He raised $1.5M, hit $400K ARR in 9 months— but had to Exit Early. Here’s the top 3 lessons he learned | Rob Palumbo, Co-Founder of Outpoint

A Product Market Fit Show | Startup Podcast for Founders

#Entrepreneur #Business #Mistral.vc #Tech Startups #Tech #Startup #Product Market Fit

26:18

How do you know when it’s time to make your next big career move? With International Women’s Day around the corner, we are excited to feature Avni Patel Thompson, Founder and CEO of Milo. Avni is building technology that directly supports the often overlooked emotional and logistical labor that falls on parents—especially women. Milo is an AI assistant designed to help families manage that invisible load more efficiently. In this episode, Avni shares her journey from studying chemistry to holding leadership roles at global brands like Adidas and Starbucks, to launching her own ventures. She discusses how she approaches career transitions, the importance of unpleasant experiences, and why she’s focused on making everyday life easier for parents. [01:26] Avni's University Days and Early Career [04:36] Non-Linear Career Paths [05:16] Pursuing Steep Learning Curves [11:51] Entrepreneurship and Safety Nets [15:22] Lived Experiences and Milo [19:55] Avni’s In Her Ellement Moment [20:03] Reflections Links: Avni Patel Thompson on LinkedIn Suchi Srinivasan on LinkedIn Kamila Rakhimova on LinkedIn Ipsos report on the future of parenting About In Her Ellement: In Her Ellement highlights the women and allies leading the charge in digital, business, and technology innovation. Through engaging conversations, the podcast explores their journeys—celebrating successes and acknowledging the balance between work and family. Most importantly, it asks: when was the moment you realized you hadn’t just arrived—you were truly in your element? About The Hosts: Suchi Srinivasan is an expert in AI and digital transformation. Originally from India, her career includes roles at trailblazing organizations like Bell Labs and Microsoft. In 2011, she co-founded the Cleanweb Hackathon, a global initiative driving IT-powered climate solutions with over 10,000 members across 25+ countries. She also advises Women in Cloud, aiming to create $1B in economic opportunities for women entrepreneurs by 2030. Kamila Rakhimova is a fintech leader whose journey took her from Tajikistan to the U.S., where she built a career on her own terms. Leveraging her English proficiency and international relations expertise, she discovered the power of microfinance and moved to the U.S., eventually leading Amazon's Alexa Fund to support underrepresented founders. Subscribe to In Her Ellement on your podcast app of choice to hear meaningful conversations with women in digital, business, and technology.…

год назад 39:08

MP3•Главная эпизода

Rob founded Outpoint in 2020 to help marketers optimize their ad spend. He was a growth marketer and his founder a data scientist. He had team-market fit, a solid thesis, and paying customers. But when the recession hit and ad spend dropped, growth ground to a halt. Nothing he did could revitalize growth. Ultimately, he decreased expenses and exited. He was able to return some cash to investors, find a home for his team and keep the product going.

You tend to hear about what happens to the best 1% of startups. Here’s what tends to happen to the other 99%.

Keywords

Outpoint, product market fit, startup journey, acquisition, growth marketing, venture capital, business strategy, lessons learned, entrepreneurship, market dynamics

Why you should listen

Why a great team and thesis won’t always lead to success
How things out of your control can completely change your trajectory
Why you should build something that works in both up and down markets
How to find an acquisition when things aren’t going well.

Timestamps:
(00:00:00) Intro
(00:01:13) The origin of Outpoint
(00:14:49) Outpoint's Runway in 2022
(00:19:21) Trying to sell your company
(00:26:07) Lessons Learned
(00:28:53) Almost Finding Product Market Fit
(00:30:23) Planning a Startup vs starting one organically
(00:34:30) Closing Thoughts
Send me a message to let me know what you think!

Разделы

1. He raised $1.5M, hit $400K ARR in 9 months— but had to Exit Early. Here’s the top 3 lessons he learned | Rob Palumbo, Co-Founder of Outpoint (00:00:00)

2. The origin of Outpoint (00:01:13)

3. Outpoint's Runway in 2022 (00:14:49)

4. Trying to sell your company (00:19:21)

5. Lessons Learned (00:26:07)

6. Almost Finding Product Market Fit (00:28:53)

7. Planning a Startup vs starting one organically (00:30:23)

8. Closing Thoughts (00:34:30)

171 эпизодов

A Product Market Fit Show | Startup Podcast for Founders

He raised $1.5M, hit $400K ARR in 9 months— but had to Exit Early. Here’s the top 3 lessons he learned | Rob Palumbo, Co-Founder of Outpoint

A Product Market Fit Show | Startup Podcast for Founders

16 subscribers

published год назад

MP3•Главная эпизода

You tend to hear about what happens to the best 1% of startups. Here’s what tends to happen to the other 99%.

