Arjun Pillai’s Post

There's a big problem with startups that I haven't seen many people talking about. Over the last few years, companies have become extremely indecisive. Too many seed and series A startups now plan their goals and budgets quarterly but don't finalize them until 30% to 50% into the quarter they are planning. 🤯 What's the point!? Startups that operate this way give up the advantage of being fast and nimble by operating like a large company. Decide on a GTM plan, set reasonable goals and budgets for the year, and adjust along the way if necessary. A lot has happened in the economy and SaaS world in the last few years, but you have to plan on a longer time horizon and adjust quickly instead of letting analysis paralysis and the fear of the unknown slow you down. You're too early in the game to waste so much time trying to nail your forecasting and if your board members understand early-stage startups, they'll agree. #startups #planning #saas

The "1-10" journey and the "0-1" journey are two different stages in the lifecycle of a startup, with different characteristics and challenges. Here's how they differ: 0-1 journey: The 0-1 journey refers to the initial stages of a startup, where the company is just getting started and has not yet achieved product-market fit. During this phase, the startup is focused on developing a minimum viable product (MVP) and testing it with early adopters to determine if there is a market need for the product or service. The goal of the 0-1 journey is to identify a product or service that solves a real-world problem and that customers are willing to pay for. 1-10 journey: The 1-10 journey refers to the stage of a startup where the company has achieved product-market fit and is focused on scaling its business. During this phase, the startup is focused on expanding its customer base, increasing revenue, and improving operational efficiency. The startup may also be looking to raise additional funding to support its growth. The key differences between the 0-1 journey and the 1-10 journey are: Focus: During the 0-1 journey, the focus is on product development and testing, while during the 1-10 journey, the focus is on scaling the business. Risk: The 0-1 journey is typically riskier, as the startup is still in the process of determining if there is a market need for its product or service. The 1-10 journey is less risky, as the startup has already achieved product-market fit and has demonstrated that there is demand for its product or service. Funding: Startups in the 0-1 journey may be focused on raising seed funding, while startups in the 1-10 journey may be looking to raise larger rounds of funding to support their growth. Operations: During the 0-1 journey, the startup may be focused on establishing basic operations and processes, while during the 1-10 journey, the startup is focused on improving efficiency and optimizing its operations to support its growth. In summary, the 0-1 journey is focused on developing and testing a minimum viable product, while the 1-10 journey is focused on scaling the business and achieving long-term growth. #startup #startupgrind #finance #product

Here's the very first issue of my new newsletter, focused on #tech startups that are making it happen on their own without funding. In this edition of Bootstrapped Tech, I explain what you can expect in each issue. Thanks to beehiiv for being the first advertiser.

📚 Book Summary: "The Lean Startup" by Eric Ries In "The Lean Startup," Eric Ries revolutionizes the way startups are built and launched. Ries introduces the concept of lean thinking, where startups operate with efficiency and agility to adapt to changing market conditions. Here's a detailed summary: 1. **Introduction to Lean Startup**: Ries emphasizes the importance of validated learning, which involves quickly testing hypotheses and iterating based on feedback. This approach minimizes waste and accelerates the development process. 2. **Build-Measure-Learn Loop**: The core principle of the lean startup methodology is the Build-Measure-Learn loop. Startups build a minimum viable product (MVP), measure its performance, and learn from the data to make informed decisions about further iterations. 3. **Validated Learning**: Instead of relying on assumptions, startups should seek evidence to validate their ideas. This involves conducting experiments, gathering data, and using feedback to refine the product. 4. **Continuous Innovation**: Startups must embrace a culture of continuous innovation. This means being open to change, learning from failures, and constantly iterating to improve the product. 5. **Pivot or Persevere**: Startups should be willing to pivot if necessary. A pivot involves changing direction based on feedback and new insights. However, it's essential to differentiate between a pivot and a persevere decision, where the startup stays on its current course. 6. **Innovation Accounting**: Traditional metrics like revenue and profit are not suitable for measuring the success of a startup in its early stages. Instead, startups should focus on actionable metrics that indicate progress towards validated learning and sustainable growth. 7. **The Three Engines of Growth**: Ries identifies three engines of growth: sticky, viral, and paid. Startups should focus on optimizing one of these engines to drive sustainable growth. 8. **The Lean Startup in Practice**: Ries provides real-world examples and case studies to illustrate how the lean startup methodology can be applied in various industries, from technology startups to established companies. "The Lean Startup" is a must-read for entrepreneurs, innovators, and anyone interested in building successful businesses in the 21st century. It provides practical insights and actionable strategies for navigating the challenges of startup life and achieving sustainable growth. #LeanStartup #Entrepreneurship #Innovation #BusinessStrategy #Startups #EricRies #BookSummary

