Arpit Choudhury

I disagree, one such example that comes to my mind after reading this is Byju's where they built distribution and never focused on product. While on the other hand PW had an amazing product and distribution got solved over a period of time. As a founder I am not deeply in love with the product but with the problem we are solving and to solve we need to focus on just one metric - Customer Delight. #product #startups

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As an entrepreneur working to reimagine the food system, I often find myself oscillating between exhilaration and overwhelm. The sheer complexity of the challenge we face - with its tangled roots in policy, culture, economics, and technology - can feel paralyzing at times. But I also feel a tremendous sense of urgency and agency, knowing that the decisions we make in the coming years will ripple out to affect countless lives and ecosystems. At its core, the dysfunction of our food system is a symptom of a deeper misalignment between our human technologies and the principles of regenerative living systems. For centuries, we have designed our tools and institutions based on the assumptions of separability, predictability, and control, projecting our narrow maps onto the intricate, ever-evolving territory of the real world. This has led us into a pattern of unintended consequences and cascading fragilities, from climate chaos to chronic disease to geopolitical conflict. However, I believe that we are on the cusp of a great turning point - what some have called the "regenerative singularity." As our ecological and social crises reach a breaking point, a new paradigm is emerging based on the principles of biomimicry, collective intelligence, and coevolutionary design. Powered by breakthroughs in network science, blockchain coordination, and artificial intelligence, we have an opportunity to create infrastructures and incentives that harmonize the interests of individuals, communities, and living systems at every scale.

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(gift link) Another good long read on the cost of meeting climate goals. The tyranny of good intentions are already dominating the process due to complexity and inevitable gamesmanship chasing such vast sums of politically-driven money. For example, the article cites CA solar investments-- CA can't use all of the solar power during sunny days, and it's not stored for when they need it. A farmer sells solar power at a low rate and buys power back at a high rate, so he's done with adding solar.. The worst part of the agenda in the West is China has manipulated its economy to be the primary beneficiary -- meeting climate goals globally through electrification could well catapult China into the largest economy. As I've warned since before the Paris Agreement, governments need to rethink the entire process. Yes, we need a cleaner planet, but we also need to be more efficient, reduce corruption, grow the economy, and be more self-sufficient. It's difficult to see how that can be achieved on the current pathway. Electrification has merit and benefits, but also serious challenges, not least energy storage and increasing dependence on China for the climate economy -- EVs and batteries are the best example. Climate policy isn't economically feasible in current form, nor is it likely politically possible. It needs to be much smarter and wiser. https://lnkd.in/gxxcsyBw

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3 Key Takeaways After a Year of Building Our Hypergowth Startup: 1) Don’t Throw People at Process Hiring is a necessity but knowing when to slow down and fix/implement process before adding more teammates is critical. Yes, it’s painful to be patient and continue moving the rock forward with the existing team but process is what unlocks scalability and if you don't tweak process before adding people than you're just compounding the issue(s). Current example: retooling our order work flow from sales internally submitting an order to delivery to our customers we are reworking the process. We aren’t going to wait to hire until it’s completely figured out but we will wait until we have a MVP in place that we are comfortable will set a new team member up for success. 2) Boot Strapping Can Force The Right Decisions I’ve given plenty of thought towards raising capital and if so when. What I can tell you is, if we had already raised capital it would be a net negative. Fact is, there is nothing we’d be doing differently right now and we likely would have forced ourselves to deploy. Current example: 8 months after launching, we took a hard right turn with our go-to-market and it’s proven to be the best decision we could have made. With a stack of dry powder on the sidelines we could’ve easily said let’s keep funding the development budget. Not having a pile of cash forces further reflection on the challenges at hand versus reactively coming up with a solution that looking back ended up being rushed and a waste of money. 3) Second Movers Advantage Provides an Incredible Opportunity While current providers are racing to sustain revenue and service their existing business the door is wide open to look at things differently. What is working with the current landscape, what isn’t? If you uncover things that aren’t working well for the masses and come up with a reasonable solution, look out, you may find a market disrupting opportunity. This leads to hyper-growth and many painful learning lessons along the way if you’ve never done it before. Best part? It will take the incumbents a while to catch up while you might be able to immediately bolt on their pre-existing offering right behind your disruptive value prop, should it be something the market wants. In our world of cannabis packaging supply chain, many customers still want the cost benefit of imported packaging but love using our domestic manufacturing for launching and scaling their new products and brands. We started with designing our domestic quick turn platform as that is what solves the most common pain point for our buyers. post continued in comments 👇

