Podcasts about finding product market fit

Gm! This week we're joined by Christine Moy, Carlos Domingo & Tarun Chitra to discuss the launch of crypto largest onchain credit fund. We deep dive into what is private credit, the future of tokenization, onchain vs tradfi risk management, finding product market fit & more. Enjoy! -- Start your day with crypto news, analysis and data from Katherine Ross. Subscribe to the Empire newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire?utm_source=podcasts Follow Christine: https://x.com/cmoyall Follow Tarun: https://x.com/tarunchitra Follow Carlos: https://x.com/carlosdomingo Follow Jason: https://x.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Empire: https://twitter.com/theempirepod Join the Empire Telegram: https://t.me/+CaCYvTOB4Eg1OWJh -- Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Grab your tickets to Permissionless IV. Use code EMPIRE10 for 10% off: https://blockworks.co/event/permissionless-iv -- ZKsync is the pioneering zero-knowledge technology powering the next generation of builders with limitless scale. Secured by math and designed for native interoperability, ZKsync enables an elastic, ever-expanding network of customizable chains. Deeply rooted in its mission to advance personal freedom for all, the ZKsync technology makes digital self-ownership universally available. To learn more about ZKsync, visit http://www.zksync.io -- Zenrock is a permissionless, decentralized custody network backed by 1RoundTable Partners, 10T, Maven11, and Spartan. Live on Jupiter, $ROCK is the native token for transactions within the Zenrock ecosystem and secures Zenrock's decentralized custody network. The first application launching on Zenrock is zenBTC – yield-bearing Bitcoin on Solana. zenBTC will be live in April 2025. -- Crypto never sleeps. So we built an Al analyst that never blinks. Meet Focal by FalconX: a GenAI insights engine built for institutional crypto. Already used by 80+ funds managing $10B+ in AUM. :small_blue_diamond: Screen, chart, and analyze 1300+ tokens :small_blue_diamond: Summarize market-moving news instantly :small_blue_diamond: Integrates data from CoinGecko, Kaito, Token Terminal, Tokenomist, The Tie Get started today: https://askfocal.com -- AO Mainnet is LIVE! Experience the future of decentralized computing: infinite parallel processing, secure TEE-powered computations, and LLMs in smart contracts. Built on Arweave, AO's modular design shatters scalability limits. 100% of tokens are distributed to Arweave holders and bridge depositors, with a fixed supply and halving. Explore AO today: https://ao.arweave.dev -- Token.com is a social-first crypto platform transforming how people discover and trade through crypto content. The revolutionary in-feed trading turns complex crypto into intuitive investments, while content creators earn from every trade and projects amplify their stories through native tokens - creating a new era of social media-powered crypto discovery. Just scroll to watch and tap to invest. Download the app! -- Timestamps: (00:00) Intro (02:02) What Is Private Credit? (06:32) The ACRED Levered RWA Strategy (09:29) How To Bring TradFi Onchain? (20:51) Ads (ZKSync, Zenrock) (22:30) How Does the Levered RWA Strategy Function? (32:14) A New Era For Tokenization (36:32) Ads (ZKSync, Zenrock) (38:11) Onchain vs TradFi Risk Management (42:47) How To Avoid Leverage Unwinds (49:36) Ads (Falcon x,Arweave, Token.com) (51:50) Finding Product Market Fit (01:04:57) The Future Of Tokenization — Disclaimer: Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Santiago, Jason, and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

Russ Mikowski, CEO of SurePeople and longtime revenue leader intech, never planned to become a CEO, until he was recruited to transform a 10-year-old company grappling with technical debt, a scattered ICP, and untapped potential. In this episode of Topline Spotlight, Russ opens up about the tough decisions he's made since taking the helm: rebuilding instead of refactoring, saying "no" to legacy customers, and doubling down on a focused go-to-market strategy for SurePeople's innovative psychometric assessment platform, Prism.You're invited! Join the free Topline Slack channel to connect with 600+ revenue leaders, share insights, and keep the conversation going beyond the podcast!Subscribe to the Topline Newsletter to get the latest industry developments and emerging go-to-market trends delivered to your inbox every Thursday.Tune into The Revenue Leadership Podcast with Kyle Norton every Wednesday. Kyle dives deep into the strategies and tactics that drive success for revenue leaders like Jason Lemkins of SaaStr, Stevie Case of Vanta, and Ron Gabrisko of Databricks.Key Moments:(00:00) Introduction to Topline Spotlight(03:00) Understanding SurePeople and Its Mission(05:51) Russ's Journey to CEO and Company History(08:55) Navigating Technical Debt and Product Development(12:01) Defining Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) and Market Focus(14:50) Company Culture and Communication Strategies(17:53) Inspiration and Leadership Philosophy

Gm! This week we're joined by Matty Taylor to discuss the Colosseum playbook. We deep dive into what founders are building, the rise of vibe coding, finding product market fit & more. Enjoy! -- Follow Matty: https://x.com/mattytay Follow Jack: https://x.com/whosknave Follow Lightspeed: https://twitter.com/Lightspeedpodhq Subscribe to the Lightspeed Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/lightspeed -- Grab your tickets to Permissionless IV. Use code LIGHTSPEED10 for 10% off: https://blockworks.co/event/permissionless-iv -- Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Ledger, the global leader in digital asset security, proudly sponsors the Lightspeed podcast. As Ledger celebrates 10 years of securing 20% of global crypto, it remains the top choice for securing your Solana assets. Buy a LEDGER™ device now and build confidently, knowing your SOL are safe. Buy now on https://shop.ledger.com/?r=1da180a5de00. -- (00:00) Introduction (02:22) The Colosseum Playbook (06:45) Accelerating Solana's Founder Ecosystem (10:38) Ledger Ad (11:24) MetaDAOs Futarchy Launchpad (14:38) Vibe Coding (18:53) Is The Crypto & AI Meta Dead? (22:33) Memcoins (25:15) Advice For Founders (30:24) What's Next For Ore? (35:33) Is Jack Dorsey Satoshi? (37:31) Ledger Ad (38:16) Bitcoin Will Hit $1 Million (42:49) Finding Product Market Fit (48:08) The Colosseum Hackathon -- Disclaimers: Lightspeed was kickstarted by a grant from the Solana Foundation. Nothing said on Lightspeed is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Mert, Jack, and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

Cardiologist Jim Min watched too many 50-year-olds die with no heart-attack warning. He co-founded Cleerly to automate detailed coronary scans—no invasive procedures, no endless manual work. Yet healthcare's glacial pace, payers, and federal approvals all stand in his way. Hear how he's testing AI across thousands of patients, fighting for universal insurance coverage, and coping with near-burnouts. If you're a founder navigating hyper-regulated markets, Jim's journey is the blueprint.____Why You Should Listen1. Heart Disease Kills More Than All Cancers Combined – The staggering truth behind silent heart attacks (and why most diagnoses come too late).2. Jim's Big Bet on Early Detection – He's using advanced AI to spot “dangerous plaque” long before a patient gets chest pain or drops dead.3. A 10–15 Year Fight to Save Lives – The brutal reality of building a medtech startup in a system that moves slower than any other.4. Surviving a 17-Day Runway – How his mission-focus (and supportive backers) pulled Jim's startup back from the brink.5. Why repeated failure drives game-changing breakthroughs____KeywordsHeart Disease Detection, Medtech Startup, Coronary CT Angiogram, AI in Healthcare, Early Heart Attack Prevention, FDA Approval Process, CPT Code Reimbursement, Plaque Imaging, Cardiovascular Innovation, Clinical Trials____(00:00:00) Embracing Failure & Surviving Dark Days(00:01:56) From Cardiologist to Startup Founder(00:03:07) What Most People Don't Know About Heart Attacks(00:06:39) Using AI & Imaging to Predict Heart Attacks(00:09:19) Why Cleerly Needed to Exist(00:16:34) The Reality of Healthtech(00:20:41) How Cleerly Built its First Product—and Why it Wasn't an MVP(00:28:33) Raising $225M to Prove a Radical Idea(00:33:57) Finding Product-Market Fit & the Fight Worth HavingSend me a message to let me know what you think!

Dan Park joined Clutch when it was selling 20 cars a month. Then he grew it from $20M in 2019 to $200M in sales by 2022. He was one of Canada's fastest growing companies. Just as he was going to close a $100M round, the macro changed completely. Suddenly, he was left with only six weeks of cash. He was forced to go through a 97% down round at a $15M valuation.Just two years later, he not only grew right back to a $575M valuation, he also doubled revenue from its previous peak to $400M.This episode unpacks every near-disaster move, including turning off test-drives (and why it worked), re-engineering unit economics in real time, and renegotiating debt so Clutch could keep buying cars. Dan's hard-won lessons will change the way you think about speed, iteration, and survival._____Why You Should Listen1. He had just six weeks of runway – Find out exactly how Dan rescued Clutch from the brink.2. Taking a car startup to $400M in sales – The surprising moves that made consumers buy cars online, sight unseen.3. Cutting 75% of staff—then doubling revenue – The inside story of Clutch's brutal pivot and swift rebound.4. How to survive capital-intensive nightmares – Lessons on debt, term sheets, and crisis-mode fundraising.5. Why fast iteration trumps everything – Dan's secret to making big bets—then yanking them back if needed.________KeywordsUsed Car Marketplace, Capital-Intensive Startup, Near-Bankruptcy Turnaround, Automotive E-Commerce, Cash Flow Management, Startup Layoffs, Rapid Iteration, Debt Restructuring, Growth vs. Profitability, Founding Team DynamicsTimestamp(00:00:00) Intro(00:02:23) The Birth of Clutch(00:04:37) The Chicken and Egg Problem(00:08:31) How Do We Scale This?(00:14:21) Baby Steps and Achievable Milestones(00:22:45) Becoming Profitable(00:34:45) Do Whatever Makes Sense for The Business(00:37:29) Finding Product Market Fit(00:42:23) Piece of AdviceSend me a message to let me know what you think!

