01/27/24 - How to build a unicorn startup, and have multiple exits

🎉 Our 1st Startup 0 to 1 event was a hit, attracting 350+ founders from 700+ applications! We're sorry we couldn't host everyone-your enthusiasm blew us away! Speakers delivered fantastic insights on their entrepreneurial journeys, covering everything from idea validation and achieving product-market-fit to mastering sales and scaling up.

Speakers

1. Vijay Krishnan , Co-founder & CTO of Turing
2. Vincent Yang, Co-founder & CEO of Firework
3. Payman Nejati and Joel Tan, Co-founders, CEO and CTO of Ownit
4. Chloe Barreau, PM from Inword AI

🔑 Key Highlights

🔄 Pivoting is Part of the Game

1. The path from 0 to 1 is a type of luck, be prepared to pivot a lot to find PMF
2. Founders should exhibit grit and see each pivot as an exciting new chapter, not a setback. Many speakers have weathered 5+ pivots, yet persisted and finally succeeded.
3. Establish a startup culture that embraces failure and operates like an incubator

💡 Don’t over-analyze your idea-While research and framework on idea validation are vital, execution matters the most. Key factors to consider:

1. Market size is above all else (billion dollar market or new market growing to $10B in 5-10 years)
2. Product 10x better than current solutions, factoring recent tech advancements and market shifts on “why now?” (e.g. Gen-AI)
3. Strong founder-market fit with a unique expertise mix

📈 Getting PMF is non-linear

1. Have a rapid MVP iteration/lean startup method, engage with 5-20 customers ASAP, and do everything needed to make the first few customers successful
2. Technical founders: don’t get attached to your product, focus on customers’ feedback, and shut it down fast when you need to pivot

✉️ Effective customer acquisition channels

1. Investors’ referral
2. Tailored pitch deck and demo to prospects with their logo and workflow, even before your very 1st meeting with them
3. Cold emails—still the best way despite the low conversation rate. It’s free and can reach large scales of clients

💸 Pricing Strategy Pro Tips

1. B2C startups can consider offering freemium in the early days as the focus is on building a viral product
2. B2B founders should aim to add an extra zero to their pricing, particularly for enterprise clients. Vincent shared a humorous anecdote about initially planning to charge a client $800/year, but ultimately charging $8,000 a month instead!

🌱 Fundraising

The best time to raise is when you don’t need money. Focus on your product, once the product is right, VCs will come to you. Consider using pre-money SAFE for raises less than $15M (avoid YC popularized post-money SAFE).

🤝 Cofounders and Team

Find someone you know well and deeply understand each other’s values and visions as cofounders. Consider hiring the 1st PM when you reach the 30-employee mark

A huge shoutout to our speakers! 👏

1. Vijay Krishnan , Co-founder & CTO of Turing
2. Vincent Yang, Co-founder & CEO of Firework
3. Payman Nejati and Joel Tan, Co-founders, CEO and CTO of Ownit
4. Chloe Barreau, PM from Inword AI