Listeners Love the Show, yet Few Value Targeted Content
I get 10+ LPs per day email me stating they listen and love our weekly show with @jasonlk and @rodriscoll. Continues to amaze me how few truly see the strategic value of targeted content.
Outcome‑Driven Remote Work: Zapier’s Early Success Blueprint
Here’s how Zapier managed an entirely-remote workforce YEARS before COVID lockdowns made them mandatory. On our latest TWiST Flashback, Lon Harris and Alex Wilhelm check out a 2016 chat between me and Zapier mastermind Wade Foster. Back then, the automation...
Instantly Gauge Your Startup's Value and Funding Odds
What's your start-up worth? And what are the odds you'll get funded? Find out in seconds with SaaStr AI Valuation Calculator -> https://t.co/jvgsU2zIKA https://t.co/jUHBqpNXte
Portfolio Company Posts $334M ARR, 117% Growth
Nothing beats a one on one catch up but damn it's cool to hear a portfolio founder update via a live earnings call. $334M annual run rate. 117% YoY Q3 revenue growth. 70% gross margins. GAAP profitable company-wide. What a company. https://t.co/2SlwkNCLz0
AI Agents Automate B2B Inquiries, Boosting Speed and Sales
Questom (https://t.co/Q2E0SQDDAz) builds AI agents that answer inbound B2B calls, emails, chat, and SMS, collect order details, and generate quotes and updates, so customers get faster answers and teams close more deals. https://t.co/oR2FjXphN5 https://t.co/Ik1N9LLYOo
Harvey's $8B Valuation May Look Cheap by 2026
Is Harvey cheap or expensive at $8B? If it triples again in 2026, may be "cheap" We'll see https://t.co/Hx5bmcTbeU
Veriff Turns Digital Passports Into Global Fraud Shield
.@Veriff is the identity layer for the internet: matching people to government-issued IDs with a selfie so companies can verify users instantly and stop fraud at global scale. What began in Estonia has grown into one of the world’s leading identity...
Solugen Slashes Six-Year Process to One Month
Took a process that typically takes 6 years down to 1 month. Solugen is bringing software timelines to the chemicals industry.
Execution Reveals Truth; Ideas Never Fight Back
People fall in love with ideas because ideas never fight back. Execution does. It exposes your blind spots, your patience, your habits and your excuses. Most founders learn more from the first week of doing than the first year of...
AI Saves Workers Hours, Yet Vendors Capture Only 5%
A new study from OpenAI shows AI saves the average white-collar worker 54 minutes per day. Where does all that value go? BLS data shows median weekly earnings for full-time workers hit $1,165 in Q3 2024, or $60,580 annually. Across 2,080...
Founders Treat Ideas as Hypotheses, Execution as Science
The best founders treat ideas like hypotheses. Execution is their science. They run experiments, gather evidence, and adjust without getting sentimental. That discipline compounds faster than inspiration.
EquipmentShare Files S-1, Signaling Upcoming IPO
EquipmentShare filed their S-1 today
Rule of 40: No One‑Size‑Fit Metric, Choose Wisely
I’m going to be straight with you. I don’t know the “right” way to calculate Rule of 40. I’m a metrics sensei by many standards, but this one sparks religious debates with CFOs, FP&A directors, and VC friends across stages....
Rivalry Fuels Market Growth and Regulatory Breakthroughs
How @Polymarket @shayne_coplan Made @Kalshi @mansourtarek_ Raise Their Game: " An industry truly becomes an industry when there's a rivalry. Without Polymarket, we wouldn't have pushed our marketing and pushed our product as hard. Without us, they wouldn't have pushed their marketing and...
From $1M to $100M in Two Years
$1M to $100M in 2 years is an incredible run
Sequoia Stewards Reveal Proven Tactics for Winning VC
I sat down with Sequoia's new stewards, @gradypb and @Alfred_Lin. Maybe a bit selfishly, I spent almost the entire time asking them about the tactics of how to do venture capital well. I got a ton out of it and hope...
