The Consumer VC’s Post

E06: The Danger of VC Funding in SaaS Matteo Grassi founded Popup, an eCom SaaS and Shopify competitor. He raised from leading VCs including Accel, 20VC & Seedcamp. However, after failing to live up to an inflated valuation, market movements and VCs losing faith, they were forced to close up shop. In this episode we discuss: - How Matteo raised $3.5m at $22m valuation from Tier 1 VCs - What went wrong and led to him closing the business - Matteo’s unique insights from working at Shopify - The dangers of raising from VCs Link to listen / watch: https://lnkd.in/gT6GZSsW

Founders and revenue leaders at high-growth B2B SaaS startups - get the insider secrets used by leading SaaS brands to build impenetrable segment moats. We'll be sharing actionable strategies and tactics which you can start implementing right away to start building your segment moats. Gain a competitive edge, drive sustainable growth and establish your startup as a formidable force in the market. Follow StudioFriday.com for updates.

I'm forever going to root for the under dogs and be a champion of small business owners who are hustling hard to build their dream business. It might have something to do with my family background. (Blue collar, French Canadians on one side. Polish immigrants on the other side.) It might have something to do with growing up as a Red Sox fan in the 1980s. (They had a tendency of making it to the playoffs, and then losing it in game 7) But if there's one experience I can point to that made me a super fan of small, DTC businesses, it would be getting to know the team at Boston Boot Company ten years ago. Back in 2013, Boston Boot Company ran a very successful Kickstarter campaign. They raised about $250K to make a pair of Horween leather work boots. They paid homage to Boston's rich history of shoe making and leaned into the trend of microbreweries to build their brand around small batch shoe making. The internet loved it. The Kickstarter campaign was a massive success. Their products were exceptionally rugged and good looking. The brand launch was a big win. I got to know the founders very well. I loved their story. I loved to hear their passion. And I believed in the vision they had for the business. That passion was contagious, and was one of the many factors that set me on my entrepreneurial journey. DTC founders are a special group of tough-as-nails people. Every day they do the impossible. And it's incredible to think that there are 4M+ small businesses in the Shopify eco-system. To all the founders: Keep dreaming. Keep going. Keep growing.

Officially moving on from my Agency and starting off with a new business. I had a lot of fun scaling WeLaunch. Welaunch scaled over 50 businesses from 0-1. This included YC backed, Sequoia backed and so many more businesses across the globe. I am up for acquisition if someone wants an agency with amazing logos and great processes. But, life is a game. I had to become the best founder and that is the reason I worked with over 50 founders in 2 years. Learned a lot. And, now I know what kind of a founder I am. I am an intense guy, I internalise and I have now internalised and I know what I am made of and what will make me successful. Welaunch grew by 30% month on month for the last 2 years and we grew from a team of me alone to 30 people. But, you can only have a few things on your plate. Moving on for the good. Moving on for the best. New business and branding coming in soon. #best #business #sales #marketing #agency #grow

"I feel completely... the same." A CEO I know texted this to me after selling his company. He built this company over a decade. Completed a successful sale. This is his conclusion. I was not surprised. I have been through many exits. None of them changed me. None of them made me fundamentally happier. The single largest portion of my net worth is shares in Shopify from back when I was with them. On paper, I lost a lot of net worth in 2022. A lot!!! I was no less happy than in the previous year. That year marked 5 straight years of stock price increase. The stock traded 30x higher than the IPO price. I was no more or less happy. Money is important. Don't get me wrong. Everything is expensive these days. But... Beyond a certain level, money ceases to be a primary driver in your life. When I was selling companies for a living, the number I gave founder was $10M. If you have $10M baseline in liquid assets, you're good. I didn't say this so that they would stop trying to go bigger. It was just to give them perspective. I know billionaires that are miserable. I know people working 2 jobs to make things work who are happy. Money doesn't mean happiness. It doesn't mean peace. For those founders out there killing themselves, just remember this. If you dialled back the pressure on yourself, you might achieve a little bit less. Maybe.... But you won't be any less happy. In fact, you will probably be happier. Also, by adopting a more sustainable pace now, you increase your chances of building a bigger, better company for longer. That's the irony: Killing yourself to achieve an outlier outcome might lower the chances of achieving that. Having a more sustainable pace increases the chances of it. For more perspective on leading your company through to a massive exit, join the leading newsletter for startup CEOs https://lnkd.in/gWqQBd-n

