Haje Kamps’ Post

New research just dropped! - 🚀 My latest article dives deep into the most common mistakes startup founders make in their pitches, based on brand new insights from the Pitch Guide AI review bot. Discover where you're excelling and where you might be stumbling. From nailing your solution slide to avoiding the pitfalls of unclear use of funds, this piece is packed with actionable tips to transform your pitch from good to game-changing. Ready to impress those investors? Check out the full article to see where founders are coming up short most often: https://lnkd.in/gkqQpsNf #Fundraising #Startups #

Embracing fast failure creates a culture where experimenting and taking risks are encouraged, which is key for developing groundbreaking ideas. Accepting and learning from failures quickly creates an environment where your team isn’t afraid to try new things. This approach speeds up development and attracts people who thrive in dynamic, learning-focused settings. Embracing failure as a way to get quick feedback keeps your startup agile and ahead of the competition. Failing fast means learning fast - and hopefully having enough money left in the coffers to get another swing at success.

I’m no longer writing for TechCrunch - 100 pitch deck tear downs was enough for now - but I’m still working to help founders. Among other things I built a tool that helps startup founders what isn’t working about their pitch deck. Http://haje.pub/ai has your back. Try it out!

These days, I rarely work with founders who don’t have a fantastic founder-market fit. It’s become pretty clear that this fit is almost a non-negotiable when it comes to raising funding. Investors want to see that you’re not just another entrepreneur with a random idea, but someone who truly understands the market you’re getting into. When founders have that kind of deep connection to their market, it makes everything else fall into place so much easier. Founder-market fit is crucial for a bunch of reasons. Founders who really get their market know the competitive landscape inside out, have a solid network of industry contacts and possess a deep technical understanding of what they’re trying to build. This means they can spot opportunities and potential pitfalls much quicker than someone who’s still trying to get a feel for things. Plus, having a network means you can get advice, make deals, and find partners or customers a lot faster. If you don’t have that founder-market fit, you’ve got to make up for it somehow. And honestly, the only thing that can really make up for a lack of fit is having extraordinary traction. Investors need to see that people actually want what you’re selling and that your business is growing fast. Without that, it’s tough to convince them to put their money on the line. But here’s the quirk: getting great traction without a deep understanding of the market is almost impossible. If you don’t have a strong grasp of your market, it’s hard to connect with your audience, understand their needs, or even figure out the best way to reach them. This makes it a lot harder to achieve the kind of growth that investors are looking for. So, in the end, having a great founder-market fit is kind of like having a superpower—it gives you the insight and connections you need to get the traction that will attract investors and help your startup succeed.

Holy crap I just realized that one of the books I wrote has 1,000+ reviews. What a delightful moment of external validation. Also, I'm working on another book, on a very different topic.

A slightly emotional moment for me this week, as the 100th Pitch Deck Teardown rolls off the TechCrunch presses - and that's the end of our series for now!

I just came off recording an episode of Equity, where I learned about the newest wave of stupidity. The tech industry’s DEI allergy has hit a new low, as Silicon Valley leaders are once again waving their “meritocracy” banners high and wide. Scale AI’s Alexandr Wang has decided that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are passé — and replaced them with his shiny new acronym MEI: merit, excellence, and intelligence. I cringed so hard I’m going to need a chiropractor. I would invite him — and those supporting them — to fuck all the way off. You misunderstand me. You thought I wanted you to fuck only partially the way off. Please, read my lips. I was perfectly clear: Off you fuck. All the way. Remove head from ignorant ass, then fuck all the way off. Of course, the ignorance inspired enthusiastic applause from tech titans like Elon Musk on X, while LinkedIn’s startup crowd rolled their eyes so hard they were practically doing backflips. Critics argue that Wang’s post misses the mark (no shit!) by ignoring systemic barriers and reducing complex social dynamics to a simplistic — and dangerously naive — ideal of meritocratic purity. Meanwhile, back at Scale AI’s headquarters, annotators in economically depressed regions toil away for pay that wouldn’t cover a decent brunch in Silicon Valley. But sure, let’s talk about how “objective” hiring practices will save us all from the tyranny of fairness and inclusion. <Climbs off soapbox and packs away rapid-dispensing box of expletives.> https://lnkd.in/g842p6Y9