J Goel

Goldcast's startup journey has perfectly mapped the last 4 crazy years of SaaS. Palash Soni and his cofounders first started the company in 2021 to build great, customizable virtual event solutions for enterprise marketers. While their business kept growing past the pandemic, it was clear that overall spend was shifting back to IRL events fast. However, video consumption continued to rise and quickly became the best way to build your brand and an audience in software - if you knew how to operationalize video marketing. Goldcast's product evolution from a virtual events platform to an AI-native video marketing solution has been incredible to watch. The company had its best quarter yet, adding customers like OpenAI and Coupa Software and I couldn't be more proud. Here's Palash talking about their product evolution and the future of video marketing in an AI-native world.

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Shreyas Doshi on annual planning: We sped 6 weeks planning. We go into January super excited! And then, inevitably, the first week of February, 3 key client features come up and, by the end of Q1, the plan is completely thrown out. So then, I ask “well, why are we doing planning for 6 weeks?” And someone really smart says something like “the plan is useless, but the act of planning is powerful”. And everyone nods their head because it sounds smart but no one has a clue what it means. YES 😂😂😂 The solution: spent 3 days refining a simple, clear product strategy. Everything that comes up can run through that filter. If it’s not aligned, don’t do it. If it is, consider prioritizing it. The result: You stay fluid & dynamic without sacrificing your north star.

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This week the San Francisco Chronicle and The San Francisco Standard both featured stories about the turnaround at OpenTable. For anyone who enjoys going to the hottest restaurants, you know that OpenTable hasn't been relevant for a long time now. Upstarts like Resy, previously Reserve, and Tock cherry-picked all of the best restaurants in each city. If a restaurant was on OpenTable, it meant that they weren't good enough to make it on one of those other discerning platforms. A Michelin-star chef wouldn't be caught dead using OpenTable. But that has changed. Because of the dynamic leadership of Debby Soo, Amy Wei and Susan Lee, a trio of Asian American C-suite female executives, OpenTable is finally relevant again after a decade of obsolescence in the food scene. Through initiatives like the OpenTable Icons and partnerships with Visa to create the Visa Dining Collection, their team has enticed the hottest restaurants to reconsider. When I go to book a reservation at the hottest restaurants in San Francisco like Saison or State Bird Provisions or Four Kings (the hottest table in SF), I have to book with OpenTable. If you know these women like I do, you've seen them hustling and traveling all around the country non-stop to meet with these top chefs and build the trust required to win them over. I was tired just seeing Debby's travel schedule and itinerary, even running into her at JFK one morning and having an impromptu breakfast with her. These women were relentless in their pursuit of making OpenTable THE destination for dining and it is paying off. They are generating shareholder value for Booking Holdings (NASDAQ: BKNG). The work is not done yet, but clearly I'm not the only one who has noticed the shift, and I'm glad that the media is recognizing them for their efforts. Congrats to these three hard-working women for moving mountains. How an unexpected power player in restaurant reservations has wooed top Bay Area chefs (The San Francisco Chronicle) https://lnkd.in/dbrx-8pC The hottest restaurants in SF are moving over to … OpenTable? (The San Francisco Standard) https://lnkd.in/dAmWShae

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Quick story of how a headstarter fellow got hired: Few weeks ago Nabeel Alamgir🦄 (CEO Lunchbox, raised $100M in funding) reached out that he had this new idea and was looking for a CTO. I asked him "are you sure you want a CTO and not an intern?" He said "yes, and I'll give him co-founder equity." I was blown. I looked thru our rolodex of fellows and quickly made an internal job posting for our fellows on discord. I shared Shadman's profile with Nabeel. Shadman's experience working in food-tech before in Provecho seemed like a good match. Shadman is also a Junior in CUNY Hunter College. Fast forward a few weeks. They just launched publically. Shadman's name is mentioned in this article. https://lnkd.in/eKzraAbx Please join me in congratulating Shadman for his offer, his quick ship to production and public press. ---> If you want to be cracked, be hired by cracked founders or be lethal when comes to FAANG interviews and offers chk out our hiring profile and accelerator application here: https://lnkd.in/e5bAPuuX

