1Mby1M Founder Sramana Mitra wants entrepreneurs to not waste their time and money.
The waste stems from a widespread misunderstanding of how investors think.
Over 99% of founders chase funding before they are fundable.
Here, Sramana teaches how to build with customer money (otherwise known as revenue) until a startup reaches that fundable stage.
Once fundable, a startup can go to investors like a king, not a beggar.
Sramana Mitra: Two questions. One is, who came up with this technology?
RJ Talyor: It’s a big combination of things. My co-founder, Jeff Cunning, and I kind of dreamed it up.
Sramana Mitra: That’s the management part of it. You positioned the product and you kind of envisioned the product. But somebody still has to do the algorithm.
>>>If you haven’t already, please study our free Bootstrapping Course and Investor Introductions page.
Businesses are finding unexpected benefits by incorporating Generative AI into their product roadmaps. Ragic Founder Jeff Kuo shares how they have built a $5M ARR no-code platform in the market. A Generative AI front-end is adding unprecedented usability and adoption momentum. Fascinating!
Sramana Mitra: Alright, Jeff, let’s go to the very beginning of your journey. Where are you from? Where were you born, raised? What kind of background?
Jeff Kuo: I was born and raised in Taipei, Taiwan. I mostly grew up here, but in my childhood, I lived for two years in the US in Michigan.
Today’s 637th FREE online 1Mby1M Roundtable for Entrepreneurs is starting NOW, on Thursday, April 18, at 8 a.m. PDT / 11 a.m. EDT / 5 p.m. CEST / 8:30 p.m. India IST. CLICK HERE to join. PASSWORD: startup All are welcome!
Today’s 637th FREE online 1Mby1M Roundtable for Entrepreneurs is starting in 30 minutes, on Thursday, April 18, at 8 a.m. PDT / 11 a.m. EDT / 5 p.m. CEST / 8:30 p.m. India IST. CLICK HERE to join. PASSWORD: startup All are welcome!
Sramana Mitra: So let’s go to the point where you’re starting the first company. Tell me what was going on in the market, what product angle did you take, and why?
RJ Talyor: At that time, there was a huge proliferation of social channels. We had Facebook and then Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Reddit. Then there were all these other social channels that were coming out, and marketers were trying to experiment with their dollars. At the time, there weren’t any rapid experimentation tools on the market to help marketers figure out which ones worked and what messaging worked.
>>>I am acutely aware of how painful it is to have raised venture capital and then not hitting rocket speed.
The pressure is enormous, of the kind that first time founders have no prior experience of.
The media hype makes you believe that fundraising is the end game.
No, fundraising is only the beginning.
>>>How do you diagnose what is hindering velocity in your startup?
>>>Sometimes, the answer is to give up on the Unicorn dream and seek an exit.
It is expensive to build a full-fledged sales organization.
The right answer may be to find a workable Positioning and seek an exit.
>>>