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#20FirstTimeFounderLessons - Lesson No. 2 Stop Charging for Costs, Start Charging for Impact __ In building products or services, a common trap is focusing on cost instead of value. We charge clients just enough to cover our expenses, leaving profit margins vulnerable to cost fluctuations. But what if there was a better way? Consider this, You offer a custom software solution for $2,000, selling it for $2,500, netting a $500 profit. That sounds great, right? But when costs rise, so must your price, forcing awkward conversations and potentially losing clients. Instead, let's shift the paradigm: - 𝐅𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 Quantify the impact you deliver. Does your software save clients time? Boost revenue? Calculate the real value you bring and base your pricing on that. Become a partner, not just a vendor. Understand your clients' challenges and tailor your offerings to their specific needs. This builds trust and strengthens loyalty. - 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞-𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 Think like Uber. Their dynamic pricing is based on demand, not cost. This ensures fairness and reflects the true value of the service in that moment. Offer tiered packages with varying features and benefits. This caters to diverse budgets and client needs while capturing higher value for premium offerings. By focusing on value, you break free from the cost trap. You're no longer at the mercy of price fluctuations and become an essential partner in your client's success. This positions you for sustainable growth and creates true win-win scenarios.

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The Silent Subscription Killers. 1. Inadequate fit - your product's just not hitting the spot. 2. Invisible value - they can't see the magic. 3. Competitor appeal - a competitor caught their eye. 4. Evolve or dissolve - their needs outgrew you. "Yes, we addressed churn. Check the strategy document from Q3 last year." The reality is that you don’t simply address churn, you need to actively combat it. Declaring in a strategy meeting that "we are enhancing our strategy to reduce churn" will not make it happen. (Spoiler: putting it on a PowerPoint doesn't solve the problem.) When it comes to understanding the silent subscription killers, here’s what really matters: - How your customers experience your product. - The gap you actually fill in the market, not just the one you aspire to. - The real and perceived value your customers attach to your service. It's not about what YOU perceive, it's about the real impact on YOUR CUSTOMERS. Now, recognizing these subscription killers is the first step: 1. Identify the specific issues like inadequate fit or invisible value that drive customers away. 2. Develop targeted strategies to showcase your product’s unique benefits and counter competitor appeal. 3. Deep dive into customer feedback to understand if their needs are evolving beyond your current offerings. 4. Clearly define and communicate how your product adapts to meet changing customer demands. → This forms the essential groundwork of your strategy. It’s compulsory. But your efforts shouldn’t end there. Next, you must: 5. Consistently communicate and reinforce your value proposition across all customer touchpoints. This is how you transform your strategic intentions (how you wish to retain customers) into practical outcomes (how you actually enhance customer loyalty and reduce churn). Strategic Awareness → Targeted Action → Enhanced Retention Share your insights below👇 PS - Want to supercharge your SaaS profits? Get my free weekly "Profitt Pulse" newsletter. Actionable tips to boost your profits, delivered straight to your inbox. Don't miss out – subscribe now: - https://lnkd.in/gpuTKXGS #saas #startup #entrepreneurs #customersuccess #businessgrowth #customerretention

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WeLaunch 2.0: New Look, Same Launch Power! This one is inspiring I left my job 2 years back thinking, If I can make a million dollars for a company I can make 100,000 dollars for myself too Not too much to ask for, right? We started WeLaunch as a launchpad that launches new startups I have seen days with no clients and no employees, And, i have seen days with over 20 retainers and 40 employees I have seen months where I did not have salaries to pay And, no one stood by my side, not even one friend. I had to lend money to pay salaries at interest rates of 20% I remember it all, but the man you become in the pursuit of entrepreneurship Is the man, I have always wanted to become, Its just so much pain and so much decision making. Today, We complete 2 years of welaunch and we have changed the brand colours and even our logo. Our team has brought this all together, hope you all will like it. Thanks a lot for all the support, because your friends do not support you You make your own family here. 2 years strong! We've grown, we've hustled, and we're ready to launch you even further. Check out our brand new logo and website – a fresh look for the same WeLaunch passion. Explore the new website! We've made it easier than ever to turn your startup dreams into reality.

