First Round Capital

Most people describe finding PMF as an art, not a science. We're here to change that. Introducing PMF Method. After 20 years and 500+ investments in pre-product-market fit companies, we've drawn on our data and worked with some of the world's most iconic enterprise founders, distilling what they did in their first 6 months into a free 14-week intensive experience that helps sales-led B2B founders build epic companies. In tactical sessions, we help early founders discover what customers really want, build the right v1 product, and close your first sales — all while keeping 100% of your equity. You'll work alongside a tight group of other builders at your same stage, and get to learn from the hard-earned insights from founders of $1B+ B2B companies, like Vanta's Christina Cacioppo, Looker's lloyd tabb, Plaid's Zachary Perret, Ironclad's Jason Boehmig, Lattice's Jack Altman, and Verkada's Filip Kaliszan. The Summer 2024 session of PMF Method runs from 5/29 to 8/28. Any early founder working on a new B2B SaaS company is welcome to apply — just get your application in by 5/7 (or tag a founder friend below!) More details, FAQs, and application link in the comments below 👇

Transparency isn’t just about a firehose of data—it’s about curating the story behind it. Founders often equate transparency with surfacing metrics: sharing dashboards filled with KPIs, showing cash balances, or dumping raw data on the team. But Jack Altman argues the real power lies in connecting those numbers to the why—clarifying the strategy, the thesis, and how the company plans to win. Catch more of Jack’s perspective in the full episode: https://lnkd.in/esQEZDBZ

As always, great stuff from First Round Capital

“They just don’t get it.” It can be tempting for founders to write off skepticism from customers, investors or reporters as a “them” problem. But this line of thinking often obscures what less-than-stellar feedback can tell you about your business. On The Review, Crossbeam co-founder and CEO Bob Moore breaks down how founders can spot these sneaky confirmation biases in real time and get more comfortable being wrong.

Find a co-founder who pushes you to hold new ideas lightly. Three-time founder and Crossbeam CEO Bob Moore has his first co-founder to thank for that formative lesson in intellectual honesty. “Being able to hold two thoughts at the same is a core ingredient of intellectual honesty — and helps you not just turn out as a blind optimist who says yes to every idea.” More of Bob's lessons in intellectual honesty in the full article on The Review: https://lnkd.in/dHM-Bx6C Or if you’d prefer to listen, catch the full episode on the In Depth podcast: https://lnkd.in/dnNE-UNP

It was a delight to sit down with the First Round Capital team and chat about the journey of building companies. They've done a great job of sharing our discussion through the lens something I learned from Jake Stein: Intellectual Honesty. Hope you enjoy. https://lnkd.in/ec-5UE4j

An underrated trait of great founders? A healthy dose of intellectual honesty. In the latest on The Review, 3x founder and Crossbeam CEO Bob Moore lays out a set of tactics to help founders fend off confirmation biases and hem closer to the truth — even when it’s uncomfortable. “Being intellectually honest means being willing to understand the difference between noise and signal in the things that aren’t working in your business.” Link to the full article in the comments.

Shippo co-founder and CEO Laura Behrens Wu shares how she discovered that great leadership isn’t about fitting the founder mold—it’s about leading in your own style. Full episode here: https://lnkd.in/eRJ-NnNC

Rounded up some classics here 📚 https://lnkd.in/gWhN2xX4

The only CS metric founders should focus on early is product usage. It’s tempting to track NPS, CSAT and a dozen other metrics from day one. But Stephanie Berner says early-stage founders should skip the noise. "If a customer isn’t using your product, they aren’t getting value,” she says. “Usage is the single most action-oriented metric in the early days." She doubles down on why product usage gives founders the insights they need to build a stronger customer base in the clip below. Full episode here: https://lnkd.in/dGqX6AGt