The Startup Help Desk

In this episode we answer questions about startup accelerators. Accelerators are programs that promise to help improve your chances of startup success, but how do they actually work? We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including: What do I get if I join an accelerator?How do I know if an accelerator is worth it?How do I get the most out of my accelerator?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website TheStartupHelpdesk.com or on X/Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you! Reminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice. Q1: What do I get if I join an accelerator? Well-established accelerators typically provide: Q2: How do I know if an accelerator is worth it? This is a critical question to ask; there are lots of snake oil salespeople. Ask yourself what you need first: Generally, there are cheaper ways to get the help an accelerator offers. When evaluating the benefits, consider the following value that accelerators can offer: Make sure the benefits they offer have substance. Q3: How do I get the most out of my accelerator? Set expectations with your co-founders about the desired outcome from the accelerator. Is it to accelerate sales? Is it to fundraise? Work backwards from your end goal so that you know where to prioritize your efforts. Talk to founders that have been through the same accelerator – preferably before applying! Identify what the most successful companies did in the program and make a plan to do those things. Once in the accelerator:

In this episode we answer questions about building your sales team. Many startups sell their product via sales people, and building your sales team is one of the most important things you will do. We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including: How do I hire my first salesperson?What is a sales commission plan?How do I know if a salesperson is doing well?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website TheStartupHelpdesk.com or on X/Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you! Reminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice. Q1: How do I hire my first salesperson? To source candidates, consider various hiring platforms, such as Craigslist, Indeed, LinkedIn, ZipRecruiter, and Wellfound. Your network may have fantastic candidates. Ask fellow founders and investors. Check on people you have worked with previously. To filter and evaluate candidates, start with a project, such as a PowerPoint sales pitch. Filter further via phone interviews, ultimately leading to an onsite. Ash sparked some serious debate with his recommendation on the final phase of the hiring process! To combat the high attrition rate in sales and to hedge against the difficulty of predicting how well a new hire will work out, he suggested making 3 hires per sales role that you want to fill. While making 3 hires per sales role may fit your hiring plan, we anticipate that most startups will hire one sales person per role. Your first sales person will contribute to your startup culture. Set up this new hire for success. Before you hire your first salesperson, make sure you can clearly articulate a few key aspects of your business, such as: If you do not know the answers to these questions, you are setting this first sales hire up for failure. Q2: What is a sales commission plan? Sales people get paid two ways: salary & commissions. A sales commission plan describes the income a sales person makes based on performance. A simple example of a sales commission plan is to pay a sales person a % of the deal value that they close (i.e. 10% of all deals). Companies like sales commission plans because they allow the business to both incentivize and reward performance. A good sales commission plan clearly ties performance to important areas of growth for the business. The plan you choose is important because it provides specific incentives! Do you want your sales people chasing really big deals? Or should they prioritize a larger volume of little deals? Your sales commission plan can influence priorities. Q3: How do I know if a salesperson is doing well? It is hard to distill progress vs. noise. There are steps you can take to add more objectivity to your evaluation process: Sales people need to be ROI positive, so they should pay for themselves fairly quickly.

In this episode we answer questions about raising money from Venture Capital funds. Many startup companies seek VC funding, but it can be a complex process if you haven't done it before. We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including: Is a SAFE or priced equity round better?What's the recommended amount to raise at every stage?How do I meet investors to pitch?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website TheStartupHelpdesk.com or on X/Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you! Reminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice. Q1: Is a SAFE or priced equity round better? There is no right answer that you can apply to every situation. A SAFE is often faster, less complex, and maintains more control for the founders. Because of their simplicity and the flexibility they offer to an unproven startup, SAFEs are a frequent choice for an early-stage startup that is still figuring out much of its business. However, there are plenty of situations where a priced round makes sense. A priced round can provide more clarity about ownership and the present valuation of the company. However, this clarity adds complexity to the process. In addition to needing to negotiate with more precision about the valuation and ownership, a priced round usually involves a board seat for an investor. Thus, you are forcing your company to grow up a lot right now with a priced round. Q2: What's the recommended amount to raise at every stage? Consider raising as little as possible – enough to get to your next milestone so you can raise the next round. Capital is expensive! While the round size can vary widely from one startup to the next, these are more common amounts that startups raise at key stages: How do you which stage you are at today? It’s hard to know with complete confidence until you go out and raise! Q3: How do I meet investors to pitch? Volume is key when it comes to a successful fundraise. The following avenues are great channels for meeting investors: Make it easy for people in your network to make warm intros: send an email blurb that they can easily copy and paste. And of course, consistently reach new milestones for your business – don’t forget that part of the equation!

