Lorenzo Sicilia

Next up in the series of posts about starting a startup for non-technical founders: 2. Finding a co-founder How do you even find one in the first place? For anyone who's tried, it's exceptionally hard. Let's start with the framework. You want to find: (a) Someone that has complimentary skills. Think one plus one equals three. (b) Someone equally passionate about the same problem. If you’re not equally excited about the challenge you’re tackling, it’s going to be hard to keep the momentum going. (c) Someone that is available - Timing. You both need to be available and ready to commit at the same time. After you go down this list, you might be lucky to know one or two people in your immediate network to work with. In terms of what you can do to navigate this stuff, there were 2 things that I thought would give me the best shot. One was immersing myself in a founder-dense environment like SF. Another was co-founder dating. The best matching platform I’ve seen is from YC. They have tons of profiles and make it simple to meet a lot of people quickly. None of this is easy, but all of it is possible. I will be sharing learnings from the process that Tennison C. and I went through (very different; I met 8 new people vs Tennison met 80 new people)—hope they’re helpful for anyone experiencing this.  --- Yesterday, we covered "Things you can’t say as a non-technical founder." For the remainder of the week, I will write about 3. Importance of a deep trial period 4. Investing in your co-founder relationship

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Sifted just released their list of the most promising SaaS startups in Europe. https://lnkd.in/erxJRGzi If you are looking to leave your corporate job for a startup but aren’t sure where to get started, do this. 1. Look at sifted lift of promising startups and pick 10 that really interest you. 2. Based on your skill set, use linked look up the lead of the department you think you would be interested in. For example, if you want to get into sales then look up the VP of sales. 3. Send them a DM on why you want to work for the company and what impact you could have in your first 100 days working there. Don’t send your CV until asked for it. 4. Follow up diligently every few days. If after the third try, no one has got back to you, move to the next 10 on the list. It sounds simple, and it is. Recruitment is the hardest thing for growth stage startups, and no one enjoyed paying 25% recruiter fees. Good luck

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49 founders and senior startup leaders respond to a survey from Sifted on the relationship between founders and VCs. Are expectations off from the start as VCs try too hard to pander to their founders with over promises of "value-add" and extensive platform teams? Do founders need to be reminded of their primary role - execution?

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Nice overview of how we're using data to inform how we invest in early-stage founders. We'll be announcing more this summer but we're seeing some really interesting early data. https://lnkd.in/exU_Juf5

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There has to be a fair and transparent process to any change to taxes and a coherent plan for the future. Unfreezing fuel duty would raise £3bn to absolutely dwarf these taxes on ambition and value creation. And benefit the environment.

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In the short time since we've launched Accend (YC S23), I'm so proud that we're working with some of the biggest fintechs: Slope, Pleo, and more I can't wait to announce. Just last week, we landed another big fish 🎣 It can be daunting as a smaller company to win bigger customers. But we've put so much time and effort into each RFP process. We research their workflows in depth, and make sure every part of our proposal is intricately tailored to it. No copy paste. Ever. Because every company's payment operations are unique, even if the surface-level problems look similar. Our secret? We obsess over the details. Before any pitch, we spend hours studying their public APIs, documentation, and customer case studies. To fellow founders targeting enterprise: don't be intimidated by bigger logos. Deep research + authentic solutions > anything else. Onwards! 🚀

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Following the excellent example Rows.com, here's another from another hot company 🚀 folk (from renowned French studio Hexa, neé eFounders, with a $9M seed from Accel, Scott Belsky, Arash Ferdowsi, Nir Eyal, Nicolas Dessaigne and more) and their great UI... What I love about this one = smart empty states A lot of products are now using "cards" as a pattern when a user first lands into the product, to encourage them to take key actions But folk does a couple really smart things that I haven't always seen: 1️⃣ Sets priority Horizontally stacked cards often don't have this, and offer equally weighted CTAs for all the cards... but users want to make fewer decisions ⬇️ 👉 Folk makes the first CTA filled and contrasting with the others, so it's even easier to get started. 2️⃣ Generates data for me Often products require new users to do a bunch of work or commit to importing data before there is any reward or value. This creates friction and means more people miss the aha moment 🙈 👉 Folk offers "sample contacts" to use instead of my data, so I can get to see the value of a CRM without committing This reduces waiting time and prevents me bouncing Thanks Simo for the submission -- great example to other #founders to submit your user onboarding or in-app flows if you want some recognition 🔦 Even if you think its not the best, share an in-app flow to Chameleon's User Onboarding Olympics to earn cash and be in the pot for our 3 x $300 gold medals 🥇 We're all learning together 😇 Click here to upload a screenshot now: chameleon.io/go/olympics 🔵🟡⚫️🟢🔴 Or please repost ♻️ or comment 💬 to help your network find this great opportunity! I regularly share examples of good UI/UX and best practices for user onboarding and PLG, so follow me 🔔 (Pulkit) for more of that in your feed 👋