Brace for impact, Startups! The 'Venture Capital Winter' isn't over yet." "Venture Capital Winters is still here. I have some tools to get funded. Check it out🔥 ❄️ Startups take good note if you are VC-funded ❄️ ❌ U.S. investors poured $170.6 billion into startups in 2023, marking a 30% drop from 2022. ✅ AI startups attracted a significant share, with one-third of the total investment. ✅ Notable AI players like OpenAI and Anthropic accounted for 10% of the total deal value. ✅ Seed-stage funding saw a modest 20% decrease but remains a robust stage for startups. ❌ Understanding the VC industry and your startup's business model is crucial. ❌ Timing is often overlooked but can be pivotal to startup success. 🔜 Startups must pass the narrative and numbers tests to secure funding. Following this checklist, I have prepared for startups to increase their chances of becoming fundable and: Want some guidelines? Check out my checklist on What VCs want to see 👀 Meet the: Top #5 key issues VCs need #1 Know even better than your startup how the VC industry works and how they make money. If you don't, you are as good as dead. #2 Startup business model and strategy But so few founders really understand anything about it. See past your own BS and think more critically about whether your startup is worth focusing on in its current state. One thing practically no startup pitches and some even think about is timing. Bill Gross, a prominent VC, studied 200 startups, and the #1 reason for startup failure was. Yep TIMING #3 Timing Business Models and Strategy #4 Narrative test: the story doesn’t make sense #5 Numbers test: The numbers don’t make any sense Follow the checklist; if you are a fundable company and get most of the checklist right, you will get funded and sweat, but once funded, you will all be happy. Just finished the checklist. I am so vested in the success of first-time entrepreneurs that I am adding a second checklist. This checklist is used at Due Diligence, but use it to learn how much you know your business. I have also attached some slides on pitching and storytelling. Hope it helps Go build!

There are 150 million startups in the world today. How many achieve "unicorn status"? 🦄 According to Microsoft, over 50 million new startups are launched every year and an average of 137,000 startups are founded daily. And yet, it is no secret that most of these startups are doomed to fail. In fact, one in five startups fail in their first year 📉 Most startups fail because they run out of money, while others fail due to financial difficulties, fierce competition and a lack of product-market fit. Only a handful of startups evolve into "unicorn" status with a value of over $1 billion, and there are only 1,200 "unicorn” startups in the world as of January 2024. Based on these statistics, startups only have a 0.00001% chance of becoming a unicorn. The startup journey is marked by an average 5.3-year duration between initial VC funding and IPO exit, as reported by Statista. So what's the payoff? According to Sammy Abdullah, the average payday from a major tech IPO since 2018 is $667 million! 🤯💸 The single biggest hurdle to founders: raising capital from investors. It is no secret that this is a notoriously difficult process. How can founders position themselves for fundraising success? 1. A compelling pitch deck that encapsulates their business idea, the market opportunity, and growth potential. 2. A comprehensive business plan outlining the company's long-term goals, strategies, market research and financial plan for achieving success. 3. A financial plan quantifying business assumptions, defining specific benchmarks, planning for difference scenarios and funding rounds. 4. Building a minimum viable product (MVP) to achieve demonstrable product-market fit. What are your tips for successfully raising capital at an early-stage? #startups #finance #statistics #unicorn #fundraising

