Alain Readman Valiquette

New Framedrop.ai blog post straight from the oven by Filipe Pessoa. How you can monetize a podcast in 5 steps: 1. 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗲: Wait until you have an established audience base.     2. 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲: Understand their interests, pain points, and preferences.     3. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗩𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀: Sponsorship, affiliate marketing, donations, premium content, merchandise, events, memberships, product sales.     4. Click to read the full article 🎣     5. Click again 😅 It includes 10 tried-and-tested ways 🤓

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🚀 Launching Your Startup on a Budget? Let’s Make It Happen! 🚀 Ever wondered how to fuel your startup dreams without a massive budget? It starts with smart, strategic moves and a dash of creativity. 🎢 Fun Fact! Did you know many unicorns started with just the basics and a heap of creativity? Your startup journey might just be the next big story! 🤔 What's Your Strategy? 🤔 How are you planning to make your big dream a reality without a big budget? Share your thoughts, and let's brainstorm some innovative, budget-friendly ways to get your venture off the ground! Let's chat and unlock the secrets to launching successfully on a shoestring! #StartupLife #EntrepreneurJourney #BudgetStartup #InnovationOnABudget #StartupSuccess

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**Chasing the Holy Grail: How an External CFO Can Help a Startup Scale Let's talk about scaling** ----This is part 1 of this article. Part 2 will be published tomorrow--- The term "scaling" can refer to business growth, a term most people (including company managers) associate with increasing profits. In our opinion, it's a larger concept than just profit growth, and it’s worth discussion. An organization aiming for true scaling must look not only at profits but also at organizational, business, and financial efficiency. When this efficiency becomes significant enough, revenues will grow while the resources required to generate them (time, money, manpower, etc.) will be considerably reduced. To achieve significant scaling, the organization must understand how its product or service generates profits not in direct proportion to the time or money invested. The organization needs to create a business model that allows maximum leverage of resources to maximize profits, while simultaneously creating an efficient financial mechanism that saves on expenses and continuously monitors the production process. Only then, in our opinion, will the organization be able to initiate a process that can be defined as scaling. Organizations that solved this equation essentially found the holy grail of the business world. Their revenues are not directly dependent on the time or budget they invest. For example: ☑️ Organizations that, instead of providing a service (i.e., time with an expert), start offering a product. ☑️ Businesses that, instead of selling a product for a one-time fee, create an attractive SaaS model that turns one-time customers into returning ones. ☑️Organizations that have developed technologies integrated into other companies' products. These examples present several business models that allow scaling. One of the key figures enabling these situations is the company's CFO, responsible for the financial aspect of the process. What is the role of an Outsourced CFO in scaling processes? Part 2 of this article will deal with this issue. It will be published tomorrow, follow us so you won't miss out.

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𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 80/20 𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁, 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗷𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀? If you've been following me for a while, you know that I take very seriously the pursuit of the best risk vs. return ratio; that is, I seek the highest possible returns while minimizing risks as much as possible. In Naval Ravikant's Almanack, he mentions something that, although obvious—we often overlook the simple and effective—resonated deeply with me: which is that the judgment of what to do is much more important than putting in energy and hard work. For example, someone who sets up a bakery in the wrong location will waste a lot of energy trying to make it work, due to the flawed initial idea. Investing is no different. So, what is the 80/20 rule that, when applied with good judgment, will lead to the best results? I've concluded that it is investing in secular trends. When you invest in a major trend, even if you make mistakes along the way, these mistakes will not be very relevant. If you invest in a sector that is not as promising, any mistake can cost you a lot of profitability. And what are the big secular trends currently? That was the theme I discussed in the last Investor Letter, my weekly Newsletter where I share insightful insights for every investor. Sign up to receive it every Saturday in your inbox: https://lnkd.in/dATHGMV8

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The End Of The SaaS Era: Rethinking Software’s Role In Business! In the ever-evolving landscape of technology and business, a provocative thesis is gaining traction: the Software as a Service (SaaS) era may be coming to an end. This bold claim was made by Sam Lessin a GP in Slow Ventures, in a recent Tweet which challenges the long-held belief that SaaS represented the pinnacle of software business models. Reddit threads indicating the decline of SaaS sales have been popping up and discussions on VC LinkedIn and blogs posts are only confirming the fears: the SaaS dream may be over. For over a decade, SaaS has been hailed as the holy grail of software business models. The promise of recurring revenue, scalability, and high customer lifetime values (LTVs) attracted entrepreneurs and investors alike. However, industry insiders are now questioning whether this model has lived up to its lofty expectations. #saas #softwareasaservice https://lnkd.in/dqP_UxTW