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It was an honor to have worked with Preetish Nijhawan and an even greater honor to have known him. Preetish was the first one to truly believe in StackShare. We met in 2016 when I was fundraising. A small handful of investors wanted to be a part of the round but no one wanted to lead. Then Jocelyn Goldfein introduced me to Preetish and Neeraj Gupta and everything changed. Cervin ended up leading StackShare's seed round and investing $1M. It's hard to overstate how important that was for the company. Not only was it the largest investment we'd received, but at the time, being able to raise $1M+ as an unproven founder with no experience was extremely rare. Add to that, StackShare was focused on building a community so it wasn't the typical enterprise software company that Cervin invests in. In so many ways, Preetish made a huge bet on me. Preetish joined StackShare's board as part of the seed round, and over the years he coached me and helped me learn how to run a company. And more importantly, he did it with compassion. Because he had been a founder himself, it always felt like he understood exactly what I was going through and the true weight of the decisions that I faced. I've said this before, but a lot of investors say that they're founder friendly, while few actually are. Preetish was one of the few. He showed me some tough love but he was always fair and gave it to me straight, and I respected him tremendously for that. The level of dedication and compassion Preetish showed for founders was incredible. It didn't matter what time of day or what was going on in his own life, he always made my company a priority. Whether it was hopping on a quick call at 3am to give me advice or signing documents on the way back from a doctor's visit. There are countless stories I could tell from the 9+ years I knew Preetish that show how dedicated he was to supporting me, so I can't imagine how many other founders he's impacted throughout his career. Preetish, thank you for changing the lives of so many founders, including mine.

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The universe we miss in a blink... and this was almost five years ago. Revisiting the conversation from the Filter Kaapi Podcast with Karthik Nagarajan feels like flipping through a time-lapse of the digital world on steroids. This is my review of what we talked about... the hits and the misses. We lived through a pandemic, locked down, and emerged a changed society. Entire business models were born, evolved, and buried. Firework? A pioneer in video commerce now—but its early app was quietly abandoned, and Gemi never took off. The pivot to open-web short video happened in India. Driven by TikTok’s ban, a rash of short-video apps sprang up like mushrooms after rain, but only a few endured. Instagram Reels filled the void. YouTube Shorts, late to the party, still crushed it thanks to YouTube’s ecosystem. OTT consolidation? Still a mirage. Indie platforms either faded or chased sleaze for subscriptions. Vernacular OTTs like Stage, Hoichoi, and Aha held their ground, but where’s the real breakout? Meanwhile, Jio’s entry reshuffled the deck—did the telecom-driven OTT wave crash or just pause for breath? Content massification, seeded by ALTBalaji, became a global trend (Yay! Divya Dixit). Influencers still aren’t the magic bullet marketers dreamed of. Media buyers stubbornly cling to DAUs and MAUs, ignoring the gravitational pull of authentic storytelling. Today, TikTok is the global bogeyman, while quick commerce is four minutes or bust. The same video commerce pitch I gave years ago now boomerangs back to me—ironic, but unsurprising. Maybe I was ahead of the curve; maybe the ecosystem was just slow to catch on. Looking ahead, we’re staring down a fascinating collision of commerce, entertainment, and AI. Shopping is entertainment—always has been. Why shouldn’t entertainment content have built-in video commerce rights? And AI? Training models will devour oceans of video content. AI rights are the next frontier. Content libraries once licensed by the kilo might soon be prized assets—not just inventory for bulk deals. Fun times ahead. Let’s hope investors and the ecosystem finally learn to play catch-up. Time doesn’t wait, and neither does tech’s relentless march forward.

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There's not a day that goes by without someone asking me, "How are you managing to do all this?" Besides the fact that I've been waking up at 5 am every day for the past six months, I've come to realise there's more to it. This week, I listened to a podcast episode featuring Lenny Rachitsky and Shreyas Doshi, and it really resonated with me. They delved into why we're always so busy in product development, and it felt like they were speaking directly to my experiences. Shreyas shared that we often find ourselves overwhelmed no matter how many productivity hacks we employ. As we take on more responsibilities, our to-do lists grow faster than we can manage them. He emphasised that the real issue isn't about working harder or finding the next big efficiency trick. One point that struck me was the importance of having a clear and aligned product strategy. Without it, we end up drowning in endless meetings, planning sessions, and unexpected tasks. This lack of focus eats up our time and adds unnecessary stress. The same goes for life in general, by the way. Listening to their conversation confirmed that the steps I'm undertaking now in terms of productivity and efficiency are on the right path. Being constantly busy isn't a badge of honour, but a sign that I need to reassess how I'm working. It's about being intentional with my time, making thoughtful decisions, and ensuring that my efforts align with a meaningful strategy. So yes, waking up early helps, but it's not the whole story. It's about working smarter, not just harder. This podcast reminded me that sometimes, stepping back to see the bigger picture can make all the difference.