Keywords

Outpoint, product market fit, startup journey, acquisition, growth marketing, venture capital, business strategy, lessons learned, entrepreneurship, market dynamics

Why you should listen

Why a great team and thesis won’t always lead to success
How things out of your control can completely change your trajectory
Why you should build something that works in both up and down markets
How to find an acquisition when things aren’t going well.

Разделы

1. He raised $1.5M, hit $400K ARR in 9 months— but had to Exit Early. Here’s the top 3 lessons he learned | Rob Palumbo, Co-Founder of Outpoint (00:00:00)

2. The origin of Outpoint (00:01:13)

3. Outpoint's Runway in 2022 (00:14:49)

4. Trying to sell your company (00:19:21)

5. Lessons Learned (00:26:07)

6. Almost Finding Product Market Fit (00:28:53)

7. Planning a Startup vs starting one organically (00:30:23)

8. Closing Thoughts (00:34:30)

171 эпизодов

#Entrepreneur #Business #Mistral.vc #Tech Startups #Tech #Startup #Product Market Fit

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A Product Market Fit Show | Startup Podcast for Founders

1
He sold SkipTheDishes for $200M—then grew Neo Financial to a $1B valuation. | Jeff Adamson, Co-Founder of NeoFinancial & SkipTheDishes 1:01:06

3 дня назад1:01:06

1:01:06

Jeff Adamson co-founded SkipTheDishes , scaled it to 80% market share , and sold it for $200M —all before Uber Eats and DoorDash even got serious about Canada. He started with zero tech experience , got doors slammed in his face by restaurant owners, and had to personally place orders just to keep early partners engaged . Then, when Uber Eats launched in Toronto, backed by billions in funding , he thought they were doomed. Instead, Skip became Canada’s dominant food delivery platform and got acquired for $200M. Then Jeff did something even crazier—he decided to take on the banks . With Neo Financial , he’s tackling Canada’s most entrenched industry, building a modern, full-stack digital bank from scratch . He's raised $100s of millions at a $1B valuation. Why you should listen: How bootstrapped SkipTheDishes took on $10B UberEats How to build a three-sided marketplace. Why building trust with customers is key to long-term success. Why beginnings are always messy and more about grit than perfection. Why Jeff didn't stop after exiting for $200M. Keywords SkiptheDishes, Neo Financial, entrepreneurship, delivery service, startup journey, market competition, founding team, restaurant industry, business growth, feedback loop, three-sided marketplace, startup journey, Canadian startups, entrepreneurship, financial services, exit strategy, partnerships, growth strategies, advice for founders Timestamps (00:00:00) Intro (00:02:00) Gotta Have Thick Skin (00:03:54) Skip's Origin Story (00:07:18) Competing with Uber (00:16:09) The First Few Restaurants (00:22:45) Initial Demand (00:26:28) Three-Sided Marketplace (00:38:38) The Original Mission (00:52:10) The First Year at Neo (00:58:40) Product Market Fit (00:59:55) A Piece of Advice Send me a message to let me know what you think!…

A Product Market Fit Show | Startup Podcast for Founders

1
How to tell if you have true product-market fit—& what to do if you don't. | Matt Watson, Host of Product Driven 27:31

7 дней назад27:31

27:31

One of the most common questions I get is 'How do I know if I have product market fit?" Especially when you're in that gray zone where things are kind of working but they're not really taking off yet, how do you know if you have product-market fit or not? That's exactly what we dive into here. Why you should listen: Why demo to close is an excellent leading indicator of PMF. Why NPS is not as good as Sean Ellis test to measure product-market fit. Why retention is the best long-term metric, but takes long. What qualitative signals you'll feel when you have true PMF. What to do if you realize you don't have real product-market fit. This podcast originally aired on Matt's podcast called Product Driven, because the topics were so relevant, I figured I'd post it here too. Timestamps (00:00:00) Intro (00:00:55) How do you know if you have PMF (00:06:33) Why some problems are good (00:11:24) Solve a True Top of Mind Pain (00:15:54) Why timing matters (00:21:30) How to Know When to Pivot (00:25:00) Asking the Right Questions to Customers Send me a message to let me know what you think!…

