Steven Tey

🚀 The Pocket Guide of Essential YC Advice: Elevate Your Startup Game! 🚀 Starting a business? Here's a cheat sheet from YC that can make all the difference: 1️⃣ Launch now: Don't wait for perfection. Get your product out there and iterate. 2️⃣ Build something people want: Focus on solving real problems. 3️⃣ Do things that don't scale: Personal touches can lead to big breakthroughs. 4️⃣ Find the 90 / 10 solution: Prioritize the most impactful tasks. 5️⃣ Find 10-100 customers who love your product: Early adopters are your champions. 6️⃣ All startups are badly broken at some point: Resilience is key. 7️⃣ Write code - talk to users: Balance building with real-world feedback. 8️⃣ "It's not your money": Be frugal and smart with investments. 9️⃣ Growth is the result of a great product, not the precursor: Quality drives expansion. 🔟 Don't scale until you've built something people want: Validate first, grow second. 💡 Key Insights: - Valuation ≠ Success: Focus on value creation, not just valuation. - Avoid lengthy deals with big customers unless necessary. - Steer clear of corporate development queries that waste time. - Attend conferences selectively - prioritize those that bring customers. - Pre-product market fit? Stay nimble and do things that don't scale. - Solving one problem well > solving many poorly. - Founder relationships: Your co-founders are your greatest asset. - Sometimes, firing a toxic customer is necessary. - Ignore competitors - focus on your path to avoid 'death by comparison.' 🌟 Final Tips: - Be kind! Courtesy costs nothing but means everything. - Prioritize your health - sleep, exercise, and self-care are non-negotiable. Let these insights guide your entrepreneurial journey. What resonates most with you? Share your thoughts! ⬇️ #Startups #Entrepreneurship #YCombinator #BusinessTips #GrowthMindset #Innovation

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35 Days into YC: 3 Real Startup Lessons We Didn't Expect 🪄 #1 Master the Art of the Impromptu Pitch - Keep it magical: Your demo should always tell a story — keep the focal point your users, and make sure they experience the “WOW” moment of your trick. 🎯 #2 Activation Trumps Acquisition: The Real Metric That Matters - At Spur (YC S24) we measure activation by measuring the frequency with our users are creating and running tests on the platform. - Signing up for a demo, a pilot, or even onboarding does *not* signal activation The question that really matters: are your users actually using your product and finding value from it? ✨#3 Make things ridiculously easy for your customers - Set up easy channels of communication with your customers, and be proactive about using them. - Handoff doesn't cut it, your customers should hit the ground running when you onboard them — even if it means you are doing the work to set them up P.S. 👀 Keep an eye out! Exciting things to come from us early next week #ycombinator #AI #Testing

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Series A Term Sheet Template

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🎙️ Want to raise venture capital and scale your startup? 🚀  I’ve chatted with C-levels, VPs and investors of top companies like Google, Meta, Microsoft, Pepsi, Instagram, Reddit, LinkedIn and more—and now, I’m sharing their strategies in my new Maven course! 💡 Here’s what you’ll learn: 🔑 How to pitch and fundraise like a pro 🤝 Build strong relationships with top VCs 🎯 Perfect your pitch to attract talent and capital 📚 "If you're serious about raising money and growing your business, this is the edge you need! Join me on Maven—let’s make it happen. ✨ Seats are limited—use this code to sign up today! 🚀 https://lnkd.in/gZwmxV6v 👉 #StartupTips #VentureCapital #FounderLife #Fundraising #LearnWithMe #MavenCourse #ViralTips