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A wonderful manifesto from Sequoia Capital Sequoia, 1972 and beyond The creative spirits. The underdogs. The resolute. The determined. The indefatigable. The outsiders. The defiant. The independent thinkers. The fighters and the true believers. These are the founders with whom we partner. They’re extremely rare. And we’re ecstatic when we find them. We partner early—sometimes when a company is no more than an idea. We know these crucial first decisions can have an exponential influence on the curve of success. Our style is not for everyone. We push when we see potential. We are direct. Some don’t like our approach. Most who know us do. Our team mirrors the founders with whom we partner: hungry overachievers with a deep-rooted need to win. Many come from humble backgrounds. Many are immigrants. Many formed or built companies of their own before joining Sequoia. Each shares the mindset of an entrepreneur, and knows what it means to walk that path. We value teamwork over showmanship. Our contribution to a company always comes from several of us working together. We’re skittish about the first person singular, and don’t care to see our names in the press. Our team is small. We prefer a few people with diverse strengths focused on a small number of companies, and we are always mindful of lessons learned — some painfully — that are eternal truths. Our network is strong. Our advantage comes from five decades of legendary founders helping each other. Long ago we made nonprofits the backbone of our limited partner base. Working for these charities brings intense meaning to what we do. It gives us a heightened sense of responsibility. We’re serious about our work, and carefully choose the words to describe it. Terms like “deal” or “exit” are forbidden. And while we’re sometimes called investors, that is not our frame of mind. We consider ourselves partners for the long term. We help the daring build legendary companies, from idea to IPO and beyond. #startups #founders #entrepreneurship #venturecapital

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My take on finding a startup idea. Talk to a lot of people about the problems they face when doing their work. (other than workplace drama) Make sure you clear the following: 1. How are you currently doing this? 2. What is the problem itself. In one line. 3. How many other people are facing this problem? 4. Have you looked around for a way to solve the problem? This should give you a solid base to work on. If 3 and 4 don't check off, move on and repeat with the next person. Once you've settled on a problem, build a simple version of your product that solves one important aspect. Cut all corners, you don't wanna spend more than a month on MVP building. Once it's done. Post it. Show it. Tell it. Make sure you have analytics setup to measure your reach. Wait a week. If a bunch of people want to buy, incorporate. Otherwise, figure out why they saw your product but didn't want to buy. Disclaimer: This is just my personal take. Feel free to add on in the comments!

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Most founders hold their businesses back by not writing enough. Writing is the ability to cast spells on your organization. 🪄 Good writing compels people to take action. Good writing aligns people. Good writing unblocks. Good writing inspires confidence. Amazon famously has a culture of writing memos. If people want to push a new initiative, they need to write memos that include a press release and an FAQ to help pre-market their project. After the memo is written, the team allocates 10-20 minutes (sometimes more) to read the memo as a team. Why? Because people are busy -- it's the best way to ensure people are on the same page. Memos force clear thinking from the ideator and avoid half-baked thoughts that end up being time wasters. Amazon did this with the Kindle, Amazon Video, and Prime. Writing memos also allows people not directly involved to see how other teams are thinking. It keeps people rowing in the same direction. I did a pod recently with Eight Sleep CEO Matteo Franceschetti and he spends his downtime writing memos to his organization. He no longer does 1 on 1's with his team. In fact, if you want to have a 1 on 1 with him, you have to write a memo with what you're trying to accomplish and the due date for shipping. Sam Corcos of Levels has 200-page memos in his org and has an asynchronous culture where people are focused on building. He keeps all the memos open to the company so everyone can easily search to understand how they came to certain decisions. He spends around 5% of his time on writing and estimates that most founders are not even close to that level. At Single Grain | Start Growing, I've been spending more time than ever this year writing memos and pushing the team to do the same. Our decision-making is better because our thinking is clearer. And when our thinking is clearer, we lessen our mistakes. Memos can be for any problem set around: - Product/service - Recruiting - Operations - Culture/People - Sales - Marketing - etc They don't all need to be 6-pagers (or 200-pagers). In fact, sometimes just a few paragraphs will do the job. The main thing is to build that muscle in your organization. It might take a few months to establish a writing culture, but once you do, you'll never look back. If you want a book that elaborates on this, I recommend 'Working Backwards', written by two Amazonians that lived in the trenches for years. One of the co-authors was Jeff Bezos' Chief of Staff for a few years so he got to see everything.

