Three and a Half Founders

Even once you’ve successfully raised your seed round you’re still only just getting started – now you need to run your business and that’s the subject of this final episode. In it we discuss the founders’ processes for making great hires, the importance of company culture and how the founders manage their time while running a VC backed startup. Plus we also get into the main challenges they’re facing at the moment and and negotiating the salary split for early employees.

Although it’s not rocket science fundraising is an area many tech entrepreneurs struggle with. In this episode we discuss how to identify what the right investor looks like, the rules of thumb for raising a good seed round and how to manage the relationship with your investors in a way that works for both sides. Plus we also get into the games VCs often play with founders during the fundraising process and how to negotiate the best deal for your startup.

If you can’t pitch your business effectively you won’t be able to understand your customers properly or raise money from investors. In this episode we discuss everything from the principles of effective communication to the founders’ experience presenting at Demo Day and crafting a memorable story that sticks. Plus we also get into the dynamics of investor meetings and how to build great pitch decks and presentations.

Ideas are the currency of the 21st century but they are nothing without execution. In today’s episode the founders talk about ideation and product market fit – coming up with great ideas and matching them to the needs of customer. We discuss frameworks for ideation, strategies for talking to customers and how to prove traction with limited data. Plus, we also talk about how the founders settled on their current ideas.

Starting your own company is tough, which is why teams of two or more co-founders tend to perform a lot better. In this episode the founders talk about the challenges they had finding a co-founder before joining Entrepreneur First, the CEO/CTO relationship and the difficulties of co-founder breakups. Plus, they also go into how they found their current co-founder and why the relationships works for them.

In this first episode of the show, Yassir, Stacy-Ann, Greg and Tomide chat about their path before entrepreneurship, discussing everything from their family’s influence on them, to what school was like for them and the early stages of their career. Plus they also talk about the big decision to take the leap and start their own company with Entrepreneur First.