Fal Secures $140M Series D to Power Generative Media
Having invested in RedNote in 2014 and Musical.ly back in 2015 which turned into TikTok, I had a front row seat to watch the rise of social media and its transformation into web 2.0. Now is the time for generative...
SAFE Funding Is Instant; Priced Rounds Drag Months
It is so straightforward to get money signed and wired on a SAFE that many founders are thrown for a loop when they do their first priced round. That process can take several months from term sheet to redlines to...
Solve Intelligence Secures $40M to Scale AI Patent Platform
Solve Intelligence (@SolveIntel) has raised a $40M Series B to build the AI platform for patents and launch Charts, a new product for patent claims charts. Since last year, they’ve grown ARR more than 10x to reach 8 figures, are profitable,...
Embodied AI Renaissance Fueled by Foundation Model Advances
embodied ai is clearly undergoing a renaissance driven by progress in foundation models in this essay, i dive into substantive progress in the last 12 months, anchoring on @stateofaireport, with case studies from @SereactAI @wayve_ai @nvidia @allen_ai https://t.co/qHsMlJckuu
Acquired.com Launches New Service to Grow Startups
Been working on something new at @acquiredotcom. After helping 1000+ founders exit, we’re hoping to also help startups grow next. Coming soon! https://t.co/pVBggapdgh
Lead Investors Must Commit >50% or Appear Uncommitted
Investors, when you put down a term sheet as a lead for the round and you only commit to 50% or less of the round, you are just showing a lack of commitment. That simple. Be bold.
300 Slides of AI State Report Deliver Massive Alpha
right there, a state of ai report prediction, done imagine the alpha you get reading those 300 slides… https://t.co/ziEeEhZm1I
Pre‑seed Investors Should Match Founders with Right‑stage VCs
A role of a pre-seed investor is to guide your founders to VCs that are most likely to do the deal. Throwing them into Sequoia, Accel and Index too early is like throwing SBF into the compliance team, shouting “good...
Alfred’s Contrarian Nuance Keeps Founders Grounded
What Makes @Alfred_Lin @sequoia So Good? "Alfred is a very unique investor in many dimensions 1. He's not the type of investor to make strong, simplistic statements. Alfred's answer to everything is very nuanced, uninteresting and uninspiring. But it tends to be the...
PR Veterans Turn VC: Storytelling Becomes Investment Edge
Why it makes sense that PR experts are starting venture firms Veteran flack Lulu Meservey , the author of the viral “Go Direct” manifesto, is launching a VC fund. But does the industry really need comms experts funding companies? On...
Lulu Funding: Rare, Powerful Reality‑Distortion Field
Raising money from Lulu is like having a reality distortion field conjurer in your corner. Highly prized, incredibly rare.
M&A Pre‑Check: Fast‑Track Media Deals Over Hype
Big Picture: Does this $NFLX-$WBD “mega-deal” even matter? On TWiST, I suggest that these much-hyped media consolidation deals are essentially re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, the equivalent to a bunch of high-profile magazines and publications swapping hands just...
AI's Incremental Rise Fuels Diverse Startup Opportunities
We Version One Ventures often get asked what’s our AI investment strategy is so we thought we’d share these reflections that we prepared for our LPs recently. At a high-level: - We’re seeing a slower take off toward super intelligence...
Tenacity and People Drive Success Despite Early Hardships
Anyone building going through a low moment - this thread is for you. What incredible tenacity. And a reminder as an investor that the people make all the difference. Early stories over overcoming hardship aren’t necessarily...
Uncapped Podcast Delivers Deep Dive Into Venture Craft
Releasing an Uncapped pod tomorrow with @gradypb and @Alfred_Lin. By far the most detailed episode we've ever done about the craft of venture and I loved it. https://t.co/tzoq4gsVOw
Charismatic CEOs Win Funding, but Product Must Deliver
One of the tougher reads in venture, at least for me, is the Larger Than Life CEO. The one so compelling, so driven, so charismatic, that you basically assume the product has to be as good. Vs. the introvert CEO...
