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Founder Weekly

Welcome to issue 617 of Founder Weekly. This is the final issue of 2023. We will be back after the holiday break. Wish you and your family Happy Holidays!

General

How to Take Bigger, Bolder Product Bets — Lessons from Slack’s Chief Product Officer
Seasoned product leader and Slack’s CPO Noah Desai Weiss shares the three-step framework he leans on to make quality product decisions with just the right amount of risk.

Jason Fried challenges your thinking on fundraising, goals, growth, and more
Jason Fried is the co-founder and CEO of 37signals, a unique company with no investors, board, or plans to raise money or sell. With a focus on profitability, he shares insights on bootstrapping, the challenges of venture capital, the "Shape Up" product framework, fostering a gut-driven culture, and the philosophy behind Once, their new line of software products.

Marketplaces in the Age of AI
Every new platform changes how and where transactions happen. Now, we believe gen AI will be the latest revolution in marketplaces.

The inside story of why this once high-flying digital health startup failed
Former CEO Dr. Tim Peck hopes that other founders can learn from Call9's experience.

Why Are We Surprised That Startups Are So Freaking Hard?
We think they can be hacked, but the only enduring moat is effort

GenAI in 2024 – Another Decade in One Year?
What do we expect from 2024? Maturing of the market and moving beyond experimentation for GenAI.

A Simple Decision Framework: Debate, Decide and Unite
Making great decisions won't matter if you don't align behind them.

Marketing, Sales and PR

How Plane, an open-source alternative to Jira, got to the #1 in project management on GitHub in less than a year
The article discusses how Plane, an open-source alternative to Jira, achieved over 20,000 GitHub stars and became the #1 project management repository on GitHub in less than a year. It highlights the factors that contributed to this success, such as organic growth, network effects, and word-of-mouth, while also addressing the challenges and lessons learned in the journey to popularity within the open-source community. The post aims to provide insights for other open-source startups and encourage them to learn from Plane's experiences.

Pricing Lessons from the Fastest Growing Companies with Kevin Liu, Co-founder and CEO of Metronome
Kevin Liu, Co-founder, and CEO of Metronome, a billing infrastructure platform, shares insights on software business models, pricing strategies, and startup iteration. With a successful track record, including selling companies to Dropbox, Kevin discusses the importance of customer needfinding, leveraging angel investors, avoiding over-building, and prioritizing time for founders in this episode.

Money and Finance

Getting Off the VC Train
The article explores the concept of decoupling a company's success from the need to raise future rounds of venture capital, emphasizing the shift away from measuring success based on the ability to continuously fundraise for growth. It delves into the considerations and motivations for founders to transition away from relying on venture funding, highlighting the importance of pursuing opportunities that align with the outcomes sought by venture capitalists.

The Startup Community Must Shake Off Its Funding ‘Shell-Shock’
The article discusses the shift in the startup landscape, emphasizing that the recent funding environment is not a temporary storm but a long-term sea change. It advocates for a return to fundamental principles, urging founders to prioritize speed of execution, focus on growth with limited resources, and embrace the resilience and adaptability inherent in the early days of entrepreneurship. The piece challenges the notion of excessive spending and emphasizes the importance of sustainable business practices in the current funding climate.

Joining a startup: How to think about equity compensation
This post discusses the considerations and mindset individuals should have when evaluating equity compensation at early-stage startups. It emphasizes the importance of prioritizing the potential growth and value of the startup over immediate compensation, providing insights based on the author's experiences and learnings from joining multiple early-stage startups. The article encourages individuals to optimize for equity after ensuring their cash compensation covers their essential needs, and it offers valuable guidance for those navigating equity components in startup offers.

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