saas.unbound is a podcast for and about founders who are working on scaling inspiring products that people love, brought to you by https://saas.group/, a serial acquirer of B2B SaaS companies. In episode #4 of season 5, Anna Nadeina talks with Andrei, Co-Founder at Socialinsider, a social media analytics, reporting and benchmarking tool. --------------Episode's Chapters---------------- 00:00 - The Inception of Socialinsider 02:12 - Finding Product-Market Fit 04:56 - Ideal Customer Profile and Key Features 07:51 - Common Mistakes in Social Media Marketing 11:19 - Growth Strategies and Content Marketing 17:36 - AI Integration in Social Insider 22:30 - Customer Reviews and Feedback 32:07 - Transition from Startup to Scale-Up 37:08 - Biggest Wins and Failures Andrei - https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreiserbanoiu/ Socialinsider - https://www.socialinsider.io/ Subscribe to our channel to be the first to see the interviews that we publish twice a week - https://www.youtube.com/@saas-group Stay up to date: Twitter: https://twitter.com/SaaS_group LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/14790796

Jon Yoo's startup wasn't working. He pivoted mid-YC, spent five brutal weeks without signing a single customer, and then—right after raising his seed round—his co-founder left.Most startups die right there. Instead, Jon figured out how to land massive customers like FiveTran and Snowflake. He grew from $500K to $2M ARR in 6 months. Why you should listen:•Navigating a founder breakup – What happens when co-founders split and how to handle it.•The real YC experience – What worked, what didn't, and how they pivoted mid-program.•Landing major customers – How they got big logos like Snowflake.•Fundraising insights – What really matters to investors at the seed and Series A stages.•Why startups need forcing functions – The tactics that drove fast product development.•How to know if you have product-market fit – The signals John saw at Sugar.•Burn rate discipline – Why they raised millions but barely spent it.Keywordsentrepreneurship, startups, investment banking, Salesforce, Y Combinator, founder dynamics, product market fit, scaling, cloud marketplaces, business strategy, fundraising, startup, YC demo day, customer acquisition, product-market fit, founder dynamics, early stage startup, team building, scaling, challengesTimestamps(00:00:00) Intro(00:07:55) The Origin of Suger(00:13:30) Going All In(00:19:08) The first 10 customers(00:24:20) The Hardest Pain Point(00:30:29) Becoming Profitable(00:37:05) Celebrate The Small Wins(00:39:56) Finding Product Market Fit(00:42:27) A Piece of AdviceSend me a message to let me know what you think!

In this episode of the Product Thinking Podcast, Melissa Perri sits down with David Myszewski, VP of Product at Wealthfront. David shares his transition from working on the groundbreaking iPhone at Apple to leading product innovation in the fintech space. He dives into how Wealthfront's approach to fintech has been shaped by lessons learned at Apple, particularly the power of small, talented teams and high standards.David discusses Wealthfront's strategy of integrating consumer research and customer support into product development, emphasizing the importance of understanding customer needs through both qualitative and quantitative data. He also highlights the significance of building a technology infrastructure that supports innovative financial products and services tailored to evolving market needs.Tune in to explore how Wealthfront is redefining fintech with a focus on reducing client costs, enhancing tax efficiency, and fostering better financial behaviors through technology-driven solutions. Want to learn how to leverage tech for financial innovation? Listen to the full conversation with David Myszewski.You'll hear us talk about:10:33 - The Role of Consumer Technology Experience in FintechDavid explains why consumer technology skills are more valuable than financial knowledge in fintech. He shares how Wealthfront prioritizes creating excellent user experiences over specific domain expertise.19:28 - Introducing New Financial ProductsDavid outlines Wealthfront's strategy for evolving and introducing new products over time, focusing on reducing costs, saving taxes, and fostering behavioral change. He discusses the automation of processes to enhance client outcomes.29:06 - Prioritizing Innovation and Roadmap PlanningMelissa and David discuss the balance between strategic top-down priorities and bottom-up decision-making in setting the product roadmap. David describes how they align business and client needs to drive product innovation.Episode Resources:David on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidmyszewski/David on X: https://x.com/davewikipediaWealthfront: https://www.wealthfront.com/Timestamps:00:00 Coming Up00:56 Introduction02:48 Dear Melissa05:28 Career Journey from Apple to Wealthfront14:09 The Evolution of Wealthfront's Mission19:28 Introducing New Financial Products29:06 Prioritizing Innovation and Roadmap Planning35:54 Finding Product-Market Fit at Wealthfront43:08 FinTech's Future & Advice for Product Leaders

This is one of the wildest founder journeys you'll ever hear. Dmitry Gurski went from growing potatoes and picking mushrooms on a farm in Belarus to building Flo—a billion-dollar company with 75M monthly users that dominates the health and fitness category worldwide. He started Flo in a market already controlled by PayPal co-founder Max Levchin's startup, which had $30M in funding from a16z. Today, Flo is 100x bigger than its once-dominant rival.Dmitry shares raw, unfiltered startup truths—like why he got rejected by 200+ VCs, why 90% of startup failures are team-related, and why most founders are delusional about product-market fit. He breaks down how simplicity beats complexity in product, why retention is everything, and how deleting features can actually boost revenue.If you're a founder, this episode will fundamentally change how you think about perseverance, pivots, and building something that lasts. Listen now—you'll be referencing this one for years.Why you should listen:Why big market beats niche – How Flo won because it targeted all women's health while competitors focused only on fertility.How Retention is the real test – A product with natural recurring use cases (like periods) has built-in retention, unlike fitness or productivity apps.Why simple wins – The first version of Flo was less complex than competitors but had far better predictions—accuracy mattered more than features.Fundraising is brutal – Flo got 300+ investor rejections before raising $300M. Many VCs just didn't “get” the space.Keywordsstartup, entrepreneurship, product design, user retention, Flow app, health and fitness, early stage founders, product market fit, simplicity, user engagement, retention, user case, app development, entrepreneurship, product market fit, mobile apps, business strategy, team dynamics, failure, success, risk, uncertainty, decision making, market demand, competition, product-market fit, fundraising, entrepreneurship, startup success, female healthTimestamps(00:00:00) Intro(00:09:10) Why you Need to Keep it Simple(00:13:10) Why B2C is All About Retention(00:19:05) Why you Need to Delete Features(00:24:14) PMF is about the Shape of the Curve(00:39:17) When to Persevere, When to Pivot, and When to Quit(00:42:22) More attempts = more success(00:51:34) The Idea for Flo(00:59:05) Finding Product Market Fit(01:02:07) Advice for An Early Stage Founder(01:10:22) A Potato StorySend me a message to let me know what you think!

In 2005 most people didn't even have cellphones yet. Those who did used flip phones. That's when Noah started Olo, a webapp to let people pre-order coffee from nearby shops. Users had to login on web, add a credit card, create pre-made orders and then send a text to a preset number when they wanted to pre-order. It was way, way ahead of its time. Noah and his team 7 years to hit $1M in ARR. In the meantime, they raised a round with 50% dilution the week before the financial crisis, went on live TV to an audience on 6M viewers and had to pivot from a marketplace to B2B SaaS.But overtime smartphone penetration increased, on-demand ordering became a trend, and then, one day, Starbucks launched their app. All of a sudden, every single restaurant in the world wanted a way to let their users pre-order.And there was Noah and his team at Olo.Today, Olo is a public company worth over $1B and generating nearly $300M in sales. Here's the story of how it happened.Why you should listen:How to use guerrilla marketing tactics to get early growth.Why PR can move the needle but not in ways you expect. How to pivot from a marketplace to B2B SaaS.Why it often takes much longer than you might hope to hit an inflection point.Why fundraising was so hard, even though Olo became a $1B+ public company. Why Noah thinks founders should embrace challenges and adversity.KeywordsOlo, Noah Glass, entrepreneurship, product-market fit, restaurant technology, mobile ordering, startup journey, business challenges, marketing strategies, innovationTimestamps:(00:00:00) Intro(00:02:20) Building an app in 2005(00:13:20) The Burn the Boats Moment(00:16:31) Building A Network Business(00:26:08) The Cold Start Problem(00:30:33) A Happy Accident(00:36:55) Going through the 2008 Financial Crisis(00:51:20) Finding Product Market Fit(00:57:20) Blueprint of Values(01:05:11) Best Piece of Advice(01:06:08) A Big MilestoneSend me a message to let me know what you think!

Hussein's travel startup was doing $10s of millions when COVID hit. His revenue didn't just go to zero, it went negative. There were more customers asking for refunds than new sales. He was 4 months from running out of money.He ended up making a complete pivot, he changed the company's name from SnapTravel to Super.com. He went from travel to fintech and launched a banking card. It seems like a strange pivot —but through deep research he'd realized what his customers truly needed. They needed more money—not for travel or vacations—but for every day life.The new card helped customers earn points and rewards, it helped them save on everyday expenses. The pain was so acute and the solution so perfect, that just 3 years later, Super.com is doing $150M in ARR.Like Hussein said, he got 50 'no's from VCs for every 'yes' he got. He saw his business grow and then crumble over night. He was literally going to zero. But he turned it all around. Now he's not just growing, he's profitable now.And here's how it went down.Why you should listen:How to think from first principles to figure out the right product expansion.Why cross-selling is much harder than you think, and how to make it work.Why finding an unfair advantage is key to scaling a startup.How to use actual customer behavior to understand what customers truly want.Why testing and validating ideas through smoke tests is essential.KeywordsSuper.com, SnapTravel, COVID-19, travel industry, pricing strategies, customer needs, market fit, entrepreneurship, AI, business growth, COVID-19, resilience, travel industry, financial innovation, membership model, customer insights, entrepreneurship, investor relations, business strategy, cross-sellingTimestamps:(00:00:00) Intro (00:02:39) The original startup: Snap Travel(00:08:40) Why a great user interface is a big edge(00:11:26) How to acquire customers(00:13:30) When your entire hypothesis is wrong(00:22:52) Meeting Steph Curry(00:29:03) Nearly crashing to zero-- and going bankrupt(00:33:51) Starting over and rebranding(00:42:42) Creating the Fastest Growing Membership Program(00:52:17) Finding Product Market Fit(01:00:00) One Piece of AdviceSend me a message to let me know what you think!