A Product Market Fit Show | Startup Podcast for Founders

1
He got rejected by 40 VCs & had 6 months of runway—2 years later, he raised $100M from a16z. | Edo Liberty, Founder of Pinecone 1:02:14

10 дней назад1:02:14

1:02:14

Edo Liberty left a high-paying job at AWS—where he was building AI at the highest level—to start Pinecone, a company no one understood. He pitched 40+ VCs, got rejected by every single one, and nearly ran out of money. Then, he flipped the pitch, raised $10M, and built one of the most important infrastructure companies in AI. Then ChatGPT dropped. Suddenly, Pinecone was the must-have database for AI apps, with thousands of developers signing up daily. The company exploded, leading to a $100M round led by Andreessen Horowitz and a 10x revenue surge. If you’re an early-stage founder, this episode is a must-listen . Why you should listen: •How he went from from 40 VC Rejections to a $10M Seed Round • Why he quit a High-Paying Job at AWS to start a Startup • The game-changing shift that made VCs finally “get it” •What really happened inside Pinecone when AI took off •Why most founders misunderstand market timing and what to do about it Keywords AI, Machine Learning, Startups, Entrepreneurship, Vector Databases, Fundraising, SageMaker, AWS, Technology, Innovation, Pinecone, vector database, seed funding, ChatGPT, startup growth, business model, AI, infrastructure, early stage founders Timestamps (00:00:00) Intro (00:07:50) Edo's Story (00:12:27) The Early Days of Machine Learning (00:32:23) Seed Funding (00:42:09) Unsustainable Scaling (00:53:41) Told You So (00:59:24) A Piece of Advice Send me a message to let me know what you think!…

A Product Market Fit Show | Startup Podcast for Founders

1
Post-YC, he split with his co-founder—then grew profitably to $2M ARR with just 5 people. | Jon Yoo, Founder of Suger 46:46

14 дней назад46:46

46:46

Jon Yoo’s startup wasn’t working. He pivoted mid-YC, spent five brutal weeks without signing a single customer , and then—right after raising his seed round—his co-founder left. Most startups die right there. Instead, Jon figured out how to land massive customers like FiveTran and Snowflake. He grew from $500K to $2M ARR in 6 months. Why you should listen: • Navigating a founder breakup – What happens when co-founders split and how to handle it. • The real YC experience – What worked, what didn’t, and how they pivoted mid-program. • Landing major customers – How they got big logos like Snowflake. • Fundraising insights – What really matters to investors at the seed and Series A stages. • Why startups need forcing functions – The tactics that drove fast product development. • How to know if you have product-market fit – The signals John saw at Sugar. • Burn rate discipline – Why they raised millions but barely spent it. Keywords entrepreneurship, startups, investment banking, Salesforce, Y Combinator, founder dynamics, product market fit, scaling, cloud marketplaces, business strategy, fundraising, startup, YC demo day, customer acquisition, product-market fit, founder dynamics, early stage startup, team building, scaling, challenges Timestamps (00:00:00) Intro (00:07:55) The Origin of Suger (00:13:30) Going All In (00:19:08) The first 10 customers (00:24:20) The Hardest Pain Point (00:30:29) Becoming Profitable (00:37:05) Celebrate The Small Wins (00:39:56) Finding Product Market Fit (00:42:27) A Piece of Advice Send me a message to let me know what you think!…

A Product Market Fit Show | Startup Podcast for Founders

1
From mushroom-picking in Belarus to $200M/year. How he built Flo Health into a $1B health app. | Dmitry Gurski, Founder of Flo Health 1:13:34