In this episode we answer questions about finding a co-founder and managing your relationship with your co-founder for the road ahead. Co-founder conflict is one of the top reasons for startup failure; many argue it is the primary cause of startup failure in the early days. We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including: How do I find a co-founder?Can I add a co-founder later?What are the best ways to avoid co-founder conflict?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website TheStartupHelpdesk.com or on X/Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you! Q1: How do I find a co-founder? Best practices include: 1: Build your startup and have conversations with interesting people. Talk to the best people you know in tech and ask who are the best people they know. As you build relationships around the problem you aim to solve or the industry within which your startup operates, you can generate potential co-founder leads. 2: Use your network. Connections from past employers, university mailing lists. 3: Use helpful tools. One such tool is the YC co-founder matching platform. 4: Create opportunities for serendipity. Go to events, compete in hackathons, and spend time learning from others that want to solve meaningful problems. Finding a co-founder takes time. Build a relationship with a prospective co-founder first, work together on some projects, and confirm compatibility across key areas before rushing into co-founder status. Q2: Can I add a co-founder later? Yes! Starting the company yourself and hiring a co-founder is a best practice. "Co-founder" has no formal definition; thus, you can add a co-founder at anytime. When you add a co-founder later than typical, then you may be able to start the co-founder relationship with more clarity about the direction of the business. For example, you may already have a clear problem you are solving with customers and investors. This can make it easier to identify the complementary skills that you would like to add via a co-founder. The biggest problem is equity. How much can your co-founder own? The good news is that common vesting schedules help protect you and the company from a co-founder relationship that does not work. Q3: What are the best ways to avoid co-founder conflict? Co-founder conflict is common; it is a leading cause of startup death. Expectation setting is the root of all conflict. How do they react under pressure? What about when there is a lot of money on the line? You can de-risk this process by knowing your co-founder before you start the company. To align on expectations, be honest and transparent with each other about responsibilities, timelines, and priorities. It is not reasonable to think that you can create a successful startup by avoiding some executive friction. Growth and obstacles create friction. Set up a good framework for debates and empower decision makers. It is very rare for co-founding teams to stay together for the 10+ years it takes to bring a great company to life.

In this episode we answer questions about managing your time. Startups are all about speed, so you need to make the most of every hour of every day. We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including: Where should I spend my time as the CEO?How often should we have team meetings?Is our product development velocity high enough?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website TheStartupHelpdesk.com or on X/Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you! Reminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice. Q1: Where should I spend my time as the CEO? As your team grows, your responsibilities will shift: less tasks as an individual contributor and more responsibilities to drive the overall company strategy. A classic breakdown of your responsibilities is 30% product, 30% money (sales, fundraising), and 30% HR. However, if you are growing the team, hiring should be 80% of your time. Convincing great talent to join the company is hard and requires a lot of your focus. Critical tasks that CEOs often do not spend enough time on include 1on1s, setting goals, and customer success. In short, your responsibility is to shape the overall vision and the corresponding messaging (within the company and outside of it) and empower the talent on the team. Q2: How often should we have team meetings? Startups are not like big companies; you should aim for the fewest possible meetings! Consider 1 to 2 meetings a week to define priorities and assign responsibilities. Inevitably more meetings will come up – focus on doing the work, not talking about the work. Keep meetings to 20 minutes. By keeping the volume of team meetings low, you can recognize that these are precious synchronous moments. Build a healthy routine (for example, always starting right on time, sending an agenda, or sending action items post-meeting) to maximize their output. Q3: Is our product development velocity high enough? If you’re not sure, then it’s likely a problem. Product development velocity should be always increasing. If it’s not, then you aren’t getting the most from your team. You need a combination of authentic urgency (i.e. pushing towards a great milestone for your customers) and a team that can motivate itself. If velocity is not high enough, the best way to speed things up is cut down the scope of work: remove features and reduce use cases. When you are more narrow with the scope, it’s much easier to move quickly. If you sense a deeper problem, set very clear goals on short timelines. Often people are ambitious in the goals they set for themselves and, with a short timeline, it will be easier to hold them accountable. If someone or more than 1 person isn’t working out, you may need to let them go.

In this episode we answer questions about complex exit options. While we all hope for a bit exit, startups more often face complex and difficult exit options including low sale prices, mergers and wind downs. We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including: What happens if my investors want to sell but I don't?Is a merger ever a good idea?How do I know it's time to shut down my company?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website TheStartupHelpdesk.com or on X/Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you! Reminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice. Q1: What happens if my investors want to sell but I don't? In most cases, it’s the primary founder’s decision. Facebook was pushed to sell to Yahoo! but refused. However, there are often consequences for refusing to accept an acquisition offer. Those consequences include executive resignations, investors deciding to no longer fund subsequent rounds, and a hostile board. If you are OK with those consequences, you are ready to keep pushing. Much of this decision rests on how much conviction you have about the next stage of growth for your startup. How much runway remains? Is your startup growing? Do you have any signal that suggests you are reaching an inflection point? Is your team uniquely positioned to succeed with this opportunity vs. pursuing a new opportunity? These are the types of questions to answer when deciding to accept or turn down an acquisition offer of this sort. Q2: Is a merger ever a good idea? Mergers are very risky. There are integration costs, culture clashes, and a mix of incentives. If you and your competitor are the two clear leaders, it can mean 1+1=10. However, if you are just two players in a sea of competition, pursuing a merger may distract you. A merger may make the most sense as a last resort. If you cannot sell your startup and are going out of business, a merger can be the life raft. A merger can save some of the employees’ jobs and investor stakes. This last resort is worth a shot, but expect a low probability of a good outcome. Finally, if you decide to pursue a merger, expect the merger integration to take at least a year. Manage your risk and plan accordingly! Q3: How do I know it's time to shut down my company? If you are out of cash, it’s an easy decision. If not, it’s a really hard decision with no clear answer. Some people waste years of their life on a dying company, while others find a breakthrough at the end and become a big win. Is there something else you would rather do with your time? Are you and your team members uniquely positioned to pursue another opportunity instead? While there is no definitive process for this decision, consider the following: give yourself a clear timeline with objective goals. These goals should likely focus on demand, customers landed, or revenue received. With this data in hand: do you have enough evidence to justify working on this further vs. shutting down so that you can allocate your time elsewhere? This comes down to opportunity cost, the realities of how much cash remains for your startup, and how your gut evaluates your options.

