Leon Pals

Are Dutch and European founders not ambitious enough? 🤔 I just read Techleap's latest report: "AI Scaling Challenges for Dutch Founders." (Okay, I got AI to read it and share the highlights with me. 😜) This quote caught my (& Claude's) eye: "𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘧 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 4% 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘶𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘈𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 10𝘔. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯..." Almost every day, I see posts and jokes about European founders thinking too small. As someone who works with Euro-founders everyday, I have a different view. I see: - Massive visions - Global mindsets from day one - Founders ready to take on the world It's not the founders who lack ambition. They're just working within the realms of what's possible in Europe. That's why many of them get funded from and/or move to the US. 💰 The real lack of ambition? That's from investors and governments in Europe. 🇪🇺 I'm still working on an article, "The Case for European Optimism." And I think it will show that European founders are just as ambitious as their US counterparts. The real question we should be asking is: - How can we create an environment that allows founders to dream bigger and reach higher? 🚀 And yes, I know this quotes mentions deep ecosystem issues... --- ↳ What's your take? Are European founders thinking too small, or is it the ecosystem that's holding them back? 👇

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How to structure your venture studio SaaS portfolio company right from the start Venture studios are keen on creating SaaS portfolio companies. If structured right, SaaS companies can become profitable cash machines for venture studios. Combining fifteen years of experience with SaaS business models and researching venture builders for a PhD project, these are my five major learnings: 🔗As most SaaS products may be copied. Excellent distribution and long-term customer relationships are crucial. Long-term and strong relationships impact many important KPI's including ARR growth, Churn, NPS and eNPS. ➡️For venture studios, that means building on the existing network to creating legitimacy for the portfolio start-up. ---- 🚥A streamlined organization where everyone knows what to do makes recruiting during scaling much easier. Hiring too fast, before the need of more team members occurs, may hinder efficiency. Create job descriptions, routines and procedures for the organization open enough not risking losing founder mode. ➡️For venture studios, that means knowing what competence to look for in different states. Use accumulated knowledge timing and managing recruitment as best as possible. ---- 📈 Keep track on the blended CAC ratio. Inefficiency and high cost in acquiring new ARR will eat up your EBITDA margins. Most B2C SaaS gets scalable through higher numbers of customers. In B2B SaaS, expansion, cross-selling, and price increases are fundamental for fast growth. ➡️For venture studios, that means share customer databases, cross-sell as much as possible, and develop a value-based pricing structure as soon as possible. ---- 🔁 Having routines and procedures in place capitalizing from a management quality system (we used ISO) helps bringing your start-up from a healthy creative chaos to an efficient scale-up. ➡️For venture studios, that means creating a management quality system and put it in place in each portfolio company will help increase speed of development and growth. ---- 💻 An understanding that an intuitive and ‘friendly’ user interface with few bugs in the product, allow support and customer success to be part of the sales organization focusing on the core product, rather than being a business unit trying to help customers handle an in-efficient product to avoid churn. ➡️For venture studios, that means accumulate knowledge in software development in relation to user friendliness and learn from previous start-up attempts to avoid churn. From your experience, what other learnings should be added here? #venturestudio #venturebuilder #entrepreneurship #scaling #saas ________________________________ Did you like this post? Connect or Follow @john-erik hassel