17 дней назад1:13:34

1:13:34

This is one of the wildest founder journeys you’ll ever hear. Dmitry Gurski went from growing potatoes and picking mushrooms on a farm in Belarus to building Flo—a billion-dollar company with 75M monthly users that dominates the health and fitness category worldwide. He started Flo in a market already controlled by PayPal co-founder Max Levchin’s startup , which had $30M in funding from a16z. Today, Flo is 100x bigger than its once-dominant rival. Dmitry shares raw, unfiltered startup truths —like why he got rejected by 200+ VCs , why 90% of startup failures are team-related , and why most founders are delusional about product-market fit . He breaks down how simplicity beats complexity in product , why retention is everything , and how deleting features can actually boost revenue . If you’re a founder, this episode will fundamentally change how you think about perseverance, pivots, and building something that lasts . Listen now—you’ll be referencing this one for years. Why you should listen: Why big market beats niche – How Flo won because it targeted all women’s health while competitors focused only on fertility. How Retention is the real test – A product with natural recurring use cases (like periods) has built-in retention, unlike fitness or productivity apps. Why simple wins – The first version of Flo was less complex than competitors but had far better predictions— accuracy mattered more than features. Fundraising is brutal – Flo got 300+ investor rejections before raising $300M. Many VCs just didn’t “get” the space. Keywords startup, entrepreneurship, product design, user retention, Flow app, health and fitness, early stage founders, product market fit, simplicity, user engagement, retention, user case, app development, entrepreneurship, product market fit, mobile apps, business strategy, team dynamics, failure, success, risk, uncertainty, decision making, market demand, competition, product-market fit, fundraising, entrepreneurship, startup success, female health Timestamps (00:00:00) Intro (00:09:10) Why you Need to Keep it Simple (00:13:10) Why B2C is All About Retention (00:19:05) Why you Need to Delete Features (00:24:14) PMF is about the Shape of the Curve (00:39:17) When to Persevere, When to Pivot, and When to Quit (00:42:22) More attempts = more success (00:51:34) The Idea for Flo (00:59:05) Finding Product Market Fit (01:02:07) Advice for An Early Stage Founder (01:10:22) A Potato Story Send me a message to let me know what you think!…

A Product Market Fit Show | Startup Podcast for Founders

1
He started Groupon for SMBs, grew to $36M ARR—then exited for $170M. | Saurav Chopra, Founder of Perkbox 53:00

21 день назад53:00

53:00

Saurav started a Groupon-like offering for SMBs in 2011. He quickly learned it wasn't going to work. He and his team pivoted and started driving leads to suppliers using Facebook ads. It worked and they generated revenue—but they were becoming a digital advertising agency. It wasn't at all what they wanted to build. So they pivoted again. They used the cash from that business and built Perkbox. The idea was a subscription-based offering that that gave perks to SMB customers. Telcos started buying it and attaching it to their products to drive sales. Then, they pivoted again, this time moving away from customer perks and to employee perks. This time, it worked. They grew from $2M in ARR to $14M in just 2 years. They kept growing and hit $36M in ARR. Then he sold the business to PE for $170M. It took longer than expected. There were more pivots than expected. But it was a huge success. Here's how it happened. Why you should listen: How to use new social media channels to drive growth. How to leverage partnerships to get end user adoption. Why having a profitable agency can be a great way to get started. Why capital efficiency can be a huge edge. Rebranding can help clarify market positioning. What it feels like to make $10s of millions in one day. Keywords PerkBox, Groupon, startup journey, business model, SMB market, marketing strategies, recurring revenue, partnerships, entrepreneurship, exit strategy, venture capital, entrepreneurship, startups, employee benefits, social media marketing, capital efficiency, business growth, acquisition, rebranding, emotional marketing, lessons learned Timestamps (00:00:00) Intro (00:01:48) The origin of Perkbox (00:04:52) Going after SMBs (00:12:16) The Pivot (00:26:35) Creating Viral Ads (00:32:28) Demo to Close Rate (00:40:12) Selling to PE Firms (00:49:38) A Piece of Advice Send me a message to let me know what you think!…