In this episode we answer questions about handling problem customers. If you make money you have customers, and if you have customers some of them will cause problems for you. We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including: What should you do if a customer plans to compete with you?How do you handle abusive customers?Should you let customers invest in your company?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website TheStartupHelpdesk.com or on X/Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you! Reminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice. Q1: What should you do if a customer plans to compete with you? Lots of people are planning to compete with you. Don’t spend too much time worrying about it. Focus on creating happy customers. If you do that, then your competitors are in big trouble. If they really do copy you, you can cut them off as a customer; however, this should be a minor consideration. An additional item to consider: if your startup's differentiation (i.e. the unique value you offer customers) is something that can be easily replicated, you will need to demonstrate why your team has the skill set to maintain your advantage. Otherwise, you may find it challenging to stand out amongst your competition when fundraising. Q2: How do you handle abusive customers? Sales requires tons of conversations like this. Err on the side of finding a way to build healthy dialogue vs. pulling the plug on the customer! Troubleshoot: listen to Gong calls and figure out what the issue is. Does your sales team have everything they need? Are you training them to navigate tough conversations like this? One of the critical customer-facing skill sets that you want to hire for is the ability to persevere in challenging conversations and stay focused on the goal. If it’s clear the customers are being abusive and your team is navigating the conversations deftly but to no avail…is the persona right? You may be talking to the wrong stakeholder at your customer’s organization. Q3: Should you let customers invest in your company? “No” is a good place to start. Strategic investments like this are dangerous, as they close doors for you. If a customer is willing to hold you hostage today, imagine what they will do as an investor! One of the primary risks is that they may limit the customers and types of opportunities that you can pursue, as those outcomes could be counterproductive to this customer’s priorities. Furthermore, this customer could get information about your business that gives them an advantage over your other customers. Thus, it is preferable to avoid a strategic investment like this. If they represent a significant portion of revenue for your business, it is critical to approach this tactfully. Start by suggesting that you evaluate the opportunity during your next fundraise. Consider other options, such as warrants and convertible notes.

In this episode we answer questions about choosing and using metrics. Metrics are one of the best tools you have to run your startup, but only if you use them well. We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including: What metrics should I put on my dashboard?What do we do if our competitors are lying about their metrics?How do we report metrics like revenue, which have many definitions?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website TheStartupHelpdesk.com or on X/Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you! Reminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice. Q1: What metrics should I put on my dashboard? There is a lot of danger with creating a dashboard. The risk is that you may track the wrong metrics or track too many metrics, creating a “wallpaper” that distracts from the foundation of your startup “house”. The common three metrics to track are: distribution, engagement, and churn. The core company dashboard should not include more than 3-4 metrics. Cash and runway are other critical metrics. For monthly investor updates in particular, you will likely want to share data about your current cash and runway. When you focus on select few metrics – specifically, the metrics that are core to bringing value to your business or value to your customers – you can make decisions focused on core components of the business. Q2: What do we do if our competitors are lying about their metrics? Do not start lying about your metrics, too! Without even considering the ethical side of this (and ethics alone: you shouldn’t lie about your metrics), consider this scenario: - Imagine that you make your metrics look better to fundraise. - Fundraising starts a growth curve where you need to consistently accelerate in order to fundraise again. - Your next round will need even more incredible metrics – good luck with that! Instead of playing catch-up via fake metrics, differentiate from your competition in another way. Your metrics are one part of a multifaceted story. Tell the story that emphasizes your competitive advantage and paints a compelling road forward from where you are today. Q3: How do we report metrics like revenue, which have many definitions? When it comes to reporting revenue, consult with an accountant and a lawyer so that you have an effective accounting process in place! Different audiences may desire different formats for understanding revenue. For example, “revenue” may mean something different to your board, your investors, and your sales team (and the sales team's commission plans). For each of these audiences, they want to understand revenue in terms of how it reflects the current status of the business and how it can help predict the future status of the business. One thing to note: it is not uncommon for a startup to run into challenges trying to collect all of the revenue due to it! Thus, actually collected money can be different from bookings. “Actually collected money” is always important, and it increases in importance as your startup grows.

