AskAlex Podcast

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Hey guys! I’m Alexander Jarvis, a nomad, startup founder, sometime VC and recovered M&A banker. In this series we’re going to answer a question real founders and investors are struggling with every day. They won’t be generic topics, they’ll be tricky things you need to know, from how to fix your bus…

Alexander Jarvis


    • Nov 5, 2019 LATEST EPISODE
    • infrequent NEW EPISODES
    • 10m AVG DURATION
    • 138 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from AskAlex Podcast

    What questions should you ask a potential startup cofounder?

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 5, 2019 26:39


    The real reason launch a startup faster (not talked about)

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 29, 2019 16:37


    Sole founders are bad. You can’t build a billion dollar despicable me startup.

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 22, 2019 29:00


    Fundable startups and fundable

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 17, 2019 23:50


    25 startups that raised without a product

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 17, 2019 19:35


    The two key business model tests to know if you are fundable

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 29, 2019 10:05


    How big can this get Market sizing has killed many startup fundraises

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 28, 2019 9:17


    What is the difference between a founder and the board of director?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 27, 2019 8:59


    Will investors fun my startup idea?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 25, 2019 10:42


    The real reason founders are not funded VCs don’t say in a pitch process

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 25, 2019 21:06


    Passion is over-rated. Build a better mousetrap instead

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 24, 2019 16:12


    Use Dollars in your startup, especially for your financial model

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 23, 2019 12:39


    One trick I learned to fire your staff without getting sued, tears and shouting

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 22, 2019 9:47


    AAI 007 Scopeleads - How to fix churn when it's your biggest issues as a SaaS startup

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 13, 2019 68:39


    Our startup review is with Lior Ohayon at https://scopeleads.io/. If you are a digital marketing company looking to get more leads, check it out! The startup struggle is churn. Yes, he’s a SaaS company. There are no simple answers here as there are so many things that CAN be focused on, but with limited resources, you need to figure out what you SHOULD focus on. Lior is left with a lot of things to think about. Hopefully in future we will do another session and see how things work out and he can share his learnings with you. If you are a SaaS founder, or just any founder who knows things aren’t quite perfect and you need to do better, hopefully this will give you some impetus to think about your own startup and what your core issues are. EVERYONE has them. The best founders admit it and do something about it. If you want to step up and get some perspective, just like Lior, you can reach out to me here: https://www.alexanderjarvis.com/askalex/

    A reputation comes at a cost, and should

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 30, 2018 13:20


    Dictum meum pactum is a phrase I learned in high school whilst writing essays for my application to Oxford University and it is the first thing that comes to mind when I think of reputation. It is something that I have oft found not possessed by people, and nor understood, both figuratively and literally. It means ‘my word is my bond’ and it has been the motto of the London Stock Exchange since 1801. Early on in my career, as a wet behind the ear, but enthusiastic banker, I rapidly realized idealistic principles were not widely held beliefs. This is something I have never adapted to and it has cost me. A VP once said to me “What is with this loyalty to the firm when the firm is never going to be loyal to you?” I don’t recollect responding, but it is something that has stuck with me and I never came to terms with. You can read the blog here: https://www.alexanderjarvis.com/2014/...

    Ask dumb questions. It’s the smartest thing you can do

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 29, 2018 23:27


    Read this blog to understand the Rule of Three: https://www.alexanderjarvis.com/2018/... You can read the blog here: https://www.alexanderjarvis.com/2016/...

    Founder Control and Value Creation in Startups don’t seem to be the same thing

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 28, 2018 10:07


    TL;DR: This is a blog about value creation and the control founders have over their startup. You need to give away some control to build something valuable. How much is up to you. Founders and CEOs, Let me ask you a question “Does the degree to which you have founder control of your startup affect your company value?” I am pretty sure your answer is simple and resounding. Yes. I am good for my company. I am what makes it valuable and that will continue to be the case so long as I have breath to run things. Well, it seems you can’t have your cake and eat it too. That is a question Noam Wasserman, former professor at Harvard Business School asked himself. He has published a paper that finds startups where founders retain control of their startup after 3 years are in fact worth less. It seems founding CEOs are bad news for making big valuable companies. Well, the headline anyway. You can read the blog here: https://www.alexanderjarvis.com/2017/...

    How founders should dress when pitching a VC your startup

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 27, 2018 19:18


    Dress code. Really? You have so much stuff to deal with growing your company with like, no resources, and having to beg investors for cash to make the hires you need to close. Seriously, now we’re talking about fashion with VCs? Well, you’re reading this blog, aren’t you?