Happy new year everyone! There was a short break for Christmas + New Years the past two weeks, but this week I'm back with a fabulous episode with Wei Lien Dang, General Partner at Unusual Ventures and formerly co-founder of StackRox. I recorded this episode on-site at KubeCon Salt Lake City back in November 2024. This episode is particularly fabulous because Wei was willing to give some founder real talk. This is easier once you've sold your company, and especially easier when the ‘outcome' of your company's trajectory looks like an unmitigated success. And that is precisely why you hear so few founders willing and able to be honest about what the company's trajectory really looked like — and all the times when things did not look like a chart going up and to the right. Wei has also written an open source field guide, which is absolutely worth reading and is available here. We talked a lot about product-market fit, how hard it is to find and how important it is. From the risks from just going to your network for feedback to the difference between general, high-level feedback and a very specific idea of how and why your product is used, Wei talked about both recognizing that you have a product-market fit problem and how to fix it. We also talked about empathy as a founder, recovering from building the wrong product, and managing the hearts and minds of your team. Are you struggling with product-market fit, or feel like you have project-market fit but can't translate it into commercial success? You might want to work with me, and / or come to Open Source Founders Summit to chat with other open source founders. 

How to innovate and add value to enterprise offerings The stability of large enterprises can be both a blessing and a curse. In this archived episode Chris Losacco is joined by NTT DATA's Product Management Lead Jamie Bernard to talk about how large organizations can learn to innovate while still taking care of their core business. She explains the 3 horizons principle and how dedicating a small percentage of money to experimentation can help you better serve your customers and your business in the long run. Links: Diffusion of Innovation Build - Tony Fadell See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ankit left his job as a VC to launch a Voice AI platform—back in 2018! It wasn't the voice AI of today. The first demo sounded like a robot. But still, he convinced large enterprise customers in the healthcare space to try it out. He found a highly manual, call intensive workflow in the back office and autoamted it using AI.Years later, he's raised $102M and has dozens of large $1M+ enterprise customers using the product. He talks about how he started it, how he saw the AI opportunity so early on, and how he found a way to lock in champions that pushed his product inside large enterprises.Why you should listen:Why the search for product-market fit never stops.How to build trust with enterprise customers.How to get champions to fight battles for you and win enterprise deals.Why even successful startups are never straight lines up and to the right.Keywordsproduct-market fit, AI in healthcare, automation, conversational AI, startup challenges, scaling, founder advice, technology evolution, compliance, trust in AITimestamps(00:00:00) Intro(00:02:01) How it all started(00:06:29) Automating Insurance Calls(00:16:37) Landing the first customers(00:22:02) Giving your persona phone number to early users(00:27:43) Landing large enterprise customers(00:33:45) Getting Early Adopters to Believe(00:36:34) Finding Product Market Fit(00:38:04) One Piece of AdviceSend me a message to let me know what you think!

Jon started a sports betting app 4 years ago-- now he does $150M in revenue and $1B in betting volume. AND he's profitable. In his first year alone , he did $10 million in revenue. He took a year to build the app and as soon as he launched it, it took off. He did $10M in revenue in his first year.Honestly, it sounds too easy. But the reason it worked is because, as he shares on the episode, he'd spent 7 years in research mode. He'd spent years building a marketing agency in the sports betting space. He not only understand the market, the customers and the product, he'd also built a distribution machine and knew exactly how to get in front of users. Here's how it happened.Why you should listen- Why distribution is the difference between success and failure- How spending a long time in research mode can make go-to-market much faster- Why simple product difference can lead to huge differences in outcomesKeywordssports betting, Dabble, entrepreneurship, product-market fit, startup journey, social betting, technology, marketing, revenue growth, challengesTimestamps(00:00:00) Intro(00:01:49) Getting Into Sports Betting(00:04:22) Before Dabble(00:08:08) Starting Dabble & First Steps(00:10:55) The Initial Vision(00:17:55) How Sports Betting Works(00:24:26) Nearly Going Bankrupt(00:27:53) Building the App(00:31:23) Launching(00:35:47) Revenue Timeline(00:38:28) Finding Product Market Fit(00:41:48) One Piece of AdviceSend me a message to let me know what you think!

DescriptionTate started doing commercial fishing at 16. He took that money and started lending it— on Craigslist! By 23 years old, he'd lent out $250,000. Then he found out about cash advances, and decided to start ZayZoon, a platform to help employers pay their employees faster.Tate was one of the early pioneers of the entire Earned Wage Access space. By partnering with payroll companies and employers, ZayZoon lets employees access their earned wages faster.It took Tate and his co-founders 4 years to get to their first million of ARR. And as soon as they felt they had it,  revenue crashed 60% in a quarter. The team got things back on track and since then has grown from 20 to 200 employees—  revenue is now closer to $100M than $10M. Here's the story.Why you should listen:Why you need to be all-in at the early stagesHow to arm channel patterns to sell your productHow to re-position your product so it's clear you solve customer problemsWhy it can take years for a new category to take offKeywordsentrepreneurship, lending, FinTech, earned wage access, startup journey, mentorship, risk management, payroll integration, business challenges, market challenges, growth strategies, employer empowerment, product-market fit, exponential growth, timing, customer engagementTimestamps:(00:00:00) Intro(00:01:25) Lending Money on Craigslist in Highschool(00:13:06) The Origin of Zayzoon(00:19:18) The Next Step After the Aha Moment(00:24:44) Problems Starting Off(00:29:08) Launching First Payroll(00:30:58) Fundraising(00:34:11) Making the Product Easy to use (00:45:32) Hitting a Million Dollars(00:48:53) Why timing matters(00:53:34) Finding Product Market Fit(00:54:27) One Piece of Advice(00:56:29) How all in were you?Send me a message to let me know what you think!

“It's really important to sell your business when there's still a lot of growth left. You really shouldn't be looking to sell it at its absolute peak.”  In today's 40 Minute Mentor episode, we're joined by Mary Bonsor, Founder of Flex Legal, a bespoke online platform created to connect law students with law firms and in-house legal teams on a flexible on-demand basis.  Mary has been on an incredible journey from Lawyer to LegalTech Entrepreneur, driving diversity and social mobility with Flex Legal.  Alongside her successful build of Flex Legal to exit, Mary has been named Management Today's 35 under 35, won Entrepreneur of the Year at the Women in Law Awards and was also an Entrepreneurship category winner at the European Women of Legal Tech Awards.  In today's episode, we'll dive into her journey of building Flex Legal, all the lessons she learned along the way and her step away from the CEO role through her exit, 7 years into the journey.  Episode Chapters: ➡️ Becoming a lawyer & the initial idea for Flex Legal [07:00]  ➡️ Entrepreneurship - a behaviour or a skill you can learn? [09:00]  ➡️ From concept to business - the evolution of Flex Legal [14:00]  ➡️ Find out more about Leadership Unleashed [15:00]  ➡️ Transitioning from Lawyer to Tech Founder [17:15]  ➡️ Finding Product-Market-Fit & navigating pivots [20:15]  ➡️ Hiring lessons [28:15]  ➡️ Navigating Covid & the route to exit [33:00]  ➡️ Transitioning out of the CEO role [35:30]  ➡️ Social Mobility in the Legal space [38:15]  ⛳ Helpful links: ➡️ Connect with Mary on LinkedIn ➡️ Find out more about Flex Legal

Cameo is one of the best-known recent consumer startups. You've either used it or know someone who's used it to get famous people to create personalized videos. And, for a while, they were a total rocket ship. Year 1: $300K GMVYear 2: $4MYear 3: $20MYear 4: $100MThey were backed by Jeremy Liew, the VC who seeded Snapchat in 2012. Cameo became a unicorn in 2021. But as the markets turned, revenue decreased, investor interest waned, and their valuation dropped from $1B to $100M. After the restructuring and the layoffs, Steven found a way to turn things around.Now the company is profitable again. And growing.Here's how he did it.Why you should listen:Why you don't need liquidity to launch a marketplace.How to hack your way to a successful marketplace launch.Why organic growth is the way to grow a marketplace. How to turn things around after your valuation crashes by 90%.KeywordsCameo, startup, entrepreneurship, product-market fit, celebrity endorsements, marketplace growth, business strategy, VC funding, early-stage startups, innovation, Cameo, gifting, unicorn status, Chicago startup, engagement, COVID-19 impact, business diversification, down rounds, product-market fitTimestamps:(00:00:00) Intro(00:02:46) Where The Idea for Cameo Came From(00:11:54) The Client Interface of Cameo in the Early Days(00:14:12) The Failed launch that Could've Ended it All(00:21:23) Gaining Momentum(00:25:37) The Math Behind Cameo(00:31:27) Becoming a Unicorn(00:34:34) Meeting Jeremy Liew (the VC who backed Snapchat)(00:40:47) Engagement on the Platform(00:43:00) The Impact of Covid(00:56:06) Finding Product Market Fit(00:56:30) One Piece of AdviceSend me a message to let me know what you think!