In this episode we answer questions about managing your board of directors. If you have investors, you have a board and managing your relationship with them is one of the most important, and hardest, jobs you have. We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including: How do I handle a board member who is ignoring me?What do I do if my board tells me to fire someone?How do we recover from a big fight at a board meeting?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website TheStartupHelpdesk.com or on X/Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you! Reminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice. Q1: How do I handle a board member who is ignoring me? There are three potential issues: 1: You’re not growing fast enough for them to care. 2: They have bigger problems at the moment. 3: You are not designing your board meetings to make them effective. The board is not there to ask questions. They work for the company. Make it easy for them to contribute. Be transparent about the problems and opportunities and where they can support each. By showing them the most interesting problems in the business and giving them a stake in the resolution, you have a good chance of improving engagement. Talk to your board members 1-on-1 outside of meetings in order to further remove obstacles from their participation. Q2: What do I do if my board tells me to fire someone? When approached by the board member in this way, avoid being reactive. Ask questions before responding so that you can more completely understand their perspective. What’s the need? Are they worried that the company is not growing fast enough? This usually means the board has lost faith that this individual can hit their goals. It might also mean they have lost faith in you. The board craves predictable, positive results. Whether or not this individual is “working hard” doesn’t matter. Make sure you understand this board member’s motivation and the real problem they are trying to solve with their recommendation. You will likely need to make some changes and/or start hitting your goals. Whether you agree or disagree with their request, acknowledge their intent and be clear about what your decision is moving forward. Q3: How do we recover from a big fight at a board meeting? Investors disagree all the time - that’s why you want more than one! Don’t try to pick a side. Stop the fight from distracting the meeting too much and agree to address the topic further afterwards. Schedule 1-on-1 time after the meeting to make sure both sides feel heard. Understand the root cause of the disagreement. You don’t need to identify who was “right or wrong” in the dispute. Instead, ask them to keep the board meeting discussions civil and focused on productive conversations. Lastly, do not worry about making investors happy. Worry about making them money.

In this episode we answer questions about turning around your startup. Startup journeys are hard, and it's likely you'll need to turn things around when they start to go badly. We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including: What do I tell my investors about a big pivot?How do I hold my team together when people start leaving?How can I recapture growth after it stops?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website TheStartupHelpdesk.com or on X/Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you! Reminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice. Q1: What do I tell my investors about a big pivot? Your investors invested in you; they expect challenges. Do not delay in communicating with them, as it will only reduce their ability to support these next steps and it could erode their trust in you. What you should be doing for your pivot: - Restarting the customer discovery process. - Building your wait list. - Testing workflows. What you should share with your investors: - Runway. - Burn rate. - Timeline for relaunch. - Current progress on customer discovery. - Interest levels. Communicate early, explain your decision, and explain your process for what’s next. Q2: How do I hold my team together when people start leaving? People leave for a lot of reasons, not always the ones you think. Having multiple people leave at once is more common when a key executive leaves, as these executives may have hired the departing employees. Instead of brainstorming ways to prevent employees from leaving, focus on giving them a reason to stay. In many ways, your company culture is a “product”: it is important to build it intentionally so that your company culture achieves your desired outcomes. Anytime others follow someone else’s departure, investigate what went wrong in order to avoid the same mistake. While it may be that these employees are simply following the departed executive to the next opportunity, it is also possible that there is a more fundamental issue that needs your attention. Q3: How can I recapture growth after it stops? First, is it you or is it the market? Losing product/market fit is common. That doesn’t mean that you can take it for granted that you will find it again. It’s important to move quickly. Take a hard look at your fundamentals. What changed? Where in the funnel is growth breaking down? - Are your distribution channels no longer working? - Are you having a hard time closing the final sale? - Is your price point off? - Are you seeing high customer churn? - Has your use case changed? Focus on testing and experimentation to find where the problem exists and how to address it. Once you have isolated the issue and opportunity, you can choose the best response, such as: - New marketing channels. - New features. - Better reliability.

In this episode we answer questions about managing conflict. Conflict is inevitable in the high pressure, fast-paced startup world so managing it is critical to your success. We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including: What do I do when my co-founder wants to leave?How do I resolve conflict between product and engineering?How do I repair a broken investor relationship?This episode we're joined by guest panelist Kat Mañalac of Y Combinator! Kat is Managing Outreach Officer at Y Combinator where she participates in funding and supporting hundreds of startups every year. Kat has been at YC since 2013 and has seen over 3,500 companies go through the program. Previously, Kat was Chief of Staff to Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of reddit and investor. All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website TheStartupHelpdesk.com or on X/Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you! Reminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice. Q1: What do I do when my co-founder wants to leave? Sharing best practices from YC and founder coach Amy Buechler, Kat emphasizes that founder conflict is often not because of a failing relationship, but rather a result of “a lack of process” - a lack of routine to enable built-in collaboration. To build a healthy co-founder relationship: - Set up weekly 60-90 minute founder syncs to build consistency. - Practice giving each other feedback. - Practice providing mutual recognition. - Address the tough questions about the business. - Define clear ownership over key responsibilities. Ultimately, you may have to accept reality and their departure. To prepare for their potential departure, make sure to start looking for someone else, too. Q2: How do I resolve conflict between product and engineering? “Hoping that this will resolve itself” is a recipe for disaster. It is very bad for the business and for the culture of your startup to be “not really shipping anymore.” It is essential to address this conflict ASAP. Address the problem immediately and hear both sides of the story. Step one is for everyone to be able to understand the other person’s perspective fully. This kind of conflict is often an issue rooted in mis-alignment on something key, such as priorities, process, or recognition. Interpersonal conflict or disagreement is part of working on a team, and it can be healthy when focused on the right outcomes. Address the conflict as a team - ask questions and help them pursue a positive outcome and solution collaboratively. Start lining up small wins that result in shipping product again. Give it a timeline where you need to see results. Q3: How do I repair a broken investor relationship? This happens, especially when everyone is under stress. You have to talk it through, apologize and reset your relationship. Understand where the anger came from and be honest. Invest in your investor relationships outside of meetings to help avoid this. Being assertive and sharing your thoughts with conviction can be fantastic for the business, especially when you are debating strategy and priorities. Thus, when you are sharing your passion during a board meeting, focus on your main objective: driving value for the startup. Steer clear from disagreements and conflicts that are targeting the person.

