The hottest Startup Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Decoding Sequoia Capital: How Do They Dominate the VC Landscape?

Venture Curator • 199 implied HN points • 12 Jun 23
💼 Business Venture Capital Investing Entrepreneurship Startup Financial Strategies
  1. Sequoia Capital is a powerhouse in the VC landscape, known for remarkable strategies that have led to unprecedented success.
  2. Sequoia has an impressive track record of investing in one in five private unicorns globally, with a focus on disruptive products and founders with technical knowledge.
  3. Key figures at Sequoia, like Don Valentine and Doug Leone, have distinct investment philosophies highlighting the importance of market potential, strong founding teams, and learning from failures.

🏳️‍🌈 Embracing Diversity: Pride Month, LGBTQ+ Market, VC Diversity, Early-Stage Funding Checklist, Investor List, and More!

Lolita's Newsletter • 176 implied HN points • 11 Jun 23
💼 Business Diversity Startup Investing Funding Entrepreneurship
  1. LGBTQ+ community has significant spending power and presents a $3.7 trillion market opportunity.
  2. Investing in LGBTQ+-founded startups shows outsized returns and profitability.
  3. Encouraging investment in LGBTQ+-focused tech startups creates an inclusive tech industry with potential for exceptional returns.

These boots are made for strappin'

Top of the Lyne • 176 implied HN points • 20 May 23
💼 Business Entrepreneurship Marketing Growth Management Startup
  1. In a competitive marketplace, being a late entrant can provide advantages like already solved product-market fit and the ability to focus on differentiation.
  2. Being an outsider in the industry can offer unique perspectives, broaden market focus, and lead to unexpected advantages in customer base.
  3. Successful growth strategies for startups include setting clear goals, charging for the product to get valuable feedback, and optimizing marketing tactics for maximum impact.

The Lifecycle of an Edtech Company - Part 1

system bashing • 176 implied HN points • 20 Jul 23
💼 Business EdTech Startup Finance
  1. Starting small and doing what you love can lead to building a strong community and following.
  2. As a business grows, the transition from a passionate creator to a structured company can bring challenges in managing relationships and revenue.
  3. Scaling a startup involves evolving into a company with defined roles, managing financial aspects, and adapting to market demands.

How VCs Evaluate & Make High-Quality Investment Decisions?

Venture Curator • 179 implied HN points • 23 Jun 23
💰 Finance Investment Startup Venture Capital ROI Financial forecasting
  1. To understand VC investment decisions, consider the Venture Capital Method, where earnings and market support determine the firm's future value.
  2. Investors aim for successful exits with specific returns and use metrics like ROI and IRR to evaluate startup potential.
  3. Negotiations between VC firms and founders often involve ownership percentages based on future valuations and return expectations.
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🚪From idea to 5-figure exit in 4 months

No-Code Exits • 157 implied HN points • 27 Jul 23
💼 Business Startup Entrepreneurship Acquisition No-Code Tools Revenue growth
  1. Paul Metcalfe successfully sold his product, Lettergrowth, in just 4 months after building it with no-code tools.
  2. He used a landing page, DMs, and a community to find users, and relied on sponsorships for revenue.
  3. The acquisition happened quickly via Telegram Chat, with the buyer seeing potential in the product for their own business.

Re-Introduction

Interconnected • 385 implied HN points • 07 Jun 23
🕹 Technology Politics Cloud Startup Global
  1. The author provides a re-introduction of their background in three phases: US Politics, Foreign Policy, Washington DC; Cloud Infrastructure, Open Source, Startup Operator; Global Lens, GitHub, Investing and Writing.
  2. Their experience ranges from working in the Obama administration, studying law and computer science, to engaging in early stage investing and working at GitHub.
  3. They emphasize the importance of achieving bilingual information symmetry between English and Chinese through their writing.

Visualizing Funding Runway & Burn Rate

Venture Curator • 159 implied HN points • 16 Jun 23
💼 Business Funding Startup Investment Entrepreneurship Venture Capital
  1. Understanding funding runway and burn rate is vital for startup founders to secure necessary resources.
  2. Calculating gross burn rate and net burn rate is essential to determine the financial health of a startup.
  3. Maintaining transparency about financial runway and frequently communicating with investors are crucial for successful fundraising.

Venture Capital Fund Modelling II : Masterclass

Venture Curator • 179 implied HN points • 16 May 23
💼 Business Venture Capital Startup Investment Career development Finance
  1. Discover how VC funds calculate target ownership in startups, providing valuable insights for founders and VC enthusiasts alike.
  2. Understand the costs associated with VC business, like organizational fees, operational fees, and management fees, to determine the total investment capital for startups.
  3. Learn about the average check size that VC funds invest in startups and how ownership percentage is calculated based on the investment amount and post-money valuation.

Understand Convertible Note Investment Option: The Valuation Game-Changer!

Venture Curator • 159 implied HN points • 10 May 23
💰 Finance Investment Startup Venture Capital
  1. Convertible notes can be a helpful option for startups looking to secure funding without immediate valuation, allowing time to build the company's value.
  2. Convertible notes are ideal for early-stage companies, especially those with a proven product and solid concept, helping them raise funds and scale effectively.
  3. From an investor's perspective, convertible notes offer a riskier but potentially more rewarding opportunity to secure equity at a discounted rate or via a valuation cap.

