Haydn Fleming’s Post

Storytelling is vital for startup success. Why? 👇🏾 📊 It impacts your valuation: it’s the difference between between Uber being valued as a local cab service vs global logistics company. 👥 It influences your ability to hire: it’s the difference between hiring too talent away from Microsoft vs asking friends for help. 🛍️ It affects your ability to attract customers: it’s the difference between organic growth from word of mouth recommendations and high retention vs paid growth and high churn. Know your story inside and out. Remember you should know your story best as its all about YOU!

Just met what we will call a "founding go to market leader" at a startup we will be investing in (announcement coming soon). She is EXACTLY what founders should be looking for in early hires. Especially in GTM functions like sales, marketing and customer success. YES, she is doing them all! It's not scalable, but it's absolutely what's needed early. These are the words she used, frequently in a 1/2 hour call. 1. Chase the challenge 2. Figure it out 3. Curiosity Everything she did was focused on 1 thing. Talking to customers... even when they didn't have any! How does that work? Relationship building, plain and simple. There is no playbook for this type of thing. Incredible. #cheatcode

One of the keys to product-led growth success is virality. Getting users to invite more users. 🔑 PLG startups need to have strong viral loops. This is the foundation of the success of companies like Slack, Notion and Airtable. Your goal should be to make inviting other users as easy and obvious as possible. But, here's where many startups go wrong ⤵ ❌ They wait too long to prompt users to invite their teammates. I can understand the logic. They want users to get value from the product first. They don't want to annoy users during onboarding. There are two problems with this approach: 1️⃣ True value is often dependent on multiple teammates using the product. 2️⃣ Users will often fatigue and churn before they get a chance to invite their teammates. You should prompt users to invite as early as possible. But do it an a way that places a low burden on them. Make it easy and frictionless. Loom is the perfect example of this. They prompt users to invite early in the onboarding process. But they make it very easy and intuitive. It's not obtrusive. You can invite other users and still get through onboarding fast. ⤵ #useronboarding #productledgrowth

"Do things that don't scale”. If you're diving into the start-up world, then you need to make time for this article by Paul Graham from Y Combinator. Here's 5 key takeaways: — #1: Embrace Manual User Recruitment ⚒️ • Graham emphasises the crucial yet often overlooked need for founders to manually recruit their first users. • This approach isn't just about numbers; it's about understanding your market on a deeper level. • Think of how Airbnb founders went door to door in New York, engaging with users personally to build the foundation of their now-global platform. — #2: Focus on Unscalable Tactics 🔄 • The essay champions the importance of labour-intensive, unscalable tactics at the start. • These initial, hands-on efforts are critical in setting the wheels of growth in motion. • Stripe founders used 'Collison installation,' setting up their initial users themselves rather than waiting for organic growth. — #3: Take a Hands-on Approach 👐 • Graham advises founders to personally engage with users. • This method isn't just for show; it's about building authentic relationships and truly understanding user problems. • Wufoo sent handwritten thank-you notes to each new user, creating a memorable and personal user experience. — #4: Persistence and Innovation 💡 • The essay sheds light on the need for persistence and innovative thinking in the start-up journey. • Founders must be willing to innovate and persistently pursue their target market. • Pinterest initially targeted design enthusiasts before expanding. — #5: The Power of Early Feedback 🎯 • Graham highlights the crucial role of early user feedback. • This feedback loop is vital for refining and improving offerings, • Similar to how Dropbox used its beta version to gather user insights and iterate rapidly. — This essay was a revelation for me—and it completely changed how I view the start-up journey. For every aspiring founder, this is a must-read for a real-world perspective on nurturing a start-up from its infancy to success. ~~ If you found this enjoyable, consider reposting ♻️ to your network, and follow me Kevin Staunton Woods for more content like this. P.S. I'll link the original article in the comments ⬇