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𝗗𝗼 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗡𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗿? If you can afford it, the answer is YES. Outsource fundraising prep just like you’d outsource coding, design, or hiring—but never outsource pitching. Why? Because investors want to talk to the founder, the person they’re betting on. Here’s a quick breakdown of the 3 types of fundraisers: 1️⃣ Success Fee Only (1-10%): - Share your pitch deck with their network of 20-30 investors. - No additional outreach if their network isn’t interested. - Often juggle 50+ clients at a time. - Results? Rarely worth your time—your pitch sits in cold mode. 2️⃣ Success Fee (1-10%) + Fixed Fee ($2k–$15k/month): - Rely on both their warm network and cold outreach. - Main focus is still on their existing connections. 3️⃣ Fixed Fee Only ($2k–$15k/month): - Primarily depend on cold outreach. - Rarely leverage warm network connections. What Makes a Good Fundraiser? - They never pitch for the founder—that’s your job. - They evaluate your chances upfront and flag potential issues early. - They review your entire dataroom to identify red flags before you start fundraising. Fundraising is a marathon, not a sprint. The right support can make a huge difference, but it all starts and ends with you—the founder. —— To automate the entire fundraising process, we’re building the AI Fundraising Copilot. Join the waitlist here: https://taskinfinity.com

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✨🚨 Another Make Cents post is live! 🚨✨ In this post, "AI & its Impact on Vertical SaaS: The Gates of Distribution have Flung Open", I explore how AI is impacting vertical SaaS workflows and its implication for distribution and defensibility. We defy.vc are more excited than ever to invest in vertical SaaS because we believe there's tremendous value leveraging AI to enhance human productivity across tasks like 1) structuring data, 2) analysis, 3) recommendations, and 4) taking action. I also walk through why customer acquisition costs are at an all-time low, attributed to more than just AI-driven product functionality. Read more ⬇ and share your thoughts and feedback in the comments! https://lnkd.in/gRVcJASH

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This is so valuable. Unfortunately the YC network is large and really messes with the algorithm for #startups #founders 1. Do understand a convertible note. YC calls it a Safe. 2. Do understand revenue as it is the most potent traction you can have. 3. Move to SF. This is the most underrated advice I can provide.

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Definitely worth reviewing

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When I created Founders Game, I wanted a space to empathize with founders at my level. That's why we required founders to have either raised $1M, or generated $500K ARR to even apply. Now, we're opening it up founders at all levels. If you want to join the closed beta, leave a 2 sentence pitch of your startup in the comments below.. I'll be DMing select pitches with a link to an application.

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Why do 99% of YC founders fail post-demo day? Ever notice how startups in Y Combinator operate? They work backward over 3 months, go full throttle, and by the end, many land major funding.  But what happens after the big launch? This initial momentum tends to wear off, and most companies get trapped in a slump, almost like quicksand - slowly and steadily but not realizing you're unable to get out. At Oliv, we fell into the same trap—a massive build-up, then a dip in energy, followed by another scramble to get things going again. It wasn’t sustainable. That’s when we decided to convert YC training into a process. We decided to do a launch every 8 weeks. Why 8 weeks? And why not the standard 3 to 6 months? For a start-up at our stage, we need to ideate fast and execute even faster. This sweet spot gives us just the right amount of time to plan, ideate, and execute—all with a laser focus on our next big goal. No more long lulls or lost momentum. Here’s our approach: - OKRs: After each launch, the team sets clear OKRs for the next launch. It’s all about aligning with the big picture while keeping it actionable. - Tailored sprints: Marketing thrives on weekly sprints for agility, while engineering goes bi-weekly to dive deep into complex tasks. And this is why it works,  - Complete visibility: We see everything in motion at a glance—team objectives, progress, and any bottlenecks. Decisions get made faster, and issues get resolved quicker. - Velocity, not speed: While we want to execute faster, launches help us tweak and realign in the direction the market needs us. - Accountability becomes habit: With structured sprints, everyone stays aligned, transparent, and accountable. No one’s coasting—ownership is built into the process. Switching to 8-week sprints wasn’t easy, but it’s been a game-changer for us at Oliv.  We’re no longer just launching products—we’re consistently delivering results, staying energized, and reaching the potential we knew was there.