In this episode we answer questions about marketing! Marketing is one of the most challenging things to do well, but essential to success for your startup. We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including: How do we scale faster after our first few customers?Are we doing something wrong or do ads not work?When is the right time for me to hire our first marketing person?This episode we're joined by guest panelist Kat Mañalac of Y Combinator, an expert in marketing! Kat is Managing Outreach Officer at Y Combinator where she participates in funding and supporting hundreds of startups every year. Kat has been at YC since 2013 and has seen over 3,500 companies go through the program. Previously, Kat was Chief of Staff to Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of reddit and investor. All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website TheStartHelpdesk.com or on X/Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you! Reminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice. Q1: How do we scale faster after our first few customers? Warm intros and referrals are always in season. Founders should lead sales themselves in the early days. Avoid the urge to outsource sales too early. Sales is a numbers game: you need a large volume of qualified leads at the top of the funnel. To get there, continuously test and perfect your sales email. Spend 75% of your time optimizing existing channels that work and 25% testing new channels. Most channels eventually tap out, except for referrals. Be ready to try everything from cold email, to conferences to content and everything in between. Write a playbook of what is working to make it repeatable - that way you can hire people when you are ready. Q2: Are we doing something wrong or do ads not work? Ads can be effective: (i) When you are in the discovery phase for an idea and are trying to test demand. (ii) And when you know precisely who your target customer is, where to find them, how to message to them, and your target customer is already spending time on a platform where you can advertise. However, ads are not a cure-all for fast growth. Ads are not a fit for every company, they are expensive (especially for early stage startups), and the channels are noisy and competitive. Early on, find 10 people who really love you. The way to do that is likely not through ads. It might be through your network, channels like LinkedIn, or other communities where your target customers spend their time. Solve their problem and continuously improve the customer experience. When you are ready to consider ads, run small, iterative tests to see if ads are an engine of growth before scaling your spend. Q3: When is the right time for me to hire our first marketing person? Marketing should be seen as your foundation, not just a lead generator for sales. As soon as you’ve identified your Ideal Customer Profile and have a handful of customers, you are ready to start your search for your first marketing person. Consider starting with product marketing so that they can help shape your message. That being said, you do not need a full time marketing person for launch. Founders should create the early marketing and messaging for the startup. Ultimately, the timing varies per startup. For example, a SaaS startup likely wants to achieve a repeatable sales process before adding a marketing person. Are there multiple marketing challenges the founders can’t handle anymore? What exactly will this person work on? Your answers to these questions

In this episode we answer questions about finding product/market fit! The market has gotten harder on startups in the past 12 months, and finding product/market fit is more important than ever. We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including: Should you keep going or give up on your startup?How do I guide my team without concrete goals and traction?How do I know if I should pivot to another idea or stick with this one?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website https://www.thestartuphelpdesk.com/ or on Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you! Reminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice. Q1: Should you keep going or give up on your startup? If you have spoken to 200 potential customers and don’t have something they want that you can build, it is 100% fine to look at another market. But remember, finding product market fit isn’t likely to be easier in a different market. If your customer discovery has found proof that prospective customers need a solution and you just don't know "how" to solve it yet, iterate on the “how”. If you have not spoken to 200 potential customers - do that customer discovery. Get people talking about their problems and, in most cases, it will become quite clear what people need along with the skillsets you need on the team to solve the problem. Q2: How do I guide my team without concrete goals and traction? This situation is common! People from big companies want clarity and structure, yet a startup requires thriving without clarity and structure. The only concrete plan you can have is to move quickly and test constantly. Proving demand is the only goal. Thus, every effort should focus on that: find more prospective customers to talk to, conduct more interviews, and continue learning and adapting to bring yourself closer to product/market fit. Pitfalls to avoid: Don't let the team (and their desires for clarity and structure) run the company. Avoid the urge to "create work" in order to provide structure. Stay focused on the goal and work quickly towards it. Q3: How do I know if I should pivot to another idea or stick with this one? There are two parts to this question. The first is the concern about how to accurately size the market opportunity. There are a few ways to think about the size of a market: 1: How many potential customers exist? 2: How many potential customers can you reach? Thinking through #2, how many potential customers you can reach, will help you better understand what's feasible with your distribution. If you have a few customers with your current product, and they are very happy, you have a very strong foundation for your startup. Customer satisfaction is rare. Thus, it is probably worth trying pretty hard to figure out distribution. The business is about reaching customers; the product is secondary. In fact, the major innovation is your distribution channel. Distribution is that hard! Test: scaling your current channel, trying new channels, and trying adjacent customer profiles. Experiment more! Push yourself to improve distribution.

