David Abaev

The VC funding model when everything works out fine... In real life: Only a few startups make it! So if you are considering going the VC route: Have a backup plan!

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It's already hard to get into the top-tier YC world. It's 10x times harder if you're in Europe. Even if you're in Silicon valley, it's still hard to get into the YC ecosystem. Why? Because YC is tightly closed and protected environment. An exclusive world where demo day access is invite-only for the insiders. In the world there are only 400 handpicked guests attended the last in-person event. It was purely an insider event. You have to be an insider to get access to the best deals. And I'm on of the 400 investors who's on that list. This is why I love YC so much: Statistically 6% of these startups will become unicorns. Making them the best asset class you could ever invest your money into. But, it's almost impossible to gain access to them…. You can get access through me, and that's as close to those YC start-ups as you could ever get.

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Alternative Resources for founders, geared for startups with generous free tiers: 1) Papermark - Docsend alternative. 2) Tally - Typeform alternative. 3) Cal.com, Inc. - Calendly alternative. 4) Supabase - Firebase Alternative. 5) Sender.net - Mailchimp Alternative. What else are people using and loving in the founders stack?

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What Is a Venture Studio Why are Studios on the rise (60% IRR, 33% Faster Exits, Etc…) What are some notable Studio Startups (Snowflake → $43B, Slack → ???, Etc…) How are they different from other support systems (Accelerators, Incubators, Venture Capital, PE firms) All wrapped in 1 post P.S. The Venture Studio model can significantly  reduce the risks associated with entrepreneurship (This information is backed by data) Leave a reaction so more investors, founders, and  operators can learn about the studio model as well And follow me (Matthew) for daily studio insights

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In 2015, Sam Altman made a bold bet on YC's future. Despite tech bubble fears, he predicted: 1.. YC Private Unicorns (Airbnb, Dropbox and Stripe) would 2X to $100B+ total value 2.. Mid-stage YC cos (like Instacart, Coinbase) would 3X to $27B+ 3.. Latest YC batch (then $0) would reach $3B valuation Fast forward - 2024: 1. Airbnb ($78B), Dropbox ($9B), Stripe ($95B) = $182B+ 📈 2. Instacart ($9B), Coinbase ($38B) smashed the 3X target 🚀 3. That YC batch? W15... GitLab alone hit $8B valuation 💥 Sam's predictions? Vindicated. But it also reveals just how good YC is. From 2005-2024, YC has funded 4000+ startups, with a combined valuation of $600B+. Today is S24's demo day!.... I wonder what this class will look like in 2033 🔮

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🚨 Fundraising Alert 🚨 Top tier companies raising Pre-Seed to Series A in the next 6 months should apply to Focal where they can pitch almost all their prospective investors at once. Demo day is on May 16th. ✅ Applying takes 7 mins ✅ Previous applicants raised from funds like Sequoia, Balderton, Episode 1, Lightspeed and GV. ✅ Even if you find fundraising easy, this is a way to build added momentum. You can apply here: https://lnkd.in/eTdTtSw7

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Founders often set prices too low, leaving a lot of value on the table. Start with pricing that's on the high end, and then use discounting to test where it should land. This can help safely find the price sweet spot without having to raise prices (never ideal).

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If you’re looking for a great way to up your fundraising game this fall, check out my friends at Socap.ai (YC W23). They’re running a 4-week bootcamp for founders, offering two tailored tracks depending on where you are in the fundraising process. It’s perfect if you need a focused push and practical advice from seasoned founders. Definitely recommend giving it a look if you’re raising this season! You can easily apply on their site. #fundraising #founders

