Event 2: How to build a unicorn startup, and have multiple exits

🎉Our 1st 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

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

Here is the photo from the event: