Twama Nambili

Gilad Uziely, CEO of Sequence, shares the incredible story of how they got 100 customers to pay $200 upfront for a fintech product they hadn't even built yet. This milestone was reached by leveraging high-friction validation to ensure real interest and commitment from early adopters, fundamentally changing the startup validation game. In our conversation, we dive into: 🔸 Strategies for early-stage validation and building customer conviction 🔸 The pivotal role of a feedback-oriented community in product development 🔸 Lessons from pivoting from their initial business model to a more sustainable one 🔸 The importance of being fundamentally different in the crowded FinTech space Key Takeaways from the Episode: - High-Friction Validation: Sequence's approach to validating their product idea involved high customer buy-in, which significantly filtered genuine interest. - Community-Driven Development: Gilad emphasizes the value of an organically grown, engaged community that actively contributes to the product's evolution, proving essential for rapid iteration and improvement. - Transparent Pivot Strategy: Open discussions about pivoting from their original model to what Sequence is today illustrated the importance of agility and learning from operational feedback. - Fundamental Innovation: Gilad stressed the necessity of being fundamentally different rather than incrementally better, which has helped Sequence carve out a niche in the competitive FinTech landscape. - Customer-Centric Focus: By putting early adopters and their feedback at the core of their development process, Sequence has ensured that their product not only meets but anticipates customer needs. Gilad's story is not just about financial management; it's about setting a new standard in customer engagement and startup strategy. His journey offers invaluable lessons for any founder looking to make a mark in the tech industry. Full episode in the comments

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Kraftful (YC S19) AI-powered User Interviews enable you to talk to all of your users simultaneously. Interact with your users through 1-3 targeted questions, avoiding lengthy, generic surveys — users then receive personalized follow-ups based on their specific concerns (and enhances their engagement!). Kraftful then analyzes and summarizes all of the responses to provide you with clear product insights based on the data.

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Here are a few creative ways founders can use LinkedIn Articles... "Build in Public" Series: -Use LinkedIn articles to document your startup journey weekly -Share lessons learned, challenges faced, and victories achieved Customer Spotlight Articles: -Write articles featuring your customers and how they use your product Partnership Announcements: -Create announcements for new partnerships or collaborations Investor Updates: -Share non-confidential updates about your startup's growth and milestones Hiring for Culture Fit: -Write detailed articles about your company culture and values -Describe the ideal personality traits and mindset you seek in team members -Share stories of how your current team embodies these cultural elements -Highlight specific scenarios that demonstrate your company's unique work environment -Discuss the soft skills and attitudes that thrive in your organization -Explain how your culture supports innovation and personal growth -Describe your onboarding process and how it reinforces your culture -Showcase team-building activities and how they reflect your company ethos -Encourage current employees to comment and share their experiences

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Stripe just announced that TWINT is now available to businesses on Stripe in 35 countries. Why is this important? 🚨 By offering multiple payment methods that are favorable to consumers, DTC eCommerce channels can boost conversion rates by 30%❗ TWINT is one of 100+ payment methods we provide for our customers. 👇🏻 ❇ Cards: Visa, Mastercard, and many local card networks. ❇ Wallets: Apple Pay, Google Pay, and more. ❇ Bank debits and transfers: ACH, SEPA, Bacs, and others. ❇ Buy now, pay later: Options like Affirm, Afterpay, and Klarna. ❇ Real-time payments: PromptPay, PayNow, and UPI. ❇ Cash-based vouchers: OXXO, Boleto Bancário. Learn more about TWINT: https://lnkd.in/gkSF8aPM Learn more about our payment methods: https://lnkd.in/gZn6T9Hm #Stripe #BNPL #RTP #ACH #payments #paymentmethods #fintech #finance #DTC #ecommerce #consumer