In this episode we answer questions about navigating uncertainty! The market and funding environment are changing every day, and managing those ups and downs is hard. We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including: How do I know what metrics I need to raise money in 12 months?How do I know if I should spend more to grow faster or cut costs?How do we handle re-orgs at our big customers?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website https://www.thestartuphelpdesk.com/ or on Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you! Reminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice. Q1: I need to raise more funding in 2024, but I don’t know what the market will be like then. How do I know what targets to aim for to be able to raise money? With the potential stampede of startups planing to fundraise in the first half of 2024, it may be hard to stand out amongst the crowd. Instead of pinning your hopes on a future fundraise, consider growing the business and making money. If you can become sustainable by 2024, you won't need to rely on fundraising. Better yet, you will be more marketable to potential investors when the time comes. In terms of targets: Q2: My business is growing but not fast. I could cut costs but that would reduce our growth further. How do I know if I should spend more to grow faster or cut costs to preserve money? This is a hard question for everyone. You need to make a bet on the future: Put another way, what's your risk/reward ratio? Generally, you control your future by cutting costs, but this requires closing some doors. Q3: Our biggest customer just had a big re-org and we’re not sure what that means for our contract. Their renewal is in 6 months but we’re not even sure who the buyer will be. How do we navigate this? Re-orgs happen! A lot! They are a big form of risk and uncertainty. You need to build lots of relationships with a customer, not just with your users. Map the new org and figure out whose budget you are in ASAP. Do not assume that your contract will just naturally transition and renew with the customer's new buyer. Instead, treat this like a new sale. With the right process, you can transition your contract to the new buyer successfully.

In this episode we answer questions about how to build relationships with your investors! Most startup companies have investors, and your relationship with them is critical to your success. We are here to help and in this episode we answer questions including: How honest should I be in my investor updates?One of my investors just invested in a competitor, what do I do?My investors have stopped responding, how do I get them engaged again?We are joined by a special guest host in this episode: Leo Polovets from Susa Ventures! Leo is a founding partner at Susa Ventures, a $125m seed stage fund that was an early investor in companies like Robinhood, Flexport and Viz.ai. He also runs Humba Ventures, a new micro-fund in the Susa family that's focused on emerging/frontier sectors like robotics, climate/energy, and defense. Prior to Susa, Leo spent a decade working as a software engineer. He was the second non-founding engineer at LinkedIn, then worked at Google for three years, and then spent four years at Factual before transitioning into venture capital. We are lucky to have Leo join us to answer your questions! All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website https://www.thestartuphelpdesk.com/ or on Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you! Reminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice. Q1: How honest should I be in my investor updates? You should have at least one and ideally a few investors that you trust enough to share all of your concerns with. Investors can't help if they don’t have a good picture of what’s going on. The cost of secrecy or retaining information is too high. Transparency is freeing as a CEO. Talking about problems in your investor updates is a great way to get help. However, the person that wrote a $10k check 3 years ago and hasn’t talked to you since doesn’t need to know everything about your day to day. Thus, the bigger the investor group, the less detail you need to provide in your general investor updates. Rather, share the complete picture with your trusted circle of a few investors. Q2: One of my investors just invested in a competitor, what do I do? Avoid the impulse to respond hastily. First, meet with the investor and try to understand the situation as clearly as possible. After that, you will likely want to limit informational sharing with the investor as much as you can. Talk to your attorneys to better understand if you should limit the investor's relationship with your startup and, if so, how. If you have a good relationship with the investor, you can tell them you’re uncomfortable with the situation. If the investment is not 100% closed yet, sometimes the investor will reconsider if they know that they are jeopardizing their relationship with your company. Q3: My investors have stopped responding, how do I get them engaged again? Investors are busy and if they aren’t responding, it might not be about you. Have you been sending regular updates? Write your updates in a way that invites responses! For example, if you don’t include any asks in your updates, then fewer people will respond. Or if you include the exact same ask each time, then people who can’t help with it in the first update will have nothing to add in additional updates. However, if your asks vary, and especially if you have really easy asks like “check out our homepage and tell us 2 things you’d improve about it” then your response rate should go up. Reach out to investors 1:1 and not just in groups if you want them to engage more. Focus on your business and don’t stop communicating.