The 5 inevitable stages of working at a hyper-growth startup

startupdiaries • 118 implied HN points • 31 Aug 23
💼 Business Startup Career development Company growth Workplace culture Leadership
  1. Startup life involves adapting to evolving needs, rather than sticking to initial job descriptions.
  2. Working at hyper-growth startups can be rewarding but also lead to burnout, so it's vital to pace yourself and manage emotions.
  3. Transitioning through the stages of startup growth requires flexibility, being open-minded, and evaluating if the company still aligns with personal values.

Kopi Kenangan, the Shein of Coffee

Math Not Magic • 117 implied HN points • 08 Aug 23
💼 Business Startup Retail Technology Strategy Expansion
  1. Kopi Kenangan has revolutionized the coffee industry by pioneering a grab-and-go model for efficient coffee consumption.
  2. Kopi Kenangan's success lies in its digital-first approach, low-cost storefronts, and ability to differentiate itself in the competitive coffee market.
  3. Kopi Kenangan is not just a coffee company but a growing F&B conglomerate with expansion into new food brands and FMCG products.

Benchmarking humanoid robots begins!

Robots & Startups • 39 implied HN points • 16 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Robotics AI Autonomous Vehicles Startup Innovation
  1. 2024 is set to see the commercial release of several new humanoid robots, advancing capabilities in manufacturing, logistics, and retail.
  2. Benchmarking for humanoid robots is crucial for determining their success - factors like endurance and dexterity are key, surpassing simple speed comparisons.
  3. Industry leaders stress the importance of establishing common benchmarks in the field to support the emerging market and drive innovation.

How to find industry problem as young founder

Recontact • 39 implied HN points • 15 Mar 24
💼 Business Entrepreneurship Startup Industry Analysis Problem Solving Market research
  1. Start by finding a common interest field, building hypotheses around it, and validating them. It helps provide direction in problem-solving.
  2. When searching for industry problems, focus on non-core issues that companies face. This approach can lead to valuable insights and potential solutions.
  3. Conduct interviews with a variety of people in the industry, from executives to lower-level employees, to gather a diverse set of perspectives and understand the depth of the problem. It can help in identifying the right problem to tackle.

A brief guide to building your first lending product

Rohit’s Newsletter • 98 implied HN points • 14 Sep 23
💼 Business Fintech Startup Lending Compliance Regulations
  1. Building financial products like credit cards or loans requires careful consideration of compliance regulations, risk models, operations, and funding models.
  2. Fintech infrastructure products can assist in building credit products, but integration can be complex due to a lack of standard setup.
  3. To effectively build a lending product, break it down into steps like acquisition, underwriting, origination, funding, and servicing.

Announcing the Fastest Pitch Form in Venture Capital

Ubiquitous Thoughts • 78 implied HN points • 28 Mar 23
💼 Business Venture Capital Startup Entrepreneurship Investment Technology
  1. Ubiquity Ventures offers the fastest pitch form in venture capital, responding to requests within 72 hours.
  2. The firm's focus on seed-stage startups moving software into the real world allows for specialized attention and quick decision-making.
  3. Ubiquity Ventures acts with agency, with the founder as the sole decision-maker, ensuring direct communication and avoiding delays.

July 2023

Product Composition • 78 implied HN points • 21 Jul 23
🕹 Technology AI Startup Data Management Design
  1. Decipad is launching its beta version, focusing on making sense of numbers in a dynamic way
  2. AI in the industry should prioritize collapsing data to enhance clarity and facilitate action-taking
  3. The future of jobs is facing a drastic shift, with issues around productivity, social contracts, asymmetrical compensation, and poor job descriptions

1/9/2024: InVision is Shutting Down

depression2022 • 39 implied HN points • 09 Jan 24
💼 Business Startup Investing Tech industry
  1. InVision, a popular design collaboration app, is shutting down after facing stiff competition from Figma.
  2. The closure of InVision highlights the risks of startup investing and the challenges of managing investments without acquisitions or IPOs.
  3. 2024 may see more unicorn failures than successful IPOs, with many overfunded startups expected to fail.

TabaPay Working On A Deal To Acquire Synapse, Sources Say

Fintech Business Weekly • 59 implied HN points • 10 Mar 24
💼 Business Fintech Venture Capital Startup Regulation
  1. TabaPay is in talks to acquire Synapse, a banking-as-a-service platform, to potentially mitigate damage caused by a past financial incident.
  2. Oxygen, a neobank, is pivoting to focus on 'health solutions' temporarily, suspending its banking services.
  3. Trade groups are suing to block a new CFPB rule that limits credit card late fees, arguing it restricts choices and responsible credit card use.

The Ultimate Framework to build your Ideal Customer Profile for SaaS startups.

Startup Business Tips 🚀 • 108 implied HN points • 21 Oct 23
💼 Business Startup SaaS Marketing
  1. The Ultimate Framework for building an Ideal Customer Profile includes defining the ideal company and personas in detail.
  2. To build your ICP, analyze CRM data, product analytics, create a Dream 100 list, do market testing, research communities, and get qualitative feedback from sales calls.
  3. Creating an Anti Ideal Customer Profile can help in identifying personas and companies that do not align with your business due to various reasons.