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🤔📜Ray Anderson once said "The goal is zero: zero waste, zero emissions, zero ecological footprint." 🙌Here are some key takeaways from this post: 1) From landfill to living room: "Unless we are the generation that solves climate change, we will be the generation that lives through it." - Al Gore. Discarded plastic gets a new lease on life, reducing landfill overflow and environmental pollution. 2) Closing the loop: "Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower." - Steve Jobs. 👉Recycled plastic furniture embodies innovation, creating beautiful and functional pieces while conserving virgin resources. 3) Sustainable synergy: "Sustainability is not a destination, it's a journey." - Mathis Wackernagel. 👉This process represents a step towards a more sustainable future, minimizing energy consumption and emissions compared to traditional methods. 4) Beyond recycling: "The best way to predict the future is to invent it." - Alan Kay. 👉This isn't just recycling - it's a transformative process that breathes new life into waste, creating a win-win for the environment and design. 5) A Beacon of hope: "The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle." - Steve Jobs. Recycled plastic furniture is a tangible symbol of our fight against #waste and a #commitment to a future where innovation and #sustainability go hand in hand. Write-Up: Jandeep Singh Video credit: sustainableprocessing12 LinkedIn Learning 6

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Dear Saas founder, Your in-house team is ruining your brand reputation by posting regurgitated content on your account. On top of that, they are mostly copy pasting content straight out of chatGPT. I am amazed that they don't even remove the ugly asterisks. People are smart. They can easily spot if the content is written by a human or an AI. But hey, don't fire your team😇. It's hard to figure out the nuances of personal branding for an average social media manager. Hire a specialist who understands your values and can translate that into content that sounds just like you. Shameless plug but I've 2 open slots for a Saas founder who wants to build authority on Linkedin/X. Here are 3 ways I can help you: • Done-for you plan: I'll turn 2 hrs of your time into 30 days worth of content. Btw, one of my recent clients got a premiun Linkedin top voice badge(not the average yellow badge everyone seems to flaunt on Linkedin). • Done-with-you plan: Want to write the content yourself but need a bespoke content strategy? I can help with that. (One of my clients grew to 3000 followers and 100s of newsletter subscribers in a matter of 2 months...thanks to the Notion content strategy I made for him) • Free offer: Join The CreatorClub (my free newsletter) where I share actionable tips to build personal brands like Alex Hormozi and Dan Koe. No? Happy building. My free content is better than anyone else's paid course anyway😉. Over and out, Umme PS: Don't forget to follow me for more❤️

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Ever felt the CTA buttons on your website are just placeholders while your content does all the heavy lifting? I’ve been there too. Here’s how I boosted conversions by over 250% with strategic CTAs and design lead thinking👇 In my first three months at BT Group, I was given a task to re-think the CTAs for one of our product pages. Instead of merely updating the copy on CTA buttons, I leveraged the design thinking approach to create CTAs that felt like guiding signposts, leading our users through a journey. This approach resulted in a 259% boost in conversion rates. Users were not only more engaged but also felt guided to take meaningful actions, leading to a better user experience and more effective CTAs. Dive into the details and results in my blog. #ContentStrategy #CTAs #ConversionRate #ContentDesign #DigitalMarketing #calltoaction #designthinking