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After integrating ChatGPT in their customer service department and cutting 700 jobs, Klarna is now integrating GenAI into the marketing department, saving another $10 million per year. 🛒 ➡️ Klarna, a fintech pioneer in generative AI (GenAI), is slashing its marketing expenses by $10 million annually using AI tools like Midjourney, DALL-E, and Firefly. ➡️ By automating image generation for its app and website, Klarna has reduced image production costs by $6 million and cut the sales and marketing budget by 11% in Q1 2024. ➡️ This approach allows the company to rapidly update visuals for events like Valentine's Day and summer sales, eliminating the need for expensive stock imagery. Additionally, AI-driven initiatives have trimmed spending on external marketing services, saving another $4 million. ❓ With AI transforming its operations, is Klarna setting a new standard for efficiency in fintech, or is there a risk of over-reliance on automation? Read the full story on Reuters: https://lnkd.in/gKJrPKeq #Marketing #GenAI #Jobs #FuturofWork #Future ---- 💡 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗯𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗺𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗮𝗽𝗽 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 - you can have real-time insights, recommendations (a lot more than I share here) and conversations with my digital twin via text, audio or video in 28 languages! Join >5000 users who went before and go to app.thedigitalspeaker.com to sign up and take our connection to the next level! 🚀

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152 companies w/ US offices announced over $8B of funding this week. Here are 4 with top VC investment and open roles👇 Use this list to... ↳ Identify interesting companies ↳ Check for open roles ↳ Reach out to people on the team with congratulations ↳ Land your next startup role at a growing company Transcend What they do: User data and data privacy are major topics in tech right now. No one wants data breaches. Everyone wants to be able to control their data. Transcend has created a dashboard that helps companies respond to requests for accessing or deleting data, manages personal data, and ensures regulatory compliance. Year Founded: 2017 HQ Location: Walnut, CA Series: B Employees: 95 Total Raised: $90M Last Known Valuation: $100M Funding Announcement: $40M Top VC Investors: Index Ventures, Accel Hiring: Yes ✅ Hiring For 7 Positions: Sales, Customer Experience, Engineering, Operations Pitchbook Success Probability: 94% Figma What they do: After Adobe abandoned its acquisition bid for Figma in December, the company is now going it alone, and they're doing so with a Brinks truck of cash. Figma allows people to create, share, and test designs for websites, mobile apps, and other digital products and experiences. Year Founded: 2011 HQ Location: San Francisco, CA Series: Series F Employees: 1400 Total Raised: $M Last Known Valuation: $12.5B 🦄  Funding Announcement: $415.75M Top VC Investors: Andreessen Horowitz, Founders Fund, Sequoia Capital, Kleiner Perkins, Greylock, Index Hiring: Yes ✅ Hiring For 66 Positions: Business Development, Business Operations, Design, Engineering, People, Product, Product Support, Sales Pitchbook Success Probability: 98% xAI What they do: After suing OpenAI, Elon Musk is going after the AI market with his own model Grok. The company raised a staggering $6B Series B, which highlights the AI investing frenzy and how everyone believes that whatever Elon touches turns to gold (and he had the receipts to prove it). Year Founded: 2023 HQ Location: Burlingame, CA Series: B Employees: 97 Total Raised: $6.13B Last Known Valuation: $24B 🦄  Funding Announcement: $6B Top VC Investors: Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed, Sequoia Capital Hiring: Yes ✅ Hiring For 17 Positions: Engineering & Research Pitchbook Success Probability: 98% Ashby What they do: Ashby has built a recruiting software with customized ATS, analytics, scheduling and sourcing automation to get the most bang for your buck from recruiters. Year Founded: 2018 HQ Location: San Francisco, CA Series: Series C Employees: 130 Total Raised: $66.66M Last Known Valuation: $170M Funding Announcement: $30M Top VC Investors: Y Combinator, Lenny Rachitsky (Angel), Elad Gil (Angel), Daniel Gross (Angel) Hiring: Yes ✅ Hiring For 9 Positions: Design, Engineering, Sales Pitchbook Success Probability: 88% --------------------------- Like this list? Follow me, Kyle Thomas, for more. ♻ Share this post to help other startup job seekers find their next role.

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The Psychological Playbook for VCs and Startups Here's a glimpse of what this playbook has in store: 1) Founder Personality: A thorough breakdown of the traits that constitute the resilient founder—crucial in the volatile startup environment. 2) Team Dynamics: How a team interacts and functions can be predictive of success. Understand the psychological principles that drive effective startup teams. 3) Team-Market Fit: Beyond product-market fit, delve into the psychological synergy between a startup's team and its market domain. With compelling real-life examples and thought-provoking questions, this playbook offers VCs and founders alike a chance to reflect on emotional regulation, intrinsic motivation, and mental flexibility. PS. check out 🔔 for a winning pitch deck the template created by Silicon Valley legend, Peter Thiel https://lnkd.in/ejp-Bhnu

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B2B Enterprise VC firms list. Find #EnterpriseVC firms. Access 850 #B2B #Enterprise venture capital firms list. https://lnkd.in/da3VRDrE #startup #startups #vc #venturecapital #funding

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EdTech VC firms list. Find #EdTechVC firms. Access 280 #EdTech venture capital firms list. https://lnkd.in/dw4zKdyD #startup #startups #vc #venturecapital #funding

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EdTech VC firms list. Find #EdTechVC firms. Access 280 #EdTech venture capital firms list. https://lnkd.in/dw4zKdyD #startup #startups #vc #venturecapital #funding

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You can achieve Uber’s business model by putting your phone number on a billboard and texting a list of drivers when someone calls through. The tech is just there to make this process 100x faster and more scalable. The problem is most tech founders want to build the Uber App first. Then there’s the few exceptional tech founders that find ways to print their phone number on as many billboards as possible. Then build the app.

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B2B Enterprise VC firms list. Find #EnterpriseVC firms. Access 850 #B2B #Enterprise venture capital firms list. https://lnkd.in/dvg5rJKe #startup #startups #vc #venturecapital #funding

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B2B Enterprise VC firms list. Find #EnterpriseVC firms. Access 850 #B2B #Enterprise venture capital firms list. https://lnkd.in/dvg5rJKe #startup #startups #vc #venturecapital #funding

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**🚀 A Founder's Comprehensive Guide to Seed Fundraising 📘** **Who Should Read This Book?** This essential guide is crafted for a wide array of founders: - Those contemplating their first fundraise. - Founders amid a fundraising campaign. - Entrepreneurs who've successfully secured an initial angel or seed round but are now facing the need for additional funding. **What's Inside the Book?** Dive into the nuts and bolts of seed fundraising with a focus on: - **Essentials for First-Timers:** Learn the foundational aspects of seed fundraising to get off to a solid start. - **Advanced Tactics for Veterans:** Discover strategies to generate investor interest swiftly and seal the deal on your terms. **Structure of the Book:** The guide is meticulously organized into six chapters: 1. **Introduction to Seed Fundraising:** A must-read for novices. 2. **Preparing Your Pitch:** Tailoring your story to capture investor interest. 3. **Identifying the Right Investors:** Strategies to find investors who align with your vision. 4. **Effective Communication:** Mastering the art of negotiation and persuasion. 5. **Closing the Deal:** Techniques to finalize agreements efficiently. 6. **Post-Fundraising:** Managing funds and investor relations post-round closure. Whether you're a first-timer or a seasoned fundraiser, this book offers valuable insights tailored to your experience level. If you're new to fundraising, it's beneficial to read all six chapters thoroughly. For those with fundraising experience, focusing on Chapters 2–6 will maximize the value gained. **Final Thoughts:** I sincerely hope this guide serves as a crucial tool in your entrepreneurial journey, empowering you to navigate the complexities of seed fundraising with confidence and success. --- 🔗 Want to elevate your fundraising game? Explore more resources and expert tips tailored for ambitious founders! 🌟 --- **Improved by the Social Media Post Improver + Image Generator GPT built by VincenzoBelpiede.com - Get it for free at [VincenzoBelpiede.com](https://lnkd.in/dkrJrfP3

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Thinking about Pivoting your Startup? 🔄 “Lenny Rachitsky” suggests IDEATION pivots should happen within (3) months of launch, while HARD pivots should occur within (2) years. (with most around the one-year mark) ⌛️Don't wait too long – if your best ideas aren't clicking, additional features likely won't save the day. Learn from successful startups' journeys to finding their winning ideas below:👇🏻 ♻️ Repost to inspire your Startup Network.👌🏻 Interested in Startup Business Strategies, Venture Capital & Fundraising? Let's connect!🤝 LinkedIn Dr. Michael Tadros Agile | PMP® | cPgM® | BSc. | MSc. | PhD. #startup #startups #michael_theprofessor #startupfunding #startuplife #success #research #partnerships #fundraising #investing #entrepreneurlife #innovation #projectmanagement #smallbusiness #entrepreneurship #entrepreneurmindset #entrepreneur #entrepreneurs #venturecapital #investment

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