FounderMail 2nd Edition: Resilience In Market Shifts
👋 Hey there! I’m Ilan. This is FounderMail, your monthly dose of startup insights that helps founders hire top talent, raise capital, and stay informed. Market shifts? Stay focused and resilient. Let’s go!
In This Edition:
Shower Thoughts: Sam Altman & Resilience Muscles
What’s Got Out Attention
Unstacked Podcast: Early Shopify Investor on Resilience & Returns
The MVP Play with Rubrik Co-Founder, Soham Mazumdar
Unstacked Perspectives: The Pylon Story
Shower Thoughts 🛁
Soak up insights from our network’s top investors, founders and tech influencers.
Throughout the Sam Altman firing (and unfiring) saga, we stumbled upon this tweet:
Are founders unknowingly enrolled in resilience bootcamp?
Failed partnerships? Likely. Sidestepping declined employee offers? Yup. Servers crashing? Just another Friday.
While these may feel like significant set-backs, the ability to adjust and press forward, daily, builds resilience muscles for major obstacles ahead. Let’s hope we don’t all have to get scurvy to do so.
TL;DR: Resilience is measured during significant life-changing crises, but is built through everyday challenges. This quality shines brighter in certain founders than in others. Case in point, Sam. 🌟
What’s Got Our Attention
The latest startup news and research you can’t afford to miss.
Shippo’s Path to Product-Market Fit — The Upside of Being Industry Outsiders — First Round Review
Stagnant VC Valuations Fail to Spur Discount Investment Spree — Pitchbook
Unstacked Startups Podcast Recap
Check out our favorite insights from a recent episode of the Unstacked Startups Podcast. Every episode, Unstacked host, Ilan Saks, chats with startup founders, early employees, leaders, and VCs to uncover the 'secret sauce' of startup growth.
JOHN RUFFOLO
Founder & Managing Partner of Maverix Private Equity, early investor in Shopify, Hootsuite, Wattpad, and others in a portfolio longer than your grocery list. 🛒
Key Lessons
These are the three pillars of startup success:
MARKETS → Time to ask your great-grandpa about pre-WWII international trade.
TALENT → Who's getting the top draft picks?
CAPITAL → Is the fundraising party over?
“We try to have this separation of government and business, and it's just not true.” Take Google, Facebook, or Amazon for example.
John connects the dots between bouncing back from a life-changing accident and entrepreneurial success.
In tech we trust. Maverix’s thesis sparked from a prophesy for what was needed for the future. I see market upheavals and a demand for growth capital! 👀
The MVP Play
Unlocking the playbooks of startup MVPs, one question at a time.
Checking into the game? For this edition, we chatted with Soham Mazumdar, Co-Founder & Ex-Chief Architect of Rubrik
MOTIVATION
Soham, why did you build Rubrik and what was the driving force behind your willingness to endure the challenges of founding a startup?
For me it was three things:
An opportunity to build something big and transformative.
I had the fortune of working with a group of co-founders/colleagues that inspired me everyday.
I enjoyed working through uncertainty and problem solving got me very excited.
VENTURE
What advice do you have for founders to ensure a good fit between them and potential VC partners?
Beyond capital, VCs can offer serious value - it is ultimately on the founder to understand that. Founders are the ones that can maximize value they get from investors. My advice is to be proactive in seeking help, direct in what you need, and don’t wait for VCs to come with ideas.
PEOPLE
How do you identify truly bar-raising talent?
A good fit is not enough... I look for:
Superpowers, what unique skills does the candidate bring?
First principles thinking, look for intellectual curiosity.
Willingness to go deep, will they work through the nuances/details to make the organization successful?
The PLAY
ASK: For introductions – clients, partners, advisors.
USE: Endorsements to boost your business.
SEEK: Operating support.
Investors are more than a funding source! They’re vital to your journey — think Gandalf to your Frodo. 🧙♂️
Unstacked Perspectives
Unstacked host, Ilan Saks, on a mission to basically give everyone a Harvard MBA, one lesson at a time.
I recently caught up with Marty Kausas, Co-Founder and CEO at Pylon. We talked about his unique fundraising strategy in the week following the aftermath of the Silicon Valley Bank collapse. The mission? To raise a $3.2 million Seed round as a three-month-old startup. They did it in only 6 days.
Here’s what you’ll uncover to help you raise your next round:
How to get meetings with top VCs through back-channel intros
Pylon's unconventional approach to investor pitches
The 'Don Valentine' test: A skill that the VC legend deemed indispensable for founders
And, key takeaways every founder needs to know about fundraising in today's market
Unstacked Live Recap
Our exclusive events gather top startup founders, VCs, tech execs, and early talent of industry-leading tech companies over drinks, a panel, and unwind.
Thanks to everyone who came out to our event! And a special shoutout to our panelists:
Ben Yoskovitz (Founding Partner at Highline Beta), Bronwyn Smith (COO at Ada), Tegh Singh Bedi (Head of Special Operations at EvenUp)
Thanks for reading FounderMail!
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