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“Exciting News”🚀 At Funding Ventures, our journey began with a powerful idea: to help businesses and entrepreneurs communicate their stories to their audiences in the most impactful way possible. 🙏🏻Today, we are excited to introduce the latest innovation from the House of Funding Ventures – Research Tank! Research Tank is your one-stop solution for industry research. Here’s what sets us apart: ✅Say Goodbye to Lengthy Reports: Access concise and to-the-point research reports. ✅Affordable Customization: Get tailored reports at the most competitive prices. ✅Delegate with Confidence: Leave the tedious research tasks to us and receive top-quality outputs. ✅No Unnecessary Costs: Avoid paying for extensive reports filled with “not so required” data. ✅Crisp & Concise: Enjoy clear, pictorial presentations that deliver the insights you need. I am pleased to share a sample of our first report covering the EV market in India briefly. Please DM or comment ”Report” to get an access to the full report We are currently in the Beta phase and would love to hear your feedback or assist you with any specific data points you need for your industry. Looking forward to connecting! #Newlaunch #Secondaryresearch #Innovation #Gamechanger #Musttry #Fundraising #Industrysearch Cheers Sarabjeet Singh, CFA Founder, Funding Ventures & Research Tank

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Don't give up on customers who look lost or churned. At PropelAuth, we've been (pleasantly) surprised by how often a customer resurfaces after going dormant for months. Generally, the dormancy is due to outside factors taking over. A startup needs time to consider a pivot. The SMB has decided to push this project back a quarter or two. Someone critical in the decision making process is out on leave. The 3 things we've found that help ensure we maintain a relationship with these customers while they work things out on their end are: 1. Making sure their first experience is good enough to remember. Smooth onboarding and docs go a long way here, even if they don't finish the process. 2. Keeping in touch. We both send product updates to our entire user base, and personal messages to users when we've released a feature they've requested - even if they haven't been active in the product for some time. 3. Existing outside of our product - aka, posting on social media. This helps us reach users who don't necessarily open every product update email they receive. Would love to hear from others in similar spots - what have you done to re-engage or keep in touch with your seemingly lost customers?

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7 founders I disrespect 1️⃣ a rich founder who is obese, fat, unhealthy 2️⃣ the one for whom unicorns are the only reality 3️⃣ those who use "Apple" in all business arguments 4️⃣ talk big, but haven't done any dirty work 5️⃣ founders who failed and blamed it on the market 6️⃣ whose reason for becoming founder was job frustration 7️⃣ waste time in debating bootstrapped versus VC-funded shit I was very kind on the list. Except for the first where I was just obese and fat! And, I hated myself at every moment. Pic: My wife clicked it, especially for this linkedin post, while I was typing this sentence.

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Hot Take 🔥 - The Myth of High Value / Low Price (HVLP) There is no such thing as High Value / Low Price (HVLP) in our industry. I understand why founders, companies, and shareholders who fall into this category might cling to the new adaptation of the acronym, but it simply does not exist. Here's a personal anecdote: My parents have a place just outside of West Palm Beach, FLA. When visiting, I alternate between Planet Fitness and Crunch Fitness. Why? Because it’s convenient and it’s “good enough” for a short trip. High Volume? Sure. High Value? Not a chance. At both Planet Fitness and Crunch Fitness, the sales process reeks of desperation, the equipment is average, the staff is uneducated, and the locker rooms are essentially high school locker rooms with a better paint job. Nothing about these gyms or the experiences they provide screams “High Vale” or excellence. And before someone jumps into the comments about access, inclusivity, and the idea of serving more people, I get it. We absolutely need options to serve a wide range of communities. But that doesn’t justify laziness in your rebuttal because that’s not my point. High Value / Low Price does not exist. So let’s call it what it is: “Low Value / Low Price,” or good enough for the price. In fact, the “Value” is so good, HLVP members can ignore those low-cost dues drafted from their bank account each month. A “Value” is so good, the majority of HVLP members don’t even set foot in their own gyms. #HVLP #fitnessindustry

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