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In the past week we've seen OpenAI release GPT-4o and Google release a new version of Gemini Pro 1.5, together with their new Gemini Flash model. The big news about these announcements is efficiency, speed and cost. Yay! 🐢 The challenge with GPT-4 has been its slowness - whilst it's a great model, it's so slow that I've had to rule out using it in several situations. If you need to make multiple calls to the model (very common) and you have a user sitting waiting on a response, GPT-4 is not viable. Why is it slow? Because it's a large model and larger models use more compute and take longer to respond. 🏎️ Enter GPT-4o, which is much, much faster. Why is it faster? Because it's a better optimised model that uses less compute and is able to respond quicker. And it's cheaper - 50% of the cost of GPT-4-turbo. When you make lots of calls to a model, a 50% cost reduction is a big deal. ⚡️ Now let's look at Google. Gemini 1.5 Pro and its stablemate 1.5 Flash both bring significant optimisations: "1.5 Pro, despite using significantly less training compute, surpasses 1.0 Ultra, a state-of-the-art model, on text capabilities like math, science and reasoning, code, multilinguality and instruction following. Similarly, 1.5 Flash outperforms 1.0 Pro, despite being more lightweight and efficient." 💸 Emphasising the importance of faster, more efficient, cheaper models, Gemini Flash is a new class of model explicitly designed to address these requirements. Because often we need something that responds quickly and costs less. When I say costs less, Gemini Flash is around 1/10th the cost of Gemini Pro. 🔥 But Google's not done with Flash as a smaller, more efficient model. The Gemini Technical Report also talks about a further model, Flash-8B, which is still under development. It's an even smaller model, optimised for uses such as large-scale data labelling and high-throughput agents, where speed and cost are major drivers. Of course Flash-8B is smaller and not as good as 1.5 Pro, but it's probably *good enough* for a whole class of uses. Not everything requires the most sophisticated AI available. 👉 These new models may not have set the world on fire with dramatic new capability leaps, but they do set *my* world on fire with faster, cheaper, more efficient models. They use less energy, they generate less CO2 (remember, we have a climate emergency), they cost less to use and they respond faster. If you need high-end capability then GPT-4o and Gemini Pro 1.5 both push the envelope on capability. This feels like the advancement we need - the option to pay more for better models, or pay less for more optimised and faster models.

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Don't Let Your Startup Fail: Test Your Idea Fast with an MVP Imagine putting all your effort into creating a product, only to find out no one wants it. Ouch! This happens to many startups. In fact, 42% of startups fail because they build products nobody wants (Clutch survey). Here’s where an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) comes in to save the day! An MVP is a basic version of your product with the key features needed to solve a problem. It's simple, efficient, and designed to learn from real users. Why MVPs are awesome: ✅Get real feedback from users quickly. ✅Avoid wasting money on something nobody wants. ✅Use user feedback to make your product better. Think of it like this: You wouldn’t build a whole house without first making a blueprint, right? An MVP is your blueprint for a successful product. It lets you test the basics, make improvements, and create something people actually want. MVP = Launch faster, learn faster, succeed faster. P.S. You can launch your Minimum Viable Product (MVP) in just 4 weeks. #StartupSuccess #MVPDevelopment #FailFastLearnFast #UserFeedback #LeanStartup #ProductValidation #MarketFit #AgileDevelopment #Innovation #Entrepreneurship #BusinessTips

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i almost went bankrupt 3 months ago. a year earlier, we raised €220,000 from angel investors in the netherlands. we used this money to build a great team, develop our first products, and grow our community. at one point, we’ve invested €150,000. then, we found out that one of our former investors couldn't fulfil his contract. we had only €10,000 left in the bank, with monthly expenses of €20,000. then two things happened in the same week that i’m really really grateful for: 1.⁠ ⁠after seeing one of our instagram reels, Max Klijnstra contacted me on linkedin. we met at our office around 9 pm and talked openly. i even showed him our bank account. he never had a meeting this transparant with a startup, he loved what we were building, especially our community of creators. i asked him directly, "why don't you invest? i have an open ticket." he shared two lessons that helped me a lot:   - "i can invest, but it won’t fix your main problem — you need clients. let me be your first."   - “you need to understand that this is a long-term game, a marathon. after talking to you for two hours, it feels like you think you’re running a marathon, but it’s friday night, you haven’t eaten. slow down.” 2.⁠ ⁠it's rare to find investors who want to invest at our stage. it's even rarer for them to sit with you every week for 1-2 hours, sharing their knowledge. Henk de Boer (one of our 3 investors) understands our vision and believes in it. when we asked if he wanted to fill the open investment, he said yes without hesitation. this saved us. in the last three months, we signed our first contract with launching customers, grown our community of storytellers, filmmakers, and creators to over 3,500. we now use our software to access first-party data from brands' social accounts. we identify which formats, styles, sentiments, and scripts work best. through our network, we produce high-quality, non-ugc content. making brand accounts more interesting to follow for their customers. thanks everyone who helped, we wouldn’t be here without you!