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The stakes are much higher in 2024 for startup founders. There’s a lot of talk about “it’s never been easier to build”. I think that’s false and I’ll tell you why. Because building software has become more accessible with no code and frameworks, the stakes for quality UX of your startups v.1 are much higher than 10 years ago. So what does this mean for fellow founders; focus, ship less, make what you ship count and make it good and bug free. The stakes feel high for Knolly and although I’m following my own advice, we also have to remember that everything meaningful takes time - ship often and build with your early adopters and community and you will get the feedback loop you deserve without too much surprise come launch day. Let’s build. #startup #founder #software #version1 #Knolly

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If a VC can't take 5-15 minutes to truly understand the market you've spent years dissecting—they're not the right fit. Not every problem is 'obvious', especially when you’re innovating in niche spaces. That’s exactly why they’re hidden gems waiting to be discovered.💎 You’re not looking for just any VC; you’re looking for the one who sees the value in your deep dive.

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When we were first fundraising, some VCs asked us “What’s the difference between you guys and Postman?” After a few of these chats, it was clear to me that we were in a “zero billion dollar” market. To be fair, many of our customers at the time were lighthouse developers. They embraced SDKs as the future of APIs and saw developer experience as core to user adoption, not just quality of life. ______ In the last few years, however, many of the largest enterprises have come to us with a very different story. Instead of “we should do this, because it’s the future”, the conversation is entirely driven by an immediate business need. ______ Software engineering execs are actively trying to unblock a key integration with a key customer:  “We’re looking for a mechanism to quickly onboard an API client.” “The integration needs to work across product lines and our customer needs to integrate our API very quickly.” “How do you maintain the documentation?” “If we decide to open source the API, how would that work?” “Is there a codegen or codemod that serves as a migration path from what we’re using today? Because most devs are not going to be happy to do a migration and many of them won’t.” _______ Admittedly “documentation” isn’t the sexiest thing to pitch to a VC, but when we speak to the largest enterprises, it’s very clear what the needs are: - Language specific, idiomatic SDKs that are built from the ground up for each language, not just a generic wrapper. - Customizable code generation that adapts to your ecosystem. Enterprises value custom function calling, error handling, hooks, and integrations with monitoring tools. - A Github native workflow to rapidly release and test the API - Automation that integrates seamlessly with your existing processes for spec changes, code generation, testing and PRs -- with the option for a human-in-the-loop override. For an enterprise solving an immediate business need, you need a partner that understands the ins and outs of different programming languages WHILE being flexible enough to adapt your dev environment. What is it like for you to manage APIs at a large enterprise? What kinds of problems do you face? What else is critical to unblocking business?

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I stalked my co-founder for months before we started a VC firm together. Not in a creepy way. I just knew Janneke Niessen was brilliant at building tech companies from scratch. She'd done it twice already. Most VCs look at the obvious things: market size, product-market fit, financials. But here's what 15 years of research taught me: 60% of startups die because their teams implode. Not competition. Not market conditions. Not running out of money. Teams fall apart. After studying thousands of founders at Berkeley and Amsterdam, I discovered something counterintuitive: The traits that make someone an amazing early founder often become toxic during scale-up. That raw drive? It can turn into control-freakery. That passionate vision? It might blind you to market changes. That fierce independence? It could prevent crucial delegation. This is why Janneke and I built CapitalT differently. We don't just evaluate pitch decks. We measure team dynamics using hard science. We spot scaling problems before they emerge. Because unicorns aren't born from pitch decks. They're built by teams that evolve. P.S. Know a founder who needs to hear this? Tag them below.

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To all debating whether no-code should be used in build products with fundraising in mind: Investors often have a mandate to invest when there's a strong technical value prop or moat, which is why they're hesitant about no-code foundations. It's not about scale, compliance, IP, or security—modern no-code tools excel in these areas today. The real issue is the absence of deep tech roots that makes them wary. However, more open-minded investors or those focused on non-technical value props, moats, or other verticals usually have no problem with this approach. Better yet, they appreciate it for showing resourcefulness and avoiding overcomplication.

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Imagine not knowing how to get insurance for your family. That was me 1 year ago. My co-founder Diogo went through the same. Lost in the insurance maze, I wondered why it had to be so hard? I was hoping it would be as easy as buying a product off Amazon. But nothing about it was simple. With no company benefits as a safety net, it felt like we’d hit a wall. Until an INDEPENDENT AGENT stepped in. Sera didn’t just sell us a policy—she guided us and gave us peace of mind. That’s when I realized: The future of insurance isn’t about replacing agents. It’s about empowering them to help people like us. And that’s the future we’re here to build. This even led me to take the agent licensing exam. Stay tuned to learn more. #Insurance #IndependentAgents #Innovation