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We’ve helped dozens of startups from abroad to start their US sales. Here are the top 4 things that we learned ….. 1. There are always variations to the ICP. Responsibilities and decision-making vary between the USA and Europe. You need to validate and not be afraid to ask who owns the ultimate decision and who the influencers are. For example, in the USA, the CFO is often the ultimate decision-maker because he is responsible for the budget. 2. There are always product gaps. When you start approaching potential US customers, more often than not your product won’t be 100% aligned with their needs. You need to be willing to listen, not be shy to ask and then adapt quickly. 3. There are ways to leverage your experience abroad to be meaningful to US companies. You may not have direct US client experience, but you need to position the experience you have in a way that piques their interest. Expect things to work differently in the USA. You need to engage with potential US customers to find out. You can be successful in the USA if you ask questions, listen to the answers, and adjust……. PS: Here’s a pic of my co-founder Matt DiMarsico and me in our strategy retreat in Los Angeles this week. We met while studying hard for our MBA and are now working hard to help more foreign companies accelerate and de-risk their US expansion.

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Only 34% of adults are financially literate. 60% of Portuguese adults lack the minimum financial knowledge Need to say more? We need to think about our kids' future in today's volatile environment. Invest in education and help them develop core skills. This is one of the reasons why I joined Global Shapers Lisbon Hub to develop "Mary and the Secret of Savings," a children's storybook that has been translated into 20 languages and adapted by +50 Global Shapers Community hubs. Today, I'm happy to see the results of our efforts doing wonders worldwide. Beyond +3000 physical books distributed in Lisbon. Hundred ebooks downloaded. And our story on the World Economic Forum today. 🫶

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As a VC I get 100+ cold messages a day through email, LinkedIn, other social media and messengers. Most of them are ChatGPT generated starting with "I hope this message finds you well", they are too long, not very personalized, and most of the time people are bombarding with no specific target. This morning I got this original message : "SOO this is crazy... I told my co-founder PauI was trying to get in touch with you last week. Turns out he went ahead and got a billboard with your name on it! I didn't believe it either!! I literally did a double take when he told me LOL. Now, you're probably wondering why this random company, XXXXXXXX , got a billboard with my name on it. The reason is quite simple: XXXXXXXXXX delivers the most comprehensive fund insights to help Vibranium Venture Capital gain an edge. With features like automated SEC and news alerts, historical performance data, and GP/LP relationship mapping, our platform is designed to save you time and improve decision-making. So, can I send you more info or more photos of your billboard?" Guess what, I did open it, did read it and actually replied, because I liked the originality and bold move. So be original in your cold outreach, but don't overdo it 🙂 Subscribe to ‘Siliconnector’ Telegram channel for insights and news from Silicon Valley and the Tech world: https://t.me/siliconnector

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🚀 Is Your Business Future-Ready? #Innovation can be the engine of #growth! 👉Interesting insights on the Mastering Innovation #Management, covering topics from strategy to implementation, real-world insights, and future trends. You may check out the report below, from StartUs Insights. #Innovation #StartupPrograms #CorporateGrowth #Corporate #Partnerships #Growth #Investors #BusinessAngels #VentureCapital #LPs #GPs #Startup #Scaleup #InnovaticGroup InnovaticGroup. Create the Future Now innovaticgroup.com