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🌟 Introducing AVARTA Life: Your Eco-Champion for a Brighter Tomorrow! 🌍💚 Hey World! 🌟 We’re over the moon to unveil Avarta, our groundbreaking app crafted for Google’s Gemini API Developer Competition! 🚀✨ This isn’t just another app—it’s our heartfelt mission to revolutionize how we live sustainably and make a real difference for our planet. 🌱🌟 What Makes Avarta a Game-Changer? 🚀 Avarta is your ultimate eco-companion, designed to make sustainable living not just a goal, but a way of life: * 🌱 Waste Reduction Revolution: Dive into personalized tips to cut down on waste and make eco-conscious choices. From reducing plastic 🌍 to starting a home compost 🏡, we’re here to guide you every step of the way! * ♻️ Recycling Made Simple: No more confusion about recycling rules! 🗑️ Our smart, location-based guide provides easy, accurate instructions tailored just for you. Say goodbye to recycling stress! 🙌 * 🌿 Eco-Friendly Discoveries: Explore a curated selection of sustainable products 🌟 that match your values. Shop with purpose 🛒, knowing each choice supports a greener, cleaner world! What Makes Avarta Truly Special? ✨ Powered by Google’s Gemini API and built with Google Cloud Flutter, Avarta is more than just technology—it’s a beacon of hope. 🌠 Our AI-driven features deliver real-time, personalized recommendations to make every green choice effortless. With its sleek design and cutting-edge functionality, Avarta seamlessly integrates sustainability into your daily routine. 💡📲 we are the Avartians, protectors of the earth 👨‍💼 CHANDRA GenAI Alchemist - Shaping the Future of Healthcare - CEO & GenAl & software development head 👨‍💼Rahul Ramesh - GenAl architect and brand head 👨‍💻 Savinay Kumar - devloplement lead 👨‍💻 Abhishek Kesare - platform & LLMOps lead 👩‍💻 Sejal Kaul - Full stack developer 👨‍🔬 Pavan Yidapalapati - GenAl scienitst 👩‍🔬 Keerthana Priya Devaraj - GenAl scientist 👨‍🎨 NITHIN P S - MGD, VFX & video editor 👨‍🔬 Mohan Sai K - GeniAl scientist Join Us in This Heartfelt Journey! 🌍💫 Avarta is more than an app; it’s a heartfelt movement toward a sustainable future. 🌱 Each action you take with Avarta helps pave the way for a better world, one step at a time. 🌟 We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve created and can’t wait for you to experience the magic of Avarta. 🌟 Your feedback means the world to us—explore the app, share your thoughts, and help us spread the word! Every share, mention, and conversation fuels our mission to create a greener, more vibrant planet. 🌿🚀 Thank you for being part of this incredible journey. Together, let’s make a profound impact and inspire a wave of positive change! 🌍💚 💚explore more about Avarta at https://lnkd.in/gjUQzi3P 🌍just brace your self for remaining parts of the video #Avarta #Sustainability #EcoFriendly #GreenTech #AI #Innovation #GoogleGemini #Flutter #RecycleRight #GeminiAPI #GoogleGeminiApiDeveloperCompetition

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Before investors ask the question, ask yourself first. Your solution is the best solution that will save customers. Thats great. But why now? What makes the timing right for your startup to exist? Incorporating the 'why now' in your startup story is not about proving that your idea is good; it’s about showing that your idea is good, right now. The Case for 'Why Now': 1. Market Readiness: Market readiness is paramount. A solution introduced too early may flounder due to lack of customer awareness or readiness to adopt, while one launched too late risks irrelevance in a saturated market. Your 'why now' should address the unique convergence of needs, technology, and customer readiness that makes this the opportune moment for your solution. According to a Bill Gross study, timing accounts for 42% of the difference between success and failure in startups. If the market isn’t ready for your solution, it won’t matter how groundbreaking it is. A Harvard Business School report highlighted that products launched during a period where market demand is peaking experience initial sales volumes up to 3x higher than those launched in a lukewarm market scenario. 2. Technological Feasibility & Innovation Cycles: Technology evolves in waves, and your startup's timing may align with the rising tide of an emerging technology, enabling solutions that were previously impossible or impractical. The 'why now' should illuminate how current technological advancements or shifts in user behavior uniquely position your startup to address previously unmet needs or create new market opportunities. Gartner’s Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies shows that the window for achieving a competitive advantage can be narrow before a technology matures and becomes widely adopted or deprecated. 3. Socio-economic Shifts: Socio-economic shifts can rapidly transform market landscapes, catalyzing new needs and opportunities. Demonstrating an understanding of these dynamics and articulating why your startup is especially relevant in the context of recent shifts can strongly validate the 'why now'. The COVID-19 pandemic led to a 500% surge in demand for remote collaboration tools, according to a report from Zoom Video Communications. A McKinsey Global Survey found that companies have accelerated the digitization of their customer and supply-chain interactions by three to four years due to the pandemic. Beyond Meat tapped into a confluence of consumer readiness, with a growing concern for health, sustainability, and ethical eating, and technological advancements in food science. By addressing these factors, Beyond Meat answered the 'why now' perfectly - introducing plant-based meats that closely mimic the taste, texture, and experience of animal meat at a time when consumers were actively seeking alternatives. #shahriarsuncommonsense