    How do you validate a startup idea

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 26, 2018 54:04


    You have a startup idea. Now what? This video is going to take you through the key facets of a business model and the industry environment to help you build conviction that your startup idea makes sense before you start. It’s not just a list of things to test in coffee shops and with a live product to validate it. If you internalise all the key factors, you’ll be able to rapidly evaluate each and every idea you have and hopefully help you mitigate wasting time on ideas that are doomed to fail for reasons you could have predicted. Book consulting call: https://www.alexanderjarvis.com/50fol... You can read the blog here: https://www.alexanderjarvis.com/2018/... A meaningful founder exit is not the same thing for venture capital: https://www.alexanderjarvis.com/2017/... Your solution is not my problem: https://www.alexanderjarvis.com/2013/... How big can this get? This market sizing question has killed many startup fundraises: https://www.alexanderjarvis.com/2017/... Shrinking a market and owning it: https://www.alexanderjarvis.com/2013/... If you do this one thing your startup business model is doomed to succeed!: https://www.alexanderjarvis.com/2017/... Perfect Pitch Deck: https://perfectpitchdeck.com/ Passion is over-rated. Build a better mousetrap instead: https://www.alexanderjarvis.com/2018/... Investible Founding Startup Teams: https://www.alexanderjarvis.com/2015/... The real reason to launch faster (not talked about): https://www.alexanderjarvis.com/2015/... Complete startup guide to start a blog and begin content marketing: https://www.alexanderjarvis.com/2017/...

    How to do a demo in a venture capital pitch

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 22, 2018 11:21


    VCs want to see your product demo. The earlier stage you are, and the less metrics you have the more important this is. If you are growth stage, no one cares. You have numbers. Early stage your product demo shows you have actually shipped something. This is important. It’s the ultimate show don’t tell (Check it out vs trust me we can code good). So if you do a demo in person, what needs to be in your deck? You need to have a product slide in your deck, but you want to keep things on your product simple. What I do is a slide which shows the ‘4 things it does’…. the key ones anyway. You just want to explain it at a high level so an investor gets the core and want a meeting to learn more. You can demo in a meeting… once you get one. You are going to share your deck before a meeting (most of the time) so a simple overview of your product is a very good idea. You can see slide examples here: https://perfectpitchdeck.com/custom-pitch-deck-examples/  You can read the blog here:  https://www.alexanderjarvis.com/2018/10/12/how-to-do-a-demo-in-a-venture-capital-pitch/ 

    Before they were famous. 15 startup pivot to fame. 8 Youtube

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 6, 2018 13:31


    Before they were famous. 15 startup pivot to fame. 7 Woot and Yelp

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 5, 2018 6:19


    Startup and scaleups - The differences between running a ten and hundred person startup

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 5, 2018 42:02


    Before they were famous. 15 startup pivot to fame. 6 twitter and turntable

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 2, 2018 7:53


    A storytelling pitch exercise improv artists use which can help you raise

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 2, 2018 19:44


    Before they were famous. 15 startup pivot to fame. 5 Shopify and Slack

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 1, 2018 9:05


    Before they were famous. 15 startup pivot to fame. 4 Pinterest and Rovio.

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 31, 2018 10:40


    Before they were famous. 15 startup pivot to fame. 3 Nokia and PayPal

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 30, 2018 9:22


    Before they were famous. 15 startup pivot to fame. 2 Groupon and Instagram

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 29, 2018 7:16


    Before they were famous. 15 startup pivot to fame. 1 Android and Flickr

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 26, 2018 6:47


    Before they were famous. 15 startup pivot to fame. 0 Intro

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 26, 2018 4:13


    22 Tips on Pixar Storytelling Applied to Startups

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 26, 2018 14:53


    HQQA 68 What will my return be?

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 22, 2018 5:01


    Investors want to know if they are going to get rich, or not. They are implicitly trying to figure out how big you are thinking of going.

    HQQA 67 What price would you sell this for? Has anyone approached to buy you?

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 19, 2018 5:49


    HQQA 64 How much do you want to sell for?

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 17, 2018 9:27


    A simple trick to make writing your company description easy

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 15, 2018 8:04


    HQQA 66 Why will someone buy you for a billion?

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 12, 2018 8:07


    HQQA 65 What can you sell this for. What is the exit multiple?

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 11, 2018 10:46


    HQQA 63 Are there many buyers for this?

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 9, 2018 9:27


    HQQA 62 What is the geographic fit with potential acquirors?

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 8, 2018 4:53


    HQQA 61 Why is someone going to buy this?

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 5, 2018 6:48


    HQQA 60 Who is going to buy this?

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 3, 2018 11:23


    HQQA059 How do your customers think about ROI on their spend on your product/service, and what kind of ROI do they typically see?

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 2, 2018 3:58


    HQQA058 If your equity/salary was based completely on the accuracy of your projections, what would your forecast be?

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 1, 2018 2:53


    HQQA 057 What are the profit margins? What might the margins be once the company reaches scale?

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 30, 2018 3:00


    AAI 006: PupSocks - Issues with scaling revenue when you tap out the market

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 29, 2018 31:31


    AAI 005: WorldsBest - Importance of business model validation before coding

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 28, 2018 25:43


    AAI 004: SupplyCompass - Cash flow and implications with investors

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 27, 2018 29:21


    AAI 003: RawDog - Expansion and issues with being a sole founder with investors

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 26, 2018 38:10


    AAI 002: Athetai - Hiring issues and issuing shares

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 24, 2018 38:10


    AAI 001: PureMoney - Importance of testing an idea before launch

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 24, 2018 28:04


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