help supercharge your sales function 💡    We understand the previous period to date has been extremely challenging for the startup ecosystem, characterised by turbulence and uncertainty as we rapidly exit a low interest rate environment.    So, we spoke to one of the best operators out there Andrew Phillips, Ex-Public Sector Leader (ANZ) at AWS, to see what founders and their teams can do to supercharge their sales function in a recessionary environment.    Link in comments 👇    #backedbyOIF #ifyouwillititisnodream #enterprisesales #founders 

Merry Christmas! We are super busy and excited for what the new year is going to bring! It's been an exhilarating first 10 months in business - and we know the final two of our first year are going to be huge! First 10 month highlights: Met a ton of great people to do business with and that are already doing great business Got connected to a startup that's going to do great things (and needs an ED if you know someone!) Working with another startup that's going to do great things - in a completely different space - and also needs help on a number of fronts Able to assist 5 clients in getting the talent they needed in less than 45 days Let us know how we can bring you the skilled talent you need - while removing your headaches, roadblocks and frustrations, while giving you back your time and putting $$$$$ back in your pocket that you didn't know you were spending. #merrychristmas #1st10months #business

YES. They are Doers and they raise FAST because they understand TIME. I worked with 1000+ founders. Dreamer founders spend 12 months trying to raise, and still don’t even succeed. Versus Doer founders get it done in 3-4 months. Go be a DOER! #capitalraising #startups #seedfunding

Are you ready to learn how to succeed as a Founder's Associate? 🚀 After reading numerous articles about the role, I felt there was still a gap in understanding what it actually takes to excel. To find that out, I interviewed some of the brightest and most driven FAs making waves in London. 🌊 A big shoutout to David Ola from Nostos Genomics, Stephanie Leung from Stackfix, Felix Fernandez from Otto and Ines de Lestapis from Fertifa. 🙏 PS: If you are a generalist looking for a social space where the best operators meet and have fun, check out Operators & Friends. 💙 #startups #founders #founderassociates #venturecapital

key areas that will make you a strong #venturecapitalist: Domain Expertise & Market Savvy: Sequoia Capital's early investment in Google in 1999 is a prime example. Their partner, Don Valentine, recognized the potential of search engines way before most, likely due to his strong understanding of the tech industry and its future directions. Excellent Judgement & Pattern Recognition: John Doerr, a partner at Kleiner Perkins, became an early investor in Amazon. While the online retail market was new and unproven at the time, Doerr saw the potential for disruption and scalability in Amazon's business model, thanks to his sharp judgment and ability to recognize game-changing trends. Visionary & Trendspotting: Mary Meeker, a Kleiner Perkins partner known for her annual internet trends report, invested in Facebook early on. She saw the potential of social media to connect people on a global scale, even when it was a relatively new concept. Curiosity & Continuous Learning: Reid Hoffman, founder of LinkedIn, is a successful angel investor known for his lifelong love of learning and his constant curiosity about innovation. He actively seeks out new ideas and is always looking for ways to improve the industries he invests in. Strong Network & Deal Flow: Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz, has a vast network of contacts in Silicon Valley. This network helps him source promising startups and gives his portfolio companies access to valuable resources and expertise. Communication & Relationship Building: Fred Wilson, a partner at Union Square Ventures, is known for his mentorship and guidance to the founders he invests in. He fosters strong relationships with his portfolio companies and provides them with strategic advice and support.

What problems just go away with time? I'm always shocked by how many problems solve themselves with time. As a Founder, we always seem intent on trying to solve every problem the moment it happens. But with enough time, you start to learn that there are a lot of problems that just solve themselves with time. That person we've been trying to figure out when to terminate? They quit. That customer that seemed like they'd never sign the deal? They come back. That one internal political fiasco that has everyone burning up Slack? It just dies. I think we consistently undervalue time as something that will do miracles to solve problems, if we just give it a moment to do its magic. Problems at startups don't ever go away - they just change names. We go from not having any capital to worrying about appeasing investors. We go from not having any employees to help us to trying to maintain company culture with so many people. We go from trying to get a customer to trying to keep a customer. Our problems at a startup never go away. They just keep changing names and focus.

I fully align with this framework and I believe entrepreneurs can apply it to their journey.

Great infographic. Agree. For my own #venture, we've been getting to the expected milestones of the pre-seed and seed stage, but doing so bootstrapped and fully leveraging the resources for students at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the vast amount of student and mentor talent and support in the ecosystem, without having to hire, outsource, or pay salary. We are at a point now where quality of the product does depend on our ability to pay. Funding has become a bottleneck so my team is assessing our funding options, funds to raise from investors, use of funds, and milestones we can deliver within what budget and timeline. Forming a #team has been a long bumpy journey. I appreciate the beginner's mind but #healthcare, and #womenshealth in particular, is complex, heavily based on relationships and reputation, and with little room for error. The people with the right industry experience have high opportunity cost and may not be willing to give up both corporate salaries and the resources corporations have. What happened with Change Healthcare has put a further chill. Among younger folks who seem to have potential but are not yet proven, they may be risk-seeking. Early-stage ventures need to de-risk intentionally. Alternatively, people may jump in if they have a personal tie to the issue. I had overindexed on that in the past, especially when competitions want a "team video." Evocative storytelling does not replace execution or having the right team for the needed skill sets for that stage. At this point, also, I work with those local. Disagreements and conflicts need to be addressed quickly, in person, and face to face. Also, I've learned that in a tough job market some may see venture as an easy way to get a job. If someone recently left a job under unclear circumstances, that could be inviting in chaos. Also, many who seek the "freedom" of venture do not always understand the intense teamwork and self-driven consistent discipline over long periods of time when there is no external structure, no "Big Brother" watching, no other accountability. The same person who may do well with a senior mentor or surrounded by required compliance processes may flail or miss important details without structure. Frankly, there's also just a difference between those of us who grew up Gen X and had to figure it out on our own. We have a high frustration tolerance and better concentration as we grew up without Google or Instagram. When I was a kid, adults expected you to have given it a real effort before you asked for help. That developed a different level of problem-solving skills. Then again, there is something to be said for knowing where to find information and I do value learning the latest from 20-somethings on emerging tech or the latest way to get a snazzy slide deck with a few clicks of a button. Those who are immigrants from low-resource countries tend to be very "Gen X" even in their 20s and can be well suited to venture.