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Tomorrow is the summer edition of SaaStock Local London and we've a great entrepreneur sharing his story of how he orchestrated an exit (to Zuora). If your building a SaaS with a view to a future exit (most folks except Basecamp), Or your currently thinking about M&A Then this is the inside story from a great founder, James Henderson, who got a fantastic outcome. The content will not be recorded, so you have to be there to get the insights such as: Why selling was right for James and Zephr - How do you plan an exit - What forces did James consider before he sold - How he managed his team and board through the process - What happens when you make a deal and sell All these questions and you get to ask your own. So make sure you're there if you're serious about building a SaaS company to sale. Around 17 tickets remaining. Link in the comments. #exits #M&A #founders #saas #london #CEO #saastocklocallondon

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One of the biggest challenges for improving performance on Meta is teams beeing held accountable for daily (and sometimes hourly) results. This isn't enough time to try new strategies or products. So by optimizing towards a daily ROAS goal in the short term, might hurt performance in the long run as you could be missing out on new solutions.

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It's been a while since our first launch at Product Hunt, this is our second launch but to be honest, I need to admit Commented is now more mature and more powerful than our first launch. We interviewed our users, listened to them and analyzed their needs profoundly. We are delighted and excited to serve those new features to you all. - Public commenting sessions - PDF and Image file commenting - Video capturing in Mobile SDKs - Inbox view - All comments view - Jira and Asana integrations - Annotation tool shapes and stroke colours & sizes - UX improvements - Performance enhancements - Slack two-way communication. - Many bug fixes. If you have time, please roast Commented, and share your good and bad thoughts about it. And please don't forget to upvote us from the link below if you enjoyed using Commented. Please reach out to us, if you need a discount or if you need a more specific use case, we will try our best to help you. Happy roasting and thanks in advance. https://lnkd.in/eAvzCC7P #collaboration #communication #publiccomments #commenttogether #buildinpublic #productivity #commenting #mobile

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As public software companies got hammered over the last week, David Peterson explores what that means in our latest edition of The Angle. Are we witnessing the end of software? Where did all the growth go? Software isn’t dead, but it’s evolving. And building great companies is no longer about riding the wave of the cloud and building products that are a bit better than the incumbent. Founders who want to build great public companies need ideas that break the mold. And we’re excited to partner with such founders. To read David’s column and explore other exciting tech news, please access and subscribe to our newsletter using the links in the comments. 

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Rob's goals and progress on contactout and athena.vc 22nd July 2024 Last week: Monday - meetings Tuesday: QA pricing plans, admin,sign and mail company docs, pay capital call community moderation. Wednesday - Talk with deeptech founders, connect with influencers from alex brogan interviewRead about fusion, longevity and sam altman, peter theil investments Thursday - Read about helion, world coin, other sam altman investments. read btc and eth whitepapers, rain ai , lob, cocorobotics, running tide, hermes, boom Friday - Read fcp docs, eth whitepapers, sam altman peter thiel investments. What did I learn: https://lnkd.in/g3D8__Q2 what are the highest impact industries and technologies? study what top investors like sam altman and peter thiel have invested in: https://lnkd.in/gFeutEcM https://lnkd.in/g_ErBh7k lots of stuff from nuclear fusion, to longevity, to a better GPU than nvidia, universal basic income, growing seaweed to capture carbon, building the next google. https://lnkd.in/gYGjbEF2 should we start on researching how to build a better google especially google scholar for scientists: study futurehouse.org and similar and lots of scientists and deeptech founders about problems they face Jessicia Livingston's started a new podcast "Social Radar" interviewing YC founders. Her old book founders at work is really good too. The old YC content from PG, Sam, Jessica is way better than the current YC content. Going through all the startup school interviews from 2012, 2014, 2016 way better speakers. Next week: continue reading YC content write up founders curriculum

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As we move into our first round of fundraise at ContraVault, it is becoming increasingly clear that this is a completely different beast to simply operating a startup. I am constantly learning how investors are looking at companies in the current climate - there are so many ticks that need to be in place for a raise in this weather. One of the good things that we have going for us is that ContraVault is a GenAI based B2B SAAS company with actual paying customers in multiple continents. But having spoken to some investors to get a feel of the situation, these 3 things are clear to me: 1) We have to be prepared for a ton of rejections. It is really tough to crack this simply. Even the best founders who advise us, are of the same view. Go in knowing that there will be blood. 2) Choose the investor and don't just try to be chosen. One common advice that we are getting is that we need to do our diligence on the investor as well and not just hope to secure money by any means. We are default alive right now so that helps us take this call a little better. A good investor can take a company to great heights, a bad one can drive you down a cliff in double quick time. 3) Grit > Everything else. Keep at it. Have as many meetings in as short a time as possible. Hold on and it will happen. Dedicate one founder completely to this while the others keep executing. Momentum is the name of the game. There is no easy way out of this and no one has it simple. If you know any investors, would love to have a chat. If you have advice or experience, that would be greatly appreciated.

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