Monty Ngan

I highly recommend SF local founders check out a free "Founder-Led Sales" lecture Peter Kazanjy is giving on Wednesday Dec 11th. The single biggest mistake I see founders make is abstracting themselves from sales prematurely. It hemorrhages cash, runway and founder and employee equity. They think the moment they leave their accelerator or raise capital that's the signal for others to take the reigns of sales sleigh. #error Pete demystifies much of what it takes get founder-led sales right. Book your place using the link in the comments. #sales #saas #startups #GTMdebt #venturecapital

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I saw a rare example of bad advice from YC recently. They told folks that it doesn’t matter if you’re passionate about your company’s product / mission. While that’s fine from the #VC’s perspective, as lots of enterprise b2b applications are extremely profitable, which was their point. And their business is driven by repeatably successful actions. Growing a b2b business in their wheelhouse, with their network is definitely a successful and repeatable activity. However … most people should not even be an #Entrepreneur. Let alone a founder of a VC-backed startup. The lifestyle will make them miserable. To be a successful #founder, you need to be motivated to get up and work on your company 10+ hours a day, 7 days a week. It’s all-consuming. Usually for an entire decade. So focusing on a product and customers that you don’t care about … that will compuound the personal pain and build a personal hell. I’ve seen that happen to a number of my friends and associates over the years, even when they were seen as tremendous successes. Focus first on what matters the most … your happiness. That includes solving a problem that you’re excited about. But only if you’re actually an entrepreneur. Before you dive into being a business owner…figure out if that lifestyle is for you.

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The deadline for the next batch of YC is in < 1 week (Taro is a YC alum) The deadline for the next batch of PearX (where I'm a venture scout!) is already closed but will open again early next year. If you'd like feedback on your startup, I'd love to help. My company got into YC, but afterward, I pitched 100s of investors and got rejected by almost all of them 😅 If you'd like to pitch your startup and get feedback from me tomorrow, drop the comment "📈" on this post and then send me a message on LinkedIn with your one-liner. Nothing is too early: your 'startup' can be just an idea, or you could have already launched. Join me + 46 others tomorrow: https://lnkd.in/gRidfSdp

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Reflecting on another fantastic StartupAZ retreat in Flagstaff last month! I’m grateful to be a part of this incredible community that continually supports technology founders in Arizona. StartupAZ is more than just a network; it’s a powerful ecosystem of founders, mentors, and seasoned entrepreneurs who come together to uplift and propel each other forward. The monthly cohort meetings provide the kind of support and mentorship that makes all the difference in launching and scaling a technology company. This organization has been a game-changer for me personally, connecting me with like-minded leaders and providing the resources needed to navigate the challenges of entrepreneurship. Being surrounded by other founders who are as passionate about innovation and growth as I am has been truly inspiring. Below is a video from our retreat, showcasing the spirit and energy of this incredible group of people dedicated to pushing the limits of what’s possible. Seeing how much we’ve grown and the impact we’ve had on Arizona’s tech landscape is both humbling and motivating. If you're a founder in Arizona or someone passionate about the startup ecosystem, I highly encourage you to get involved with StartupAZ. Let’s keep building, growing, and supporting the next wave of innovators right here in Arizona! #StartupAZ #FoundersSupportingFounders #ArizonaTech #Entrepreneurship #StartupCommunity #Innovation

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YC founders: here's a harsh truth that might help you when hiring. Great people want to work with great people. But...A-players hire A-players. B-players hire C-players. Keeping the hiring bar relentlessly high is critical, especially early on. A single person that isn’t great can drag the quality down of the entire team. Folks will look around and realize the standards are lower than they thought. They’ll realize that they don’t need to be as good. They’ll realize they can learn less from their colleagues. People make the organization, not the other way around. And that if you don’t have great people, you won’t have a great organization.

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Causal is my 1st company. Here's what I'd do differently as a 2nd-time founder: 1. Hire an EA on day 1 — founders shouldn't waste time doing scheduling 2. Spend 25% of my time at conferences — this is where commerce happens 3. Fly business class — self-explanatory What else?

