US Proptech Council’s Post

In this episode, I get to speak with Arild Grepstad about startups, scaling companies and life as a founder. Oh, and he's kinda a big deal in Norway - FYI. Epic conversation for sure. Don't forget to like and subscribe! https://lnkd.in/gENG4zK9

Business development plays a big part in growing and sustaining a business, that's why our Business Express program is aimed to help both startups and established businesses to reach new heights. Here's a testimonial from one of our BE participants, where he talked about how being in the program has helped him not just becoming a better leader, but also having a better strategy when it comes to targeting his potential clients. https://lnkd.in/g-VAjVrs Be sure to like our page and connect with us to hear about our most updated programs and activities. Susan Allen Neysha Polo Lespin Janice CY T. Manish Gorawala #businessdevelopment #businessowner #asianamerican #minorityownedbusiness #businessstrategy

If you are a startup and want to listen to a candid conversation of what is going through the mind of a VC, you need to listen to this! Andrew Ackerman tells it like it is and helps you navigate your way through your capital raise.

"You can always push yourself more than you think you can. And I think that’s true. In every environment, you can go to the gym and lift more than you think. You can push yourself more in this environment while walking, or in a start-up, you can work 100 plus hours a week for years on end. If you really have to, like if push comes to shove, you’re always able to push yourself more. Now, not everyone is made of that same stuff. And in fact, the objective of this of the study was to find out who actually makes it who doesn’t, i.e., can you tell ahead of time based on their physiology, blood tests, etc, and their DNA and their personal mental profile? Clearly, there’s one thing I think founders have in common is that we’re more tolerant to risk than most. I’m not saying we’re risk seeking, right, like it’s always on a risk adjusted basis. And in fact, I don’t think we take that many risks as start-up founders. But I think by taking a bit more risk than most people, we are highly rewarded. It’s hard to imagine, with all of this, that we’re gonna have a soft landing. That said, my personal analysis of this remains – this is the very best time to invest in early stage start-ups. Right now, all the posers, the people that were getting rich, quick, are no longer building start-ups. So the bankers, the consultants, lawyers, the doctors, etc. Right now you have the true believers. They’re building companies, yes, they’re raising money, it’s hard to raise capital, you raise a lower valuation, you probably exit at a lower valuation. But you’re careful with your cash, with burn, with unit economics, and you’re building a much more sustainable company. You’re facing way less competition. In 2021, if you had a good idea, you were facing 7-20 other people doing the exact same thing with a lot of money. Now you have one or two. When you win, you’re gonna win the entire category. And even though the extra votes will be lower, you’re going to do amazingly well. And so if I think in the last decade, the very best time to invest was in 2008, 2009, 2010, you know, companies like Instagram, WhatsApp, Uber, Airbnb all came in the 2000s. Actually, when was the best time the best actually? Oh, 2001, 2002, 2004. And so I am willing to bet that the very best time to invest in startups for the 2020s will have been 2022, 2023 and 2024. And you’re obviously gonna know at the end of the decade in the early 2030s, or at the end of the 2020s. But now, it’s an amazing time. Early stage and late stage have not repriced and you’re seeing a lot of structure. So, seed A, even B, is an amazing time to be investing." https://lnkd.in/g5dX9aYu

Do you have an upcoming YC interview? While it's critical to avoid over-rehearsing for your YC interview - partners are looking for a conversation, not a pitch - we understand that talking to a YC alum can help ease your nerves and give you a clearer idea of what to expect. Sign up here to connect with a YC alum for insights. https://lnkd.in/gvsW_R55 Remember, the best preparation for your YC interview is to talk to users and focus on your product. That's the story they'll want to hear!

Recommended for startup founders and small biz owners.

Check out the latest episode of our podcast, How I Met My Co-Founder, to hear the real stories behind how founding teams met, built trust, and navigated conflict. https://lnkd.in/eZ2CVrvS

Intervue’s pitch on Shark Tank India Season 3 was a masterclass in negotiation and maintaining valuation. Here's why: Firstly, Rahul Arora and Pushpendra Rautela, the co-founder duo, set the stage with- The Problem: Cumbersome scheduling and inefficient technical interviews plague the hiring process. It takes anywhere between 10-45 days to accomplish technical hiring for a company. The Solution: Intervue offers an "instant, affordable, and standardized" platform to streamline technical interviews. They have their platform. Then came their smooth pitch, where I noticed- Rahul Arora, with his infectious energy like "Rocket Singh," led the presentation. They sought a 1.5 crore investment for a 1% stake, showcasing impressive conversion rates (70% of their recommendations get hired). But of course, the founders faced challenges: Namita Thapar, one of the most essential sharks, exited due to concerns about the business model. After this, Vineeta Singh from SUGAR Cosmetics also backed out because she didn't find the business investible. She mentioned that Rahul's pitch was enough to get her investment if she kept listening. Intervue secured Aman Gupta's offer (₹1.5 crores at 2% equity) not just for financial backing but also guidance. The Negotiation Masterclass from this episode can teach you: 🔺 Be prepared to defend your valuation. Intervue.io co-founders didn't cave into initial pressure and successfully negotiated a deal that met their expectations. 🔺 Their adaptability was critical to their success. Responding thoughtfully to feedback and adjusting your offer shows your ability to collaborate. 🔺 Don't be afraid to walk away: Intervue knew their worth and didn't settle for a deal that undervalued their company. Intervue's Shark Tank India pitch proved the importance of a well-honed negotiation strategy coupled with confidence. What did you learn from their approach about seeking funding? #funding #sharktank #business #ca

“The great founders are frugal. They understand that the money needs to be used precisely for certain areas. Many of the most successful founders begin with no salary at all… If you’re not prepared to live that, you don’t really understand what being a founder is like.” – Eric Schmidt One of our core principles at Genesis is to be extremely cost-conscious about spend. This cost-consciousness pervades our organization, and is a big part of how we're able to do what we can do. I'd recommend watching this Eric Schmidt interview clip in full – it's a great one, with simple but powerful insights.

Amazing conversation from last year with Ric Franzi! I was able to share my story on the creation of Kibsi and my team. I will always be a technologist at my core, but the startup experience has proven that there is so much more from understanding customer needs to monitoring competitors to addressing team obstacles. But one of the biggest lessons we have learned as a company is that people don’t know what computer vision is. Most businesses face challenges that they don't have solutions to that computer vision could help with. The platform approach that we have taken allows for new use cases for us to build features that fit each client and their needs. Looking forward, our vision at Kibsi is to become the go-to platform upon which others build computer vision. When a customer has a problem that could be solved with cameras, the current paths to that are to buy some vertical product for your industry or to build it yourself, we want to be the third path in that equation. Computer vision is still a mystery to many industries and mid-market enterprise companies, and it is our goal at Kibsi to find a way to help them understand and utilize it. #computervision #startup #growth #businessdevelopment