The hottest Founders Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Business Topics

What Do You Invest in?

Pratyush’s Newsletter • 79 implied HN points • 16 Oct 24
💼 Business Investment Entrepreneurship Venture Capital Startup Founders
  1. Investors should look for unique founders who stand out with exceptional traits, like intelligence and grit. A well-rounded person often doesn't lead to great investments.
  2. Successful companies often become the top choice in their category and have strong characteristics that help them stay ahead. These can include tricky competition or special technology.
  3. Timing is crucial; it's better to invest in companies before they become popular in the market. If everyone's already paying attention, it might be too late to find a winner.

The Archive

A Letter a Day • 550 implied HN points • 13 Apr 23
💼 Business Investors Venture Capital Private Equity Founders
  1. The project involves sharing letters from influential investors, founders, and operators.
  2. The bottom-up approach helps to understand industries and people by reading their published works and listening to their talks.
  3. The newsletter provides a diverse range of insights from various individuals across different sectors such as public markets, venture capital, private equity, founders, operators, and talent hubs.

How VCs Make High-Quality Investment Decisions? | Why Top 1% Of Founders Quit Their Startup? | Best Traits That Investors Look In Founders | VC Remote Jobs and More

Venture Curator • 199 implied HN points • 11 Sep 23
💼 Business Startups Investment Founders Venture Capital Remote Jobs
  1. Understanding the Venture Capital Method can help founders grasp how investors evaluate startups and make high-quality investment decisions.
  2. Top 1% of founders often quit due to factors like loss of control, pressure for results, and personal finance realities, emphasizing the importance of mental health in entrepreneurship.
  3. Investors look for specific traits in founders, such as resilience, integrity, and adaptability, when deciding to fund startups, underscoring the significance of founder characteristics.
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So, you found a co-founder. Now what?

The Founder Memo • 19 implied HN points • 12 Jun 24
💼 Business Startups Entrepreneurship Founders Equity Investment
  1. It's really important to discuss how you'll split equity with your co-founder before diving into your startup. This helps avoid confusion and potential disputes later on.
  2. You should clarify each person's roles and responsibilities right from the start. Knowing who does what can prevent misunderstandings as you work together.
  3. Taking the time to talk about your motivations for starting the business will keep you aligned on goals. It's vital to be on the same page about why you're building this company together.

Love the Mission or Love the Game

Working Theorys • 76 implied HN points • 12 Feb 24
💼 Business Entrepreneurship Founders Narrative Momentum
  1. There are two types of true entrepreneurs: those who love the mission they're obsessed with and those who love the game of entrepreneurship itself.
  2. The entrepreneurial type you are, whether Type I or Type II, can significantly impact how you approach ideas, your role, and your long-term success.
  3. Identifying whether you are driven by the love for a mission or the game of entrepreneurship can help you understand your motivations, make better decisions, and potentially find more fulfillment in your entrepreneurial journey.

Series A Activity: June 2023

Magid and Co • 39 implied HN points • 05 Jul 23
💰 Finance Investment Funding Venture Capital Founders
  1. There was a significant decrease in Series A deal activity from June 2022 to June 2023, with 290 deals in 2022 compared to 146 in 2023.
  2. It's crucial for founders to closely monitor individual firm actions rather than just market-level statistics, especially when major players from previous years are less active.
  3. Founders seeking funding should focus on understanding which investors are actively writing checks and building relationships with these firms, even if they are less known or harder to reach.

On WIRED magazine's startup phase (1993-1997)

The Future, Now and Then • 51 implied HN points • 04 Oct 23
💼 Business Startups Magazines Founders Tech Culture Business Models
  1. WIRED magazine's startup phase (1993-1997) was like a tumultuous startup journey, filled with rapid growth and financial struggles.
  2. Louis Rossetto led WIRED as a startup, investing in various ventures but facing financial challenges.
  3. The magazine's early years were marked by rapid expansion, big ambitions, and struggles to adapt to the changing tech landscape.