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~3 Weeks in Silicon Valley (SF Bay area), 1 more week to Go 🌉 Tips for non-SF founders (like myself) in SF ⁠1. ⁠On story telling: Story plus Revenue speaks louder than just story/revenue unless you are Sam Altman. Every meeting is an opportunity to refine your story. 2.⁠ ⁠⁠On Networking- find your very focused niche network, spray and pray is very inefficient. Have at least 1-2 meetings a day before you travel. Use LinkedIn. This strategy worked really well for me. 3.⁠ ⁠⁠Be very responsive. Being responsive increases chances of success. 4.⁠ ⁠⁠Keep your swag/ remain confident in your skin but also don't be arrogant. Just be nice and speak clearly. SF can be very overwhelming for non-sf founders. 5.⁠ Have a strong team back home, who can handle things behind your back. 6. Sleep, Eat healthy and Hydrate. #SanFrancisco #StartupEcosystem #VentureCapital #Entrepreneurship #Africa #Shiprazor

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Early this year, Kevin Moore (Founder, Serac Ventures) looked into his crystal ball to share with us when startups could expect to climb out of the fundraising drought...Was he correct? (episode link below) Looks like we're headed in the right direction! According to Carta, US Startup funding has grown by just under $3B YoY from 2023. (Source linked below) Excluding the wild investing environment of 2021, it appears the the funding faucets are starting to run again. So, it looks like Kevin is onto something. He shares several other jewels related to the business of VC. Check out the full episode Full Episode: YouTube: https://lnkd.in/e7SRXu32 Spotify: https://lnkd.in/db99br8 Apple: https://lnkd.in/eMxwNwJj Startup Funding Data (Carta, Peter Walker) https://lnkd.in/ePan7EnX

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I recently listened to Zach Perret, founder of Plaid, on the 20VC podcast discussing his evolution in recruiting. His mindset shift resonated with me. Here are three key takeaways: ▶ Be yourself and do it. Cold emails and genuine curiosity unlock unrecruitable people. People love to talk about things they're passionate about. ▶ Embrace the hunt. The best founders love to compete for talent. They understand the value each person can bring and don't like losing. This skill will also translate into founder-led sales. ▶ Hire for "Spike". This is essential when building an early team. I often think of it as the shape of a "T"—someone with deep expertise in one area but is open and curious to learn and contribute in other areas outside their core strength.

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Yesterday, I felt like I absorbed the essence of 📚 three books in just over an hour. How? By keeping great people around me. One of those people is Shashi Jain from the Portland Seed Fund, led by Angela Jackson and her amazing partners and team. I first met him during the RAIN Catalysts startup program, guided by Caroline Cummings and other inspiring leaders. Yesterday, I got lucky enough to snag an in-person meeting with him. He hasn’t funded my startup yet (😆), but what he shared is worth so much more than money. It’s wisdom, perspective, and clarity that really matter. Shashi’s depth, knowledge, and ego-free approach always impress me. Here’s what I took away: 📖 Book recommendation: Prediction Machines by Ajay Agrawal 🚀 Agile tip: Check out Agile Alliance to take your game to the next level Having people in your circle who genuinely help you grow is invaluable. Who’s someone in your life that leaves you with this kind of impact? Tag them below—I’d love to know! 👇

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Positioning is everything for job seekers right now. > The Product Manager who owns the roadmap... vs. the one who's turned user research into a competitive advantage > The Partnerships Manager who "has a deep rolodex" vs. the one who knows how to monetize > The Eng Director who's led teams of 30 vs. the one who's brought revenue-generating products to market with speed and efficiency Same people. Two different ways of talking about their experience. One makes them sound like everybody. The other lands interviews. Do you know what your competitive advantage is?

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Starting a new fun project with Victor Lee - an AMA series with early stage founders. There are many podcast shows featuring successful, famous entrepreneurs. But what about those who are still relatively early in their journey, perhaps just one step ahead? The zero-to-one founders who have recently cracked the product-market fit and raised Seed or Series A capital. They may not have figured out everything yet, but they have fresh, relatable tips and advice to share. We’ll invite early-stage founders for a one-hour AMA session. Afterwards, we’ll create a public webpage featuring each Q&A session with media clips and transcriptions. This will be 100% free and open to the public. Our first AMA (June 11 1pm PST) will feature Will Drewery, whose company (Diagon) recently raised $5.1 million in Seed funding. We’ll get to know Will better and cover topics such as tips on raising funding in this tough environment. It will be a fun AMA, and you can register for free using the link below. RSVP now!

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The ONE sentence I hear from founders... that highlights everything that is WRONG with early-stage startup advice: "We're pre-revenue, currently validating our hypotheses, looking to bring on some design partners who align with our vision." If you haven't been in the pre-product market fit pain cave before, this sentence SOUNDS reasonable. It feels smart, like something you'd hear in an MBA classroom or a big-company meeting. I've said this to myself before. It makes me feel like I'm doing the right things, like I'm actually making real progress. But it's absolute, utter nonsense. One-way ticket to the pain cave. Here's why: 1. The only way to truly "validate" a business is to sell & retain, not to "test hypotheses." 2. Sometimes design partners are helpful, most of the time they (1) never pay, (2) never take this seriously, and (3) give a bunch of counterproductive feedback because of 1 / 2 and set startups back months/years 3. Every vision I've seen has evolved in contact with the market; most v1 visions are self-obsessed and won't resonate with any customers you'd actually want to serve. -- What other sentences do we founders say to ourselves... that SOUND right, but are totally backwards?

