Matan Hazanov’s Post

Launching or building a startup? Consider these 5 crucial tips for success. 1️⃣ Validation & Experimentation - Seek customer feedback early & constantly iterate. 2️⃣ Cash is King - Stay lean. Being profitable is fashionable again. Cash on hand is your lifeline. 3️⃣ Knowledge Drives Success - Stay humble and continue learning. Always develop your knowledge base. 4️⃣ Scale Wisely - Wait for that product-market fit before hitting the gas. It can take years. Be Patient. 5️⃣ Conviction - The world doubts? So what. Conviction is necessary when you inevitably encounter doubters and naysayers. And remember, every giant leap starts with a small step. #startups #venturecapital #business #investing

In mid-2000, Palm Pilot had a market cap of OVER $50 BILLION & was worth more than the combined value of: Amazon - $2.1 trillion today Google - $2.3 trillion today Nvidia - $3.2 trillion today Apple - $3.4 trillion today Facebook, Tesla, OpenAI and many others didn't exist... I don't know which of these big tech companies will survive the next 20 years. I do know that those who don't keep innovating, regardless of how large or dominant they are today, will not survive. We don't know who will be the dominant "big tech" companies in 20 years, but I do know some haven't been created yet, and some we will only learn about in the coming years. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Post inspired by a great talk by Uri Levine, a co-founder of Waze (sold to Google for $1.1 billion) #startups #investing #venturecapital #innovation

SLEAZY sales tactics won't work when raising venture capital! A recurring one that get's an auto "no" from me: artificial time pressure... Saying "we have a lot of interest in the round, so you'll have to decide quickly", without anything to back it up, like a signed term sheet, will induce this response from me: "Well that's too bad, we need several weeks for diligence. Best of luck." 9/10 times the startup responds with something like this: "Because we really like you, we'll give you all the time you need to decide." Right. Then why lead with the pressure tactic? Pass. Founders: This is a sleazy sales tactic that may work when selling furniture or even a car, but not when asking someone to make a multi million dollar investment in your business. If you're under serious time pressure because you're running out of cash, you've already lost the game. You need to allow 6-12 months for fundraising. The only exception is if you have a signed term sheet that expires soon. Its fair and appropriate to let the VC know that there is a time limit. The time pressure ceases to be artificial. This video discusses my perspective on why this tactic is not effective and can damage your reputation, and when there are exceptions to this rule. #startups #venturecapital #investing #business https://lnkd.in/gi9NvyaC

I was advising a startup a few years ago who received a great term sheet but screwed it up BIGLY. Here's what happened... He received a great term sheet - normal terms, all the money he asked for and at a good valuation around what he was asking for. BUT it was a good founder in a hot space, so there was a lot of interest. The investor who offered the term sheet was patient but also put a deadline to accept for 2 weeks. A normal practice. Other VCs told him they can do better but never offered a competing term sheet. The competing VCs just needed more time for "diligence". He took these VCs seriously & let the other term sheet expire. The VC who offered the term sheet waited a week or so beyond the expiration but eventually moved on. Fundraising can be very disruptive for an early-stage startup because so much energy from the founding team / executives are dedicated to the process. And after 6 months in the process, growth started to slow and the VC market began to cool, so it became increasingly difficult to generate more interest from VCs. The entrepreneur never received VC funding and had to fund his business with drips and drabs from angel investors. His business was never fully capitalized and eventually failed. My advice to him at the outset was that it would be prudent to seek better offers so long as he doesn't let the existing offer expire. This is an important lesson. Fundraising is fickle. Your prospects can change drastically overnight, and without notice. If you have a good offer from a good VC, take it. If a VC expresses interest, great. But without a term sheet, don't take it too seriously. Saying "no" to a good offer in the hopes of a great offer almost always ends badly. #startups #venturecapital #investing

The Liberal Party of Canada just lost 1 of its stronghold seats in Toronto by 2 points to the Conservatives, after winning it by 24 points in 2021. That's a 26 point swing in 3 years. For my American friends, that's like the Republicans winning a Congressional seat in D+50 district in Manhattan. Is this a sign of things to come? Article in the comments #canada #elections