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Brex is one of my favorite fintechs. Ever wonder what their journey from $0 to over $300M in revenue within 7 years looked like? 2017-2018: The Birth of Brex • Henrique Dubugras and Pedro Franceschi, both 22-year-old Stanford dropouts, decided to flip the fintech world on its head by launching Brex, a corporate credit card tailored for startups. • With their co-CEO model (which has become popular), they doubled their management bandwidth. Internal & external duties? No problem when you have twice the number of CEOs to lead folks 2019-2020: Rapid growth • Brex quickly partnered with big names like DoorDash, Flexport, and Roblox. • In 2019, they secured $300 million in funding, catapulting their valuation to $2.6 billion. It’s amazing what you can achieve when you’re swimming in a pool of investor cash. 2021-2022: Diversification and challenges • Brex expanded its product suite to include expense management, bill pay, & travel booking services. If you’re going to burn through cash, you might as well make it convenient. • Despite their success, they faced some “minor” hiccups. Layoffs in 2022 were a delightful reminder that even fintech unicorns aren’t immune to cutting costs by cutting people. 2023: Strategic shifts • Transitioning to a single CEO model, Pedro took the helm while Henrique became chairman. Having two brains was slowing things down? • They continued to innovate, integrating AI into their platform. By the end of 2023, Brex hit over $300 million in revenue, proving that even with all the chaos, they were still making bank​. 2024: Path to profitability • With a goal of being cash-flow positive by 2025, Brex halved its cash burn by chopping 20% of its staff and focused on sustainable growth. Making money instead of burning it is always a sound strategy. • Serving 30K+ customers globally, Brex’s commitment to transparency & customer-centric solutions has kept them in the game. They’re not just participating – they’re rewriting the rules. Want to copy their homework? 1. Identify a significant pain point in an industry and create a solution that addresses it. Please don't start a business without doing this. 2. Utilize a strong co-founder dynamic to maximize efficiency & divide responsibilities effectively. Two heads are better than one, until they aren’t. 3. Secure early partnerships with influential companies to build credibility and a customer base. It’s always about who you know. 4. Listen to your customers. & Expand your product offerings to meet their evolving needs. 5. Maintain a strong focus on transparency & trust to build a loyal customer base. People surprisingly prefer not being lied to. 6. Strategically manage growth, and make tough decisions like layoffs when necessary to ensure long-term sustainability. 7. If you want to go public, be profitable. Did I miss anything?

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Every Founder is a Product Manager until the startup reaches a certain level of scale. Most problems I see startups struggling with are, in essence, Product Management problems. E.g. finding Product Market Fit, discovering ICP, discovering growth levers, continuously designing a value proposition and business model that brings value for your customers and your business, defining a strong positioning, articulating that positioning well, storytelling, ruthless prioritization, etc.

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The journey to building a thriving startup is paved with lessons that can save you from some serious pitfalls. Case in point: Marc von Brockdorff's article on growth strategies, which highlights hard-earned truths that every founder should know. Too many entrepreneurs fall for the illusion of a great idea without assessing if it can actually turn into a sustainable business. Vision is crucial, but so is understanding your market and being your own customer. If you think you can just pump out a product based on what sounds cool, you’re setting yourself up for failure. It’s about passion and real problem-solving, not just trendy concepts. Every misstep is a lesson that could save you countless hours of frustration. Build something people love to use, not just something that looks good on paper. Let’s keep this real: it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. Those seemingly trivial details you overlook can snowball into massive issues later on. So why not share your experiences? What hard-earned lessons have you learned while navigating your startup journey? https://lnkd.in/ev9u3atp

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Next year's OKRs / strategy planning madness is back again: how can founders and product teams avoid failing that miserably? This post is specifically tailored to startups and scale-ups (30-3'000 people), but the same principles apply to many corporates as well. In uncertain market conditions, the pressure to make money and reduce costs is even higher than before. We get that. But these strategy anti-patterns have been around forever, not just in the current market. Here's the problem with those: ❌ They cannot be controlled directly. ❌ They are generic, and nobody knows what to focus on. ❌ They reflect wishful thinking, especially when they are all there at once! ❌ They end up disconnected from actual product work. ❌ They create misalignment, as teams push in all possible directions to bring those numbers up/down. Why does that happen? Because while these are all success indicators, they hold zero strategic value. What is strategic value? It's an objective that speaks to the direction teams should take, a clear area of focus. Identifying a clear path to success is part of the work your company needs to do before laying out your 2025 strategy, not after. ▶ Want a higher ARR? Understand first if you need to improve your free-to-paid conversions, renewals, CLV, average basket size, introduce new paid offerings, etc. ▶ Want lower costs? Think if you need to automate some business processes, improve logistics, maximize warehouse utilization, improve your infrastructure for scale, etc. ▶ Want more profit? Evaluate your overall business model, check if you need to reduce your cost of sales, operating costs, CAC, change pricing, etc. ▶ Want more customers? Understand exactly which segments, with what problems, and what product offering you want to bet on. Double down on your largest segment? Move upmarket to enterprises? Simplify your offer for SMBs? Expand geographically to specific regions? Bonus: what about organizational efficiency? Never, ever shuffle that in your OKRs. That's a mindset problem, not a strategic goal. Strong organizations strive for continuous improvement and constantly get better at what they do. --- Like this post? Follow me and subscribe to my newsletter to get more!

