Chang (CK) Kim’s Post

Still on the "Doing Things That Don't Scale" mantra, a few examples shine as brightly as the phenomenal success story of Stripe… As a groundbreaking payment platform, Stripe's journey to becoming a multi-billion dollar company is a testament to the transformative power of unscalable tactics, especially its bold approach to early user acquisition. In their early days, Stripe's founders, Patrick Collison and John Collison, took a very unconventional path. Instead of relying on mass marketing (paid ads, digital marketing, etc) or traditional growth hacks, they chose to recruit users individually. Armed with unwavering passion and insatiable curiosity, they reached out to potential customers one by one, engaging in heartfelt conversations about their pain points and needs. This personalized approach may seem counterintuitive in a world that is obsessed with automation and scale, but it paid off spectacularly. By delving deep into the nitty-gritty of each user's business, Stripe forged authentic connections and crafted solutions that precisely addressed their unique challenges. This hands-on approach enabled them to iterate rapidly and create a product that users truly loved. While it could be considered time-consuming and resource-intensive, Stripe's unscalable user recruitment strategy established a rock-solid foundation. The genuine relationships built during those early days translated into fierce loyalty and unwavering support from their customers. These initial adopters became passionate advocates, fueling a rapid spread of Stripe's services and attracting new users through organic word-of-mouth. By boldly embracing the unscalable, Stripe demonstrated that genuine human connections and personalized interactions hold the potential to outshine the allure of quick fixes and scalable shortcuts. Their journey proves that, especially in the early stages of a startup, focusing on individual relationships can be the catalyst that propels a business to extraordinary heights. So, remember the Stripe tale when building your own startup - dare to be unscalable, for that might be the secret to an unstoppable rise! 🚀 If you’re a startup founder like me, please connect with me let’s share ideas on how we can build startups the right way. #StripeSuccess #Growth #StartupStrategy #Scalability

𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗽𝗲 𝗖𝗘𝗢 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗻'𝘀 𝗔𝗻𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗟𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗮 𝘁𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝘆, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘀. Here are a couple of big takeaways for small businesses, particularly focusing on VC funding trends and advancements in battery technology: 𝗩𝗖 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀: Despite a notable dip in venture capital funding in 2023, hitting its lowest levels since 2018, Stripe observed a record number of startups going live on its platform. This suggests that while capital may be tighter, the entrepreneurial spirit remains strong, with businesses focusing on monetization and profitable growth earlier in their lifecycle. For small businesses, this underscores the importance of building a revenue-generating model from the outset to ensure sustainability and attract future investment. 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Stripe's move into revenue and financial automation underlines the importance of simplifying billing, subscription management, and compliance. This can be particularly transformative for small businesses looking for ways to streamline their operations and focus on growth. 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗕𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆: One of the standout points in the letter was the emphasis on the exponential improvements in solar and battery technologies. The cost of both PV (Photovoltaics) and batteries has decreased significantly, hinting at a future where clean energy becomes even more accessible and cost-effective. For small businesses, this opens up new opportunities in the green technology sector and presents a chance to lower operational costs by adopting these technologies. Take a peak at the letter yourself and let me know what you think: https://lnkd.in/gr2Y7eTh --- if you're a small business owner or solopreneur and you found this useful please like + connect! ---

Will your plan kill you? 2024 has seen stabilisation (and some early signs of a rebound) in software. It's definitely not evenly distributed, with some still in great pain (no clear path to breakeven, and no rapid growth) and others experiencing tailwinds (AI, remote collab/work and international growth). Y Combinator famously said "startups die of suicide, not murder", and looking around, this feels truer than ever. Often this phrase is used to try and caution founders from thinking too much about the competition (it's not them that'll kill you). But looking around in the market right now, its important to articulate a primary way that startups are causing their own early demise. Yes, its sometimes lack of focus. Poor senior hiring. Too high a burn rate. Underestimating a key customer's churn risk. But right now, I see 'ambitious plans' as a path to potential demise. The winners in the market are often those that are planning cautiously, and then pursuing upside. It's not "go big or go home" but "plan safe, then start to chase". Your big and ambitious plan might seem necessary for your board. And for your team. No one wants to admit they are growing less than previously expected. So you stretch assumptions, add some bold predictions, and come up with a top-line revenue growth number that feels 'right'. Except if the current market can't support it, it's wrong. Is there really enough appetite to support 150% growth? Have you laid the groundwork for enough awareness to accelerate? Do you really not see competitors fighting for every new deal? Every raised revenue projection comes with increased investment to achieve it. More sales & marketing. That new product feature that'll take an extra engineering team. And that ups the burn rate, raises the stakes, increases the risk. I loved seeing that Ray Rike's latest benchmark report showed that small software companies are growing FASTER than expected - and this more about setting cautious expectations than it is about rapid growth. I'm all for ambition, but unless you see a clear and fast path to a large market, be careful right now. Set a plan which you can really beat. Get some positivity back in your business. Momentum is key. And more than anything - survive long enough to succeed.