Lior is the Elon Musk of VC. In just 8 years, his venture fund went from 0 to $4B under management. And while doing that, he founded Bright Machines, which to date has raised over $400M. He's both the CEO of Bright Machines and the Managing Director of Eclipse Ventures. And he's not building "easy" software startups either. Bright Machines is looking to automate the entire manufacturing process with robots. He launched it with a $179M round and a 100-person team.  Lior is not normal. His story isn't either. You won't want to miss this one.Keywordsventure capital, startup journey, Bright Machines, manufacturing innovation, fundraising challenges, robotics, automation, customer relationships, product market fit, entrepreneurship, Eclipse VenturesTimestamps:(00:00:00) Intro(00:08:31) Starting Eclipse & Becoming a VC(00:13:58) How he started Bright Machines(00:18:43) The First enterprise deal with Flextonics(00:24:49) The Process of Automation and Assembly(00:30:25) Making a Machine as Reliable as a Human(00:34:44) Bright Machine's Struggles(00:36:56) The Business Model of Robotics(00:39:49) Finding Product Market Fit(00:40:37) One Piece of AdviceSend me a message to let me know what you think!

Parker quit his job as VP Finance at a late-stage startup in mid 2021. He raised $4M out of the gate because, well, it was 2021. But he didn't ramp up sales, he didn't hire 15 developers. He kept the team to 5 people for the first year. He worked with a dozen design partners until the value prop was perfect. He even refused to let customers pay upfront in annual contracts. He wanted monthly payments to light a fire for him and his team. This month, just 3 years after quitting his job, he closed a $28M Series A.Here's exactly how he did it.Why you should listen:Why the early stages are all about customer value and delight.Why you need to focus on product-market fit before growth.Why you need to solve a top-of-mind problem and deliver clear ROI to take off.How to transition from build mode to sales mode. Why monthly contracts can provide valuable feedback loops for early-stage startups.KeywordsNumeric, startup, product-market fit, funding, accounting, customer engagement, sales strategy, ROI, growth, Series ATimestamps(00:00:00) Intro(00:01:07) Coming Up with the Idea(00:06:13) Research, Taking the Leap & Pre-Seed Funding(00:11:48) Keeping the Team Small(00:16:55) Why Annual Payments Don't Work Early On(00:22:10) The Challenges in Going into Market(00:26:53) Measuring ROI(00:33:26) Series A(00:35:05) Finding Product Market Fit(00:36:11) One Piece of AdviceSend me a message to let me know what you think!

Disrupt yourself - Nicht mal 16 Monate nach dem ersten internen KI-Experiment macht das Unicorn Choco 100% seiner Neu-Umsätze durch das eigene KI-Produkt. Doch wie managt man eine Transformation, bei welcher das neue Produkt das Alte kannibalisiert? Gründer Daniel Khachab teilt sein KI Playbook.Daniel spricht darüber, wie man Mitarbeiter an eine neue Technologie heranführt, interne Experimente durchführt, Produkte schnell iteriert und dann erfolgreich ausrollt. Zudem teilt Daniel, worauf er bei neuen Hires achtet, wann man sich von Personen trennen muss und warum jede Company einen KI-First Approach wählen muss, um weiterhin überlebensfähig zu bleiben.Was du lernst:Wie Choco die Transformation zur KI-First-Company gemeistert hatEffektive Strategien zur Einführung von KI in Unternehmen - von ersten Experimenten bis zum vollständigen Roll-OutWie man Teams für KI begeistert und durch Hackathons, Incentives und transparente Kommunikation die interne Adoption steigertPlaybook Speedboat: Was gilt es beim Aufbau und Management agiler Teams außerhalb der Kern-Organisation zu beachten?SaaS vs. KI-Products: Wie unterschiedlich du als Gründer über Product Management & Pricing nachdenken solltest.ALLES ZU UNICORN BAKERY:https://zez.am/unicornbakery Mehr zu Daniel:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielkhachab/ Choco: https://choco.com/de/ Die erste Folge mit Daniel: https://lnk.to/daniel-khachab Join our Founder Tactics Newsletter:2x die Woche bekommst du die Taktiken der besten Gründer der Welt direkt ins Postfach:https://www.tactics.unicornbakery.de/ Marker:(00:00:00) Transformationsprozess von Choco: Unicorn zu KI-First-Company(00:08:17) Disrupt yourself - Woran du als Gründer merkst, dass sich deine Company verändern muss.(00:12:15) Daniel's Definition eines KI-Unternehmen(00:15:19) Choco's KI-Hackathons(00:25:34) So steigert Daniel seine Productivity mithilfe von KI(00:28:09) Transformational Leadership(00:40:31) Wie Choco seine erste Pilot-Customer für das neue Produkt gewann(00:44:58) Choco AI - Go to Market & Finding Product Market Fit(00:54:33) Wie Choco sich neu erfunden hat(01:03:55) Daniel's Gedanken zum KI-Pricing: Consumption based vs.flat fee(01:06:54) Choco's größte Herausforderungen der Unternehmenstransformation(01:11:51) Wo fange ich als Gründer mit der Transformation an? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mike started selling SaaS before SaaS was a thing. PointClickCare is the Salesforce of healthcare. For the first 7 years, they raised just $600K from friends and family. With that funding, they grew to $50M in ARR. Through that time, they went through the 2000 Dotcom crash and nearly went bankrupt in 2004 as they chased too many markets too soon.Since then, the company has continued to grow at over 20% compounded rate and hit $500M in ARR in 2024 and a $5B valuation. Mike shares how they started the company, the go-to-market strategy they used to go from 0 to $10M ARR and some of the most common mistakes he sees in the founders he works with today.Why you should listen:Why you might need to live with your customers to really understand them. Why the first 10% market share is the hardest to achieve.How chasing the wrong sales opportunities can lead to customer disappointment.Why you need to focus on delighting customers before chasing revenue.Why TAM isn't nearly as important as founders are made to think. Keywordsproduct market fit, startup growth, healthcare technology, customer delight, market entry, capital efficiency, company culture, founder adviceTimestamps:(00:00:00) Intro (00:01:43) Target Market is as Important as PMF(00:06:42) The Origin of PointClickCare(00:10:23) Being a Pioneer in SaaS(00:20:18) Measuring Customer Delight(00:28:40) Common Mistakes when Trying to Find PMF(00:34:32) Entering the US Market(00:37:57) Surviving Payroll to Payroll(00:40:13) Losing the Original Ethos of your Company(00:52:08) Finding Product Market Fit(00:53:48) One Piece of AdviceSend me a message to let me know what you think!

In this episode hosts Zach Williams and Beth PopNikolov dive into the world of innovation and market disruption with Michael Rigney, the CEO and co-founder of Cala Systems. Cala Systems is introducing the first intelligent heat pump water heater for residential use. They are revolutionizing water heating with advanced sensors, software, and hardware to optimize energy efficiency, integrate with solar systems, and much more. Michael shares his 20+ years of experience in energy and climate startups to talk about the challenges of bringing hardware to market,, the importance of macro timing, and the future of home electrification. 

Liran quit a cozy job at IBM to launch Fusic, a TikTok-like app back in 2011. He raised over $10M, acquired tens of thousands of users, and failed.So he went back to what he knew: deep tech and enterprise. He launched WEKA in 2014 to improve the efficiency of GPUs. He was operating on hard mode: building deep tech and selling to large enterprise customers. It took him 5 years to build a commercially-ready product. In that time, he raised over $35M from strategic investors, since VCs didn't get it. Once they launched, they more than doubled every year. And this year, they crossed $100M in ARR. Here's how Liran built WEKA and got it off the ground.Why you should listen:Why deep tech is much harder than normal software startups and always takes much longer.How to get enterprise customers to commit well before your product is ready. How to leverage strategic investors to get you through the early days when you have no revenue.How Liran was able to get customers to pay 6-figure deals when competitors offered 'similar' products for free.KeywordsWeka, deep tech, large enterprises, GPUs, OS, product-market fit, funding, strategic investors, POCs, POVs, AI, GPU use case, performance, cost reduction, rapid growthTimestamps:(00:00:00) Intro(00:02:12) Why my first startup failed(00:08:35) Starting WEKA(00:15:04) WEKA's First Customer(00:17:43) The Operating System of CPUs(00:21:19) The Issues with Deep Tech Companies(00:26:19) Competing with a Free Product(00:32:57) Reaching a Couple Million in ARR(00:36:26) Fundraising(00:43:19) Finding Product Market Fit(00:44:08) One Piece of AdviceSend me a message to let me know what you think!

It was “really slow in the first couple of years...really, really slow.” GoHenry was an app and debit card for kids to help parents teach their kids about money. Dean started over a decade ago in 2012, when mobile was just truly taking off. And yet, it took multiple years to get off the ground. Once he found the right channels and repeatable growth, he and his team started pouring fuel on the fire. In total, they raised over $100M. He ultimately grew to 2 million paying customers. Earlier this year, they were acquired for an undisclosed sum in what is one of the bigger fintech M&A deals of the last few years.Here's how it happened.Why you should listen: Why even with millions of paying users, Dean speaks with a handful of customers one-on-one every week.Why timing is so important and how to spot trends early-on based on small things happening around you.How finding the right channels is key for consumer startups. Why Focus and clarity are key to maintaining a successful business.KeywordsGoHenry, startup, acquisition, product market fit, customer feedback, financial education, kids debit card, scaling, marketing strategy, entrepreneurshipTimestamps:(00:00:00) Intro(00:1:34) The Beginning of GoHenry(00:5:57) Why I talk to users every week(00:11:22) You Grow by Learning Faster than Your Competitors(00:26:50) V1 of GoHenry(00:35:26) Getting to 10,000 Customers(00:38:33) Conversion Rates from Social Media(00:41:51) Getting Acquired(00:50:59) Finding Product Market Fit(00:51:33) One Piece of AdviceSend me a message to let me know what you think!

How can product leaders find product market fit with customer insights? The scale and urgency of the transformation required to fight climate change has never been more clear. Building hardware and software products, acquiring the funding and creating a diverse community to enhance talent capacity and to drive innovation, is essential to tackling this global environmental crisis. In this podcast, Silicon Valley Bank (a division of First Citizens Bank) Climate Tech & Sustainability SVP Maggie Wong will be interviewing Carbon Collective Investing President Breene Murphy to discuss achieving product market fit and scalability through understanding customer needs, optimizing adoption with user friendly process flow and technology, as well as leveraging market signals and relevant stakeholders to amplify product impact.

In this conversation, ⁠Daniel Mawdsley⁠, founder of ⁠Skill Society⁠, discusses the innovative approach his company is taking to revolutionize the hiring process through AI-driven assessments. He emphasizes the importance of identifying real problems in the market, understanding product-market fit, and the significance of creating a minimum viable product (MVP). The discussion also touches on the challenges of engineering, the need for scalability, and the entrepreneurial journey, highlighting the balance between passion and practicality in building a successful business. Takeaways Skill Society aims to revolutionize hiring with AI-driven assessments. Traditional hiring processes are often biased and subjective. Identifying real problems is crucial for product development. A minimum viable product (MVP) should solve a specific pain point. Over-engineering can lead to wasted resources and time. It's important to balance ambition with practical execution. Feedback from customers is essential for refining products. Scalability should be considered but not at the expense of initial focus. Entrepreneurship offers autonomy and the chance to solve meaningful problems. The journey of entrepreneurship is challenging but rewarding. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Skill Society and AI in Hiring 04:23 Revolutionizing the Hiring Process 10:45 Understanding Product Market Fit 19:54 Identifying Real Problems 30:31 Minimum Viable Product (MVP) Explained 41:53 The Importance of Good Engineering 51:03 Scalability and Market Focus 01:00:19 The Entrepreneurial Journey

In this episode of The DTC Insider, I sit down with Xander Chase and Ryan Lane, founders of FTL Bags. Childhood friends turned co-founders, they share their journey of transforming frustrations with existing bags into a successful business.  Here's a glimpse of what you'll learn: The Role of Lifelong Friendship in Building a Business Turning Frustration Into a Business Idea Challenges in Finding Product-Market Fit and Go-to-Market Strategy Lessons from the First Sample Bag and Kickstarter Campaign How a Trip to China Shaped Product Development Partnering With Professional Athletes for Brand Growth Navigating Supply Chain and Inventory Management Challenges Diversifying Customer Acquisition Beyond Meta Ads Building an Emotionally Resonant Brand Creative Strategies With UGC Videos and Founder-Led Content Optimizing Retention Through Email Marketing and Referral Programs What's Next for FTL Bags? Sponsor for this episode: This episode is brought to you by BSR Digital. BSR Digital helps e-commerce brands that want to scale their business to the next level through paid ads & email marketing. To learn more about BSR Digital, visit their website or book a call here.

In the latest episode of Sit Down Startup, Adam O'Donnell chats with Lauren Salz, co-founder and CEO of Sealed, about her unexpected journey from aspiring musician to leading a revolutionary home energy startup.Discover the invaluable lessons Lauren learned about resilience, adaptability, and the importance of continuous product evolution, and hear how Sealed found its product-market fit by transitioning from in-person sales to a streamlined phone-based sales process. The lesson? Sometimes you need to pivot from even successful ventures to better align with market demands. Tune in for an inspiring conversation on the future of home energy and embracing change in entrepreneurship.(00:10:25) Resilience and Adaptability in Entrepreneurship(00:14:53) Continuous evolution for product-market fit success(00:19:23) Embracing Change for Business GrowthApply to the Zendesk for Startups program. Qualifying startups can use Zendesk six months for free. Click to learn more: https://www.zendesk.com/lp/startup-partner/?ref=gen&partner_account=0016R00003GUn7OQAT

Discover the secrets to successful go-to-market strategies and product-led growth with David Malpass, the SVP of Apollo, as he shares his experiences and insights on reinventing the wheel, understanding and implementing products, and creating word-of-mouth through content, branding, and community. Learn how to set up a strong go-to-market foundation, avoid vanity metrics, and find excellent product-market fit.    Plus, David discusses the importance of expertise in content creation, the role of product marketing, and the value of investing in demand generation. Don't miss out on this valuable conversation with a marketing expert who's been there and done it all.   00:04:05 - Reinventing the Wheel: From Engineering to Content Strategy 00:12:22 - The Art of Building a Go-to-Market Strategy 00:13:01 - Finding Product Market Fit and Go-to-Market Strategy 00:15:46 - The Challenges of Implementing a Product 00:18:33 - Scaling Your Product: Foundation First 00:24:32 - The Power of Content Marketing 00:29:57 - Expertise Drives the Best Content 00:33:57 - Paid Advertising: Testing Messaging Strategies 00:38:21 - Invest in Demand Generation for Marketing Success 00:40:34 - Apollo IO: Making World-Class Go-to-Market Accessible   Follow David:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidmalpass/   Follow Daniel: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@themarketingmillennials/featured Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/Dmurr68 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-murray-marketing   Sign up for The Marketing Millennials newsletter:  www.workweek.com/brand/the-marketing-millennials   Daniel is a Workweek friend, working to produce amazing podcasts. To find out more, visit: www.workweek.com

Don co-founded Vena & was CEO for 8 years. Last month, Vena became a Centaur crossing $100M in ARR. Don & his team launched Vena in a crowded market, where everyone else was trying to replace excel. So they built a budgeting and planning (FP&A) solution that instead leveraged excel. As Don says, they "disrupted the disruptors".Don knew the problem, he knew the space, he knew the customers— that's why he grew from 0 to $1M in ARR in 18 months. Here's exactly how he did it.Why you should listen How to close the first few customersHow to close 6-figure deals without any proof pointsHaving knowledge and a network in the industry you're entering makes it easier to find success as a founder.In crowded markets, a differentiated approach and the ability to solve pain points for customers are key to standing out.Why there's no feeling like the satisfaction of taking an idea and product to market, working with great people, and seeing others succeed.Keywordsstartup, scaling, Vena Solutions, network, crowded markets, budgeting and planning, differentiation, pain points, revenue intelligence, SaaS, founders, startups, entrepreneurship, entrepreneur, venture capitalTimestamps:(00:00:00) Intro(00:02:36) The Beginning of Vena Solutions(00:06:06) Step 1 of Vena(00:09:35) First Conversations(00:11:09)The Market in Planning(00:17:50) The Market in Workflow(00:20:02) Wealth Fargo(00:22:23) Getting to a Million(00:26:05) The Biggest ROI(00:29:03) Una(00:34:33) Not Retiring(00:35:55) Finding Product Market Fit(00:38:29)One Piece of AdviceSend me a message to let me know what you think!

In this episode of Intercom on Product, we talk with Enzo Avigo, co-founder and CEO of June, a next-generation analytics platform dedicated to B2B SaaS. He shares his key learnings from his entrepreneurial journey so far, including the importance of product-market fit (PMF), the real value of getting into Y Combinator, and the growing significance of founder-led marketing. Leading the conversation is Mark Iafrate, GTM Lead, Webinars & Partner Marketing, Intercom.Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qha95Ig4gWw

Ashutosh is one of those rare founders who founded not just one, but two unicorns. He worked at Google for 4 years, left and started Bloomreach, which was last valued at $2.2B.  Halfway through that journey, he left to do it all over again.  He started Eightfold AI which is the one we're talking about today. In 2021, he raised $220M from Softbank at a $2.1B valuation. When he left Bloomreach, he didn't even have a clear idea of what he was going to build. He just knew he wanted to have more impact and go from 0 to 1 again.It took him about 2 years to  figure it out, but once he did, he found true product market fit and he scaled from $1M ARR to $3M ARR the year after & $12M ARR the year after that. Why you should listenWhy founders need to validate ideas with an open mind to not have tunnel vision.Why even unicorn founders don't get it right and often need to pivot to success. How to address problems that are not just today problems, but likely to be problems for a long time. Keywordsunicorn founder, Bloomreach, Eightfold, product-market fit, pivot, HR space, digital marketers, talent, hiring, market need, scalingTimestamps:(00:00:00) Intro(00:01:41) His first unicorn - Bloomreach(00:05:22) Starting Eightfold AI(00:08:50) Not Marrying Yourself to One Idea(00:11:55) Finding real customer problems(00:14:46) Solving Today's Problems vs Future Problems(00:16:47) Hiring From Already Rejected Candidates(00:22:50) Fundraising(00:24:40) Building a V1(00:27:00) Pivoting and then Reverting Back(00:30:43) First Customers(00:32:59) Finding Product Market Fit(00:35:04) One Piece of AdviceSend me a message to let me know what you think!