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AI is shaking up finance & accounting! 🚀 In my recent California Business Journal article, I shared how AI is helping companies: 💪 Automate Data Entry: No more boring, error-prone manual work. ⚡️ Boost Compliance: Stay GAAP-compliant with ease. 🔮 Level Up Forecasting: Turn data into crystal-clear insights. 🤔 Navigate Risks: Address AI’s ethical & privacy concerns. The future of finance is here, and it’s powered by AI! 💡 How are you leveraging it? #AI #Finance #Startups #Innovation #SAAS #FinTech

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Every founder dreams of a straight path to success, but sometimes, the best outcomes come from making a sharp pivot. When we cut a major feature from Shoutlet, it was terrifying; we risked losing half our customers overnight. But that bold move didn’t just save us—it transformed our business, making us leaner, more focused, and more profitable. Pivots aren’t easy, but they’re often essential in today’s startup world. Check out my latest Substack post for a roadmap on when and how to pivot without losing momentum—and why embracing change might be the best move you ever make. #entrepreneurs #saas #startups

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Couple people reached out about this GeekWire article yesterday by Taylor Soper covering supply chain tech in Seattle, asking more about it. I really believe Seattle is a great spot for the following reasons: 1. Modern supply chains are built from the ground up to serve customers. While Amazon helped cement this, others deserve credit for their commitment to customer focus. Many of those companies are in Seattle (Nordstrom etc). I really believe that every supply chain will fail to modernize if it doesn't reorient towards its respective customer at the center. The 90s era operating models of push-based cost management and misaligned incentives will prevent true modernization. Because Seattle has had so many companies with this at their cultural core, a lot of the supply chain tech talent here is committed to this attitude. 2. Technology, in particular cloud based software engineering, and supply chain operations are now so intimately intertwined, that you can't have an operator who isn't technical (or have someone who is technical but doesn't understand operations) and still expect to modernize. Seattle is also a technology epicenter, with Microsoft/Amazon and dozens of excellent public and private companies shedding supreme technical talent. It has allowed a higher hit rate of leading technologists to infiltrate logistics tech. 3. Similar to above, I believe most supply chain problems are probabilistic in nature. There is little certainty in supply chains. This means data is the root most important thing to modern supply chains, but also that true data science with real data scientists powering real ML and AI models is critical to successful supply chains. Data science talent is all over the place here in Seattle. 4. Lastly, hard to put a finger on this one, but there is something interesting about the intersection of the profiles of startups (high risk based profiles) and supply chains (low risk based profiles). Startups and startup culture embraces change. You have to in order to be successful. Seattle is definitely a top startup ecosystem in the country, so a lot of people here are comfortable pushing boundaries. Meanwhile, operations and supply chains are historically risk averse, and for good reason. Physical atoms are involved. It's the heartbeat of organizations. Most tech is 90s era on prem stuff. It's really hard to change. I think there is something compelling about each side counter balancing each other for the best ideas for innovation coming out of it. When I look at the startups on Taylor's list, it's a lot of ideas are targeting the highest value and most fertile problems of supply chains. I think the talent here is focused on meaningful change that industries can absorb, versus too risky of ideas that will never be adopted or too small of ideas that will never make an impact. https://lnkd.in/gm4bikHb

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What an invigorating weekend surrounded by incredible minds in the startup ecosystem! Made new friends, reconnected with old and had a blast 🚀✨ One of my absolute highlights? Meeting Tim Koogle – the OG CEO of Yahoo! Hearing about his journey and soaking in the advice was a game-changer. ✨ His secret sauce for success✨ 1️⃣ Hire the best – never settle. 2️⃣ Get crystal clear on what you want them to do. 3️⃣ Relentlessly push authority out to them – trust your team. 4️⃣ Stay close, but don’t get in their way. 5️⃣ Repeat – Empower them to do the same with their teams. Such simple yet powerful principles to scale effectively while staying focused on the bigger picture. Ready, determined, and energised to make global domination a reality for EatKinda! 💜🍦 Thank you Icehouse Ventures 🙏🏼 #startuplife #leadership #scalingup #entrepreneurship #FMCG

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Insightful look into bioplatform strategy, and what it takes to raise a Series A from my partner, Omri Amirav-Drory: https://lnkd.in/dFv7GbF6

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Employee terminations: they're a topic no one wants to discuss but that every company has to navigate. Thankfully, Melanie Naranjo and wonderful Ethena advisor (& Gusto's former People Leader) Jess Yuen are tackling this tricky topic for the next Ethena webinar. Register if you want to learn more about these topics: How to pressure test whether or not termination is the right course of action Best practices for communicating termination decisions How to minimize risk and choose the best course of action when things get tricky Critical pitfalls to avoid

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Instacart is a market leader when it comes to leveraging AI tools to boost productivity at work. I had an amazing conversation with JJ Zhuang, Instacart’s Chief Architect, who has shepherded over 50 AI-driven initiatives to market across the org. We explored what catapulted Instacart to the forefront of AI integration, supporting radically diverse use cases across various functional areas. One striking insight (echoed by Ethan Mollick and others elsewhere) is that you often don't need specialized tools for specialized work. Frontier models like GPT-4 can seamlessly adapt to a wide range of functions and use cases. They're not just for engineers; they're incredibly versatile tools used by marketing, comms, and legal teams. From generating code to proofreading and ideation, GPT-4 empowers every department to leverage AI for enhanced productivity and innovation. By integrating LLM’s like GPT-4 into their workflows, teams can streamline processes, automate repetitive tasks, and unlock bandwidth for new creative possibilities. How can you harness the power of AI in your own work to boost productivity? Share your thoughts below 👇 Want to hear more insights from JJ? Check out the full podcast episode by clicking the link in the comments.