New Wave 🌊 One Year In 🎂 Hiring 🔥

Venture Prose • 99 implied HN points • 28 Feb 22
💼 Business Investments Venture Capital Hiring Founders Startups
  1. New Wave venture firm achieved impressive results in just one year: 10 investments, 22M€ deployed, 6 rounds announced, and 265M€ raised by portfolio companies. Their IRR stands at 500% and TVPI at 3x.
  2. New Wave focuses on seed deals and carefully selects companies on the critical path between Seed and Series A, emphasizing building strong equity stories with founders.
  3. New Wave is looking to hire individuals with key attributes such as the ability to sift through data effectively, form and defend opinions thoughtfully, and cultivate strong relationships.

Insights on Co-founder Dynamics

Lika’s Substack • 2 HN points • 02 Jul 24
💼 Business Startups Founders Investors Communication Partnerships
  1. Co-founder dynamics are crucial for startup success, often more impactful than other factors like funding or product-market fit.
  2. Factors like shared history, vision alignment, ego issues, emotional awareness, and boundary setting play significant roles in co-founder relationships.
  3. Investors look for co-founders with strong cores, trust, and the ability to handle disagreements effectively, indicating the value of interpersonal dynamics in startup evaluations.

The Art of The Impossible

Danielle Newnham • 19 implied HN points • 30 Jun 23
💼 Business Entrepreneurship Founders Startups Investing Leadership
  1. The newsletter shares inspiring content for founders, including podcasts, interviews, quotes, books, and videos.
  2. Founders can benefit from learning about what investors look for, pitfalls to avoid in fundraising, and the importance of building a network.
  3. The book 'Super Founders' reveals surprising insights about billion-dollar startups, such as the lack of industry experience among unicorn founders and the role of competition.

YC W24 Batch Breakdown

Commas by Beau • 2 HN points • 04 Apr 24
🕹 Technology Startups AI Regulations Founders
  1. New laws/regulations are creating opportunities for startups to fill gaps; entrepreneurs should stay current with regulatory changes
  2. Foundation models in AI startups are gaining significant interest and could be the next big trend in the industry
  3. Although many startups are AI-powered, AI features are not always necessary to solve user problems; it may not always be a game changer

To All The Batmen & Catwomen, The Great Founders Who Shine In The Shadow & Darkness.

Venture Prose • 0 implied HN points • 21 Mar 17
💼 Business Venture Capital Startups Entrepreneurship Investing Founders
  1. Founders should focus on staying true to themselves and their core business aspects, despite market rumors and distractions.
  2. The best-performing companies often operate in a low-key manner and prioritize essential elements like users, product, and business model.
  3. Investors play a crucial role in supporting founders behind the scenes during challenges, helping them navigate the realities of building a successful business.

Who are low-code app developers? An intro to five types of builder 

Developer GTM – by Calyx Consulting • 0 implied HN points • 14 Jul 21
🕹 Technology Development Tools Creatives Founders Software Engineers
  1. Over half of all app development will be low-code by 2023.
  2. Low-code builders can be segmented into five categories based on their shared 'jobs to be done.'
  3. Understanding the diverse roles, motivations, and needs of low-code builders is crucial for developing effective messaging and strategies to grow a user base.

The Venture Chills

Venture Prose • 0 implied HN points • 30 Jan 19
💼 Business Venture Capital Entrepreneurship Investment Startups Founders
  1. The key traits of great founders include humble-aggressive convictions, obsession, ability to learn and execute with speed and excellence, and unbreakable will to build world-changing ventures.
  2. Great founders stand out by leveraging learnings from others, overcoming difficulties, and revealing unexpected brilliance, leading to unwavering trust and conviction.
  3. Experiencing 'venture chills' in Venture Capital comes from witnessing founders like Lucrezia of Kukua, Pierre of Side.co, and Phil of Dice.fm, who strive to build iconic, transformative companies with purpose and resilience.

Founders & Unpredictability

Venture Prose • 0 implied HN points • 29 Jul 16
💼 Business Startup Investing Founders Entrepreneurship
  1. Investors should focus on founders' stories for insights - market and business model details may not be as revealing
  2. Dealing with unpredictability in early-stage investment is key - being wrong about assumptions is part of the process
  3. Success in startups is not always linear - small, unexpected actions can have significant impact