Highlights from this week's conversation include:Spencer's Background at Braze (1:54)The Early Days of Braze (2:41)Finding Product-Market Fit (4:44)First Major Customer (6:33)Unique Aspects of Braze's Growth Team (8:07)Startup Culture Experience (10:40)Data and Marketing Perspectives (12:50)Common Marketing Data Challenges (15:50)Changing Dynamics in Marketing Tech (18:12)Evaluating Marketing Tools (19:38)Transformation of Marketing Tools (22:18)Marketers Becoming More Technical (24:10)API Utilization in Marketing (25:46)Connecting Customer Experience (29:09)Flexibility in Data Integration (32:05)Pushing vs. Pulling Data (34:35)Anomaly Detection in Data Reporting (37:02)Understanding the Importance of Core KPIs (39:09)Making Data More Consumable (42:38)Final Thoughts and Takeaways (44:51)The Data Stack Show is a weekly podcast powered by RudderStack, the CDP for developers. Each week we'll talk to data engineers, analysts, and data scientists about their experience around building and maintaining data infrastructure, delivering data and data products, and driving better outcomes across their businesses with data.RudderStack helps businesses make the most out of their customer data while ensuring data privacy and security. To learn more about RudderStack visit rudderstack.com.

Do you want to turn your passion into a powerhouse brand and live the life of your dreams?In this action-packed episode of The Happy Hustle Podcast, I had the pleasure of chatting with the one and only Eric Hinman—a guy who's redefining what it means to be a hybrid athlete, serial entrepreneur, and brand builder. If you've ever wanted to know how to scale early-stage consumer and wellness brands or how to crush them as a fitness influencer, Eric is your guy.Eric has partnered with some seriously cool brands—think 10,000, Slate, Ice Barrel, Sisu, HVMN, and The Normal Brand, just to name a few. He's not just about the quick win; Eric believes in the long-term vision and has built a solid portfolio of angel investments in the wellness space with companies like HVMN, Beam, and more.During our chat, Eric shares some killer health and fitness tips that you can start using today. Whether you're aiming to become a fitness influencer yourself or just want to up your game in the brand deals, this episode is for you. We also get into some serious Happy Hustlin'—how to balance the grind with a life of intention. Eric's got this awesome habit-stacking routine that helps him optimize every minute of his day. Plus, he's big on the idea that fitness isn't just about looking good; it's about feeling good mentally, physically, and spiritually.Get ready to soak up some inspiration and actionable tips from a guy who's crushing it in business, health, and life.Wanna dive deeper into Eric's world? Check out his fitness app and follow him on social media for daily inspiration and tips. In this episode, we cover: 04:00 The Importance of Holistic Well-being and Fitness07:26 Habit Stacking and Maximizing Time13:46 Balancing Personal and Professional Life20:46 Eric's Business Model: Influencer Marketing and Consulting23:10 Investment Opportunities and Building a Network26:19 Selfless Service and Value Creation28:29 Best Investments: Residual Income and Assets33:15 Finding Product-Market Fit for Brand Partnerships35:09 Building a Strong Personal Brand with Engaging Content45:37 Living Mindfully and with IntentionConnect with Erichttps://www.instagram.com/erichinman/https://www.facebook.com/ericjhinmanhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/erichinman/https://www.youtube.com/@ehinman Find Eric on this website: https://erichinman.com/Connect with Cary!https://www.instagram.com/cary__jack/https://www.facebook.com/SirCaryJackhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/cary-jack-kendzior/https://twitter.com/thehappyhustlehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFDNsD59tLxv2JfEuSsNMOQ/featured Get a free copy of his new book, The Happy Hustle, 10 Alignments to Avoid Burnout & Achieve Blissful Balance (https://www.thehappyhustlebook.com/)Sign up for The Journey: 10 Days To Become a Happy Hustler Online Course (http://www.thehappyhustle.com/Journey)Apply to the Montana Mastermind Epic Camping Adventure (https://caryjack.com/montana)“It's time to Happy Hustle, a blissfully balanced life you love, full of passion, purpose, and positive impact!”Struggling to keep up with daily demands? Discover the game-changing power of magnesium, the body's "master mineral." It supports over 600 vital reactions, from hormone balance to stress management, sleep, and digestion.Here's the catch: most supplements offer only 1 or 2 forms of magnesium, but your body needs 7! That's why I swear by Magnesium Breakthrough by BIOptimizers (https:// magbreakthrough.com/happyfree), the only supplement with all 7 forms. It's boosted my sleep, reduced my stress, and balanced my life.For a limited time, you can get a FREE bottle of Magnesium Breakthrough (https:// magbreakthrough.com/happyfree) just for you! Grab yours now before supplies run out.

Last quarter, Sanish raised a $50M Series D. His company has raised over $130M. They have enterprise customers across 14 countries including Dollar General, Aldo, and CircleK. It all started because Sanish was working out of coffee shops. He wasn't looking for a startup idea. But after a few casual conversations with employees, he noticed several problems retail workers and managers faced. He decided to build Legion to solve them.He partnered with one local coffee chain, worked as a barista for a week, and developed the product with them for a year. He didn't sell to other customers, he stayed heads down until the local chain adopted the product across their entire organization. By the time they went to sell to other enterprises, they knew the product worked.Why you should listenWhy listening with an open mind is a common way to identify customer problems.Why providing clear and immediate ROI is a must-have for enterprise customersHow to perfect your product with design partners that are heavily invested How to raise a Series A without meaningful revenue.KeywordsLegion, workforce management, enterprise software, problem validation, value proposition, scaling, pricing model, ROITimestamps:(00:00:00) Intro(00:01:35) The Origin Story of Legion(00:04:53) The Mindset of Most Frontline Workers(00:11:05) Gathering Data(00:20:00) Building an MVP(00:24:30) Insights from Customers Using V1 Products(00:30:15) Series A(00:32:13) Legions Core ROI(00:36:15) Scaling Legion(00:39:47) Finding Product Market Fit(00:41:19) One Piece of AdviceSend me a message to let me know what you think!

Daniel's been building robots for 20 years. He's sold 100s of AI robots-as-a-service to Walmart, FedEx, & DHL amongst others. Last month, he raised a $40M round.6 years ago, he realized  why robots weren't getting massively adopted. Builders like him were trying to build perfect robots that always worked. But every situation has edge cases. What if you designed robots to work only 80% of the time and use humans for the other 20%?That one unique insight changed everything and was the reason he started Vecna. His robots can tell when they need help and ask humans to assist in real-time. Like most capital-intensive startups, Daniel played on hard-mode. Here's how he built hardware, robotics and AI, sold enterprise contracts, and grew to $10s of millions in revenue.TakeawaysWhy as a founder you need to trust your gut and stick to your convictions.How to be objective and create an accurate model of the world to predict the future and make informed decisions.How to bootstrap even a capital intensive company in roboticsKeywordsVecna Robotics, robotics, warehouse industry, automated forklifts, reliability, safety, customer adoption(00:00:00) Intro(00:02:05) The Beginning of Early Robotics(00:06:00) Edge Cases in Robotics(00:08:15) Robots Shouldn't be Perfect and AI Isn't Intelligent(00:14:05) Technology Empowers Humans(00:18:19) When Robots Need Help(00:21:29) The First Pilot and Customers(00:29:49) Covid Slowed Everything(00:33:52) Finding Product Market Fit(00:34:45)One Piece of AdviceSend me a message to let me know what you think!

Alex got the co-founder of a public company to join him and raised $6M out of the gate—but it took him 3 years to make his first sale. But after he shifted from selling to SMBs to selling to MSPs (Managed Service Providers i.e., outsourced IT), things took off:April 2015 - $1K MRRAugust 2015 - $10K MRRJune 2016 - $100K MRRNov 2018 - $1M MRR ($12M ARR)And growth never stopped—soon, he'll cross $100M ARR.Alex and his co-founder did many things differently. They came up with an idea by starting with markets, not customer problems. They raised a lot of money upfront and built a sophisticated product instead of an MVP. And they deliberated cultural values before making their first hire.Clearly—it worked.Why you should listenLearn why you should define culture before making your first hire.How to find market trends and customer problems top-down instead of bottoms-up.Why keeping your product unchanged but targeting a different market can have a massive impact and lead to product-market fit. Why you should be willing to be bold and not hedge.Why you should only focus on one thing at a time.How to use constraints to do more things faster.KeywordsAuvik, software company, networking, SMBs, mid-market, decoupling, control plane, hardware, software solution, automate, configuration, user research, product design, team, company values, SaaS, IT management, product-market fit, pivot, managed service provider, MSP, boldness, discipline, adviceTimestamps(00:00:00) Intro(00:01:47) The Origin of Auvik(00:07:20) Finding a co-founder(00:12:35)  It's People Who Build Companies(00:14:10)  Finding the Concept for Auvik(00:20:07)  Buikding the Product(00:30:30)  First Customer Experiences(00:34:40)  Feedback Loops(00:39:08)  Getting to a Million(00:41:33)  Finding Product Market Fit(00:42:54) One Piece of AdviceSend me a message to let me know what you think!

