On a recent Twitter thread, M13’s Anna Barber and I looked back at the dot-com crash; A search for lessons that operators can use to avoid the mistakes founders made in past failures.
In our chat, Barber talks about how founders can better align with investors and employees while managing uncertainty, the risks of growing too fast, and the economic, social and emotional impact of many companies closing their doors at once.
Many entrepreneurs are encouraged to believe that smooth storytelling and good social skills are enough to convince investors that things are going according to plan. You are wrong.
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Instead of instinctively going into survival mode, founders ask themselves, “Why did you start this business? What are the basics? Who are your customers? What problem are you solving?”
“Trust is more important than ever at a time like this,” Barber said, adding that she advises entrepreneurs to stay connected, “especially with bad news.”
Before problems arise and between formal meetings, entrepreneurs should feel comfortable asking for help and advice. Reaching out to share an update or ask questions sends a strong signal that you’re not waiting for someone to give you direction.
“Tell them what you want. That’s why we’re here: to roll up our sleeves and help you solve problems. Nobody expects any of this to be smooth sailing,” Barber said.
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Use predictive marketing to cut CAC on your PLG B2B startup
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Startups catering to business customers are at a disadvantage: new users don’t convert to paying customers for weeks.
As a result, marketers often make counter-intuitive decisions too early in ad campaigns because they don’t have enough information.
“Instead of using pre-CAC or return on ad spend (ROAS) metrics” that rely on historical averages, contributor Ido Weisenberg created a simulator that allows teams to assess the likelihood of delivering high ROAS over time with just a few clicks. numbers”
3 Ways to Implement a Product-Driven Sales Activity to Unlock PLG’s Revenue Potential
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Strong product-driven growth strategies rely on customers to drive growth and acquisition, but “the traditional top-down enterprise sales model won’t work with PLG’s self-serve freemium user base,” writes head of sales Stephen Mook. And success on the GTM platform Calixa.
Sharing aggregate user data with product and sales teams reveals patterns and insights that help identify product-qualified leads that are more likely to convert.
Sales teams must “re-engineer” their approach to reap the benefits.
According to Mook, “Your free offering and the features customers get when they upgrade to paid plans should both create a natural transition path to your enterprise offering.
Here are industries ripe for innovation under the law of deflation.
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The Inflation Reduction Act is the most comprehensive climate legislation the US has ever passed, and as climate reporter Tim de Chant notes, entrepreneurs are expressing “optimism and confidence.”
Looking at sectors far beyond EVs, asset technology and CRM software, Tim spoke to founders about the potential impacts and benefits of the new law, which includes $433 billion in new investment and $739 billion in offsets.
“Established companies and late-stage startups will probably see the most immediate impact,” he reports.
“Starting this year and next year, property owners will receive a series of tax credits to help them produce electricity in buildings and improve their energy efficiency.”
The issue of US venture capital performance
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The land war in Europe, cautious action by the US Federal Reserve and ongoing supply chain shocks are some of the factors causing instability in global equity markets. But some analysts are still optimistic.
John Zick and Shachi Shah of EQUIAM, a late-stage VC fund, said, “The narrative of the technology and innovation supercycle remains unchanged, and many companies are poised for growth.
Looking ahead to the next 6-12 months, the two “identify two different possible outcomes for the US private technology sector:”
- Condition 1: More pain before recovery
- Scenario 2: Broad economic growth