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Common founder hiring mistake #5: (most founders don’t think this applies to them) Failing to run structured interviews. Most founders think they’re great at interviewing. Chat with candidates, ask about their background, maybe throw in some tough technical questions. But without clear structure, interviews easily veer off course. You fail to systematically assess candidates on consistent criteria And your team asks disjointed questions based on what intrigues them, not what predicts performance. Suddenly you’re debating candidates without alignment on what good looks like. And critical factors get overlooked. Your new goal: Well-crafted interview plans. • Start by defining explicit evaluation criteria upfront for each interview stage. What specific skills or traits make a candidate successful in this role? • Then design focused questions that ladder up to those criteria. Dig into relevant experiences to determine if candidates meet your standards. • Share question bank, desired responses, rating guidelines and interview best practices with all interviewers. Make sure everyone assesses candidates the same way. • Take time to calibrate on what strong, medium and weak responses look like for key questions. Prevent bias by keeping evaluations evidence-based. With rigorous process, your team reaches alignment faster on quality of hire. And you avoid hot-take debates after missing key signals in interviews. P.S. Dover’s expert recruiters help our customers create interview plans based on best practices AND train the team on how to be amazing interviewers.

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​​New Valley Labs just relaunched, and we’re here to rewrite the rules of the startup world. Ohio’s always had the talent and ideas, but founders here—especially LGBTQIA+ founders, women, and those who don’t fit the typical mold—haven’t had the support they deserve. So we built a home for them, a place where big ideas grow into reality, right here in Cleveland. New Valley Labs is more than a studio; it’s a new kind of founder community, where “support” actually means something, and where “different” is the secret weapon. We’re not into the cookie-cutter approach. We’re here to bring radical ideas to life and support founders in creating businesses that stand out because they’re made from scratch, by people who aren’t afraid to shake things up. Our mission is simple: turn this region into fertile ground for the next wave of founders, giving them the mentorship, resources, and backing they need to change the game. We want to see the Midwest become a place where founders from all backgrounds come together, collaborate, and build something that matters. Over the next days and weeks, we’ll be highlighting different resources, partnerships, and safe spaces we’re building to help founders thrive. Got a suggestion on someone we should connect with? Let us know, help us grow this garden—and tell us what you want to see solved in our community. Be Different, Build Different.

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Two weeks ago I spent 3 days with brilliant human beings discussing the state of AI investment with other angel syndicate leads, angel investors and VCs at Hustle Fund's #camphustle in Los Gatos. It was brilliant. Truly awesome to learn so much from insanely accomplished investors. But was so clear to me again is that the US and the UK are two countries divided by separate languages of ambition. Aspiration and ambition underlined by the cluster effect of successful exits, incredible talent and venture capital driven by operators and founders rather than accountants. But one reason why the US often trumps (pun not intended) the UK is they learn from failure. Run a startup that didn't reach the dizzying heights of venture-scale returns? Learn, reset and go again. What they certainly do not do is look at failure with glee and an "I told you so" attitude. Which is what I sense when I read most of the narrative around the failure of Cazoo. Alex Chesterman swung and missed. The business was flawed, unit economics didn't add up and in reality - there was very little innovation outside the vertical alignment of a well-understood business. But when we look down upon what he tried to do and 💩 💩 it all we're doing is making it harder for someone else to be equally as ambitious. Focus on what went wrong. Focus on the fundamental underlying business models that drive efficient use of capital and the push for profitability. But let's celebrate people shooting their shot and not celebrate the failures.

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Speed and quality often seem like opposites in product development, but I’ve found they can work together—it’s all about balance. When there is little time to deliver, it’s tempting to either rush things or delay until everything feels “just right.” But in my experience, launching small and iterating intentionally creates the best results. Here’s how I approach balancing speed and quality: ✨ Start small – Focus on delivering a core feature or functionality first. It helps gather real feedback early and avoids over-investing in assumptions. 🗣️ Listen closely – After launch, feedback becomes your most valuable tool. Pay attention to what users say, watch how they interact, and look for patterns. 🔄 Iterate with purpose – Every adjustment should move the product closer to solving the core problem. It’s not about constant changes but meaningful ones. The goal isn’t to rush or cut corners but to create momentum, learn quickly, and make continuous improvements that matter. What’s one project where you can start small and build from real insights? 39/365 #365ProductJourney #365Challenge #Entrepreneurship #ProductManagement #Startups #BuildingInPublic #Innovation #Leadership #GrowthMindset #365RJS

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Compound instead of scale. Secret of a successful business

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