Wesley Tian

Alex Lieberman just shared a cool side project: YourStack. He shared storyarb's & Morning Brew's tech stack + got Noah Kagan to share his too. (more founders to come) As it scales, I thought that a few simple features could be useful, like: ↳ seamlessly see which softwares/services are most commonly used ↳ all founders' reviews of a given tool aggregated in one place ↳ how many founders use a given tool While still keeping it simple, of course. Made them in Notion + Super already. WDYT? Is this overcomplicating it, or would it be useful? ( hoping this reaches Alex :) )

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TWO OR THREE-STEPPING TO SERIES A A lot of software founders are still trying to raise a $4-5M seed round from a pre-revenue standpoint to get to Series A. I get that we all want more buffer nowadays but it's also a harder calculus to go from pre-monetization, to early customers, to giving yourself enough sales cycle time in order to hit $1-2M ARR proxy for a strong A. Which is why inevitably, more founders end up having to raise messy extensions/bridges/Seed II or whatever you want to call them. So my advice is that IF you have the luxury of starting a company today, PLAN AHEAD. Even prior to even raising your first angel round. Break up your path to Series A into 2 or 3 tranches of mission-driven capital. Each tranche has a clear goal that you can rally your team and investors around. For example: First tranche to build the product and get early design partners. Second tranche to get to $300K of ARR. Third tranche to get to Series A. This will help support higher operating discipline and awareness. Incremental purchasing and hiring decisions will instantaneously shorten your runway in a way that a larger $5 million seed round obfuscates. And you'll be motivated to find GTM efficiency faster in the journey. Great habits for long term success. For context, Peter Walker of Carta recently sent an update on the arduous path from Seed to Series A. The survival rate is about 1/2 of what it used to be: "Something like 20-24% of startups that raised a seed round would graduate to their Series A in 24 months or less. For companies that raised their seeds in H1 2022, only 13% have made it to Series A across the 6 industries in the chart."

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To all the founders about to quit and dreaming of a FAANG job or equivalent in pay & prestige, listen up: 1. What you're doing now-- trying to build & grow something new-- is the only "job" that AI and robots won't be taking. 2. The job you are dreaming about is already gone. Push through to fight another day. Be relentlessly resourceful as PG puts it. Your problem needs to be solved and no one is going to solve it for you. If you want help/advice on cutting expenses, sharing upside with community in exchange for build & grow collaboration, and raising capital from your users-- DMs open. There is no greener grass than the type that grows on PMF. Using Slyk IO to launch, grow, and raise fast puts you on the fast track to finding out. Your community can help you get there. I know because I'm doing this with Cadoo . #founders #startups #community

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I designed Peak OS for venture-backed companies after working with hundreds of them over the past 20 years. VC-backed teams are different, period. They need an operating system designed specifically for them. You can read about why (and get a step by step instruction manual to get started with Peak OS) in my bestselling book, Peak Teams. Check it out on Amazon and Audible. #venturebacked #vcbacked #venturecapital #leadership #ceo #founder #operatingsystem #peakOS

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 🔥 "How many engineers does it take to replicate Docusign as a software product in 2026?" Sarah Guo dropped this thought-provoking question at last week’s panel. Answers from the eng/product leaders at top companies were eye-opening: Scott Densmore: 10 engineers Romain Huet: 5 engineers Ainsley Escorce-Jones: Just 1 Lee Robinson: 1-2 engineers Say hi to a future where rewriting major software might be simpler than you think. Reach out to me if you are planning to do that! 🙋🏻‍♂️ PS: Take a look at what Gil Arditi is working on at Morph.ai 💡 #software #sdlc #softwaredevelopment #llm #ai #ml #largelanguagemodel #copilot #gpt4

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A startup idea worth pursuing is: 1. pitch-worthy: you enjoy distilling it down and telling people. 2. join-worthy: you can form a community around it. 3. earn-worthy: folks will invest time/effort for collab opportunities or early access. 4. prepay-worthy: cashflow. https://lnkd.in/gA2icK8h

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How to pitch: The company has zero traction —> “We’re early” You only have 2 customers —> “We’re working with design partners” You currently have no revenue but hoping some pipeline finally closes —> “we’re on track to exit this year at $3M ARR” You’re in the natural kill zone of a FAANG —> “We view them as partners rather than competitors” There’s no way the tech can actually work —>“We’re manifesting the future” And of course: One of your developers uses Co-Pilot to write some front end code —> “We’re an AI company”

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Founders, especially non-technical founders, let me save you some time. This is a Requirements Matrix. If you're an application founder, let me re-introduce you. This is a Requirements Matrix. It's your best friend. When utilized fully, a Requirements Matrix can: ☑ Clarify your app uses ☑ Invite collaboration in requirements brainstorming sessions ☑ Align developers to the overall vision ☑ Identify key resources that will be needed to support the overall app (architecturally and talent-wise) ☑ Be the basis for the product roadmap ☑ Build requirements that ultimately go into your requirements management tool like Jira ☑ Identify scope creep ☑ Manage stakeholder expectations If you haven't heard of one or you would like to try it out, you can save a copy from the link in the comments. Follow for more tips or if you're curious on the adventures of a #founder in Cleveland! #techfounder #femalesintech #founderlife #productmanagement