A Product Market Fit Show | Startup Podcast for Founders

1
It took him 7 years to hit $1M ARR—now his $1B public company does $1M every day. | Noah Glass, Founder of Olo 1:10:28

24 дня назад1:10:28

1:10:28

In 2005 most people didn't even have cellphones yet. Those who did used flip phones. That's when Noah started Olo, a webapp to let people pre-order coffee from nearby shops. Users had to login on web, add a credit card, create pre-made orders and then send a text to a preset number when they wanted to pre-order. It was way, way ahead of its time. Noah and his team 7 years to hit $1M in ARR. In the meantime, they raised a round with 50% dilution the week before the financial crisis, went on live TV to an audience on 6M viewers and had to pivot from a marketplace to B2B SaaS. But overtime smartphone penetration increased, on-demand ordering became a trend, and then, one day, Starbucks launched their app. All of a sudden, every single restaurant in the world wanted a way to let their users pre-order. And there was Noah and his team at Olo. Today, Olo is a public company worth over $1B and generating nearly $300M in sales. Here's the story of how it happened. Why you should listen: How to use guerrilla marketing tactics to get early growth. Why PR can move the needle but not in ways you expect. How to pivot from a marketplace to B2B SaaS. Why it often takes much longer than you might hope to hit an inflection point. Why fundraising was so hard, even though Olo became a $1B+ public company. Why Noah thinks founders should embrace challenges and adversity. Keywords Olo, Noah Glass, entrepreneurship, product-market fit, restaurant technology, mobile ordering, startup journey, business challenges, marketing strategies, innovation Timestamps: (00:00:00) Intro (00:02:20) Building an app in 2005 (00:13:20) The Burn the Boats Moment (00:16:31) Building A Network Business (00:26:08) The Cold Start Problem (00:30:33) A Happy Accident (00:36:55) Going through the 2008 Financial Crisis (00:51:20) Finding Product Market Fit (00:57:20) Blueprint of Values (01:05:11) Best Piece of Advice (01:06:08) A Big Milestone Send me a message to let me know what you think!…

A Product Market Fit Show | Startup Podcast for Founders

1
He interviewed users, built a waitlist & raised $1.1M—but it still didn't work. | Frankie Le Nguyen, Founder of Staging Labs 38:58

28 дней назад38:58

38:58

Frankie lost $10K in a crypto transaction—so he started Staging Labs to find a way to help others prevent crypto scams. He was head of an incubator called Entrepreneurship First and had seen dozens and dozens of founders build startups. He knew exactly what to do—and he did everything right. He found a co-founder, built an MVP, did customer discovery, checked willingness to pay—but he still failed. The world changed when crypto crashed in late 2022. The people who were originally interseted in paying for crypto insurance nolonger were. And by the time Frankie realized it, it was too late. Here's how it happened—and how he was able to sell his startup even though the product wasn't working out. Why you should listen: How to sell your startup even when it's not working out. Why sometimes the best ideas come from personal struggles. Why you need to constantly validate willingness to pay. Why you can't treat lean startup as a series of checklists. The last 10% of execution is often what determines success or failure. Partnerships can be a double-edged sword in startup strategy. How aligning personal values with customer needs is essential for founders. Keywords entrepreneurship, startups, crypto scams, fundraising, product launch, market timing, personal experience, validation, community building, business challenges, willingness to pay, user experience, scams, customer alignment, market cycles, acquisition, strategic partnerships, investor relations, startup lessons Timestamps: (00:00:00) Intro (00:02:25) The Idea & The Origin of Staging Labs (00:08:07) Next Steps & Pre-Seed Fundraising (00:13:27) Why you should never depend on partnerships (00:18:28) How to create urgency (00:24:55) Pivoting (00:28:43) Trying to sell the business (00:35:55) Biggest Lessons Learned Send me a message to let me know what you think!…

A Product Market Fit Show | Startup Podcast for Founders

1
He got rejected by 50 VCs & had 4 months of runway—3 years later, he's at $150M ARR & profitable. | Hussein Fazal, Co-Founder of Super.com 1:02:07

4 weeks назад1:02:07

1:02:07

Hussein's travel startup was doing $10s of millions when COVID hit. His revenue didn't just go to zero, it went negative. There were more customers asking for refunds than new sales. He was 4 months from running out of money. He ended up making a complete pivot, he changed the company's name from SnapTravel to Super.com. He went from travel to fintech and launched a banking card. It seems like a strange pivot —but through deep research he'd realized what his customers truly needed. They needed more money—not for travel or vacations—but for every day life. The new card helped customers earn points and rewards, it helped them save on everyday expenses. The pain was so acute and the solution so perfect, that just 3 years later, Super.com is doing $150M in ARR. Like Hussein said, he got 50 'no's from VCs for every 'yes' he got. He saw his business grow and then crumble over night. He was literally going to zero. But he turned it all around. Now he's not just growing, he's profitable now. And here's how it went down. Why you should listen: How to think from first principles to figure out the right product expansion. Why cross-selling is much harder than you think, and how to make it work. Why finding an unfair advantage is key to scaling a startup. How to use actual customer behavior to understand what customers truly want. Why testing and validating ideas through smoke tests is essential. Keywords Super.com, SnapTravel, COVID-19, travel industry, pricing strategies, customer needs, market fit, entrepreneurship, AI, business growth, COVID-19, resilience, travel industry, financial innovation, membership model, customer insights, entrepreneurship, investor relations, business strategy, cross-selling Timestamps: (00:00:00) Intro (00:02:39) The original startup: Snap Travel (00:08:40) Why a great user interface is a big edge (00:11:26) How to acquire customers (00:13:30) When your entire hypothesis is wrong (00:22:52) Meeting Steph Curry (00:29:03) Nearly crashing to zero-- and going bankrupt (00:33:51) Starting over and rebranding (00:42:42) Creating the Fastest Growing Membership Program (00:52:17) Finding Product Market Fit (01:00:00) One Piece of Advice Send me a message to let me know what you think!…