Growth Requires Simultaneous Product and Brand Building
What is @mansourtarek_ biggest execution regret in how he scaled @Kalshi? "I was too product-driven for too long. I was always like ... it needs to grow really fast organically. Then we do more marketing and build a brand. I actually...
LAUNCH Accelerator 35 Showcases Innovative Public Demo Day
LAUNCH Accelerator 35 Public Demo Day https://t.co/3ti6Q1Qmgb
IBM's $11.1B Confluent Deal Signals Streaming Consolidation
Streaming is the next category to consolidate within the modern data stack. IBM announced its intent to acquire Confluent. The deal values Confluent at $11.1 billion, or 10.0x LTM revenue. Confluent commands more than 40% of the Fortune 500 as customers...
Enterprise AI Now Core, Workers Master Specialist Tasks
This report from OpenAI is the first time we’ve had a detailed map of what enterprise AI actually looks like inside companies. The patterns are unmistakable. The implications are big. Adoption matters, but the defining change here is how much of...
Seed VCs Value Both Valuation and Ownership Equally
Does valuation or ownership matter more to a seed VC? Yes. https://lnkd.in/gMHd5pSP
VCs Ease Year‑End Deal Rush, Eye 2025 Outlook
Most VCs don't really take the rest of the year off anymore No, it's more subtle It's kind of saying, Well, That's My Hand for 2025 That leads to a slowdown. The sense that maybe it's time to just acknowledge the hand for...
Bootstrapped SaaS Hits $660K ARR, 10% Growth
I love bootstrapped businesses like this. Live on @acquiredotcom: SaaS helping brands recover carts, segment audiences, and send high converting emails without the complexity. > $660K ARR > $46K TTM profit > 100+ merchants > 10% YoY growth Full listing: https://t.co/DjQQwM9Uux https://t.co/R10ru0NB9j
Early $7M Bet Turns $10M in Six Months
After 27 mins of interviewing @awxjack on 20VC, I asked in the middle of the show if I could invest in @airwallex. I invested $7M. Today, Jack announced Lee Fixel and Addition, one of the best in the world, have led...
Pick the Right Boulder, Not the Uphill Push
Finding product-market fit is like pushing a boulder. The easiest way to grow a startup is to find the right boulder to push down the mtn rather than pushing it up. Unfortunately, if you have not experienced product-market fit, it's...
Eric and Karim Master Founder Brand Storytelling
Which founder brand does @mansourtarek_ @Kalshi respect more than any other? "@eglyman @karimatiyeh have done a very good job at building a story and brand around the founders the team and how the company has come to be. I am learning...
SaaS AE Job Expectations Are Outdated in Today's Market
Most SaaS AE interviews today, they're still looking for: - $300k OTE - Work from home - No travel - 100% in-bound - Side hustles fine - Strong SE support on product - Sell their way - Limited need to...
Kalshi's $1B Funding Fuels Prediction Market Revolution
Kalshi is one of the fastest growing companies on the planet. Last week: - Raised $1BN at $11BN valuation - Partnered with CNN and CNBC This is Tarek’s only interview post this news. - How Polymarket made @Kalshi better? - Is Kalshi just sports betting with...
Exploring Sci‑Tech Diplomacy's Global Investment Strategies
Inside our SCI-TECH DIPLOMACY global investing theses…
Test, Double Down, Then Pivot Before Channel Saturates
An ideal customer acquisition strategy as a pre-seed company is to try a handful of marketing channels and then quickly go all in on the one that is working well and optimize. The only issue is at some point that...
Easy Wins Signal Strong Channels; Hard Optimizations Signal Weak Ones
When you’re first starting something and doing customer acquisition through a channel, if it works, it often performs well even though it’s unoptimized. If you have to spend a lot of time optimizing to get it to barely work, it's...
AI May Inflate B2B TAM, But Beware the Trap
🚀Is AI really expanding TAM in B2B? 🔄 Or will we end up again in a ... TAM Trap? The latest 20VC with @HarryStebbings @rodriscoll + me https://t.co/GZ0atD0MKB