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10 Lessons in building a $150m ARR SaaS business within 8 years Whilst also investing in over 200 SaaS Companies The Go to Market Handbook for B2B SaaS Leaders 🎯 I had the chance to be Interviewed by Rubén D. with my Co-Author Richard Blundell about our straight-to-the-point WorkBook for SaaS Leaders. Stoked to be in my favourite Newsletter The VC Corner 💙 The Go-to-Market Handbook for B2B SaaS Leaders pulls from our decades of experience founding, scaling & investing in companies. I invest in a new company every week, in fact 2 this week 😉 A few things Founders & CEOs are making a killing on from the Book: • 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿’𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗻 💡—if you’re not crystal clear on this, you’re missing the mark. The proposition will miss the most valuable buyers.. ⬇ 💲 • 𝗚𝗼 𝘀𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗼 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁 ⏳—strategic, deliberate steps will get you further than rushing. Why 80% of Start Ups never find Product Market Fit... ⬇ 💲 • 𝗨𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝗵𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 💰—pricing and packaging aren’t afterthoughts, they’re growth drivers. Price for the Entire Lifecycle to get richer... ⬆ 💰 For SaaS Founders & Leaders trying to nail product-market fit or scale efficiently, this interview is a must-read👇 https://lnkd.in/e-3uaGB9

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3 min investors pitch easy; I can do 7 min in an ice bath 😁 Over the last few days, I have heard lots of startups pitching their ideas at the Web Summit in Lisbon, which reminded me of my first investor pitch deck. When I built my first pitch deck, I prepared a 24-page PDF. However, it did not answer some key questions. 📍What problem are you solving? Describe where the problem exists. 📍Is it a problem that needs solving? Add market data. 📍Where does the money come from? Different revenue streams. 📍What is the roadmap of execution for the next 12 months? Showing what can be implemented and developed in different time frames. 📍Team? People and processes 📍Why need investment? To speed up what you just showed in the pitch deck I hope you do better with your first pitch deck, but in the end, we got the investment and later sold the business to a biotech company. What questions should be answered in the investor's pitch deck? You thoughts 👇

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Is it possible to beat the odds. The leading cause of problems with startups is Product-Market Fit (PMF). 90% of startups fail with 34% attributed to crossing the chasm of PMF, according to a study by Failory / Nicolás Cerdeira. Some statistics: 👹 Startups need 2-3 longer to validate their market than most founders expect. 👹 Startups that pivot 1-2 times have 3.6x better user growth and raise 2.5x more money. Taken together entrepreneurs need to incorporate pivoting 1-2 times in their budgets. What if you can’t afford this... In my experience as an AI researcher in robotics, we would run simulations before moving the robot to avoid crashing. Similarly early-stage startups need to do careful product strategy before execution to avoid running out of $$$. I personally recommend resources by Strategyzer and esp. the book Testing Business Ideas. I'm curious — what advice, resources, or tools do you recommend for early-stage startups? #ProductStrategy #StartupAdvice #Community

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Artificial intelligence at the service of your business strategy. More results, less uncertainties. www.prosperityai.ai #AI #Strategy #Startups

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😥 "You have to change the pitch because it is very complex to understand" Who has not ever heard the phrase? It is a reality that we often face in start-ups. But in this ecosystem we must take things positively to continue moving forward, so how do I interpret this message? 🎙 In essence, it tells me that communication is key. In a market saturated with information and options, the ability to convey our ideas clearly and concisely is essential to stand out and capture the attention of our target audience. 🧠 However, for many start-ups, like KUMUX, creating a pitch for an innovative technology on a traditional market (like the lighting industry) can be even more complicated, since it starts from a broader context to arrive at the value proposition. 🤝 At KUMUX we understand the importance of this challenge. The marketing and sales team, led by Leticia Arranz Rodriguez and Peter Earle FSLL, work together to constantly refine the message so that it is more accessible and understandable to everyone. We also see this difficulty as an opportunity to improve and explain our differential value. 🚀 So the next time you hear that your pitch is too complex, take it as an impetus to improve it even more. Clarity in communication is one of the keys to startup success. Tell me, what are the challenges you face when building your pitch? #Startups #Pitch #Innovation #Technology #KUMUX

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