In this episode we answer questions about how to manage risk! Startup companies face mountains of risk, and it can be hard to know which risks to focus on and what you can do about them. We are here to help and in this episode we answer questions including: What do I do if I think my VP of Sales is looking for another job?How do we handle unusual requests from our biggest customers?How do we stay ahead of huge numbers of new competitors?We are joined by a special guest host in this episode: Leo Polovets from Susa Ventures! Leo is a founding partner at Susa Ventures, a $125m seed stage fund that was an early investor in companies like Robinhood, Flexport and Viz.ai. He also runs Humba Ventures, a new micro-fund in the Susa family that's focused on emerging/frontier sectors like robotics, climate/energy, and defense. Prior to Susa, Leo spent a decade working as a software engineer. He was the second non-founding engineer at LinkedIn, then worked at Google for three years, and then spent four years at Factual before transitioning into venture capital. We are lucky to have Leo join us to answer your questions! All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website https://www.thestartuphelpdesk.com/ or on Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you! Reminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice. Q1: What do I do if I think my VP of Sales is looking for another job? Always be ready for the "hit by the bus test." Establish clear processes (such as using a CRM) and regularly check in to confirm that teams are documenting their work. If someone leaves their role, you want to be able to pick up where they left off with minimal damage. Second, you cannot have your startup's major customer relationships only tied to the VP of Sales. The CEO needs to have a relationship with these customers (for tons of reasons, not only to manage the relationship if the VP of Sales leaves). Lastly, look within. Are you doing something wrong? Have regular check-ins with team members to understand the pulse of your startup. Seek honest feedback from the team member to learn more about their needs and how they feel about their role and the company. Q2: How do we handle unusual requests from our biggest customers? Customer concentration is a common problem for startups and there’s no easy answer. If you strike gold and this large customer asks for things you were already planning, great! Try to get some compensation out of it. Unfortunately, that rarely happens. You should be ready to say "no" to such a request. If their revenue is critical to your survival, then it can make sense to accommodate their request. Otherwise, it is too much of a distraction. Short term sacrifices to appease your large customer will limit your ability to learn about the needs of other customers, making you more vulnerable in the long term. Q3: How do we stay ahead of huge numbers of new competitors? Having tons of competition emerge is a badge of success! This can be a signal that there is a real opportunity. Let's talk strategy: Completely ignoring competitors is a mistake. Know what key industry players are doing and react appropriately. Often the right move is to ignore their actions, but not always. The big risk is that the sheer number of competitors drown out signal in your market. How do you stand out? - Land big customers. - Get press coverage to show you are a leader in the space. - Go big on outbound. - If you have a major product feature where you are winning, double down on it to extend your lead. - If your competition has depth but your customers need multiple features, consider differentiating by adding breadth to your product.

In this episode we answer questions about how to handle competition! We all have competition and how we handle it is the difference between winning and losing in our markets. We are here to help and in this episode we answer questions including: How much time should we be spending thinking about our competition?How do you handle entirely new kinds of competition, like LLMs & GPT?What do we do if our competition starts to beat us?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website https://www.thestartuphelpdesk.com/ or on Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you! Reminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice. Q1: How much time should we be spending thinking about our competition? The dream is to only focus on your customers’ needs. In reality, almost every founder – good and bad – probably spends too much time thinking about competition. You should spend more time understanding your competition when potential customers name your competition as other solutions they are considering. You need to know who your potential customers are considering to solve the same problem you solve. You need to know why potential customers are considering them and, if a competitor wins the business, what made the customer’s decision. In these scenarios, you can accelerate your ability to learn about your customers by understanding your competition. In some cases, your “competition” may be a new trend or technical advancement, such as what we are seeing in AI. Tectonic shifts like this may make it possible to solve problems in a new way: this can either be a huge differentiator for you, a distraction, or a disruptor for your business. Q2: How do you handle entirely new kinds of competition, like LLMs & GPT? It will happen! If not today, eventually. Your playbook to handle this kind of competition should include: Adapt as quickly as possible. Q3: What do we do if our competition starts to beat us? 1: Make sure you know where and how they are beating you. 2: Talk to even more customers than usual. Understand WHY they are beating you. Is it your product? Price? Marketing? 3: Set expectations. There are rarely short term solutions, so set expectations appropriately. 4: Focus, focus, focus on whatever you need to do to win again. Remember: your startup is a calculated bet. You should be in a constant state of learning if your value proposition works and adjusting where needed. If your competition starts to beat you, it is time to evaluate your differentiation. Simplify what you do so that you focus exclusively on your differentiation, and test continuously to see if your differentiation is enough to get you back into the winner’s circle.