Nomen est omen 😅 Reminded me today of my early marketing stunts and some wild logo designs. Founders, please choose your baby's name wisely! I know this is a emotional topic but please check if someone has older rights, if the name/domain works internationally and definitely invest in a professional designer. How did you come up with your company name? Happy Monday ____________________________ Sharing my experiences as an entrepreneur and angel investor. Investing in early stage B2B SaaS startups. Happy to connect 👋

Hey #B2B Founders 👋 Quick question: is your brand working for you or against you? Odi is the perfect options for startup organizations looking to establish a strong brand presence. With a long history of creating impactful brands, we have the skills and processes to deliver high-quality branding with unmatched speed and care. When you're in the early years of your business, a strong brand can help you: ✅ Earn customer trust and loyalty ✅ Stand out (authentically) in an established market ✅ Fundraise with confidence ✅ Attract and retain top talent It's been incredible to watch the Odi team build awesome partnerships with early-stage companies that continue to crush in their verticals post-rebrand. → Heliux: Emerged from stealth + raised $2M → Doppel: $14M Series A Raise → Speakeasy: $11M Raise We’d love to hear about your brand and business challenges, even if you’re not sure what your next step is. No pitch, no strings attached. Hit us up. ✉️

Here are 5 of the top recent private company exits 👇 1. B2B: Intellimize was acquired by Webflow Founders: Guy Yalif; Jin Lim Investors: Homebrew; Precursor Ventures; Pear VC 2. HEALTHCARE: Conclusn was acquired by CodexIT Founders: Michael Isaac; James Greiling 3. B2B: Searchlight was acquired by Multiverse Founders: Kerry Wang; Anna Wang Investors: Accel; Shasta Ventures; Y Combinator 4. CONSUMER: Goldin Auctions was acquired by Ebay Founders: Ken Goldin Investors: 75 & Sunny; Lenox Partners 5. B2B: SmartPath was acquired by GetBusy Founders: William Hamilton Want to see the full list? Subscribe to ExitWire, a semi-monthly roundup of recent transactions and M&A tips. Get all 14 exits in tomorrow’s newsletter 👉 https://lnkd.in/eZWmRGvK P.S. We saw an uptick in private-to-public acquisitions this edition.

Pre-Seed is dead. Prodisphere we plan to bootstrap as long as possible without hindering growth At least for first-time founders in B2B SaaS. "We're raising xxx$ to build our MVP, get 5 customers and 18 months of runway..." Stop dreaming. Don't waste your time asking strangers for their hard-earned money to fund your idea and experiments. You can't start by de-risking. You can't build a startup on someone else's back. Start small. Go all in. Show that you can solve a real problem. Show that you can win customers at scale. Show how much you can do with little. That's how you get investors excited. Embrace the hard. Let’s go 🚀

Back after a two-year break on LinkedIn, and what a ride it's been! 🎢 In 2017, I launched an e-commerce venture that was recently snapped up by a major player backed by private equity. Yep, that's my second successful exit. 💪 Life's timing can be uncanny. Just as I wrapped up that chapter, I said my final goodbye to my dad 😥 , the driving force behind our family business and my ultimate mentor. It was and still is gut-wrenching. You know what they say though, when one door closes, another opens. I’ve taken over the family business and I'm leading it, and the 180 strong team to new heights. 📈 So what do these new heights actually look like? 🧐 After some soul-searching, I found my true calling: helping fellow business owners smash through their doubts and level up. And,unlike most "gurus," I've been in the trenches, scaled, and bailed out multiple times. So the first part of the plan is to find and help my fellow business owners scale and/or exit their companies. This is my favourite thing in the world 🌍 to do. Secondly,  I'm on the hunt for established businesses owned by those who genuinely care about their legacy, teams, and customers. Not only are we going to protect the legacy and teams of the businesses we buy, but we’re going to pour on the rocket fuel. 🚀 We’re going to create massive value and opportunity for the long-serving teams, customers, suppliers and partners. If you're feeling stuck in business or eyeing that exit sign, shoot me a message! I’m ready now…this will be big. P.s. thank you to everyone who supported me and my family over the years and particularly over the last few months. 🙏 P.p.s yes that's me under dads desk! I loved watching him build.