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Some thoughts on the following post regarding the "Secret YC SAFE" o  Isn't the whole point of a SAFE the fact that it is not debt or equity so it is only convertible based on a future fixed valuation (priced round), less whatever discount is stated and therefore requires only minor legal review. o  A valuation cap if attached to the SAFE only guarantees a maximum price for conversion. o  It therefore is not a fixed percentage of the cap table but on a post money SAFE it would guarantee a minimum percentage of the post total equity. o  There are legal, regulatory and tax consequences to buying or selling straight equity or debt. o  A SAFE agreement is neither, and therefore you only have fluff until there is a priced round that triggers the SAFE and locks in a fixed price for conversion to equity on the cap table. o  What if instead of the standard SAFE terms, (discount and or valuation cap) the 'Secret YC SAFE' simply locks in a post money percentage of equity. o  In that case you might as well subscribe for straight equity and purchase common or preferred stock. o  This however will have legal, tax, and regulatory consequences that the SAFE was designed to avoid. o  Why then, if the price is fixed and you are an accredited investor would you want to hold a SAFE that has no value until there is a priced round. o  If there is no priced round there is generally no guaranteed conversion. o  As a possible solution we have added a clause to a standard SAFE agreement to cover this obvious shortcoming;  “If this instrument does not otherwise expire or terminate prior to the two-year anniversary of the issue date, the company will, at the sole option of the Investor, and prior to the provisions of any subsequent 'Events' as described in Section 1(a)(b)(c)(d) below, issue Common Stock at a Conversion Price determined by and equal to the Safe Price.” o  This may potentially create a grey area where it could be argued for tax and regulatory purposes that the price of the offering had an ultimate fixed price and therefore did not meet the ambiguous price certainty that sets a SAFE apart from being painted with the same brush as Debt or Equity. o  A SAFE agreement that is altered to state only a definitive percentage of total outstanding equity, post money, becomes a fixed value security with the exception that it may have no guarantee of conversion prior to a fixed price round of financing. o  Taking away the ‘discount’ from a future priced round erases a key incentive for an early investor without having to negotiate the price per share upfront. Investors should want the discount in the scenario that a priced round valuation comes in lower than the valuation cap or it at least guarantees them a substantial discount to the priced round investors that come in much later at less risk.

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VC industry is tricky and weird... It's a combination of objectives rules ↳ investment thesis and a bunch of subjective decision ↳ IC meeting This is the reason why in today's market successfully raised rounds are combinations of quantity of the call's with objectively quality investors. We at Problem Solver established a system that provides you with 10-15 qualified intros in first 3 weeks of collaboration, so in case you are raising Series A/B round and want to faster up the process of the closing round: I can help ✌

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How to pitch: The company has zero traction —> “We’re early” You only have 2 customers —> “We’re working with design partners” You currently have no revenue but hoping some pipeline finally closes —> “we’re on track to exit this year at $3M ARR” You’re in the natural kill zone of a FAANG —> “We view them as partners rather than competitors” There’s no way the tech can actually work —>“We’re manifesting the future” And of course: One of your developers uses Co-Pilot to write some front end code —> “We’re an AI company”

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Hot take... YC S24 was the best YC batch i've seen. I break it down why here: https://lnkd.in/enNcbfRK YC is evolving, from in person demos days to new group partners... I cover how this shift is influencing investment strategies, the rise of sectors like batteries and space tech, and why traction—not hype—continues to be the ultimate indicator of value. Catch the full breakdown below.

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Ilya Sutskever has raised $1 billion from Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital for his 3-month-old startup Safe Superintelligence (SSI). The valuation lands at $5 billion according to sources. SSI, which currently has 10 employees, plans to use the funds to acquire computing power and hire top talent. It will focus on building a small highly trusted team of researchers and engineers split between Palo Alto, California and Tel Aviv, Israel. According to SSI, they've raised the money to help develop safe artificial intelligence systems that far surpass human capabilities. $1B raise at a $5B valuation. For a company that is a couple of months old and doesn't seem to have a product or even a single line of code in production. Wild. In this case, everyone knows it takes hundreds of millions to train models. So investors are essentially rolling the dice on an extremely well-regarded team. And if it takes about a billion just to get off the ground, the valuation would need to be at least in the couple billion range to make it worth it for employees to work there. US dream 🦅 #artificialintelligence #startups #venturecapital

