Archishman Sengupta’s Post

I've started many tech startups in the past, and there's one mistake I've made repeatedly that nearly sank them all (it's a trap a ton of non-technical founders fall into) 👉 Partnering with the wrong technical co-founder. Here's how it played out many times for me: · We fundraised · We assembled a team · We even land some early sales But we could never execute. We couldn't iterate fast enough to build something that truly solved real problems at scale. (And it was my fault.) I didn't know how to evaluate technical talent. I'd choose based on: · How intelligent they seemed · If we got along well But I completely missed the most crucial factor: their actual technical abilities. In hindsight, this seems obvious. Your startup's success hinges on finding THE RIGHT technical co-founder. It's as important as choosing your life partner. Choose poorly and set yourself up for failure from day one. So, what did I learn? 1. Finding a technical co-founder is the most important decision for your company in the early stages. 2. Bring in help. Find an advisor who has successfully built tech products before. Have them conduct technical interviews and tests. 3. Make sure the person has advanced skills in the tech stack your startup needs. (very important) 4. Look for balance. You need someone who can build fast to test ideas, but also knows how to build secure scalable systems. 5. Understand that your lack of technical knowledge is a HUGE liability. Mitigate it by surrounding yourself with those who can fill that gap. Remember: No matter how great your idea is or how skilled you are at other aspects of business, without the right technical execution, you're building on quicksand. I'm sure many non-technical founders relate to this. Any additional advice or hard lessons you experienced?

𝐉𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐡𝐞𝐧: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐧 𝐁𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐁𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐒𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞 🌟 Jason Cohen is a prominent figure in the software development industry, best known as the founder of Smart Bear Software. A visionary entrepreneur, Cohen has made significant contributions to the field of software development tools and methodologies. Born and raised in the United States, Cohen developed a passion for technology at a young age. He pursued his academic interests at Cornell University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. Cohen's entrepreneurial journey began with the founding of SmartBear Software, a company dedicated to providing innovative tools for software development teams. Under his leadership, SmartBear has grown into a leading provider of software testing and development tools, empowering developers and testers worldwide. Beyond his entrepreneurial endeavors, Cohen is a respected thought leader in the software industry. He is a frequent speaker at conferences and has authored numerous articles and books on software development best practices. His insights and expertise have influenced the way many software teams operate. Cohen's contributions to the software industry have been recognized by his peers and the industry as a whole. His passion for technology and his commitment to creating innovative tools have made him a respected figure in the tech community.  #innovation #management #humanresources #digitalmarketing #technology #creativity #future #futurism #entrepreneurship #careers #markets #startups #marketing #socialmedia #venturecapital #leanstartups #economy #socialnetworking #economics #branding #advertisingandmarketing #motivation #personaldevelopment #investing #jobinterviews #money #bankingindustry #sustainability #alternativeenergy #personalbranding #hiringandpromotio

Silicon Valley is supposed to be fast-paced, right? Not for us. But it ended up changing our lives. We, fresh off running a chaotic service business, suddenly faced the slowest weeks of our lives. Back home, we lived on adrenaline: - 12-hour workdays,  - constant deadlines, - endless client projects,  Here? Pure silence. No urgent tasks.  No pressure.  It felt wrong. But despite everything, one thing happened right. We learned the problem that many people in the ecosystem were facing – the problem of "exceptional user onboarding". Day after day, the same pain point kept surfacing. The Bay Area's startup community opened doors for us by making us aware. So if I look back, those weeks in San Francisco are what led to the genesis of UserGuiding. One learning? Sometimes slowing down could be life-changing in the long run 💫 Ps. a great chat with Alexander sometime back.  ---------- Hope this post helped 🙌 Follow me for more insights on entrepreneurship, SaaS, and life as a founder.

Our inbox is overflowing 🤯 That’s our cue to share some SV101 information, sooo listen up: 🔹Who are we looking for? Glad you asked. We’re looking for Silicon Valley-ready founders who can gain the most from engaging with the best minds in the Valley. 🔹Who can apply? Founders of startups from all verticals and business models (AKA B2B, B2C, and B2B2C) with a minimum of $1M raised. If you've bootstrapped your startup, significant revenue qualifies. We don’t mind if your product is in the early stages, as long as the founders know exactly what they are building and why. 🔹How can I leave my startup for two weeks?! Our 192 alumni prove that dedicating two weeks to focus on your personal and professional growth will bring invaluable benefits to your startup. Luckily for our inbox, there aren’t any questions on the value of the program or the game-changing opportunities it offers to build your US network. Want to hear all about it from our freshman alumni? Feel free to ping them. Yonatan Schreiber | Yosef Peterseil | Michael Matias | Alon Kollmann | Omer Goldschmidt | Or Shani | Gal Rapoport | Alon Ashkenasi | Gilad Uziely | Rotem Lurie | Or Vaknin | Jonathan Bregman | Ido Perlson Learn more & Apply here: https://lnkd.in/dj6Bipn6

5 Lessons from working at the fastest-growing startup in history: ($0→$350M ARR in 3½ years) 1. See Something, Say Something. There are a ton of things that can break internally with how fast Wiz is growing. So I made it my mission always to stop, share, and solve an issue if I see it. 2. Represent For Your Team. Our RevOps org holds ourselves to a gold standard and I make sure every interaction I have with any cross-functional team is a positive one.  3. No Band-Aids. Every solution I have is built for scale because I know how badly the problem will compound in the future. Band-Aids aren't a long-term solution. 4. When in Doubt, Talk it Out. Every day I'm moving at a million miles per hour and I always have a ton of questions. The best part about Wiz is that everyone is willing to answer them. 5. The More Complex, The More Fun.   You would think working at a hypergrowth company is all business. But the problems we are solving at Wiz makes me feel like a kid at Legoland. Endless fun. Any of these lessons stick out to you? ____ Enjoy learning about career growth? Follow me Giovanni Torres for daily posts like this.