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Rivo closed 2024 at $2,808,509 ARR (+117% YoY). Here's a breakdown of a year we finally hit product market fit, fully bootstrapped. CONTEXT: We're a retention platform for Shopify Plus, working with brands like HexClad, Ridge, True Classic, Kitsch, Princess Polly, and over 8,000 more. NUMBERS: ↳ MRR: $234,042 (+117%) ↳ Active Subscribers: 1,611 (+53%) ↳ Net Revenue Churn: 1.9% (-58%) THE GOOD: - We finally hit product market fit. No doubt about it. - Word-of-mouth referrals drove ~75%+ of our business. - Using Cursor has 3x'd our velocity in shipping quality product. - We added some of the best players in the ecosystem to our team. THE BAD: - Jan and Feb 2024 were ~0% growth. This can't happen again. - We are still at just 2 engineers (including myself) and outshipping teams with dozens, however finding engineer 3 has been EXCRUCIATING. DM's are open if you are a RoR developer. SUMMARY: I spent 2023 looking for lots of different ways to grow. Most of them were BS. Here is the boring but 100% true answer: Strive to build the best product in the market, ship updates as fast as humanly possible, all while trying to provide a psychotic level of customer support. IMO you will eventually win if you do all of these 3 things for a prolonged period of time. (It took us 3 years to just get started) NEXT YEAR: We are 100% self-funded, and going head to head with incumbents who have raised hundreds of millions of dollars. I'm putting all of the chips back on the table every year and reinvesting every dollar. $0 EBITDA but another ~$2.8M in (self) funding. Doing this MASSIVELY compounds over time. The goal for 2025 is $6M ARR (+115%) - LFG

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🚨 10 Days Left! Get $20,000 in SaaS Growth Secrets—FREE! 🚨 🔥 Attention SaaS CEOs & Founders with $1M to $100M in ARR! 🔥 Just a quick reminder—our once-in-a-lifetime offer ends in 10 DAYS! Until August 31, 2024, you can access the SaaS Growth Course by Ryan Allis, normally valued at $20,000, completely FREE! Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity to transform your SaaS business. 💡 Why Act NOW? This course isn't just another program—it's the definitive guide for taking your SaaS company from $1M to $100M in ARR and positioning yourself for a nine-figure exit. It’s the most advanced and thorough course available for accelerating SaaS growth! Is This Opportunity for You? If your SaaS business: ✅ Has achieved product-market fit ✅ Is generating $1M-$100M in ARR ✅ Is ready to build a powerhouse sales and marketing engine Then THIS is your chance to accelerate your growth and dominate the market! What Will You Learn? ✅ How to build a repeatable, scalable, metrics-driven growth system ✅ Mastery of inbound and outbound marketing, paid ads, and channel partnerships ✅ Systems to scale efficiently and prepare for a successful exit This course is designed for companies poised for serious growth. Ideal for CEOs, CROs, and CMOs focused on reaching $100M+ exits! ⏳ The Offer Ends in 10 DAYS!—August 31, 2024! How to Claim Your Free Course: 1️⃣ Apply to join at SaasRise 2️⃣ Once accepted, start your two-week free trial by August 31 to receive the course at no cost #SaaS #GrowthSecrets #BusinessGrowth #SaaSFounders #Entrepreneurship #FreeCourse #GrowthHacking #SaaSScaling #MarketingStrategy #SalesExcellence #SaasRise #TheSaaSGrowthCourse #GrowthMindset #LimitedTimeOffer #BusinessSuccess #SaaSCommunity #ScalingUp #SaaSRevolution #ExitStrategy #OneInALifetime Interested or need more details? Drop a comment or DM me!

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Valuable #FinTech Startup Contacts. Explore a curated list of over 2,800 funded startups, including 2,800+ Founders/CEOs and 2,300+ email addresses for potential collaboration. https://payhip.com/b/lWFOH #startup #startups #vc #venturecapital #investmentbanking #privateequity #managementconsulting #b2b #founders #entrepreneurs

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Valuable #FinTech Startup Contacts. Explore a curated list of over 2,800 funded startups, including 2,800+ Founders/CEOs and 2,300+ email addresses for potential collaboration. https://payhip.com/b/lWFOH #startup #startups #vc #venturecapital #investmentbanking #privateequity #managementconsulting #b2b #founders #entrepreneurs

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Calendly is a $3B call scheduling app, but it didn't start that way: Attempt 1: Dating app [FAILED ❌] Attempt 2: Selling projectors [FAILED ❌] Attempt 3: Selling grills [FAILED ❌] Attempt 4: Calendar app [SUCCESS ✅] Lesson: Stay true to your startup journey, not the idea. #startup

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🧪 CRO Case Study Episode 54 One A/B test → 930K plus revenue 🚀 Swipe to learn how one A/B test added over $930K to our client's annual revenue. The Results Breakdown: +$77,558 per month +$930,696 per year (forecasted) +$0.58 revenue per session Bookmark this!

