Jordan Steiner’s Post

💭 Imagine a startup founder. And imagine a succesfull startup founder. The joy when I read this Forbes article! As with the Brinna team we hit the exact sweet spot: “A 50-year-old is twice as likely to build a thriving enterprise that has either an IPO or a successful acquisition as a 30-year-old founder.” The stereotypical image (that I admit I have and most likely you have, too) of a startup founder being someone young, directly out from university, is flawed. So, next time, when imagining a startup founder, imagine someone middle aged with years of domain and work experience 😉 Link to this great piece of reading in the comments. #ageism #startupfounder #success

I've recently come across an "Ultimate Guide to Building Pitch Decks" that's an absolute goldmine for startup founders. Crafted from a decade's worth of pitch deck experience, Nat Bocod, CEO of Foundersuite.com, shares invaluable pitch deck hacks that helped raise nearly $1m for his startup. This guide is a treasure trove of insights, emphasizing the importance of your pitch in captivating investors, partners, and potential team members. It introduces the concept of pitch deck archetypes, highlighting six approaches to crafting your story, including the Problem/Solution, Traction Story, and "Wouldn’t It Be Cool If..." frameworks. Each archetype is designed to showcase your startup's unique, compelling narrative, ensuring you stand out in the crowded startup ecosystem. But that's not all. The guide also dives deep into the nuts and bolts of pitch construction, advising on everything from software choices to slide lengths and presentation tips for that live pitch. Whether you're a first-timer or a seasoned founder, this guide offers step-by-step instructions, starting from sketching ideas on paper to mastering your elevator pitch and closing with confidence. #startups #entrepreneurship #venturecapital #investing #finance #crossborder #inovexus #startup #VC #earlystage

Huge thank you to Saharsh Agrawal, founder of Surface Labs (YC S23), for leading a phenomenal guest speaker session with Catalyst XL and our students. Here were some of my favorite takeaways: - When picking a startup idea to work on, one of the most important factors is conviction. Your belief in your product and mission will play a major role in your success. - If you're going to work at an early-stage startup, in some cases, it can make sense to just start your own company instead. You'll learn more and have more ownership and control over the outcomes. - If you're launching a software startup, you can approach early sales like custom-building solutions for your first customers. Find out what they want, and try not to waste time coding anything more than that. The talk was exactly what many of us in Catalyst needed to hear as we think through the earliest decisions at our own ventures. Thanks again Saharsh! #entrepreneurship #founders #builders #venture #startup #innovation

https://buff.ly/3zUQvx9 The 5 Critical Mistakes of Startup Founders are pivotal in determining the success of a new venture. These errors can significantly impact the growth and sustainability of a startup. For instance, lack of market research can lead to launching a product or service that doesn't resonate with the target audience, resulting in poor sales. Similarly, improper financial management, such as overspending or neglecting cash flow, can quickly sink a promising startup. Understanding and avoiding these common pitfalls is crucial for founders to navigate the challenging startup landscape successfully. #StartupTips #Entrepreneurship

The biggest gap in startup funding lies between pre-seed and seed right now. Here's why 👇🏼 In short, this gap is caused by rising expectations from VCs who have been burnt funding early-stage startups with limited to no validation (revenue, solid customer pipelines, evidence of execution ability) and watching these companies struggle to scale because of poor fundamentals. The competition to back exceptional founding teams and startups showing strong initial performance has never been higher. Those of you who have seen the market data will probably have spotted that despite overall deal volumes continuing to decline in Q4 '23, seed valuations in Q4 '23 exceeded the seed valuations we saw in peak '21. To demonstrate this point, here's a screenshot of a key metric slide I saw in a seed deck recently (the founder has permitted for me to share this screenshot). This startup has an exceptional founding team and the performance to back up the rationale to throw more fuel on the fire. If you're a founder looking to raise a seed round right now, I would encourage you to drill into your metrics and to review them with no bias or distortion. Competition is driven by high performance. #founders #startup #business #vc

Investors need more 'YOU' metrics - painfully obviously! VCs got burnt funding early-stage startups. Why? Sam Marchant attributes that in part to a lack of evidence of execution ability. Well, at seed stage there isn't going to be a great deal of evidence - you haven't gone very far! Almost all the angels I see go making investment judgements based on financial projections, claimed market size, GTM strategy. Does anyone seriously investigate - can this person do this job to the level needed to get to that place in 5 years time? If yes, how? Finger in the wind? Like their smile? Who YOU are and what YOU can do is part of your #competitiveadvantage. It's what makes you really investable. Investors say they largely invest in people - so become the person they want. Don't rely solely on your pitch story / idea. If you need help to become more investable I can help. #AngelThink #founders #startups #angelinvesting #angelinvestors #VC

Roger Rappoport and @Access Silicon Valley Startup Trilogy is back LIVE! You're a startup #founder? Executive, entrepreneur, innovator or developer? Join at the offices of Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch LLP in Palo Alto. February 15, 2024, (5:00-9:00 PM PST) for the first of three exclusive Startup Fundamentals workshop series hosted by #ASV and the well known Roger Rappoport.   Episode 1 is tailored to guide you from startup formation to a successful exit, with hands-on lessons learned from Roger, a former entrepreneur and startup lawyer. You'll receive a comprehensive 50+ page digital workbook with actionable step-by-step guides to starting and building a fundable startup with a solid financial model, that is ready for Silicon Valley investors.   Don't miss out on exploring key startup issues, including entity selection, an appropriate cap table (pie splitting), co-founder vs. early employee considerations, vesting schedules, fundraising strategies, and much more. Successfully navigate common mistakes and pitfalls that can affect your startup's fundability, available sources of capital, control, upside on exit, and overall success.   Click the link below for more information about the topics that will be covered and to reserve your spot (seating is extremely limited). https://lnkd.in/gwWuwRzP

The biggest gap in startup funding lies between pre-seed and seed right now.  #startup  #fundraising  #angelinvestor  #investments  #VentureCapital  #vc #Entrepreneurship  #venturefunding  #investing #TechNews #Innovation #technology  https://lnkd.in/edgNfUHt

Little recap video of CED (Council for Entrepreneurial Development) Venture Connect 2024. Some of the faces seen in the clips include Bill Spruill, Jesse Lipson, Daniel Summers, 🐧 Scot Wingo, Trevor Ferree, Justin Kelsey, and a few others. - This year I was representing my new startup, Scourz. It’s a real-time lead search and notification tool. Think Angie’s List but for social media. Even though we’re new, doing lots of testing, and only have two paid customers at the moment, I was still able to gain valuable knowledge from other tech founders, and VCs. A big takeaway from entrepreneurial / startup conferences is simply energy. It’s draining building a startup. Repeated fails, and nos hurt, but they build resilience. Lots of the feedback I received from other founders and VCs was very encouraging, and will help me keep trudging along. When someone says that they understand my business clearly, and they see it being able to grow means so much. . . . . . . . . . . . #startup #entrepreneur #venturecapital

Startups today are often celebrated for their big financial successes. We often hear so many stories. Like the one that started with no experience and built a brand worth 240cr, or the founder who had only 10k but ended up creating a company worth 300cr. It's pretty cool to hear about, right? But here's something we don't talk about enough: these success stories can actually make things really tough for new startups. They set the bar incredibly high, creating huge pressure right from the start. If every startup was meant to make it big, why do more than 90% fail? The truth is, there's a lot more to these journeys than just the numbers. The ups and downs, the hard decisions, the emotional rollercoaster – that's what we need to look at too. #startup