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We recently touched on how to pick the best European country to incorporate your startup. To continue that discussion, I’d like to tell you about a few European countries that offer residence permits through their Startup Visa programs. Here are some worth considering: 🇳🇱 1. Netherlands: Their program grants a one-year residence permit to startup founders, with the option to extend it later as a self-employed. To qualify, you need an innovative business plan and must work with a recognized facilitator, like a business incubator. I'll share some details with you later. 🇪🇪 2. Estonia: The Startup Visa allows entrepreneurs to develop their projects and hire foreign workers. To be eligible, your startup should show a high level of innovation and growth potential. 🇫🇮 3. Finland: They offer a Start-up Permit for foreign entrepreneurs, allowing them to work in Finland while building innovative projects. The application is assessed based on your business plan and growth potential. 🇵🇹 4. Portugal: With the Startup Visa program, founders get a residence permit to grow their projects in Portugal. Your project needs to be innovative and have the potential to create jobs. 🇪🇸 5. Spain: Spain’s "Entrepreneur Visa" program offers a residence permit for startup founders. Your startup should contribute to the country’s economy and be innovative. 🇫🇷 6. France: The French Tech Visa program is designed for startup founders, investors, and employees of tech companies. To qualify, you’ll need an innovative business plan and approval from the French Tech program. 🇱🇹 7. Lithuania: Lithuania’s Startup Visa is available for entrepreneurs looking to launch their innovative business in the country. You need to demonstrate both growth potential and an innovative business model. 🇮🇪 8. Ireland: The "Start-up Entrepreneur Programme" offers a residence permit to those who plan to invest in innovative business projects in Ireland. These are just a few countries with similar programs. Each has its own requirements for both the applicant and the startup, so be sure to do your research before applying. In my next post, I’ll dive into more countries offering these types of programs. If you have specific questions, feel free to ask in the comments! #venturecapital #startups #innovation #technology #founders #immigration #startupvisa

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5 Dutch Startup Failures: Key Insights Here are 5 key insights on the root causes for the failure of prominent 5 Dutch startups: 1. Yippie! - Grew too fast without the proper infrastructure, made some classic corporate mistakes according to the founder. Likely lacked focus and strategic direction. 2. Printr - Bet big on a 3D printing platform before consumer adoption was ready. Overestimated market demand and consumer interest in adopting 3D printing tech. 3. Tinker Travel - Business model not viable long-term. Pricing was too low to be profitable, took on significant liabilities with taxi companies. 4. Red Tulip Systems - Great idea but lack of funding to see it through. Needed more capital to fully develop and bring the product to market. 5. Cocoon - Pivot shows merits of the platform but initial model failed. Reacting and adjusting is good but failure was likely due to poor market validation and testing of assumptions. In summary, the main root causes seem to be lack of strategic focus/direction, failure to validate market demand, underestimating costs/liabilities, and not having sufficient capital to fully execute. Conducting thorough market research and testing key assumptions earlier could have prevented some of these failures. #ConsumerInsights #MarketingExperts #MarketResearch #GenerativeAI #DataDrivenMarketing #CustomerAnalytics #InsightfulMarketing #AIMarketingTools #BrandGrowthStrategy #ContentIntelligence #chatgpt #claude #dalle3

𝗜'𝗺 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝘄𝗲𝗯𝟯 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁-𝗠𝗩𝗣, 𝗽𝗿𝗲-𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲, 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗼’𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱. 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆, 𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗲-𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 £𝟱 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 If only ChatGPT could show me startups raising funds that matched this exact search. Luckily, Chainvest can. For investors: Imagine describing your ideal startupand having a variety appear. Chainvest’s AI-driven platform makes that a reality. Finding the right startup shouldn’t feel like finding a needle in a haystack. For founders: Forget endless cold emails and repetitive pitches. With Chainvest, the right investors will find you. Real connections, no guesswork. We’re launching soon. Investors and founders—join our waitlist at www.chainvest.io Tag a founder who needs a better way to connect with investors. Sam Simpson Ekaterina Manoilenko, MBA Jan McGinley Cait Pilkington Ricardo Pascual Duc Zambrini Vasily Alekseenko Kristina Pereckaite David Levine Samuel Izzard Ed Prior