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Did you know that YC founders get a secret weapon… and it’s not what you think. “Bookface” is YC’s internal social network. It was needed because YC had funded larger batches and the hardest part of a community is knowing who is in it and who you can trust and ask for help. On the platform, founders share real methods and advice that would break if it were shared widely It’s secret knowledge shared with a trust-first community - answering 80% of the questions a founder can have about building and selling a product, be it to clients, candidates or investors. Before the platform, if you had a B2B startup, you had to reach out cold to potential customers. Now there are over 1000 YC companies you can sell your service to and all of their contact information is in Bookface. As a result, YC alumni companies are often over 50% of your new sales during YC. It’s superpowers like this that make YC deals so attractive compared to the norm. You are investing in a founder with a 10x network already!

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Fundraising for your SaaS startup? Memorize these benchmarks: 1. CAC Payback: 0-6 months 2. OpEx Efficiency: 1.5X+ 3. Net Revenue Retention: 120%+ 4. Time to Cash Out: 24+ months 5. Revenue Growth: 125%+ 6. Logo Retention: 95%+ These are the BEST benchmarks. Anything less is just... less. Investors have their benchmarks. You need to have yours too. Aim high. Grow fast. Retain customers. Be efficient. Then fundraise like a boss. 😎 The metrics tell your story. Make it a bestseller. 📈 — 📌 If you liked this (and want to support my work): - Like - Repost And follow me (Chris Tottman) for more B2B tips. Thank you! #BrainDumps 🧠 💩 // Brain Dump #52

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Understanding AppLovin In the latest episode of the Mobile Dev Memo podcast, I present a long-form analysis of AppLovin's business and its significant recent growth. But understanding AppLovin the company is fundamentally predicated on understanding the market in which it operates, mobile games advertising, and the direct response digital advertising landscape more broadly. And so the podcast is structured in three parts: - Understanding direct response advertising - Understanding mobile gaming advertising - Understanding AppLovin’s growth Link below.

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The latest on YC valuations has been making headlines, so here's what I'm seeing as an early-stage fund manager investing at the pre-seed/seed. I’ve spoken to a couple dozen YC companies in the last year, all raising at $15M-$30M valuations regardless of traction or founder background – it could be a 20-year-old with a duct-taped MVP that pivoted eight times in the cohort. Compared to Techstars or other accelerators, that is 2x-6x higher than most valuations. Even for multi-time exited founders, the high bar is generally a $15M valuation regardless of product or traction. That said, YC companies could be considered de-risked due to the network effects of YC and historical data on YC producing ~10% of unicorns. Fundamentally, it makes sense if the valuation is higher because the expectations are that it’s less risky and the future outcome is bigger. There has to be a line drawn between what is fair and excessive. As an investor, I’m willing to pay a premium for opportunities that we believe can produce outsized returns regardless of the cost. Today, single-stage funds struggle to invest in YC companies because valuations are higher and therefore, the ownership is lower. For early-stage funds, without the ability to maintain future dilution, obtaining venture returns while consistently investing in YC companies is harder. The returns start reverting closer to public equities without the risk/reward matching typical venture returns.  For multi-stage funds, typically larger multi-hundred million to billion dollar funds, you can continue buying company ownership as your portfolio companies grow. A $1M-$3M pre-seed check is a drop in the bucket, so larger funds are less sensitive to valuations and look at YC investments as an option to fund a $10M+ check in the future. Whether YC is meant to create these dynamics or not, their newest model, a larger investment that carries an MFN, naturally incentivizes all the YC companies to take on investments at a higher valuation. In turn, this method coincidentally hinders emerging funds or single-stage funds from participating. Was this structured by design to pent-up deal flow for some of the tier 1s and maybe even LPs in the Bay Area? I guess you can index YC if you have a billion-dollar fund…..

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