If you provide unquestionable value for an industry you can ignore a lot of the volatilities in any market. A true and important message for startup founders today. In times of volatility and uncertainty, customers tighten their budget and cut "nice to have" products, investors stop funding hype and FOMO, and no one will come to save you. Focus on creating real and significant value. Revenues will follow. Investors will invest. And you will be able to withstand many storms, because your customers need you and they will do what they can to keep you in business. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ This is a clip from my interview with Michael Millar, the Founder and CEO of Verto Health. This was my 1st interview while I was experimenting with different forms of content creation. Link to the full interview in the comments. #startups #venturecapital #leadership #investing

As an introvert, I DREAD going to networking events. But I learned early on that I would have to overcome this fear if I want to succeed as a founder & investor... If you're building a business, learning to meet new people is an essential skill. Some of the best employees, customers, partners and investors will come from impromptu interactions at networking and social events. But if you're an introvert, what do you do? Just accept this business handicap? No. I suggest you take some small steps now that, if implemented over time, will enable you to get out of your comfort zone. In my latest video, I discuss 4 easy to implement tips I've used to become great at networking in person. So much so that most people reading this who know me or met me at an event will be shocked that I am quite introverted. TLDR; 𝗧𝗶𝗽 𝟭 - 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽 𝗮 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝟮-𝟯 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰 & 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 By having a script, you can mitigate a lot of the anxiety over what to say and ask. The 2nd question should be a "how" or "why" follow up on the 1st. Most people enjoy the opportunity to talk about themselves if someone asks in a sincere way. 𝗧𝗶𝗽 𝟮 - 𝗦𝗲𝘁 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹, 𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 They should be as small as "introduce yourself to 1 new person" if you're starting out. I get overwhelmed when there are so many people. Who do I speak with, how do I approach them? But if I say to myself, "just 1 person", it makes it easier to overcome the associated fear and anxiety of approaching someone randomly. Gamify it and even offer yourself a reward if you do it (mine for a while was get myself a "fast food" treat). 𝗧𝗶𝗽 𝟯 - 𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁 The way I think about it is that no one would protest if you approached them and offered free money, say $100. If you believe you are offering real value to people, then its important to remember that before approaching them. 𝗧𝗶𝗽 𝟰 - 𝗕𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲, 𝘀𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗲 & 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗮 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗼𝗿 Obvious, right? But I noticed this issue in myself, and now I notice it with other seemingly shy people at events. Just being positive and smiling can do wonders in making you more approachable. https://lnkd.in/gqaMbXmb

I stopped offering feedback to startups we declined investing in. Sadly, its more trouble than its worth & results in these types of messages. I use to be pretty open to sharing feedback but I noticed that too often either: 1. They are only asking for feedback in order to convince me that I am wrong. 2. They are not ready to listen to constructive criticism, and become very defensive. Often, a VC is passing because its not a good fit not because they misunderstood your business or metrics. Trying to convince them they're wrong or being immature about their feedback will not convince them to change their mind and will burn a bridge needlessly. VCs talk to one another about founders we come across and if you don't approach the fundraising process with some humility you will quickly develop a bad reputation. PS. The exception to offering feedback is if I've spent substantial time with a startup, say at least 3 meetings or developed a good rapport and believe they would be open to it. My rule of thumb is referring to very early on in the relationship where it's almost always counterproductive. _ _ _ _ _ _ Credit to Stephane Nasser for gathering these X posts He has great content. Check out his LinkedIn & X @stephnass #startups #venturecapital #investing #business

A startup recently told me their TAM is $10 trillion & it sounded exactly like this clip. After some questioning, I concluded the actual global TAM was only ~$500 million. Not understanding your market is a sign of inexperience, and a red flag when trying to raise venture capital. TAM is the revenues you can produce yearly if all your potential customers bought your product at its expected price. The product is what exists today or in the near term roadmap. Expected price should be something reasonable, usually what you are charging today. TAM is not how much money you can make if you built all the products you think your customers want at the highest price x10. #startups #venturecapital #investing #TAM

The highest attendance in the 55 year history of this march. The support for Israel in Canada remains high & not exclusively Jewish: “I think the other remarkable thing about today is that we have a high Iranian community that has shown up for us; Christian community that has shown up for us, as well. It’s extraordinary. It’s extremely meaningful,” These incredible images come from the street where I live. Its inspiring, comforting, and a reminder that the Jewish community and its friends remain united in these difficult times. I'm incredibly thankful to the organizers, mainly the UJA, & the Toronto Police Service for keeping the attendees safe. Article in the comments #israel