Where are your manners? I shared an Uber home with a mate on Saturday night. He booked it through his app. I agreed to halve it with him. On Sunday afternoon I got a venmo request from him for $22. I paid it immediately. He sent me a text a couple of minutes later and said, “thanks legend 😘.” He didn’t need to thank me, he was entitled to the payment. But the fact he thanked me generated a positive emotion in me. It made me smile. It made me think, “that Chris is a good guy isn’t he?” Now imagine if that $22 had a few zeros on the back of it. Let’s say, a $22000 invoice. And imagine if it was you getting paid by a client. Would you send them a personalized (non automated) thank you note when they pay it? If you don’t, you should. There’s a pretty strong chance that you generate a positive emotion in your customer. Positive emotion will likely lead to future business and net revenue retention. Your sales process doesn’t end once you’ve been paid. Remove the transactional attitude from your sales processes. It will help you a lot. Especially in this climate. Especially if you’re working with startups. #salestraining #salesrecruiting 🦘

oh, I have so much to say about this. I've seen this same scenario play out in #smartbuildings I understand that the products and solutions are complex, but your customers need a simple thread to follow. #b2bmarketing #intelligentbuildings Mazen Jamal 🏙

Which is the bigger risk? 1) potential customers think your products do less than they actually do 2) potential customers have no idea what your products do at all If you polled executives of large SaaS companies, I would bet lots of money they think option 1 is worse than option 2. It's really the only explanation as to why they choose to position their companies with the vaguest, broadest, most inscrutable messaging possible. They would truly prefer that people have ZERO idea what their company is—than risk feeling smaller than what they believe they've earned. But not every company is like this. Take Stripe (valued at $50B): → they have 19 products → they sell to both startups and enterprises → they have a vast partner ecosystem → they offer professional services → they have a huge app marketplace And yet, what do they say in their website hero? "Millions of companies of all sizes use Stripe online and in person to accept payments, send payouts, automate financial processes, and ultimately grow revenue." Read that again: → "accept payments" → "send payouts" → "automate financial processes" Three VERY SMALL use cases. They don't try to summarize all 19 products. They don't try to cast some vague brand message. They list three crystal clear use cases. They give a reference point. They meet prospects where they are. They know that there is still a big portion of their TAM that doesn't know what Stripe is. They aren't afraid of people (temporarily) thinking Stripe is a simpler product than it really is. They invite them into a conversation by telling them a little bit about themselves. If Stripe is worth $50B and still doing this, maybe it's worth trying for you — who AREN'T yet worth $50B. Because my guess is... you've still got a lot of TAM left that doesn't know what you do. And if they don't know what you do, they'll never think to buy from you. #productmarketing #saas #startups #messaging

This is hilarious and such a good point. I find that SaaS execs generally have one of two problems: 1. Way too vague about what their company does. Big, vague words that don't tell me if you are in fintech, CRM, or if you're a car rental agency or a kindergarten chain. "Innovation Meets Excellence" is right on point. or 2. Way too specific about what your company does. Being so technical that only the most technical audiences have any idea what you're talking about. "Our XML solution provides ESG compliance excellence for EU RoHS sensitive exporters of 3TL-exposed products." Hunh? (I think that sentence actually means something to about 100 people on earth). You want to be detailed enough to be vivid and distinct, but you also want to be inspiring, memorable, emotionally engaging. You also want to know your various audiences well enough to engage them specifically. Most B2B SaaS products have a technical user customer and, also, a non-technical buying decider. You need to engage BOTH.

In the quest for effective communication, Anthony Pierri's post is a powerful reminder. It's so easy to overestimate awareness and lose sight of the true goal: forging a clear connection with the client's needs. Let's learn from Stripe's success and keep it simple. #Awareness #Communication #Clarity"

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Deal Dive: A Stripe secondary deal worth paying attention to https://lnkd.in/ga8prRZN HOWEVER, yourself or your business may be having a hard time, generating inspiring, high quality branded social media posts and SEO. optimised blog content. Our done for you service can help you with: 1. Scaling your brand awareness 2. Expanding your reach 3. Driving more traffic 4. Increasing your lead generation and sales 5. interacting with prospects, customers, suppliers and partners 6. Upselling & x-selling 7. And much more! YOU or your business can get up to: 1. 180 Branded Social Media Posts 2. X4 SEO Optimised Blog Articles = 4000 words 3. Scheduling & Posting across Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google My Business, Pinterest, Tik Tok Every month, from only $99! Learn More: https://1.xpandops.com/rsl #productivity #fundraising #startups #socialmedia #venturecapital #innovation #automation #marketing #technology #climatechange #people #data #sustainability #business #career #india #creativity #innovation #management #humanresources #digitalmarketing #technology #quotes #future #futurism #entrepreneurship #careers #markets