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Founder Weekly

Welcome to issue 631 of Founder Weekly. Let's get straight to the links this week.

General

How Stability AI’s Founder Tanked His Billion-Dollar Startup
Stability AI founder Emad Mostaque's failure to deliver on ambitious promises, like building AI models for nation states, and his decision to pour tens of millions into research without a sustainable business plan, eroded the company's foundations and jeopardized its future. Despite initially attracting high-profile investors like Coatue and Lightspeed with his vision, Mostaque's erratic behavior and the subsequent fallout with key investors led to a spectacular business debacle that may cost the company tens of millions and dozens of jobs.

Lessons of a first time founder
The post shares insights from a first-time founder's journey, discussing lessons learned and challenges faced in launching a startup. It highlights valuable advice and reflections on entrepreneurship, offering practical guidance for aspiring founders.

Avoid blundering: 80% of a winning strategy
Why do startups typically fail? It turns out that “avoiding those things” is already a plan for success.

Marketing, Sales and PR

The AI SDR era?
11x’s journey from $0 to $2M ARR in six months.

B2B Growth, IRL: How to do event marketing that actually makes a difference.
6 practical tips for making conferences your new favorite growth channel.

How Profitable Should SaaS Be?
Gross margins set the profit ceiling, but how much does a cloud company's operating expenses vary? What should operating expenses be?

Money and Finance

16 Rookie Errors to Avoid When Pitching VCs
You only get 1 shot to make a great impression with a VC. Yet almost everyone makes Rookie Errors you don't need to make

Peter Walker on 2023 Startup Valuations, VC Dry Powder, New Bubbles, and Employee Trends
Peter Walker, Head of Insights at Carta, gives us into a deep dive on valuation trends, the emerging manager fundraising landscape, and employee compensation trends.

Is it SAFE?
Sure, they're super-easy, but... what's the catch?

What to expect when you’re expecting (dilution)
How SaaS founders should think about selling equity to investors by round.

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Founder Weekly - Founder Weekly - Issue 631

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