Mihai Guran

A bit more on who should come to a meeting and why. CEO, CTO, Partner, Associate etc. The main framework here is: look at who is selling and who is buying; it matters a lot who is attending the meeting from the selling side, and it matters little who is attending from the buying side. A buyer asks questions. A buyer wants to talk to someone who can answer the questions the best. If a buyer is considering buying part of the business, or invest in a fund, they want to talk to someone who is making decisions and is responsible for strategy. Buyers have a lot of choice - a lot of sellers to consider; they have a privilege of choosing which meetings to go to and who to talk with. Sellers need to convince a buyer to part with their money. Both sellers and buyers build a funnel and talk with a lot of potential partners. Buyers need to find & choose the best among the sellers, so their work is getting information and ranking the sellers to choose the best; sellers may have a set of rules to eliminate buyers that would not be a fit, but among the buyers that are a fit, sellers would accept all, so their work is convincing the buyers. A company and a VC fund can be a buyer in one context and a seller in another context. For example, I (Managing Partner of a VC firm) switch buyer/seller context several times a day. When I am talking to a potential LP, I am a seller; I do spend some time vetting an LP, but majority of the time I spend on sharing information that would help that LP to decide to buy my product. In my conversations with LPs, I am never represented by an associate, but I often talk to an associate representing an LP, and it's completely reasonable. An my ego doesn't prevent me from spending an hour explaining Geek Ventures to a junior person, since that's the right and only way to potentially get an investment from that LP - I've done it hundreds of times. When I am talking to a startup founder at early stage of a conversation, I am a buyer; I do spend some time talking about our value add, but the majority of the time I take to learn about that startup, and the best person to learn from is the CEO. Importantly, there are cases where a startup is a buyer and VCs are sellers. That's for so-called "hot deals"; I'm sure that when Ilya Sutskever will fundraise, he will interview the VCs and not vice versa. For CEOs, the biggest lever they can use to go from being a seller to being a buyer is valuation. For example, do you have $1M ARR with 2x YoY growth? If you're looking for $30M valuation, you'll be a seller, talking to many funds trying to convince them; if you're happy with $10M valuation you'll quickly oversubscribe and can pick who to work with.

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Feedback is the GOLD for BRJ team! Be inspired by genuine personal testimonials from those who embarked on an effective transformation journey! Here are heartfelt feedbacks from our clients on how they built a better, healthier, and more balanced life for themselves. Their success stories demonstrate that our services and approaches not only promise but also deliver real results. 💬 "This program changed my life; I've never felt better!" - [C.I.Z] 💬 "I've experienced a true transformation in both my professional career and personal life, highly recommend to everyone!" - [J.K.] TO READ ALL pls visit: https://lnkd.in/e8aZdqYk These testimonials are solid evidence that you too can achieve the change you desire. Are you ready to be part of this transformation? Contact us for more information and consultation! #CustomerTestimonials #RealResults #TransformationStories #HolisticHealth"

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“And you know what, Rafa, you made me enjoy the game even more.”, Federer’s instant classic letter stated yesterday, on the day of Nadal’s retirement (link in comments). 🎾 Everyone has had a strong competitor, a rival, even a nemesis. 😅 And, at some point after huge amount of stress and effort, we realise they make us, and the whole industry, better off. Would Federer have won more grand slams without Rafa or Novak? Maybe. But they certainly ended up being better players, continuously pushing each other to get 1% better every day in hope to prevail in the next encounter. Furthermore, tennis experienced an unprecedented growth as Big 3 (and Andy and others) entered the mix. 🚀 Result across the Big 3 is astounding: 66 grand slams and 18 cumulative years as no 1. Simultaneously, the prize money at tournaments like US Open grew roughly 5x in the same period, the endorsement deals crossed the $100m+ mark for each. The sum of their rivalry ended certainly bigger than what they would have been individually. 👍 So to our founders and colleagues - enjoy and cherish good competition, it will make you stronger and better, probably make your industry more compelling, and maybe you will even find life-long friends like Rafa and Roger became over the years. 😃 #competitonforthewin #foundermode #1percentbettereveryday #fedal #nadal #federer

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‘Europe-first’ European tech CEOs urge ‘Europe-first’ mentality to counter U.S. dominance after Trump victory Key Points ·        CEOs of European technology companies told CNBC at the Web Summit technology conference this week that the continent should adopt a “Europe-first” approach to tech, after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s election victory. ·        Andy Yen, CEO of VPN maker Proton, said Europe should “step up” and “be aggressive” to counter U.S. Big Tech firms’ tight grip on many important technologies, such as web browsing, cloud computing, smartphones — and now artificial intelligence. ·        Thomas Plantenga, CEO of Lithuania-based used clothing app Vinted, urged Europe to take the “right choices” to ensure it doesn’t get “left behind.” LISBON, Portugal — Tech CEOs in Europe are urging region al countries to take bolder action to tackle Big Tech’s dominance and counter reliance on the U.S. for critical technologies like artificial intelligence after Donald Trump’s electoral win.