A Product Market Fit Show | Startup Podcast for Founders

1
Amplitude is now a $1.5B public company. Here's how they beat competitors with a 10x cheaper product. | Jeffrey Wang, Co-Founder of Amplitude 57:20

5 weeks назад57:20

57:20

When Amplitude launched Mixpanel was the big game in town. They were first to market, had raised more money, and had a well-known brand. VCs passed on Amplitude because it seemed like just another Mixpanel. Today, Amplitude is a $1.5B public company—they're about 2x bigger than Mixpanel. Mixpanel's marketing spend helped educate the market. But before buying an analytics solution most businesses do market research. That's when they'd find out that Amplitude had several features Mixpanel lacked—and they were much, MUCH cheaper. It's not cool to win on price, but it works. It worked for WalMart, CostCo, Shein, and it worked for Ampltiude. Here's the story of how it all happened. Why you should listen: How to use cheaper prices to win in a crowded market. Why you often need 12 hour days to win in Startupland. Why even massive $1B+ successes often have trouble raising early rounds. How pivoting can often be the key to finding real market pull. Why big competitors can often be a huge tailwind. How to use storytelling to raising bigger rounds. Keywords startups, entrepreneurship, analytics, Amplitude, pricing strategy, market positioning, data processing, voice recognition, technology pivot, competitive advantage, market dynamics, differentiation, product-market fit, storytelling, fundraising, startup challenges, customer relationships, analytics tools, business strategy, entrepreneurship Timestamps: (00:00:00) Intro (00:06:13) A cool demo-- but a bad business (00:18:36) Why funding was so hard (00:25:43) Why lower prices are a big differentiator (00:40:50) Working 24/7 (00:50:35) Product Market Fit Send me a message to let me know what you think!…

A Product Market Fit Show | Startup Podcast for Founders

1
This 1st time founder raised a $38M Series A—after taking over 2 years to launch. | Chris Ellis, Founder of Thatch 55:54

5 weeks назад55:54

55:54

This first time founder just raised a $38 million Series A. The crazy part is that for all of 2021, 2022, 2023, he had almost no revenue. He spent all that time building and pivoting. Finally he launched in 2024—and it blew up. I saw his LinkedIn post and his revenue chart doesn't look like a hockey stick... it looks like straight a vertical line. He built a health benefits platform—it doesn't get less sexy than that. And yet, it absolutely exploded to millions in ARR in less than a year. All because he figured out how to make something that every single company in the U.S. needs, exceptionally simple. Here's the story. Why you should listen: Why choosing the right co-founder is the most important thing. Why having a mission is crucial to make it through the ups and downs. How to listen to and understand customer pain points. Why pivots are not a bad thing, and can actually be the key to crazy traction. How to use external deadlines to drive urgency and focus . Keywords Thatch, startup journey, co-founders, healthcare innovation, product market fit, venture capital, entrepreneurship, health benefits, business challenges, pivoting, healthcare, startups, product development, market demand, customer needs, external deadlines, product market fit, scaling, company culture, founder intuition Timestamps: (00:00:00) Intro (00:02:27) Finding the Right Co-Founder (00:10:23) Why You Need to Go All In (00:16:20) The Seed Round & Pivoting From the Original Idea of Thatch (00:30:08) How to use external deadlines to drive focus (00:37:55) The Growth in 2024 & The Business Model (00:42:16) The Benefits of Forcing Functions (00:45:58) How Many Customers are Using Thatch Today? (00:47:50) Finding True Product Market Fit (00:52:10) People Didn't Believe in Thatch Send me a message to let me know what you think!…

