Derek W.’s Post

We’ve made plenty of mistakes on our road from startup to scaleup. Here are the biggest ones — so you don’t make them yourself👇 When we started Stableton, we had too many ideas. This is not a humble brag — it was a problem, and it made our lives crazy. Back then, we weren’t just looking at the Top 20 pre-IPO companies. We were exploring all kinds of options, including pursuing both active and passive investments. The result? We were exhausted, our resources were stretched too thin, and we weren’t meeting the pain points we had founded the company to address. Once we realized this, we made some hard decisions and let some talented people go. The upside was, that our whole team was now laser-focused on doing one thing really really well: Creating an innovative fintech investment platform providing unique investment products and access to the Top 20 pre-IPO tech companies through a passive strategy. We also doubled down on our company values and sought team members we knew would share our passion. Those changes paid off: Today, a cool 20% of all leads turn into actual investors, up from a range of 1-5%. The conversation usually goes something like this: - We show them our portfolio of Top 20 pre-IPO tech companies. - Them: “Oh, interesting. Which ones do you have?” - Us: “All of them.” - Them: 🤯 Moral of the story: Focus 100% on doing one thing well. Hire A-players. Work towards the “click”... And then start scaling. Want to learn from our journey? Have a look into our newsletter and get exclusive insights: https://lnkd.in/ec7RS2aS #StartupLife #ScalingUp #FintechInnovation #PreIPOInvesting

As a founder, you're not just buying code; you're investing in a foundation for your business's future. Don't shy away from asking questions or demanding clarity. A great development (like us 😉) will welcome your engagement and ensure you're equipped to lead your tech-powered business confidently. Navigating the world of product development can be tricky, but I've got your back. You can swipe through to find out the 8 essential deliverables your development partner needs to provide. Don't let technical jargon intimidate you—you deserve clarity and quality in your tech journey! #TechStartups #Product #Development #Founders #Journey #StartupGrowth AlterSquare Rohan Dhamapurkar Aliasgar Pocketwala Huzefa Motiwala

Tech founders journey for Pack to the Future™ Investor's on my list so far: 38 No's from investors: 3 Warm referrals: 2 Interested investors: 2 100% the whole “show the build in public” has got traction. I’ve had two amazing and warm referrals over the weekend as well as another investor show genuine interest (Craig, I won’t tag you just yet but I am looking forward to catching up and answering your questions). When people say that the fundraising journey is a full time job, they aren’t exaggerating. I’m so damn lucky to have Sara Knight, Marcelo Alcantara and the team behind me while I spend every waking hour networking. For those wondering, I’ll be actively looking for term sheets started May 15th. Until then, I’m happily networking and building referrals. 9:30pm Friday night I got a brilliant email from 🏔️ Meg Williams letting me know I’ve been shortlisted to pitch on stage at Blackbird’s Sunrise conference. Thanks for pulling long hours for the current Giant’s cohort Meg and thanks for giving me the chance to get some mentoring from Gaby Howard 🙌🏼 That news was further affirmation that I’m on the right track and a bloody big step towards unfu*king the planet! On top of the Blackbird Giants program we are currently in, I also snuck in an application to Y Combinator on the cut off day for their next intake. Thats the bloody holy grail of startup world to get in Y Combinator and it would mean I’d be heading to San Francisco for a few months if we got in. In a platform update, we’ve all but finished the API connections to all our partners and we are on hopefully the last scrum to get the MVP live and in a working test environment. We’ve now been shipping out the physical packaging to stores daily and we’ll go all in on ramping up that offering when I get back from a week in Sydney for Sunrise. I can’t help but smile as even though I’m working 7am-11pm daily, I’m doing something I’m so damn passionate about that it’s not even work 🫶🏼

He is an ex-Reddit advisor, sold a community platform to WeWork, and is going all-in into communities ⤵ Meet Greg Isenberg, one of the most underrated content creators. He was offered $30M of PE capital for his company Late Checkout. → But he didn’t take it. It shows his belief in the long-term game. His Personal Brand has skyrocketed in 2023: Newsletter: 100% increase Twitter: 77% Increase Youtube: 25% LinkedIn: 1000% His singularity is what makes him win. He is the only one talking about: - Private Equity - Startups - Productivity - Startups Ideas - Communities Greg's approach is more than just business savvy; → it's a holistic view of what it means to be an entrepreneur in the digital age. He's not just building companies; → he's creating movements. His insights are not just thoughts; → they're blueprints for the future. And his impact is not just monetary; → it's about shaping the way we think about and engage with the digital world. Looking forward to seeing what he got in 2024!

