Mausmi Ambastha’s Post

"Getting across your ideas in the language of the customer is important," says Tariq Ahmad, Vice President - Global Sales at Top Startup Sprinto. Tune in as he shares what are the must-have skills for sales professionals, especially in SaaS. What do you think is a crucial skill to thrive in this career? Share your take in the comments, and check out the Top Startups in Bengaluru here: https://lnkd.in/eUQh8MeV #LinkedInVideo #TopStartups2024

🚀 Weekly shots: Death and Birth of Startups Hey LinkedIn family, Ansham K. here! This week, I’ve been diving into some of the latest shifts in the startup ecosystem—there’s so much happening right now! I’m here to bring you the highlights, so you can stay informed without the extra legwork. Here’s a quick roundup of what’s trending: 🔑 Key Takeaways: - Vertical SaaS surge: As the general SaaS market becomes saturated, niche solutions for industries like healthcare and fintech are seeing a major boost in funding. - Lean growth strategies: Layoffs are pushing startups to prioritize profitability, adopting leaner models with multifunctional roles. - AI predictive analytics: With more startups harnessing AI for market forecasting, predictive analytics is becoming a key factor for user engagement. 📰 In This Week's Article: - Funding trends: 2024 has seen a spike in Indian startups receiving funding, with vertical SaaS and AI-powered solutions leading the way. - Emerging roles in product management: Specialised roles in AI and API-focused product management are on the rise. - Design innovations: Augmented reality and ethical design practices are shaping new UX/UI experiences, catering to diverse audiences. - Funding wins & setbacks: Success stories like Cohere and Clay contrast with struggles from startups like Rad Power Bikes and Mindstrong, highlighting the challenges in today’s funding environment. Check out the complete, in-depth article here: https://lnkd.in/g5xmAMHU on the rise and fall of startups. 💡 Let’s Keep the Conversation Going: What other trends or insights would you like to see? Share your thoughts in the comments! #startups #AI #SaaS #productmanagement #funding

When I started Playter, the most important hat I wore was outbound. It was sooo tough, especially being entirely alone! Interestingly, I got a lot of "f**k offs" in reply from hyper personalised messages. Now we're bigger, I'm now getting messages from the same people who told me to Foxtrot Oscar. Funny how the startup world works... It always comes back around. Outbound is one of the hardest roles you can do. Play nice in your responses. #startup #outbound #sales

Loom was recently acquired for $975M ✅ Here are 5 lessons from Joe Thomas, CEO of Loom: 📈 Dive into markets with the potential for exponential growth. It's easier to ride the wave than to create one. 🗣️ Build a product so good that users can't help but share it. Loom indeed did have that built-in word-of-mouth potential. 💎 Find that unique value proposition and wrap an ambitious vision around it. Dream big, but stay grounded. 📊 Know your growth path. Master one distribution channel before exploring more. Less is more in the beginning. 💪 Startups thrive on momentum. Build a team that embodies a "do whatever it takes" attitude. Together, you can move mountains. ---- 🧠 𝗣.𝗦. If you like this, you'll love my new newsletter - a 4-minute breakdown of the founding stories behind the world's greatest Startups. Join 1,000+ startup nerds from companies like Microsoft, Slack, Deel, Stripe and Amazon 👉 Click "Subscribe to Newsletter" under my name

It's late, but I want to share something absolutely fascinating. Today, some of you would have seen that I shared the Vena Pay demo publicly, and I built in some analysis tools to see the progress of it. It has about a 1:10 ratio of users starting the demo, to finishing the whole thing. It was very easy to pass that as "oh, maybe it's not that interesting or relevant." Then, I went out to dinner with some friends. I got talking to one who is in my target audience, and I was like "oh dang, you should check this out and tell me what you think!". I watched my ideal user, get overwhelmed and confused by my demo. The statement that hit me: "I still don't know what it does". Founders, you will know your problem and solution like the back of your hand, but, you are coming from a place of knowledge, today was a reality hit of how does someone who doesn't know, interact with my product, I watched as I saw what was pressed, and a level of frustration that I was not expecting. So, tomorrow is going to be a fun day, time to build upwards and really convey the message clearly! #Startup #Founders #Building