When Dominique Elkind became a mother, she noticed a lack of third spaces available to parents of very young children. While on her second maternity leave, Dominique decided to take on a entrepreneurial venture vastly different from her career as a UX Designer, by founding Nixi City, a play centre for children aged 0-5. Not only is Nixi City a space for children, but includes a cafe for parents to meet and connect. --- [00:01:35] Dominique's Design Background [00:02:25] Side Hustling During Maternity Leave [00:03:30] Entrepreneurial Experience at Google [00:06:25] Founding Nixi City, a Children's Play Space [00:08:35] Identifying a Market Gap [00:11:15] Scaling and Franchising [00:12:37] Balancing Work and Family [00:14:05] Setting Boundaries  [00:17:25] Sleep and Wellness [00:19:48] Challenges of a Physical Space  [00:22:55] Finding Product/Market Fit [00:24:35] Selecting Real Estate for Nixi City [00:26:33] Dominique's Advice: Find a Community of Potential Customers [00:27:36] Utilizing Design Skills [00:29:31] Connect with Dominque

Going full blown startup with this interview today. If you've ever been curious about Product-Market Fit for B2B Saas Companies, clear your schedule because this one is for you.Beyond Product-Market Fit, Rob also has experience with both venture capital funding and bootstrapping businesses—so we of course asked him the pros and cons of both!In this episode we talked about,Rob's Harvard Background and His Entrepreneurial QualitiesBootstrapping a Business vs Venture Capital Funding (the pros and cons)Product Market Fit (what it is + how to find it)How to Figure out Your Message & Why Consumers BuyRob Snyder is a serial startup founder. He has brought 7 startups from $0-$1M in annual recurring revenue and runs the popular "Product-Market Fit Camp" program for early-stage B2B startups. Rob is a graduate of Harvard Business School, and now builds profitable companies from the woods of New Hampshire.https://www.linkedin.com/in/rsnyder1https://www.robsnyder.org Start getting media features today: https://www.visibilityonpurpose.com/mediastarterpack1 Want PR Consulting? The same consulting that has gotten our clients on Entrepreneur, Business Insider, Forbes & more? Email us at info@visibilityonpurpose.com Connect with us on and off the pod! website: ⁠www.visibilityonpurpose.com⁠ Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/visibilityonpurpose/⁠ Facebook Community: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/groups/toptiermedia⁠ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@visibilityonpurpose

**Finding Product-Market Fit and Building a Successful Company** Laurent Gil, co-founder and Chief Product Officer of cast.ai, shares his insights on finding product-market fit and how it drives organizational success. Discover how elite sales, combined with product-market fit, create a successful company. **Journey as an Entrepreneur** Laurent recounts his entrepreneurial journey, from his 2005 startup using facial recognition technology acquired by Google to founding a cybersecurity company leveraging GPUs for machine learning. Learn how he overcame skepticism and demonstrated the potential of facial recognition, paving the way for digital sharing and social media. **From Idea to Success** Laurent emphasizes that commercial viability comes from solving real problems, not just building cool products. He underscores the importance of understanding issues and developing effective solutions. **Cast AI: Optimizing Cloud Costs** Laurent's company, Cast AI, tackles the problem of cloud over-provisioning, where 87% of machine utilization is wasted. Cast AI's engine dynamically adjusts resources in real-time to optimize costs, especially for applications with variable user traffic. **Key Insights** - Over-provisioning wastes 87% of machine utilization. - Cast AI dynamically adjusts cloud resources to optimize costs. - Beneficial for applications with variable user traffic. **Case Study: Bank Client** Learn how a bank client used Cast AI to scale compute resources based on user activity, minimizing waste and reducing costs during off-peak hours. **Challenges in Selecting Machine Types** Laurent discusses the difficulty of choosing the right machine type from numerous options. Cast AI automates this process, selecting the most efficient machine based on real-time usage and cloud provider availability. **Traction and Scalability** Discover how Cast AI developed its technology with a California client, optimized their compute resources, and gained traction with other clients, becoming a scalable solution for cloud optimization. **Actionable Insights** - Understand and solve real problems. - Optimize cloud costs to reduce waste. - Utilize technology like Cast AI for real-time resource adjustment. Laurent's experiences offer valuable lessons for entrepreneurs and tech professionals on finding product-market fit and building successful companies.

Bill Bachand fell in love with cold water plunging and launched his dream business, Renu Therapy. Hear how he used his own pain to create an innovative solution for others.For more on Bill Bachand and show notes click here. 

with @jasonrosenthal @benrbnWelcome to web3 with a16z, a show about building the next generation of the internet.Our featured guest today is serial entrepreneur Ben Rubin, who previously built the viral livestreaming app Meerkat, and then the group video chat app Houseparty — acquired by Epic Games in 2019 — and who is now CEO and cofounder of Here Not There Labs, which is building a decentralized messaging protocol.Rubin spoke with Jason Rosenthal, head of a16z crypto's CSX startup accelerator program, about paths to product market fit, given his journey in building breakout apps; they also discuss his unique perspective on creating company culture and more.This conversation first took place at our recent CSX program, which just concluded in London. (Watch the video interview on Youtube here.)As a reminder, none of the content should be taken as investment, business, legal, or tax advice; please see a16z.com/disclosures for more important information, including a link to a list of our investments.

Dan Siroker baute Optimizely zu mehr als 120 Millionen ARR auf, bevor er das Unternehmen verließ. Das Unternehmen wurde verkauft und fusioniert, und startete dann, rewind.ai- heute limitless.ai, ein Verbraucherprodukt, welches, anders als Dans bisherige Firma, eine Software und Hardware Komponente hat. Dan gibt tiefe Einblicke in den Übergang von Software- zu Hardware-Entwicklung und die Nutzung von KI in modernen Startups. Er erklärt, wie Empathie und Nutzerforschung den Produktentwicklungsprozess verbessern können und welche Strategien er beim Aufbau eines effizienten Teams anwendet. Darüber hinaus teilt er seine Erfahrungen beim Fundraising und gibt Tipps zur Auswahl der richtigen Investoren.Außerdem erfährst du, wie du die größten Red Flags im Hiring-Prozess identifizierst und dir so Ärger und Geld ersparst. Grundsätzlich teilt Dan viele Dinge, die er inzwischen als Seriengründer anders betrachtet: Wie findest du den richtigen Investor? Welche Fehler lauern im Fundraising? & Welches Gründer-Missverständnis basiert schlicht und einfach auf Bullshit?Was du lernst:Die Herausforderungen und Chancen beim Übergang von Software zu HardwareWie KI als Superkraft genutzt werden kann, um die Produktivität zu steigernDie Bedeutung von Empathie und Nutzerforschung in der ProduktentwicklungStrategien zur Vermeidung von klassischen Hiring-FehlernWie man Investoren gewinnt und die richtigen Partner auswähltWas du von einem dreifach Vater und zweifach Gründer für dein Energiemanagement lernen kannstALLES ZU UNICORN BAKERY: https://zez.am/unicornbakeryDan SirokerLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dsiroker/ Limitless: https://www.limitless.ai/ Optimizely: https://www.optimizely.com/ Unicorn Bakery WhatsApp Broadcast: Hier erfährst du alles, was du als Gründer wissen musst: https://drp.li/jrq5SUnser WhatsApp Broadcast hält dich mit Einblicken in die Szene, News und Top-Inhalten auf dem Laufenden.Marker: (00:00:00) Company Building in the era of AI(00:06:35) What do you use GPT4 for, and what about old habits that block us from using new tools like AI?(00:10:48) Building the founding team - what people are you looking for and how is your leadership-style?(00:19:59) How to do Backchannel References?(00:23:36) How do you find out if former founders are recruitable?(00:26:45) How do you describe the journey of Limitless to Product-Market-Fit?(00:32:13) What are the biggest fallacies about finding PMF?(00:35:01) Round Sizing: How do you evaluate how much money you want/need from investors? (00:39:22) Why founders need to have empathy for investors(00:45:47) How do you know if the investor you are talking to is the right investor for you?(00:49:45) What unusual decision did you make in your fundraising?(00:53:30) How do you think about burn management?(00:56:16) To what extent can you test your hardware for product market fit?(01:01:03) How do you think about energy management now as a 3-times-dad and a 2nd time founder?(01:06:02) What is one of the biggest misconceptions that founders have? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the product management role has matured, specialization in the role has ultimately emerged. There is no longer a single product manager with generic responsibilities, but instead 4 distinct product roles with unique responsibilities. In this video, Sachin describes each of these roles, which he calls builders, tuners, innovators, and enablers. He shares the unique responsibilities of each role, the super powers needed to excel in the role, and real-world examples of PMs in them. For a deeper exploration into the role of product management, consider Sachin's 5 week Mastering Product Management course: https://reforge.com/courses/mastering-product-management/?utm_id=mastering_pm&utm_medium=expert&utm_source=course_page&utm_campaign=spring_24 If you are looking to master the role of innovator, check out Sachin's course on Finding Product/Market Fit: https://www.reforge.com/courses/finding-product-market-fit Where to find Sachin: Blog: https://www.sachinrekhi.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sachinrekhi/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/sachinrekhi Produced by Larry Chen Studios https://www.instagram.com/larrychenstudios/

What makes AI truly useful and impactful for users? That's the question that drives Matthieu Rouif, CEO and co-founder of Photoroom, the AI-first photo editing app for mobile. This week on Generative Now, Lightspeed Partner and host Michael Mignano talks to Matthieu Rouif about what he learned from his previous ventures in app development, how Photoroom found product market fit early, and how Photoroom went from a feature to a product with more than 150 million downloads and 30 million monthly active users.  Matthieu started working on photo apps decades ago while studying at Polytechnique in France and Stanford in the United States. Matthieu created the first mobile apps for ski resorts and co-founded the HeyCrowd app to make surveys more social. He later was a product leader for Replay Video Editor (Awarded ‘Best App of the Year' by Apple and Google). While working as a Product Manager at GoPro, he became frustrated with the time-consuming process of manually removing backgrounds in Photoshop and realized that there was a demand for a better solution on the App Store. This led Matthieu to study machine learning, and he met with Eliot Andres, a machine learning expert, and together they created the first version of Photoroom in just two weeks. Episode Chapters 00:00) Introduction to Matthieu Rouif & Photoroom(01:57) Matthieu Rouif's Entrepreneurial Journey(04:44) Early Startup Successes and Lessons Learned(10:30) The Creation of PhotoRoom: Bridging AI and Usability(16:45) Finding Product-Market Fit & The Power of User Feedback(19:40) Scaling PhotoRoom Amidst COVID-19(21:05) Unlocking User-Centric AI with Open Source(23:30) Evolving Beyond Background Removal(30:19) Wider Application of the APIs and Success Stories with Barbie and Netflix(37:12) Building a Remote Team Culture & “No DM” Policy(40:37) Landscape of AI Innovation in Paris Stay in touch: ⁠⁠www.lsvp.com⁠⁠ X: ⁠⁠https://twitter.com/lightspeedvp⁠⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/lightspeed-venture-partners/⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/lightspeedventurepartners/⁠⁠ Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: ⁠⁠generativenow.co⁠⁠ Email: generativenow@lsvp.com The content here does not constitute tax, legal, business or investment advice or an offer to provide such advice, should not be construed as advocating the purchase or sale of any security or investment or a recommendation of any company, and is not an offer, or solicitation of an offer, for the purchase or sale of any security or investment product. For more details please see ⁠⁠lsvp.com/legal⁠⁠.

