The hottest Startup Growth Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Top Business Topics

Whatever, do the secondary sale

benn.substack • 559 implied HN points • 01 Mar 24
💼 Business Venture Capital Startup Growth
  1. If you're a visionary founder who raises a lot of money and then sells shares for personal gain before mismanagement leads to the company's downfall, VCs will prioritize your ability to grow and persuade over your financial choices.
  2. In the world of venture capital, making money often trumps moral values, with investors backing those who are monetizable rather than necessarily 'nice.'
  3. While secondary sales by founders may raise concerns about focus and fairness to employees, making them transparent to the entire company could help ensure accountability and address potential disillusionment.

From 0 to 10 million users in four years

Kyle Poyar’s Growth Unhinged • 307 implied HN points • 13 Mar 24
💼 Business Startup Growth AI Monetization Marketing Strategy Product-led growth
  1. Copy.ai's rapid growth from 0 to 10 million users in four years was fueled by fast MVP iterations, leveraging AI like GPT-3, and a focus on early monetization.
  2. The monetization strategy of starting at $3 per month and then testing higher price points was crucial in Copy.ai's journey towards a platform model with a $49 per month subscription.
  3. Key to Copy.ai's scaling success was a strong growth strategy that included early user acquisition via social media, SEO optimization, and a specialized marketing team dedicated to different channels.

From seven failures to 10x growth

Kyle Poyar’s Growth Unhinged • 354 implied HN points • 24 Jan 24
💼 Business Startup Growth Product Development Marketing User Feedback Team Management
  1. Growing from 0 to 1,000 users was harder than the next 999,000 for Jam.
  2. Key factors for Jam's success included dogfooding, focusing on high quality, and having few, focused pilots.
  3. Jam's growth strategies involved continuous improvement, strong focus on user feedback, and engaging with the community through events and content.

Lemons Ripen Early: Playing the Long Game

The Hard Fork by Marvin Liao • 235 implied HN points • 05 Aug 23
💼 Business Venture Capital Investments Entrepreneurship Startup Growth
  1. In venture capital, bad investments tend to fail early, making way for successful ones later on.
  2. It's important to play the long game, especially in the early stages of investing, to allow winners to emerge.
  3. Success usually takes time and persistence, with at least 2 years needed to see a project through and achieve product-market fit.
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How to (consistently) get 4.8* App Ratings [Storytime Saturdays]

Technology Made Simple • 1 HN point • 30 Mar 24
🕹 Technology App Development User Experience iOS Startup Growth
  1. Consistently achieve high app ratings like 4.8". It's not easy, but it's simple. Understand two key concepts: asking for reviews and identifying 'wow' moments.
  2. Requesting app reviews is crucial. Users rarely leave reviews on their own, so ask for feedback using StoreKit APIs in iOS and strategically place these requests at key points in your app's critical path.
  3. Focus on delivering 'wow' moments in your app, ask for reviews at that peak point. Balancing user satisfaction with review requests on the critical path is essential for maintaining a high app rating.

Why You Should (Still) Join Pinecone

Why You Should Join • 4 implied HN points • 04 Sep 23
🕹 Technology Artificial Intelligence Database Management Machine Learning Product Development Startup Growth
  1. Pinecone has seen significant growth and is actively hiring for various roles in different locations.
  2. Pinecone developed the first fully managed database for vectors, making working with vectors easy and efficient.
  3. Pinecone remains a market leader with a strong team, continuous product improvements, and a growing customer base.

Kent Beck: Business

Software Design: Tidy First? • 2 HN points • 30 Aug 23
💼 Business Entrepreneurship Business Ethics Startup Growth Personal Development Financial Strategy
  1. Kent Beck learned from his grandfather that business can be about maximizing benefits for oneself at the expense of others.
  2. Kent Beck initially believed that by creating value for others, nature would provide for him, but he later realized he needed to actively create a path for value to return to him.
  3. Kent Beck's journey taught him that running a business doesn't have to mirror his grandfather's questionable practices; a business can be mutually beneficial for customers and himself.

0 to 10 Billion

Venture Prose • 19 implied HN points • 29 May 19
💼 Business Entrepreneurship Venture Capital Startup Growth Investing Ambition
  1. French entrepreneurship has shown significant growth in market maturity and capital raised, leading to ambitious founders and valuable companies.
  2. Venture capitalists are supporting entrepreneurs with high ambitions to create companies worth over $10 billion at exit or IPO, fostering growth and innovation.
  3. Entrepreneurs should surround themselves with individuals who push them to unlock their full potential and think big, aiming for ambitious goals rather than settling for mediocrity.