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Decades old recipe to attract retail customers; it never fails. Most of the times this discount is not a real concession, but we fall for it easily, and every time. If it is a sale of FMCG in a hypermarket chain or sale on expensive designer branded items in high-end shops, all classes equally get attracted and rush to, when a "Reduction Sale" is announced. Is it same like gambling with hope of winning? knowing that the house always wins. Or like , buying of stocks speculating high return in (usually) short term. Or it is going after cryptocurrency not as currency but as speculative 'investment' aka gambling.

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When we started AccessOwl, the idea was clear: Okta is a poor fit for many companies looking for an easy way to manage their SaaS apps. Along the way, we kept hearing one piece of feedback repeatedly: “If you automate my SaaS tools, can you also show me where we’re currently wasting money?” We must have talked to hundreds of IT admins (many of whom I’m happy to now call customers). It quickly became clear that modern companies don’t just need to manage employee access to their SaaS apps - they require an entirely new set of tools that companies like Okta simply don’t provide. That’s why we’ve been building AccessOwl to be more than just an access management tool. Customers can now manage their entire SaaS apps, access, spending, and compliance all in one central place. Thanks to everyone who supported us along the way! There’s so much more to come, and we’re looking forward to the next launches 🤠

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Welcome to Day 83 of the 90-Day Comeback Challenge. Today it's all about the two frequently mentioned CEO types: Wartime and Peacetime CEOs. What are their different challenges, in which company phases do you need which type, and what’s the type I belong to? That and much more, in this video

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Reasons why it's important to produce quality sales proposals and accurate quotations #7: HIGHER CONVERSION RATES Well-structured proposals and precise quotations increase the likelihood of converting leads into paying customers.

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Here are my thoughts and my experience on importance of employee education. Let me know what do you think in the comments. #education #development #inhouse #hr

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A world workout local apps? Let's discuss about. 👩‍💻🧑‍💻 I'd like to talk about a topic I consider very important, which has become much more remarkable in recent years: the possibility of a not-too-distant future where we no longer have #apps installed or to install on our laptops, desktops, or mobile devices. To put you right into context, I will mention what happened a few days ago with the #ChatGPT desktop app for #Mac: #TheVerge: OpenAI’s ChatGPT Mac app was storing conversations in plain text (https://shorturl.at/f0Lde): "In an embarrassing development so soon after Apple’s AI announcements at WWDC, it emerged this week that the #ChatGPT app for Mac has been failing to #sandbox conversations, meaning the data can be easily accessed by other apps or anyone else who has access to your machine." (#MacWorld, "ChatGPT Mac security flaw raises red flags ahead of Apple Intelligence integration" https://shorturl.at/lA6OH) ✅ The #question is this: how can we live with the constant #insecurity that the apps we use, from one update to the next or from their inception, might have such remarkable security #bugs? I am aware that there is no perfect release and that bugs always come up, but the problem here is different. The time dedicated to #testing is getting shorter and the overall #quality of apps in terms of security dropped down significantly. ✅ #LAM (#Language #Action #Models). My first contact with LAM was at the #RabbitR1 presentation (see here the video: https://lnkd.in/dKAdFEDV) but it's something since years in the wild. Large Action Models are an advanced subset of machine learning models designed to predict, generate, and understand complex actions and behaviors in various contexts: they can understand and execute complex tasks by translating #human #intentions into #action. #Apps installed and #Usage stats 🤳: The average smartphone user has around 80 apps installed on their device. However, a significant portion of these apps remain unused, wasting resources and storage space. According to recent statistics, more than 62% of the installed apps are not used every month, that's approximately 50 unused apps❗(https://shorturl.at/eqeCz). 💡Is it the #appsless paradigm the next revolution? Do you remember the #DeutscheTelekom AI phone concept at #MWC2024, featuring a digital assistant that replaces apps and can carry out daily tasks (https://shorturl.at/9TT6Q)? What's happened? 🤔 🟥 #Drawbacks? ➡️ #Privacy, #Security: risks of breaches and unauthorized access for the Cloud infrastructure; ➡️ #AlwaysOn required. ➡️ #Technical, Adoption #Barriers: AI integration faces hurdles such as model complexity, data quality, and real-time processing needs, which can impact the user experience and app performance as well as #ethical and #trust concerns require ongoing active monitoring. ➡️ #Contextual understanding. ➡️ Effective #integration with various online services and #APIs is essential for comprehensive functionality.