Many founders ask me what VCs (and we at 10x Founders) look for in founding teams - particularly in today's times when funding for startups isn't as available as is was in the 2020 to early 2022 period. Real pleasure to chat (in 🇩🇪 only, unfortunately) with Domenico about how the 2023 funding market looked like, and what 2024 may bring (thanks for the early-stage startup perspective Benedikt and Ivan). [link in comments] My key three predictions: 1) We haven't seen the bottom of the valley yet. We will see further waves of layoffs of particularly growth stage companies to lengthen runway until the next round needs to be raised, and the overall investment climate remains challenging. Of course, no trend without exceptions, but founders should remain incredibly focused on managing cash positions, and painting a clear picture of a path to profitability. 2) Even with significant cost cutting measures, companies will need to raise further bridge rounds to meet the higher expectations of follow-on investors in terms of top-line development and underlying metrics. Existing investors of those companies will need to step in (once again) - while providing great opportunities for outside investors to back startups with strong fundamentals at a more reasonable price point that we've seen over the last years. 3) In times of lagging revenue development and growth, founders and the equity stories they tell will gain significant importance. Investors will continue to focus on strong teams that can steer companies and its employees even through the most uncertain times. Most importantly though, I remain incredibly bullish on European tech in the long-term - it's a great time to build generational businesses with strong and sustainable fundamentals, and it's a pleasure and privilege to be part of this ecosystem these days.

I started my first company (OLYK) when I was 23 years old, at the peak of COVID. Although the company wasn't successful in many ways, it was still a success for me since no learning, especially in startups or building businesses, goes to waste. It forced me to do things I never would have done otherwise. I ended up: 1. Pitching to top-tier VCs for funding. I understood what they were looking for and how I should position myself. I did not end up raising from any, but that experience was worthwhile. 2. Learning how to hire and manage people, scale the business, and build a positive culture. At any scale, with any amount of money, this is never easy. At one point, we were growing 30% MoM at the peak of COVID, and doing all of this remotely for the first time was challenging, but I enjoyed it. 3. Experiencing all the roller coaster emotions of highs and lows and understanding how critical certain decisions can be for your business. 4. Realizing how painful managing vendors, their payments, and overall compliances can be. For a startup that is privately incorporated, the government does not always make it easy to run it without hiccups. I'm pretty sure if it wasn't for running a company, I probably would not have learned all these things. Now, it's just easier to manage these things because I simply know better, but the first time is always hard. My 1 min YC pitch that I pretty much cringe at looking at now 😂. (Hopefully this wasn't my final submission in 2020)

🏢 *A Space for Growing Founders* After several insightful visits, I truly understand the unique challenges and aspirations of today's founders. At GIT, we’re not just building floors—we’re creating an environment that fuels growth and ambition. 🌟 A Different Approach : When I walk through these spaces, they don’t just feel like floors—they represent *achievement* and the drive to do more. Every floor is designed to inspire growth and empower founders to dream bigger. 👥 *Perfect for Startups & Mid-Sized Teams*: If you're a founder with a team of 80-100 , GIT feels like home. It fits perfectly, offering the right space for your team to collaborate, innovate, and grow. We are intentionally targeting this niche because we understand the journey of building something impactful. 🏆 **Founders in Focus*: While large enterprises are certainly part of our portfolio, we’re focused on supporting founders in their *30s to 50s*, the ones driving forward innovation and fresh ideas. Our project is tailored to meet their unique needs—flexible, inspiring, and empowering. If you're a founder or know someone who is, let’s connect and discuss how GIT can be the perfect home for your next phase of growth. Gaurav Waghmare #Founders #StartupLife #WorkplaceDesign #MidSizedTeams #OfficeSpaces #InnovationSpaces #BusinessGrowth