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In this week's episode of the Mobile Dev Memo podcast, I speak with notable X personality Trung Phan about the evolving social media landscape, and how to tame the mayhem and pandemonium of X. https://lnkd.in/dVHMzbui

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As a technical founder, one of the biggest challenges in scaling from $1M to $10M ARR is balancing two mindsets: the creativity and passion that helped you build an incredible product, and the operational discipline needed to lead a growing organization. To evolve from an IC to a founder-CEO, focus on these 3 areas: 1️⃣ Establish a hiring playbook Develop a structured process to assess candidates using scorecards for their resume, interview, and reference checks. Grade each on a 1-10 scale and dig deeper if a reference doesn't give a 9 or 10. 2️⃣ Delegate, but stay hands-on Empower your team, but also seek out the "ground truth" - join customer calls, have skip-level conversations with ICs, and interview key candidates yourself. Lean in to understand the details of each executive's role. Only then can you set expectations and evaluate the performance of your team. 3️⃣ Define a culture that can scale Be proactive about articulating your culture's core tenets. Approach it with the same rigor and customer-centricity you bring to building products. A strong culture is the "shared operating system" that allows a large organization to function as a cohesive whole. Learn more from my conversations with Doug Winter of Seismic, Mohit Aron of Cohesity, and Sanjit Biswas of Samsara in the latest edition of B2BaCEO: https://lnkd.in/emsvFN9q

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New Post: VCs are selling shares of hot AI companies like Anthropic and xAI to small investors in a wild SPV market - https://lnkd.in/gEUxDYd5 - VCs are clamoring to invest in hot AI companies, willing to pay exorbitant share prices for coveted spots on their cap tables. Even so, most aren’t able to get into such deals at all. Yet, small, unknown investors, including family offices and high-net-worth individuals, have found their own way to get shares of the hottest © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. - #news #business #world -------------------------------------------------- Download: Stupid Simple CMS - https://lnkd.in/g4y9XFgR -------------------------------------------------- or download at SourceForge - https://lnkd.in/gNqB7dnp

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I’ve been keeping a running list on things I wish I knew or did while working in product before transitioning to founding Inari (YC S23) and here's the 2nd part! Note: this pic is me on our 1st day building in SF for YC. Smiling through how fun all the incorporation paperwork was 😂 Mastering growth and distribution 💌 I never truly internalized the adage “first time founders obsess over product and second time founders obsess over distribution” until we launched Inari for the first time last year and initially heard crickets. I hadn’t worked on growth in any of my prior roles and now I probably spend 60%+ of my capacity catching up, learning basic tactics, and experimenting with new channels for Inari. I think we could be much farther along if I had mastered in-product growth and activation tactics, had reps setting up outbound and SEO systems, and built a community and audience much sooner (I also never realized how fun engaging with people online could be 😄). No excuses not being “technical” in 2024 💻 If you’re considering working on a SaaS startup and you can’t code, just go and learn to. With the recent advances in LLMs and coding assistants, there’s literally never been a better time to learn to code, unblock yourself when you run into issues, and build an MVP. There’s nobody on the planet that will care about your product as much as you will. If you’re unable to be deep in the details, identify defects, and make fixes quickly yourself, then the overall clock speed and quality bar of your product will suffer. The quality expectations for ALL startups have increased over the last few years and it’s on you as a founder to keep that rigor and velocity extremely high, so being able to unblock yourself makes a world of difference. Managing your own psychology 🧠 Surprisingly, the toughest part when transitioning to founding was managing my own mental state. There’s a constant internal uncertainty on whether you’re building something that people actually want and spending time on the right priorities. Your view on finances also completely changes. Money used to be a resource I spent on fun discretionary spend but now money feels like “oxygen”. The stakes of each day feels much heavier when you feel like you’re running out of oxygen for your startup which you're pouring your heart into. Overall, be prepared for these internal influences before making the jump! That could be better carving out the right runway, validating your idea or building an MVP before leaving your job, or bumping up your skills around building and selling beforehand.