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Quick overview of GIDEON

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Reinventing a business model Currently I’m still based in Bucharest, Romania, not for long anymore but that is a different story on how I reinvent myself. Today about the necessity to reinvent business models. I turned on tv this morning and I heard on the news that coffee shop owners tend to forbid use of laptops in the coffee shop, the main reason being that those who occupy these spance tend to spend less per table seating. I strongly believe that this approach is wrong, totally wrong. It’s not the clients fault that we live in a digital era and they can work from anywhere they want and how they want. I would like to underline that this process will grow in my view with young generations which are not solely motivate by money but rather a large component of experience and perceived liberty of working from anywhere. So, I think business owners should start looking to reinvent their business model quickly. A good starting point would be by asking what do we sell? If we limit the answer to selling coffee then I believe is wrong, sure they sell coffee and offer water, and other drinks or pastries or what ever, specialty coffee packages and other gear related to coffee as I’ve seen mostly. Instead, I would start building in things like: Dedicated Workspaces: - Co-working Areas: Designate specific areas of the coffee shop for working, equipped with comfortable seating, power outlets, and fast Wi-Fi. Charge a fee for access to these areas, which can be offset with a complimentary drink or snack. - Time-based Seating: Implement a system where customers can book a workspace for a set period. Offer different tiers (e.g., hourly, half-day, full-day) with varying perks such as free refills or priority seating. Membership Programs: - Subscription Plans: Offer membership plans that provide unlimited or a set number of hours in the workspace per month, discounts on food and beverages, and access to exclusive events or workshops. - Loyalty Programs: Implement a loyalty program that rewards frequent customers with points that can be redeemed for free drinks, snacks, or workspace access. Events and Workshops: - Host Events: Regularly host events, such as workshops, networking events, and lectures, that attract the working crowd. Charge a fee for attendance or offer free entry with a minimum purchase. - Themed Days: Introduce themed days or times, like “Work Wednesday” or “Freelancer Friday,” with special deals and promotions targeted at people who work remotely. These are just couple of things that can be implemented easily and have a positive impact on your business. One of the main benefits of such an approach is that other customers will see that people are in and using your services which signals them them that they enjoy seating there and is more likely to enter, nobody wants to go and seat in an empty coffee shop. #entrepreneurship #strategy #businessmodel #startup

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I have often written on these "pages" about how difficult it is to find the right words to express a strong #emotion like the #pride of having created something unique. Something that, thanks to the commitment of an extraordinary #team that I had the honor to #lead, has taken shape and become the Enoverse.io #project. You can #imagine the excitement and satisfaction I feel knowing that, just a few days ago, the #Enoverse project and the collaboration between Vanilla Innovations, Inc. and the Consorzio of the Buttafuoco Storico were celebrated with the #publication of an #article by Francesco Di Paolo, Lucio Lamberti, and Debora Bettiga in the prestigious "Tourism Management" journal, available here: https://lnkd.in/dDjVx4Kc. Along with the article's authors, a special thanks goes to the Politecnico di Milano, particularly the Metaverse Marketing Lab - Polimi School of Management, for involving us in this ambitious project and offering us the #opportunity to contribute our expertise to the #future of #tourism. This recognition is, for us at Vanilla Innovations, a confirmation of the #value of the #work done and further strengthens our commitment to #technological innovation and the #promotion of #solutions that are redefining the very concept of tourism. 🌍✨ #VanillaInnovations #PolitecnicodiMilano #TourismManagement #Innovation #Metaverse #VirtualTourism

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𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐈𝐓 𝐄𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 Aristotle’s wisdom highlights the importance of cultivating our minds, which shapes our lives and defines our worth. A positive mindset is a game-changer in the IT industry, where entrepreneurship is not just about starting a business but also about approaching life with a positive, creative, and innovative spirit. As Steve Jobs said, “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” A positive mindset empowers entrepreneurs to take risks, innovate, and stay focused on their vision. By doing so, they can identify opportunities, build strong relationships, and develop unique solutions that set them apart. Moreover, a positive mindset helps entrepreneurs learn from failures, overcome obstacles, and strive for excellence. This mindset creates a culture of innovation, collaboration, and excellence, driving success and growth in the IT industry. As a CEO, I inspire my team to embrace this mindset, knowing that it’s the key to achieving our goals and making a meaningful impact. With a positive mindset, the possibilities are endless, and we can revolutionize the IT industry.

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Some of you probably know that before I came to the #VC fund (Movens Capital), I supported publishers, managed large data sets (e.g., cookies), and developed systems to monetise ad-serving spaces at Netsprint (together with Artur; simplifying - once a strong competitor of Google in the region), among other things. Hence, I find the revolution AI is causing in the publishing market super interesting—this time, Perplexity is creating its own ad space. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Google's monopoly/advantage in this area does not serve anyone. I highly encourage all startups to fight for their position, even if they have #bigtech as a competitor/enemy! (just be sure to consider whether the direction of a head-on collision with a giant will limit your ability to fundraising) more info/link in comments

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Every business has its own uniqueness. What has to be clear is that the game has changed from what we used to know. The past years have faced me with various situations—funny, sad, or desperate. However, we have to be aware that without a minimum understanding of the market, and without a technical member in the core team, it will be hard to manage any technical team and even harder to secure funding in the future. In the beginning of a start-up's life, people invest in the team and its ability to adapt to new situations. Products fail every single minute. People don't; they just learn a hard lesson. Cheers!

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Networking 101: How to Make the Most of Professional Meetings https://lnkd.in/dEceHhHs

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