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Cyrus Radfar is a builder at heart. He's also a founder, operator, and advisor, having founded 3 companies, held executive product roles, and advised startups, technical leaders, and VCs. He was most recently the Chief Product Officer at Rollbar, where he lead product and engineering teams and oversaw the culture, strategy, vision, and execution of Rollbar's products and engineering. Cyrus & I had a great conversation last week, and we’ll release the full episode soon. In the meantime, this is a great clip where Cyrus talks about why pricing & packaging is so often under-leveraged by startups. Cyrus said a number of things I found really thought-provoking in this interview: 1/ “Pricing & packaging is core to the customer experience, but it's probably not core to your product innovation. Engineers don't build payments or auth, they buy it off the shelf. Same should be true for pricing & packaging." 2/ "Procurement has a massive & under-realized impact on culture. Buy the products that align with the culture you want." When Cyrus & his partner aren't spending time raising two young kids, he's advising engineering and product leaders and consulting with a number of companies ranging from startups to enterprises. #pricing #packaging #b2bsaas

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Interesting article on last mile delivery. This is one of those areas where the high level theory is super exciting, but low-level delivery network design and ruthless execution are *everything*. This led to a recent generation of failed attempts to build last mile delivery as startups. I don't hold out much hope that Shein and Temu will change that balance, only delay more failures. Is this an impossible area to build a startup in? No. But it's a problem where domain expertise has to meet capital, and a team has to be brilliant from a network design standpoint, combined with day-to-day operations chops. Those teams are super rare. https://lnkd.in/dgQjYZ_2

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Navigating Growth: Insights from yesterday’s Panel Discussion with Founders and Innovators SeedLegals Yesterday’s panel discussion, featuring Rob Cossins (Scribe) and Siddhi Mittal (yhangry), moderated by SeedLegals, was a deep dive into the interplay of data, adaptability, and technology in building scalable businesses. The conversation, enriched by audience questions, provided actionable insights for every founder in the room. 📊 Data: A Guide, Not a Gospel Rob stressed the limitations of relying solely on historical data, pointing out its backward-looking nature and emphasised the importance of responding to market signals in real time. Siddhi shared the challenges of starting with limited or skewed data, underscoring the value of focusing on one clear KPI—such as revenue or bookings—as a guiding metric for early growth. Both speakers agreed that intuition plays a pivotal role, especially in rapidly changing markets where data alone may lag behind reality. 🔄 Pivots: The Catalyst for Evolution Siddhi revealed how 60% of Yhangrys' bookings shifting to holiday homes led to a transformative pivot, showcasing the importance of staying attuned to customer behaviour. Siddhi reflected on Yhangry’s journey from solving a personal problem to creating a scalable business model, adapting to market demands through multiple iterations. Audience question: What was the biggest turning point in your business? Siddhi credited strategic partnerships and targeted outreach (like appearing on Dragons' den) for amplifying visibility and trust. Rob emphasised the need to constantly reassess and refine your product’s value proposition. 🤝 Networks: The Foundation of Growth Siddhi highlighted the value of leveraging personal networks for advice, mentorship, and distribution. “Your connections can unlock doors you didn’t even know existed.” Rob shared how engaging with customers and early adopters provided critical feedback, helping refine Scribe’s offerings and distribution strategy. Audience question: How do you prioritise networking as a founder? Both speakers encouraged founders to ask for help unapologetically and to view networking as an ongoing effort, not just a one-off activity. 🤖 AI and Technology: From Efficiency to Transformation Rob explained how AI enables Scribe to query large datasets and extract actionable insights, making processes faster and smarter. Advice for Early-Stage Founders Focus on revenue early: Both speakers agreed that revenue validates your market and provides clarity on customer needs. Be agile: Pivots are not failures—they’re opportunities to realign with what the market demands. The discussion was a reminder of the delicate balance between data and intuition, focus and flexibility, and technology and human connection. As one audience member remarked, “Growth isn’t about knowing everything—it’s about adapting to the unknown.” #Entrepreneurship #GrowthMindset #DataDriven #Innovation #Networking #AI

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