Building a product is like raising a child. It's a wild ride full of sleepless nights, endless energy drinks, and unconditional love. But, unlike a child, your product won't have a baby album and that's where documentation comes in. Imagine that your product is on the rise to maturity, users are going crazy, and then... a competitor disrupts your hit single. Turns out, you never documented anything about that product. How embarrassing and costly is that? Documentation isn't just for tech nerds; it's for anyone who wants to avoid product amnesia. It's like having a clear record - you can predict the future, learn from the past, and avoid making the same mistakes over and over. So, how do you get started? - Document your product's mission and purpose. - Document the needs and desires of your target audience. - Document your product's roadmap. - Document any changes and improvements. - Document the wisdom gained from your experiences. - Document everything that has to do with the product. Remember, your product's journey is more than just a collection of facts - it's a living, breathing entity that can guide you and your team to success. And that's it! Can I know your thoughts on product documentation? #Linkedin #ProductManagers #TechStartups #Founders #VVWITHMAO PC: Pinterest

What's the secret of thriving companies? They seem to have a sixth sense for customer needs. ✅ Zoom enhanced security and added features as remote work became the norm. ✅ TikTok expanded its e-commerce tools, meeting users' desire to shop while scrolling. ✅Canva regularly introduces new templates and features, keeping pace with design trends Others? Well, they've had to pivot fast to stay relevant. This got me curious. So I dug into how other successful startups handle this challenge. I looked at everything from Airbnb's 'launch and learn' approach to Dropbox's clever waitlist strategy. I discovered that there is no one-size-fits-all answer. Some swear by careful planning, others by rapid experimentation. So, I wrote a blog post comparing Traditional Business Planning and the Lean Startup Method in detail. It explains when each approach works best. Link in the comments ⬇️ How about you? How do you stay in tune with the needs of your buyers? Your story could be gold for other founders out there. #b2b #productlaunch #businessplanning #leanstartup #startupstrategy

I never knew Slack first was an internal communication tool for a gaming company.. When the game failed to gain traction, they shifted focus to roll out the tool independently. And did you know how Mollie became such a big player in the online payment market? When their SMS payment model could not get scalable traction, they jumped on the possibilities the introduction of iDeal provided and moved to offer a broad online payment model. Or who would have thought that BlaBlaCar would expand beyond carpooling and operate its own bus line across Europe? When preparing the How-to post on Pivoting (see referenced in the first comment below), I came across many examples of startups that pivoted. It shows the resilience and persistence that was needed for those founders. Finding the right recipe to succeed never comes easy. Pivots happen for many reasons: lack of traction, customer feedback, technological or market developments, or a desperate need for cash. But also because there is a missing link in the value chain, or because your company is creating so much value in a certain field that you'd better do it yourself. In any case, it starts with a decision to change the plans made by a founder (team). In the end, it’s one of the main drivers that determine startup success. Recognizing market developments and opportunities, but also being able to adjust your business and stop certain aspects: ‘Kill your darlings,’ are very important skills for startup founders. Here are some well-known examples successful pivots, and what some of their founders had to say about them. What is your favorite? Or did you pivot yourself and have some valuable experience to share? Some main lessons from these examples: - Listen closely to your users; - Keep a very close eye on technological and market developments; - Always continue to test, reassess, and evaluate; - Dare to alter the plans; - Never give up; If you would like to learn more about this subject, let me know and respond to this message or send me a DM. I am developing a long read with many more references and interesting cases and examples.