Dane was the CEO of Squarespace from 2007 to 2011. He grew the company from ~$2M in revenue to ~$15M. He's a multi-time founder with multiple exits. His current startup, Odeko,  raised $227M.He takes us through his long journey as a founder of multiple companies and shares the key startup lessons he's learned.Why you should listen:- Why 7-day trials led to higher conversion than 30-day trials at Squarespace- Why you should talk to customers every single day.- Why SMB usage doesn't always translate into revenue.- Why you need to follow customer problems over business models and TAM.Timestamps:(00:00:00) Intro(0:00:0:37) Before Odeko(00:06:54) Leaving Squarespace(00:07:31) SumAll(00:13:01) Conversion Rates with Free Trials(00:16:10) The Start of Odeko(00:20:05) Staying Close to Clients(00:26:36) Realizing the New Model was Working(00:31:47) Landing the First Few Customers(00:37:00) Overhiring(00:39:17) Finding Product Market Fit(00:41:32) One Piece of Advice

Milin Desai is the CEO at Sentry, an application monitoring tool for developers. Sentry has recently passed two key milestones: 100K customers and over $100M in ARR. Before Sentry, Milin was a GM at VMware and scaled their cloud networking into a billion-dollar business. Prior to stepping into leadership roles, Milin was a PM at Riverbed and a software engineer at Veritas. — In today's episode, we discuss: The key ingredients of Sentry's success Sentry's developer-centric approach Lessons on pricing, packaging, and product from VMware Being an external CEO at a startup Forging successful relationships with founders — Referenced: Building for the Fortune 500,000: https://blog.sentry.io/building-for-the-fortune-500-000/ Carl Eschenbach: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carl-eschenbach-980543/ Chris Jennings: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chriskjennings/ David Cramer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dmcramer/ FRC's product market fit framework: https://pmf.firstround.com/ Martin Casado: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martincasado/ Pat Gelsinger: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patgelsinger/ Raghu Raghuram: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raghuraghuram/ Riverbed: https://www.riverbed.com/ Sentry: https://sentry.io/ Todd Bazakas: https://www.linkedin.com/in/todd-bazakas-b5a2533/ Veritas: https://www.veritas.com/ VMware: https://www.vmware.com/ — Where to find Milin Desai: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/milin-desai-464757/ Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/virtualmilin — Where to find Brett Berson: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brett-berson-9986094/ Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/brettberson — Where to find First Round Capital: Website: https://firstround.com/ First Round Review: https://review.firstround.com/ Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/firstround YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FirstRoundCapital This podcast on all platforms: https://review.firstround.com/podcast — Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (03:03) Joining Sentry as an external CEO (06:27) The CEO/founder relationship (09:37) Lessons from VMware (13:04) What PMs did differently at VMware (18:04) Becoming the need, not the want (20:53) Scaling Sentry (23:07) Building for the “Fortune 500,000” (27:02) Open versus closed source product (30:43) The key ingredients to Sentry's success (36:21) How Milin updated his playbook at Sentry (38:49) Focus on packaging, not pricing (40:29) “Build for the many, not the few” (41:53) Sentry's B2D model (45:10) The second product mindset (51:03) Contrarian take on building for enterprise (52:50) Several people who influenced Milin

Todd Jackson is a Partner at First Round Capital. Before moving into venture capital, he played a crucial role as VP of Product and Design at Dropbox, guiding the company until its IPO in 2018. Prior to Dropbox, Todd led product management for Twitter's Content and Discovery teams after selling his startup, Cover, to Twitter in 2014. Before Cover, Todd oversaw product development for Facebook's Newsfeed, Photos, and Groups. He kickstarted his career at Google as an associate product manager and eventually led product for Gmail, witnessing its growth from beta to 200 million users. In our conversation, we discuss:• Why product-market fit (PMF) matters• First Round Capital's four-part PMF framework• Level one: Nascent product-market fit• Level two: Developing product-market fit• Level three: Strong product-market fit• Level four: Extreme product-market fit• Examples of companies at each level• How to know if you're stuck at a level, and how to get unstuck• What to change if you're stuck: persona, problem, promise, and product• The goals and challenges at each stage—Brought to you by:• WorkOS—The modern API for auth and user identity• Eppo—Run reliable, impactful experiments• CommandBar—AI-powered user assistance for modern products and impatient users—Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/a-framework-for-finding-product-market—Where to find Todd Jackson:• X: https://twitter.com/tjack• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/toddj0/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Todd's background(06:07) First Round Capital's PMF framework(09:07) Why product-market fit is so important(11:02) Who can benefit from this framework(12:55) The product-market fit method(16:54) Broad overview of the framework(21:35) Level one: nascent product-market fit(33:16) The four P's(39:13) Level two: developing product-market fit(49:13) Signs you're stuck at level two, and what to do(55:12) Level three: strong product-market fit(01:00:17) Signs you're stuck at level three, and what to do(01:02:22) Level four: extreme product-market fit(01:06:55) Rough timelines for each level(01:11:18) A quick recap of the framework(01:12:15) Diving deeper on the four P's: what to do if you're stuck(01:13:56) Dollar-driven discovery(01:25:11) Apply for the product-market-fit method program—Referenced:• First Round: https://firstround.com/• Twitter Acquires Cover: https://www.vox.com/2014/4/7/11625332/twitter-acquires-cover-an-android-mobile-startup• Dropbox: https://www.dropbox.com/• Rahul Vohra on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulvohra/• How Superhuman Built an Engine to Find Product Market Fit: https://review.firstround.com/how-superhuman-built-an-engine-to-find-product-market-fit/• How to validate your startup idea: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/validating-your-startup-idea• How the most successful B2B startups came up with their original idea: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-the-most-successful-b2b-startups• How to know if you've got product-market fit: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-know-if-youve-got-productmarket• A guide for finding product-market fit in B2B: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/finding-product-market-fit• Product-market fit method: http://pmf.firstround.com/• Stripe: https://stripe.com/• Plaid: https://plaid.com/• Paths to PMF: https://review.firstround.com/series/product-market-fit/• WeWork: https://www.wework.com/• Casper: https://casper.com/• Vanta: https://www.vanta.com/• Christina Cacioppo on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ccacioppo/• Ramp: https://ramp.com/• Velocity over everything: How Ramp became the fastest-growing SaaS startup of all time | Geoff Charles (VP of Product): https://www.lennyspodcast.com/velocity-over-everything-how-ramp-became-the-fastest-growing-saas-startup-of-all-time-geoff-charl/• Jack Altman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackealtman/• Lattice: https://lattice.com/• Zachary Perret on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zperret/• Positioning: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/positioning• Retool: https://retool.com/• David Hsu on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dvdhsu/• Persona: https://withpersona.com/• Rick Song on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-song-25198b24/• Lloyd Tabb on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lloydtabb/• Looker: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Looker_(company)• Jason Boehmig on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jboehmig/• Ironclad: https://ironcladapp.com/• Lessons in leadership | Scaling an org and tactical management advice | Jack Altman (Lattice): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZzXqf61mrQ• Filip Kaliszan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaliszan/• Verkada: https://www.verkada.com/• Ali Ghodsi on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alighodsi/• Databricks: https://www.databricks.com/• Stripe Radar: https://stripe.com/radar• Stripe Atlas: https://stripe.com/atlas• Square Stand: https://squareup.com/shop/hardware/us/en/products/ipad-pos-stand-integrated-card-reader• Cash App: https://cash.app/• Square Checking: https://squareup.com/us/en/campaign/banking/checking• Square Loan: https://squareup.com/help/us/en/article/5654-get-started-with-square-capital• Casey Winters on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caseywinters/• How to sell your ideas and rise within your company | Casey Winters, Eventbrite: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/how-to-sell-your-ideas-and-rise-within-your-company-casey-winters-eventbrite/• Josh Kopelman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jkopelman/• The art and science of pricing | Madhavan Ramanujam (Monetizing Innovation, Simon-Kucher): https://www.lennyspodcast.com/videos/the-art-and-science-of-pricing-madhavan-ramanujam-monetizing-innovation-simon-kucher/• Simon Kucher: https://www.simon-kucher.com/—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

Brian Long of Attentive joins Nate to discuss The Playbook to Finding Product-Market Fit, When Founders Should Begin to Scale, and Lessons from Building Attentive. In this episode we cover: Entrepreneurship, Product Development, and Market Opportunity Strategic Decisions for Early-Stage Companies Customer Discovery and Feedback in Product Development Product Market Fit and Customer Acquisition Strategies Customer Problem Evolution and Startup Success Strategies Sales Strategies, Company Growth, and Founder Experience Guest Links: LinkedIn X  Attentive The hosts of The Full Ratchet are Nick Moran and Nate Pierotti of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area. Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social. You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and Twitter. Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and we'll send a list of potential investors right to your inbox!