Anyone who has worked in a startup knows - When there is momentum behind demand, the team gains confidence. However, I believe momentum is overrated. An increase in demand doesn’t change a team’s abilities You are not a materially different startup just because you found a few customers. So if you are a founder grinding through hard times. Pretend like you have momentum. Celebrate small wins: product updates, # of investor calls, anything you can control. This will boost morale and keep the team excited. So why is momentum overrated? Not because it doesn’t have an impact, but because it can be artificially created. It’s something you can go out and achieve today - despite the demand.

I met Rishav around 9 months back for the first time , and the one thing I took away from the conversation was his honestly to run a business which creates value and empathy for the customer Running Picxele™ as a bootstrapped venture for over 4 years , 6Cr+ Earnings by users, Aggregated revenue of 10Cr+ This all sums up his journey in a highlight but there is more to that - A person who pushes every entrepreneur to solve real user problems - A person who teaches so much to the community about angel investing and more - A person who for sure because of the value system he has , treats his clients more than clients but as good friends There is a reason Picxele™ - which is a marketplace for solving your business needs via gig workers has a high retention rate But more than that when you choose them , you not only choose a partner but a friend in Rishav While building Rethink Systems , I often go to have his advice on things we can do together and he often advises me on the mistakes I can make , the steps I should take The privilege of entrepreneurship is not just solving people's problems but the joy of building a network who cares And he is a real good one ❤️ P.S : Do reach out to him and I high recommend that you do as a founder to get your operations tasks streamlined P.P.S : The last time we met at Thirdwave , ab bootstrapped founders aur kya karenege , coffee pe charcha Yours Shravan bhaiya #productmanagement #learning

[21] New venture. Same founders. Consulting vs Product. 2018 vs 2024. Here are ten quick comparisons between our first year back in 2018, founding Jungle Devs, and 2024, building our new venture: #1 2018: Service-based, bootstrapped company with free cash flow since inception. 2024: Too early to talk about breaking even. We're building a product for a few customers and focusing on iterating repeatedly to narrow our ICP and get closer to PMF. #2 2018: Founder-led sales. 2024: Founder-led sales. #3 2018: We need more talent for us to hire. 2024: We’ll grow our headcount once we have confidence in our ICP. #4 2018: “By the time you read this, things have already changed.” This was the first line of our org structure doc, shared with everyone joining Jungle in 2018. 2024: “By the time you read this, things have already changed.” This is just how we operate. Iterate quickly. #5 2018: "I spent the day working on feature A for client X. I’ll push code from feature A and move to feature B. No blockers." Typical stand-up meeting. 2024: “We decided to pause feature A development and focus on this customer feedback until we get it done.” Typical Dynamo meeting (see post #15 in the comments). #6 2018: Every client had dev, staging, and production environments. 2024: No staging. The code gets pushed to production every day. #7 2018: Very few commits on Saturdays or Sundays. 2024: At least one commit on almost every Saturday or Sunday. #8 2018: Founders traveling to South Africa together—no marriage, no kids. 2024: The founders travel to Foz do Iguaçu together. Everyone is married, with four babies under three years old. #9 2018: There were no company roles at all. Roles were introduced in 2019. In year one, we were still figuring out who handled XYZ. 2024: We’ve defined our team roles for external visibility. Internally, we don't care about roles—we know exactly who handles XYZ. #10 2018: More projects than we could handle—no time for marketing or public relations. 2024: Distribution is challenging. We’re slowly building our audience while sharing our journey. This may sound familiar if you’re on the software consulting to software product path (see post #12 in the comments). We most likely have something to learn and share with you. DM me. Pic: Founders working while traveling in South Africa—Cape Town, April 2018. You get the difference from post #19 (link in the comments) with us in Foz do Iguaçu traveling with our families. This is post #21 of a series I’m writing while founding a startup still in stealth mode. You can navigate between posts 1-20 using the hashtag #behindthescenesonstealth #nektjourney. Let’s work!