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How to Avoid the Startup Growth Stall Ever experienced this rollercoaster? You launch with a killer product/service, your warm network loves it, sales soar... then BAM! Growth stalls. Here's why: Businesses need 2 engines to thrive: *Lead Generation Engine* The health of your business, after exhausting your warm network, is primarily determined by the *Lead Inflow Rate*. This engine attracts new, enthusiastic customers. *Delivery Engine:* Fulfills promises and keeps the customers happy. While attracting new customers is crucial, a strong Delivery Engine ensures they come back for more. You must be a master at this, after all, it's likely the reason you started this business. Warm networks are great, but finite. Don't wait for a sales slump to build your Lead Generation Engine! Generating quality leads takes time and effort: - Crafting compelling marketing materials - Implementing effective promotion strategies After all, you need to let the world know that you are here and you can solve their problems! Invest in marketing EARLY to keep your lead engine humming and avoid the growth stall. When should you start? The answer: *Before* your warm network runs dry! What are your experiences with scaling beyond your warm network? When did you realize you had to setup a Lead Generation Engine? #startup #growth #marketing #leadgeneration #business

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It’s always hard being a founder and running a company. But it’s been a tough year. No lie. Q1 nobody’s buying. Put us on back foot. Budgets didn’t increase or decreased. Spend on SaaS events seemingly down inline with software spend. Always feeling behind and late Pressure of delivering events felt harder. My dog and loyal companion of 12 years died. Second kid diagnosed with autism. Felt like one thing after the next. Sleep was shit. Almost felt like a year of what’s next? Yet: I felt these set of challenges made me and SaaStock stronger. USA event grew. SaaStock Europe experience improved and NPS up YoY. Lots of new client logos. Team stronger as a unit. Helped shape our focus for 2025 and beyond. Became a better dad and partner. Made some bigger bets for the company. We never gave up. Kept on keeping on and learning and improving as we go. Ready and better for 2025.

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Why Founders and Leaders of Scaling Companies Should make sure they have an Operating System (OS) 🔅 Let’s be honest: scaling a company can feel chaotic.  It’s thrilling, sure, but one wrong move and… well, you get the picture. In this high-stakes game, having a reliable operating system (OS) for your business is like having a GPS, it is not just a nice-to-have; it’s your safety harness, your map, and your accelerator all rolled into one. An organizational system is a structured approach to managing various aspects of work to enhance efficiency and productivity. It includes ways for handling information, actions, time, resources, communication, workflows, decision-making, and goal setting. These systems can range from simple tools like to-do lists to complex software solutions, all aimed at creating order, reducing confusion, and streamlining operations. The goal is to enable individuals or organizations to function more effectively by providing clear processes for managing information and activities. 1. Get Alignment- As your company grows, alignment can feel like herding cats, each with its own agenda. An OS unifies your team, ensuring everyone’s working towards the same goals, like handing out a script where everyone knows their lines. 2. Tame the Chaos- Scaling is messy. What worked for a team of five won’t for fifty—or five hundred. An OS organizes your processes, so you can manage growth without losing your mind (or margins). 3. Stay Nimble as You Scale-"Move fast and break things" might work early on, but at scale, you can’t afford to smash plates. An OS keeps you agile, letting you pivot without the collateral damage—like a high-performance engine that keeps you in control. 4. Focus on What Matters- Running a company without an OS is like searching for your keys in a messy house—lots of looking, not much finding. An OS helps you track what’s important, with clear metrics and dashboards that light your way. 5. No More Silos- As you scale, silos can spring up like mushrooms after rain. An OS breaks them down, fostering collaboration and communication, so your teams aren’t stuck in their own little kingdoms. Founders and leaders, if you want to scale without the stress, it’s time to implement a robust OS. It’s not just about surviving the growth spurt; it’s about thriving through it. With the right OS, you’ll turn the rollercoaster ride of scaling into a well-oiled machine—exciting, yes, but also smooth, predictable, and incredibly rewarding. Plus, you’ll sleep a little better at night, and who doesn’t want that? #leadership #OS #organizationsystem #coaching #consulting #HR ------------------------------------------------ I am an Executive Coach, an Organizational Development Consultant, and an HR Executive who helps leaders scale their impact and ensure high performance. Need help to take the leap? Get in touch! Follow me: for more. My Free newsletter: https://lnkd.in/gn95hfyV ------------------------------------------------