In this episode we answer questions about how to handle a crisis! There have been no shortage of crises recently, including the COVID pandemic and the recent banking crisis. We are here to help and in this episode we answer questions including: What, if anything, can I do to prepare for a crisis?How do we handle crises that are bigger than we are, like the recent banking crises?What do I tell my team if they are panicking during a crisis?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website https://www.thestartuphelpdesk.com/ or on Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you! Episode Notes Reminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice. Q1: What, if anything, can I do to prepare for a crisis? It is extremely difficult to predict when the next crisis will strike. The good news is that you can take action today to prepare. The best preparation is to build a healthy business (revenue coming from various sources and/or well managed runway) with: - Clear ownership across the team for key responsibilities. - A legal team already established and familiar with the needs of your business and industry. - A regular cadence of communication with all team and direct reports. Additionally, it can be hugely helpful to have your go-to advisors or other founders who have been in the trenches. When crisis strikes, you don't time to establish new relationships and friendships to learn how others are navigating a crisis. Instead, build your network of trusted advisors and fellow founders so that you can consistently learn from them and - in the moments of crisis - learn how they are addressing the crisis, too. Q2: How do we handle crises that are bigger than we are, like the recent banking crises? Make sure you survive. Assess what you control and what you don’t, and focus on on what you control. In the midst of a crisis, you need to act and make decisions quickly. To do so: - Sync with co-founders immediately. - Seek guidance from advisors to learn what steps they are taking for their businesses. - Proactively reach out to employees and customers. - Get legal’s endorsement for the plan. By communicating early and often, focusing on what you can control, and clearly defining your goal as "survival", you can get your startup to smoother tides. Q3: What do I tell my team if they are panicking during a crisis? They will panic; it would be strange if they didn’t! 1: Acknowledge the crisis and their concern. 2: Give them a plan to work towards. If you don’t have a plan, give them a plan to make a plan. 3: Be honest and transparent while staying calm and consistent. You are the anchor. 4: Give them a forum 1:1 to express concerns and listen. Common pitfalls to avoid include: - Yelling and screaming to create urgency. Instead, communicate urgency and set ambitious, shared goals. - "Anyone not onboard with the plan needs to leave now." Instead, over-communicate the plan to help everyone understand the company's focus and how to get there.

In this episode we answer questions about the problems that come from scaling your startup, and how to fix them! We answer questions including: How does the Founder role as a company grows?What do I need to change as my team goes from 5 to 25 people?What do I do if my co-founder isn’t growing with the company?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website https://www.thestartuphelpdesk.com/ or on Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you! Episode Notes Reminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice. Q1: How does the Founder role as a company grows? We discussed three common stages for a founder as the company grows: Stage 1: Building. Find the right problem, do customer discovery, and start solving the problem for your first customers. Build, test, repeat! Stage 2: Fundraising and Marketing. Once you have proof that your startup is solving a problem worth solving, it’s time to add fuel to the fire. Your primary focus is growth via accelerating your sales and marketing and/or fundraising. Stage 3: Recruiting and HR. When your company reaches a large enough scale, the best way to scale your efforts as a founder is to hire more great people. Your role as a founder at all stages is to set the vision, remind people of the vision, decide on how to prioritize the pursuit of that vision, and motivate people to keep going. Q2: What do I need to change as my team goes from 5 to 25 people? Move from leading by example to leading through instruction. “Leading by example” only scales so far. To scale your leadership principles: In addition to changing your leadership style, your startup will face new responsibilities, such as: Q3: What do I do if my co-founder isn’t growing with the company? It happens at almost all companies. An effective partnership requires frequent talks, including those about productivity and performance. Being a “founder” is a unique role, but the title doesn’t make someone magically qualified. Start with investigating the problem. Have an open discussion about your co-founder’s role and the company’s future. You may find that more frequent open discussions with your co-founder lead to better alignment and a better environment to support their growth. You may find there is a role that better fits their skills. Alternatively, you may find that they are no longer bought into the vision. If they are being toxic or creating conflict, it’s time to part ways and transition them out of the company. This is complex, so of course discuss this with your lawyers and investors. Understanding the main obstacle to your co-founder’s growth will help you triage and either unlock their growth potential or recognize that it is no longer a fit so that you can adjust accordingly.

In this episode we answer questions about your employees, how to know if they are happy and how to ensure that they are! We answer questions including: How do you measure employee satisfaction?What do you do if employee morale is low?What's an MVP of performance reviews?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website https://www.thestartuphelpdesk.com/ or on Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you! Episode Notes Reminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice. Q1: How do you measure employee satisfaction? You have to find ways to "listen" to the pulse of the company. However, listening is hard, so you have to design intentional ways to collect info. Go-to methods include: surveys, 1-on-1s, event attendance, demand for more events (i.e. are people asking for events?), employee retention numbers, and manager perceptions (their observations from 1-on-1s and more generally how they perceive team morale). Lastly: make sure you spend the time to interpret the results and demonstrate that they lead to action. For example, if you run a survey, commit to investigating the results closely and implementing change where applicable. Q2: What do you do if employee morale is low? There will always be points where morale is low! Focus on where you are going, not where you are stuck. It is important to give employees something to believe in: always have a plan, and change the plan if it's not working. Consider the following ingredients in your plan: - Have an all-hands: be open about problems, take questions and feedback. - Let go of bad eggs: if your startup faces a money crisis, you can have layoffs in one go. - Make a plan for success: make it credible, set owners to generate excitement. Transparency is key. Be honest about the circumstances and optimistic about the road forward. Q3: What's an MVP of performance reviews? Early companies don’t need performance reviews. Focus instead on personal growth: help your team grow in their careers. If you have under performers, you know it. If someone is over performing, you know know it. Let go of under performers, and give more responsibilities to over performers. When it comes time to create v1 of your performance review process: document team members' progress. You want an easy way to track when an employee is helping move the company forward. Do this via monthly 1-on-1s and written status updates from the employee (can be weekly, monthly, quarterly: track their "wins" that contribute to helping the startup reach its milestones).