When does a "start-up" becomes just ..a business? When growth gets slow? After a specific period of years? After it grows over a headcount? If they are privately owned? Is it a non tech product? When it stops raising money? When it's product is not yet innovating? ..if any of that is the case then, Why does "efficient profitable startup" term exist? Why are there 15 year old startups still being hot? Why do successful startups have >100 ppl? Why are bootstrapped startups a trend? Why are there so many non tech ones? Just some Saturday afternoon throughs.. for which nor google neither GPT could help 🙁 Feel free to make me understand the difference 🙏 #startup #smallbusiness #saas #questionoftheday

Register for the Upcoming Workshop, Accelerating Your Product Launch - Workshop in association with Open Weaver on Friday, December 8 at 11:00 AM IST. Register for Workshop : https://lnkd.in/dEWpJjEy The 90-minutes Workshop will cover the following: 1. Best Practices in Product Development a. Defining a Minimum Viable Product b. Fundamentals of Product Design c. Capturing Customer Feedback d. Introduction to Digital Marketing 2. Hands on Build Session to create launch digital product. Co-develop from idea to go live. 3. Q&A Exclusive to our participants : 1. Six Months Startup Tier Subscription. This includes cloud hosting, Generative AI credits. In short, it is everything you need to launch a digital product for free. 2. Qualified startups will get 12 Week mentoring and support from Open Weaver architects to complete and launch your MVP. #acceleratorprogram #product #launch #workshop #startups #entrepreneurship #startup #entrepreneur #accelerator #productdevelopment #openweaver #madeit

From Startup to Scaleup: What Changes? When we think of startups, we envision ventures in their early stages, full of potential but dealing with the challenges of growth. Once a startup achieves the necessary acceleration, it transitions into the scaleup phase—a critical milestone that many aspire to reach but few achieve. Reaching this stage requires not only adequate funding but also a strong emphasis on innovation. As startups transition to scaleups, their focus shifts significantly. In the early stages, startups often rely on trial and error, experimenting with various approaches to find what works. However, once scaling up, these businesses implement tested and replicable models, concentrating on stable, sustainable growth. After identifying the ideal customer base, a scaleup refines key channels, enhancing performance and expanding market reach and visibility. While startups face unpredictability and fluctuating outcomes, scaleups experience accelerated growth with a more consistent trajectory. A startup’s team is often small, with overlapping roles requiring diverse skill sets.  As the business scales, it begins to define roles more clearly, driving organizational maturity. Initially, startups grapple with significant risks and the uncertainty of unproven business models. Scaling up, the risk levels decrease as the company establishes a balanced approach and a more stable business model. In the startup phase, the focus is on validating products and services, learning, and iterating.  As the business scales, the emphasis gradually shifts to efficiency and profitability. So, while starting a startup is easy, the challenge and excitement lies in whether you are able to convert it into a scaleup. #startup #scaleup #transformation #indianstartupecosystem #businessmodel

"being early is the same as being wrong" in startups? Lessons of Failed Startups: 10 Brilliant Ventures That Were Way Ahead of Their Time 🚀 #ArticleRecommendation This insightful article dives into the stories of 10 pioneering startups that failed not due to lack of innovation, but because they were just "too ahead of their time". From early social networks to cloud computing pioneers, each venture faced unique challenges in an era not yet ready for their groundbreaking ideas. Check out the full article to uncover the fascinating tales of SixDegrees.com, AskJeeves, Webvan, Pets.com, and more: https://lnkd.in/gnu33cCB As entrepreneurs, it's crucial to learn from both successes and failures. These stories offer valuable insights into timing, market readiness, and the ever-evolving landscape of tech innovation. Let's discuss and reflect on how these lessons can shape the future of entrepreneurship! #EarlyStartups