Many people working in tech dream of starting their own companies one day. It's well known that launching a startup is hard, requires enormous effort, and isn’t for everyone. What rarely gets discussed and considered is the financial impact of a decision to become a founder. That creates significant stress and pressure for first-time founders and their families if they start without proper estimates and preparation. A few facts:  ✅ The median time to raise a seed round is 1.5 years, which often means going 1–2 years without income. ✅ 90% of venture-backed companies fail within 2–5 years, resulting in a high likelihood of a weak exit. Consider John, a new L3 engineer at a big tech company with a current net worth of $100K and salary $200K/year. By the time of his early retirement in 2046, if he simply stays at his tech job and grows his career, his projected net worth will be $7.2M. If he starts a VC-backed company in 2030 and fails five years later (which has a 90% probability), his net worth will drop from $7.2M  to $4.6M in 2046. The $2.6M difference in net worth by 2046 represents the financial cost for John of deciding to start a company.

It’s been a few weeks since beginning work on the startup, and turns out this stuff is hard - I know, crazy right? I've been hustling to get up to speed in the industry, conducting user interviews, business planning, the whole nine yards. But we've come to realize a central problem in our approach: poor founder-market fit. When we started this as a side project, it was much more consumer-focused and it was an actual problem we as founders had. We had to pivot several times since then, which put us in a space we did not understand nearly as well, and often that means we are simply not the right people to solve it. The good news: we're a resilient team, and we knew going into this that it would be a learning experience with bumps. We've refined our strategy and we're making a pivot into a problem space we *know* inside and out. This will lead to faster product design, stronger connections, and much higher confidence in our solution. Super excited about this pivot, so stay tuned for further updates as we validate our new idea!

No one will remember if you worked late. Except your kids. It took me building a $9M company to understand this. When I started Expandi, I thought success meant: • Grinding 16-hour days • Always being available • Sacrificing everything else Then my 2 beautiful kids were born. And reality hit me in the face: You can work until 2 a.m. But your toddler will still wake you up at 3 a.m. And in that moment: • Your 9 am meeting doesn't matter • Your deadlines don't matter • Your metrics don't matter They just need their parent. And you need to be there for them despite the chaos. The startup world often glorifies sacrifice. But the truth is, your startup can recover from: • Bad quarters • Failed launches • Lost deals But your kids won’t understand why you: • Missed their games • Skipped their dances • Weren't there for dinner I still work those long hours. But now I know what really matters: In 20 years, my kids won't remember my startup's valuation. But they'll remember if I showed up. And that’s what I do every single day.

Years ago, I found myself part of a passionate team embarking on an entrepreneurial adventure in the world of Software as a Service (SaaS). We had a vision of revolutionizing an industry that had grown complacent, offering outdated solutions to its clients. Our journey began with a spark of inspiration and a lot of late-night brainstorming sessions. We identified a gap in the market and saw an opportunity to leverage technology to address it. Armed with little more than determination and a few lines of code, we set out to build a platform that would change the game. The road wasn't easy. We faced countless hurdles along the way – from technical challenges to financial constraints. There were moments when it felt like we were fighting an uphill battle, with no end in sight. But we refused to give up. Failure was not an option. Slowly but surely, our platform began to take shape. We poured our hearts and souls into every line of code, every design element, knowing that we were onto something special. And then, finally, the day came when we were ready to launch. The response was immediate and overwhelming. Businesses flocked to our platform, drawn by its simplicity, its power, its ability to solve problems they didn't even know they had. It was exhilarating to see our vision come to life, to witness the impact we were having on an entire industry. Before long, our startup was making waves, disrupting the status quo and forcing our competitors to sit up and take notice. We were no longer just a small fish in a big pond – we were leading the charge, reshaping the landscape of an industry that had remained unchanged for far too long. Looking back on those early days, I'm filled with pride at what we accomplished. Our journey was filled with ups and downs, moments of triumph and moments of doubt. But through it all, we never lost sight of our goal, and never wavered in our belief that we could change the world – one line of code at a time.

The perfect client doesn't exist... and Small is Beautiful. I loved speaking with this founder - their COVID team of furlough and layoffs mirrored my experiences. They have built a team with a deep niche and value of personal relationships. Together, we're building an ecosystem of collaborative businesses as a way to be more agile, responsive and mitigate risk (versus an all-in-agency that consumes businesses in order to grow). It puts me in mind of the of ideas of E F Schumacher's in Small is Beautiful. Decentralisation: The empowerment of local communities that are smaller, self-reliant communities are better equipped to address their unique challenges and maintain a sustainable lifestyle. "Buddhist Economics": Simplicity, non-violence, and the importance of human fulfilment over material wealth. We live in an age of rising AI (and the depersonalisation of intelligence + interaction ), and unchecked global capitalism (the depersonalisation + delocalisation of goods and services). We are fast approaching a cross-roads. Will we use economics, globalisation and AI to: A) Prioritise profits and wealth for the few? B) Prioritise human dignity and experience? It might seem small, or silly, but building my team, and this ecosystem of businesses, built on personable relationships, is my form of protest against A, on the way to building B. Is there anybody else who's joining us? #WASSAA #AI #Entrepreneurship #CollaborativeEconomy #CommunityBuilding