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There are two levers an early stage founder can pull to grow their startup: → deliver the same use case for more segments → expand the use cases your product can deliver (either for one segment or multiple segments) Calendly is a rare example of a growth stage startup that has remained remarkably focused on one use primary use case: → scheduling meetings online Over time, they have used their incredible distribution to reach more and more segments and industries that have this specific need. They've become the "Kleenex" of scheduling tools and are the default even as large incumbents add scheduling tools to their much broader product suites. ClickUp has taken almost the exact opposite approach. They have expanded what use cases their product can deliver in effort to be the all-in-one solution for the entire business. The difficulty of pulling off this second strategy (for an early stage startup specifically) should become obvious when you look at the arrows. When taking the second growth strategy, the product and GTM teams are immediately pulled in multiple directions. In the first strategy, the entire business is rowing in the same direction. Each strategy has its pros and cons — and both of these companies are KILLING it. But when figuring out YOUR growth strategy, try to be honest about what your (likely very small) team can handle... and what they can't.

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10 Tools YC Founders Use to Get Ahead 🤫 📧 FIND ANYONE’S EMAIL: For cold emails to people you don’t know, the best tool has been 👉 HUNTER. Plug in the company's website you’re researching, and get most of the emails from those working there. Hunter.io https://hunter.io/ 📣 PERSONALIZED PODCASTS: We care about staying updated with what's happening in the industry. But we can’t scroll all day, and the New York Times is not personalized and print media is slow – 👉 POCKETPOD generates podcasts tailored to the stuff I care about and they’re always up to date! PocketPod (YC W24) http://pocketpod.app 🕵️‍♂️DEEP RESEARCH PRE-MEETING: Find everything there is to know about a person or a website with 👉 DISTILL. Best way to connect with people intelligently and always show up to meetings like you prepared for months, but in a few minutes! Distill  https://distill.fyi/ 💬 PERFECT DICTATION: When emailing candidates and writing documentation, I use   👉 AQUA VOICE to craft and edit text using only my voice – I can blast through emails with the Chrome extension and I can work on long documents on the web app more naturally, as I pace through my room, talking my way through a problem. Aqua Voice https://withaqua.com/ 🇺🇸 LEARN A CRISP ENGLISH ACCENT: Improving pronunciation is a massive leg-up for non-native English speakers. As a company with international employees, we use 👉 FLUENTLY as a convenient way to help them develop true fluency. Way better than the other “bird apps” that just make you feel like you’re learning! Fluently https://getfluently.app/ 🔍 UNIFIED INTERNAL-DOCS SEARCH: Have you tried searching on your email or drive? I know, I know… 👉 DANSWER connects all your docs and finds any information you want. Incredibly fast! https://www.danswer.ai/ 🪲 CRUSH ANY BUG IN YOUR CODE: From experienced programmers to the novice, we all need help sometimes in figuring out a way out of a bug. 👉 PHIND is the best tool I found for integrating into my IDE to help me crush bugs. Phind  http://www.phind.com 📈 LOOK INTO YOUR COMPETITOR'S SEO: Do you want to know how similar businesses are performing? Use 👉 SEOQUAKE as a Chrome extension to peek into other websites' SEO metrics. SeoQuake Team  http://seoquake.com 📊 MAKE SENSE OF YOUR DATA: It's hard to find relationships between data points. But 👉 JULIUS allows you to find and communicate insights from your own data in a very easy way. Julius AI https://julius.ai/  [BONUS] 🥕DON’T THINK ABOUT MEALS: The best meal prep service we’ve found in San Francisco is 👉 EAT BLUEPRINT. Allows you to stay healthy without having to think about meals! But I also treat my team with 👉 BITE SIGHT, which always knows what I like and surprises me with new great restaurants! Eat Blueprint BiteSight (YC W24) https://eatblueprint.com/  https://lnkd.in/eisTMw_6 Did I miss anything? Share your top tools and ways to stay ahead!

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