In just 7 months at SCALIS, I’ve seen firsthand what it takes to build something game-changing, and it all starts with the culture, the people, and the leadership. The culture here is driven by #initiative - everyone here has the freedom to take ownership, find new areas to contribute, and grow into leadership roles. You’re encouraged to explore your #strengths and build #expertise across multiple functions. This kind of autonomy pushes personal growth in ways few companies offer. Both Parker & Brandon (co-founders) do not just build strategic vision; they’re in the trenches with their team every day. Watching them work relentlessly, around the clock, has been a true masterclass in #entrepreneurship. Their hands-on approach to problem-solving and team building creates a culture of #trust and hard work which is very beneficial in the long term. SCALIS is fully remote, but the team operates with efficiency and cohesiveness. This has a lot to do with how the #leadership prioritizes communication and transparency. Even across time zones, the sense of unity and shared mission is strong. In the #tech industry where burnout is common, even more so in a fast-paced startup like SCALIS, it's important to take a different approach. While the hustle is real, so is the emphasis on balance. The leadership ensures that the team works efficiently, not excessively. This balance is key to the team’s long-term #success, and it’s what keeps us all energized and motivated for the next challenge. Startups are defined by their #agility, and SCALIS is no different. But what makes it unique is the way the team builds around opportunities. If you show interest or potential in a new area, you’re given the space to grow. The founders trust their team to take calculated risks, and that’s what drives the company’s constant #innovation. It’s been an incredible journey so far, and we have made commendable progress in the last 7 months. I can’t wait to see what we accomplish next, keeping our culture and values intact.

2020: Eran and I founded Voyantis 2023: 10 clients with a team of 40+ 2024: 35 clients with a team of 70+ We also tripled our ARR since this time last year. How did we achieve this growth trajectory at Voyantis? 𝟭. 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 We spent 2 years studying, analyzing, and building our platform. It took us an analysis of 50,000 ads just to validate our problem-solution fit. We lined up potential clients to carve a path to serious revenue within 5 years. And spent countless hours building a continuous ‘flurry of models’ for various business use cases. We put in all this work before we even launched out of stealth mode in 2022. 𝟮. 𝗕𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲-𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻 Directly influencing an outcome is what keeps customers relying on you. So, we made it simple to measure our impact on the client's ROI. We directly drove ROAS, LTV, and profitability for our clients. 𝟯. 𝗛𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 We strategically but conservatively grew our teams. It's needed if we want to support our expanding client base. So, we selectively hired across sales, data science, and customer success. From building in stealth to generating client impact to growing our team... It's honestly easier said than done. There are a lot of startup playbooks out there. But we grew at this rate because we had an ambitious vision done with precise execution. #artificialintelligence #startups #growth #strategy #VBB

Lacework ($200M/year in revenue) is getting acquired for ~$200M. It was worth $8.3B 2 years ago. The VC startup market is cracking. This is the golden era to be buying distressed VC-assets and turning them into cash-flowing machines. Go out there and buy some companies. They are cheaper than you think. It's deal time. -- My team put together a free 5 day email course on building a company without investors using the "ACP funnel" around building internet audiences/communities. If that's your thing, you can grab it below: https://lnkd.in/eYnzEi9B

2024 - 2025 will see a lot of firesales in tech - startups and VC firms Imagine raising $1bn+, making over $100m in revenue a year, being valued as much as $8.3bn recently and then selling for.. $200m dollars My advice to the VC-backed founders I speak to is to be honest with self early enough and so consider all options - cut costs, sell, etc VCs themselves are in trouble and are in no position to help any but the top, top portfolio companies

Today, I had the privilege of attending an engaging panel discussion hosted by Stripe in Toronto, with insights from Stripe CTO David Singleton, Boom Vision Company CEO Robleh Jama Jama, and Radical Ventures investor Sanjana Basu. The event was packed with valuable information. Here are my 7 takeaways from the panel discussion. 1. Chase Problems, Not Ideas: To generate viable business ideas, focus on identifying and understanding problems, which will naturally lead you to innovative solutions 2.Toronto's Growing Startup Ecosystem: The ecosystem in Toronto is thriving, thanks in part to successful local founders who are reinvesting in new startups. 3. Seek Patient Capital: When building AI, it's crucial to have investors who understand the long development cycles and can provide sustained financial support. 4. Founder-Market Fit Importance: Founders should have a deep connection and understanding of the market they are entering. 5. Accelerate Learning by Joining Startups: Joining a high-growth startup is an effective way to quickly gain valuable experience and skills. 6. Hands-On Hiring in Engineering: Employ practical assessments like coding tests to evaluate the technical abilities of engineering candidates. 7. Evaluate Your Manager: Ensure your manager is a good fit, as they will be crucial in supporting you through the ups and downs of your career. #toronto #startup #stripe #tech