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📈 Starting from scratch in a new market isn’t easy—but it’s where growth happens. 💼 ✈️ Just one week ago, I moved to Dubai with Denis Šubic & Tilen Božič. 🇦🇪 Through cold outreach and door-to-door efforts—walking 10+ kilometers daily under 37°C heat for a couple of days paid off— we secured our first client for a photoshoot and content creation. 📸 How do you approach expanding into new markets? 🤔 #BusinessExpansion #Entrepreneurship #NewMarkets #DubaiBusiness #ContentCreation #MarketingAgency #GrowthMindset"

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𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽𝘀: 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 This guide by Joris Kersten covers the essentials of startup financing, helping entrepreneurs turn ideas into successful businesses. Key takeaways include: 1️⃣ Startup Financing Stages: Learn about bootstrapping, building an MVP, and scaling with early-stage funding from angels and VCs. 2️⃣ Crafting a Pitch Book: Develop a business plan with a financial section that includes profit/loss, cash flow, and balance sheet estimates. 3️⃣ Estimating Sales: Use marketing tools like the 4 Ps and conversion rates to predict sales performance accurately. 4️⃣ Understanding Costs: Plan for fixed costs like rent, salaries, and R&D, and calculate working capital needs like stock and receivables. 5️⃣ Worst-Case Scenarios: Always prepare for contingencies by modeling multiple financial scenarios. PS. check out 🔔 for a winning pitch deck the template created by Silicon Valley legend, Peter Thiel https://lnkd.in/ejp-Bhnu

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How does a founder feel after experiencing an exit? What sort of challenges do they face? Meet one of them, Bram V. — a raw serial entrepreneur in my eyes. And here is why: Bram founded a startup called Leadcamp back in September 2020. He was struggling with his sales achievements. He solved it by founding a podcast he called “Sound of Sales”. He interviewed different sales gurus from around the world with the intention of learning from them all and improving his own performance. Genius man, if you ask me. Long story short, he exited Leadcamp 2.5 years after its birth. In this interview, you’ll hear his story.  See a lot of smiles. And of course, it's a raw talk. I call this format “Raw Talks!”. Link in da comments! P.S. Are you a founder with a great and inspiring story? I would LOVE to share YOUR story with the world. Stay raw!

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How to access the Gemini 1.0 Pro and Gemini 1.0 Pro Vision models from code https://lnkd.in/eq-WVyHV Start studying via portal Video instruction to get credits here https://lnkd.in/ei6r2idn The program description is here https://lnkd.in/ei6wH62q #BuilswithAI

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I can tell within 15 minutes if I should invest in a founder—Melodie van der Baan was one of them. Founders always ask what the investment criteria is for VCs. Investors will give different answers, but it almost always comes down to one thing - conviction in the founder / ceo. I first met Mel while giving a talk to the new Techstars cohort in 2022. I met dozens of budding entrepreneurs that evening, but Mel stood out amongst them. She told me about her company, which targeted the excess inventory market for SMB retailers across the country. It’s a complex solution in a legacy space, but what she lacked in deep technical expertise, she made up for in tenacity and grit that came through in aspects of her communication and follow-through. It reminded me a lot of myself early in my founder journey. We invested in the pre-seed round early in the journey and since then, they’ve rebranded to Max Retail and have gone on to raise a seed round and now a $15m Series A from top investors including Nosara Capital, Rethink Impact, LP, Interplay VC, M13, The Artemis Fund , StandUp Ventures, Overline VC, and Regatta Ventures. So what has made Mel different than other founders? ➝ High integrity - Mel always sends out quarterly investor updates without fail, including not only the wins, but also weak points and how they plan to address them. ➝ Look at their growth - it’s iterative and consistent. Nothing fancy or exponential - just quarter-by-quarter blocking and tackling to automate what had previously been manual industry-wide. ➝ Grit - instead of building in a go-big or go-home “waterfall style” and demanding everything be automated before going to market, she’s been able to chip away and reach product-market fit over time. Who’s a founder you believe in purely based on conviction?

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