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Imagine being the Youngest SWE Intern at a multi billion dollar company Today's guest Harsh A.: Founder of Dev Kits, Tech Kareer- has done that and more Harsh is one of the amazing builders I have connected with on X In this episode we chat about: 1. Finding Opportunities 2. Power of X 3. BuildSpace and DevKits Journey 4. Accelerator and Residency Program Link to the episode in the comments below

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🔥Raise Millions For Your Startup🔥 This is arguably the most valuable startup fundraising resource I've had the privilege of stumbling upon. It's from Tam Pham from hustlefund.vc and it's good... The reason why it's particularly useful is because the intel provided is ACTIONABLE: ● Should I raise from angel investors or venture capitalists? ● What do all the fundraising stages mean? ● What do equity, SAFEs, and dilution mean? ● How do I determine my startup’s valuation? ● Why are cap tables, shares, and vesting so important? ● Where should I incorporate my company? ● When is the best time to start fundraising? ● What exactly should I include in my pitch deck? ● How should I structure my first meeting with an investor? ● What questions will early-stage VCs ask me? ● How do I build authentic relationships with investors? ● What happens if an investor says no or ghosts me? ● What should I expect after an investor verbally commits? You guys can save this doc to your local computer by enlarging the PDF below and then by clicking the "download" icon in the top right corner of your browser. -------------------------------------------------------------------- 💡Join 30,000+ Amplified Investors: https://lnkd.in/eAYGMHRN ---------------------------------------------------------------------

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Founders, don’t make this common mistake early on (#4 in series): Rely too heavily on referrals without any process. Every founder knows referrals are the holy grail of hiring. Who doesn’t want a warm intro to a strong candidate that comes vouched for? So founders ask their team for referrals anytime a new role opens up. Maybe they’ll get a few leads. But without structure, referrals stall: • Current employees get distracted by their day-to-day. • They forget to tap their networks. • High-quality references dry up quick. Your new goal: Systematize referrals. • Set aside dedicated time every quarter to re-engage your team on referrals. Remind them of open roles and relevant skill sets you seek. • Provide clear guidelines on who and how to refer. For example, share ideal candidate criteria and specifics on where they should introduce you. • Incentivize referrals with gift cards or team rewards. And track submissions to notify when a referee gets hired. Putting a structured referral program in place reduces ad-hoc asks and motivates your team to proactively tap their trusted contacts. You’ll see candidate quality and hiring velocity increase overnight. P.S. This is post #4 in my series uncovering common founder hiring mistakes that burn cash. Follow me to catch the rest of the series.

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There's a fallacy amongst engineers that if you just build a great product, people will flock to it. You realize how untrue this is after launching your first product as a founder. Coming off the heels of our Forever Links launch, this is resonating deeply:  I now realize there's a reason why marketing and sales end up being half of an org over time: knowing how to talk about your product and grab a customer's attention is insanely difficult. The product might be awesome, but if nobody knows about it, how to use it, and aren't convinced that there's value such that they even try, then it doesn't matter how awesome your product is. This means a lot to us in the present: right now we rely on our account management team to educate our customers. But there are too many features on the horizon for one team to handle the outreach without structure. Our Forever Links launch helped us build our muscles by talking about our products, making sure we have distribution, and connecting with people in a way that showcases value. And I'm so excited we're finally doing this on a feature level for FERMÀT. More announcements to come soon. 

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"You can just be pulling an API from ChatGPT to create your whole platform. I mean, there's gotta be some substance there. There's gotta be something real there." I won't name names, but that was from a call with a growth stage investor last week. His words. This is something that's going to come to a head pretty soon. 3 months. 6 months. Definitely within 12 months. A sea of #MarTech and #SalesTech companies are going to crater because so many of them are simply: - One GenAI API - UI - Key integration(s) One dev at this point could create a personalized sales video app for the HubSpot marketplace in under 45 days. Undercut other players on price. Lean into the HubSpot ecosystem for distro (I *never* hear HubSpot agencies talking about the players in market today so this growth lever is wide open). But the major point here is that startups overly-reliant on being early adopters of broadly available GenAI functionality are going to have to evolve. Quickly. Or get stuck in a race to the bottom. This investor went on to say, "a lot of these martech platforms or sales optimization or enablement platforms... There's a lot of fluff to it. A lot of buzziness right now." I couldn't agree more. When we chat with customers, advisors, and investors, there's a TON of noise for them to sort through. Everyone's pitching #personalization and I think that's the wrong damn word to be using. What matters is #relevance. No one cares about a "personalized" email or video if what informed that output isn't unique to the recipient and their needs. eg A video that said, "Hi, Nick - see you're having a beautiful day in Lexington. and I want to re-direct some of that sunlight on your pipeline with our sales analytics software..." I. Would. Not. Care. This past week Kyle Coleman had a great post about account research. Automating it at scale. Transforming that into a meaningful connection to the buyer and the Copy.ai proposition. And I was reading some of the work coming from Jordan Crawford -> that phenomenal targeting ensures the message is worth sending at all (which is ALL about relevance). Improve your research. Improve your targeting. Improve your #content to support buyers with insights they actually want when they want them. But stahhhhhhp chasing "personalization." Or at least reset the meaning. Everything will actually get a lot easier and productive.

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You spent 3 months researching how to create and structure an LLC. Meanwhile an Indie Dev on X: - launched 4 products - pivoted 3 times - is generating $200 MRR. 🛑 Stop researching/dreaming/delaying 🚀 Start Building your bootstrapped startup

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