A Product Market Fit Show | Startup Podcast for Founders

1
Why new Carta data shows bridge rounds might be worse than you think. | Peter Walker, Head of Insights at Carta 31:17

6 weeks назад31:17

31:17

Carta just released their report for Q4 2024. Peter is Head of Insights at Carta, and the person who owns their data practice. We sit down to talk about the largest trends he saw across fundraising, industries, graduation rates and even hiring practices. Carta data shows that graduation rates from Seed to A are much lower for companies that have raised a bridge round. We analyze why that might be and what that could mean for early-stage founders. VCs read and understand all this data. If you want to operate on equal footing— you should too. Why you should listen: The role of AI in the venture capital landscape. Why there are a trend of larger funding rounds going to fewer companies. Why so much capital is being allocated to AI companies. Valuations for seed and early-stage companies are on the rise. Why bridges and extensions have become so popular. Why bridge rounds have lower graduation rates to Series A. What the data shows about how hiring practices are changing. Keywords venture capital, AI, fundraising, market trends, valuations, startup ecosystem, early stage, late stage, investment, venture capital, bridge rounds, seed extensions, startup growth, hiring practices, AI impact, early stage funding, market trends, valuations, exits Send me a message to let me know what you think!…

A Product Market Fit Show | Startup Podcast for Founders

1
He exited for $335M—& felt "emptiness". So he quit, gave up millions in earnout, & grew to $1M ARR in 6 months. | Alon Arvatz, Founder of IntSights & PointFive 51:43

6 weeks назад51:43

51:43

Alon was a hacker for the Israeli Defence Forces' cyber department. There he saw the most advanced methods used in cyber warfare. So when he left, he started IntSights-- a company that helped enterprises defend themselves from cyber attacks. He was a first-time founder who didn't even know the word 'unicorn'. He made all the mistakes you could make. But he had real, undeniable pull. He grew to $1M ARR in a year and to $4M a year later. By the end of it, he was doing $30M in revenue and exited for $335M. But when I asked him what it felt like to sell for hundreds of millions, he said it 'felt like emptiness'. Alon is a builder—that's all he wants to do. So he quit post-acqusition and left millions of dollars on the table. Moeny he was guaranteed to make if he just stayed in his role. Instead, he started PointFive to help enterprises reduce wasted spend on cloud infrastructure. He know nothing about the space. One year in, he's raised $36M and grown to millions in ARR—it's even faster than IntSights. Here's the story. Why you should listen Why Alon felt empty after exiting for $335M. Why he left millions of dollars on the table to start a new startup. Why the mistakes he made in his first startup helped his second one grow way faster. Why he raised $36M in under a year. Why true customer pull comes from solving top of mind problems. Keywords LinkedIn, video content, cloud cost optimization, engineering responsibilities, startup funding, second-time founders, product market fit, customer traction, entrepreneurship Send me a message to let me know what you think!…

A Product Market Fit Show | Startup Podcast for Founders

1
He raised $20M, hit $3.5M in revenue—& failed. Here are the top 3 lessons he learned. | Ned Phillips, Founder of Bambu 1:01:11

7 weeks назад1:01:11

1:01:11

Ned had a chance to run Robinhood Asia but he turned it down. Instead, he launched a competitive product. He decided to go B2B and sell to banks and other financial institutions. He locked down a $400K revenue sale before writing a line of code. It seemed easy at first. Overtime, he grew to $3.5M in revenue, billions in assets under management and hundreds of thousands of users. He raised $20M in venture capital. But then the problems started. Enterprises that paid for large contracts didn't push the product—many had no marketing budgets. In some cases, they shelved the product altogether. The one-time revenue never turned into ARR. Running out of money, he was forced to raise a small bridge and lay off more than half his staff. He came close—but ultimately, he just wasn't able to recover. He sold off the company for parts and went through a wind down. This is his story—and the lessons he learned. Why you should listen: Why the difference between success and failure can be minimal. How to balance custom contracts with building scalable product. Why enterprises might not push the product they've paid $100K+ for. How to build a strong company culture. Why layoffs are the hardest thing a founder will go through. When things go south, "the days are long, but the months are short". Keywords startup, FinTech, B2B2C, customization, revenue models, marketing, client engagement, leadership, company culture, lessons learned, B2B sales, startup challenges, emotional toll, liquidation, lessons learned Send me a message to let me know what you think!…

A Product Market Fit Show | Startup Podcast for Founders

1
He exited for hundreds of millions—then invested in 20+ founders. Here's what he looks for. | Jason Van Gaal, Founder of ROOT 48:02

7 weeks назад48:02