I recently received the news that my time with Upright is ending and I'll be back on the market for a new opportunity. Start-up life always has its ups and downs. While this moment may be one of the lower points in this recent era, I'm grateful for these past four years and all that I'm fortunate to take away with me: 1. I was able to come "home." It was so great to get back to the Land. Upright enabled that for me (even if COVID made that messy for everyone). My roots are in the Cleveland area and this opportunity enabled me to reconnect. 2. I was able to keep learning and growing. Start-ups are an education process every single day. I continued to learn more about myself and how to be better through each success AND challenge. We always joked that our pace was practically in dog years, for every year it felt like seven years of experience. I'm excited to continue to put this education and experience to good use. 3. I was able to meet and work with some incredible people. The one thing that makes the end of an era especially hard is that I'll no longer have the immense privilege of working with that specific combination of people again. And let me tell you, Upright's true specialty was quality people. In that vein, I'd like to take the opportunity to list Product/Marketing team members who have also been impacted by this round of Upright's restructuring. Each would be an asset to your company. Jonah Gregg - UI / UX + Designer, Makes Everything Look Better, Humble Superstar Stefanie Minter - Product Manager, "Can Do" Attitude, Big-Picture Mindset, User Experience Champion Elie Naoum - Can-Achieve-Anything Business Leader, Trusted Partner, Best Slide Deck Builder Ever James A. Slaughter - Marketing Leader, Start-Up Mentality, Connector of Value Prop to Functionality I'd also like to include a list of teammates that I had the fortune of working directly with who have been impacted in this or previous iterations and are also looking (afaik) for opportunities. It's a powerhouse list of people. Make connections: Accounting: Malek A., Donald Jungquist, CPA Business Development & Recruiting: Robert Kronner Compliance: Taylor Browns Marketing & Events: Walter Ogonek, Jill Ross, Melissa Shermer Product Management & Business Ops: Scott Hanson, Kevin Kosky, Keith Kost, Sylvia Lee (LION) Technology & Development: Jeff Bridwell, Yannik Büchi, Brian Cennamo, Tiara Khayat, Tim Kleier, Robert Lester, Vitor Lobao, Robert Rodriguez, Brad Sorensen, Michael W. UI/UX & Design: Michael Slemon On to the next one! ❤️

As a solo founder, I always felt the weight of responsibility on my shoulders.    The founder journey is tough, demanding reliability and resilience at every turn. That's why, when starting Checkfirst, having #trustworthy technical co-founders was non-negotiable for me.   Being business-minded, I was well-versed in market analysis, modelling, sales strategies and even some early prototyping stuff as I loved to dig into the product and customer needs. However, the technical aspects of building our product overall were a bit of a black box for me. I knew I needed a partner who could not only speak the language of code but also lead a team of developers.   I was lucky enough to find not one, but two: Oyvind, our product leader who is passionate about building great solutions and really gets what our customers need, and Rami, our technological leader who often challenges through critical thinking, makes things happen and keeps the tech team on track.   We try to meet up in person as often as possible and create yearly traditions (as pictured here) where we go deeper and spend focused time together as being remote from each other makes that harder to do always. We all bring different skills to the table and we all think differently, which is awesome, but making sure we were all on the same page was just as important.    We didn't leave anything to chance. We took the time to thoroughly vet our compatibility and alignment, going back and forth on tough questions to make sure we were all in this together. We wrote this all down on a document that we used to ensure we were aligned.    I've seen too many startups crumble due to co-founder conflicts, and we were determined to avoid that fate.   Choosing the right co-founder goes beyond skills and experience. It's about finding people you trust implicitly who share your values and commitment. People who you respect and stick by. Because when the going gets tough, and it will, it's your co-founder(s) who'll be standing beside you, ready to weather the storm. At the end of the day, startups aren't just about having a cool product or fancy tech. It's the people, the trust between us, and our shared passion that make all the difference. Thank you Oyvind and Rami for being there for me and Checkfirst. Excited for what's to come.

Here are three more lessons I learned from a failed start-up experience during my gap: 1) DON'T SPEND MONEY ON STUFF UNTIL YOU VALIDATE YOUR PRODUCT. I spent ~$30 grand on lawyer fees, incorporation fees, design fees, paying my co-founder, etc. Expensive lesson I learned. 2) Distribution means nothing without a solid product. My audience of 400,000 on social helped us get to 7000 users upon two days of launch of our product. That number went to effectively 0 once users realized our product was terrible. 3) Execution is everything. I thought I was special until I started talking to people in SF. In SF alone, there's probably a thousand founders who had the same exact idea as you. Execution over everything. Me executing a trick at Dolores (1 for 2 😅) ⬇️