Fay Goldstein’s Post

Are you a startup founder in Tel Aviv? You won’t want to miss the exciting event happening on August 28th, organized by the incredible entrepreneurs Fay Goldstein and Joel Liurner. I’m happy to be helping them put this together! About the Event: Whether you’re a founder seeking genuine feedback on your pitch without the pressure of impressing investors or decision-makers, or you’ve pitched before, this event is for you. It’s also perfect for marketers with a way with words, communicators skilled in presentation, tech enthusiasts eager to connect, or anyone who wants to support the startup ecosystem from the inside. For Founders Who Want to Pitch: - 7 founders will be selected to pitch. - Each founder can opt to have their pitch recorded and shared with them afterward. - In addition to receiving up to 3 public feedback responses during the event, every audience member will complete a "scorecard" and provide written feedback for each pitch. For Audience Members: - Willing to provide honest feedback. - Not an investor. - Ready to enjoy drinks, snacks, mingling, and learning. Pitch slots are filling up fast, so if you want to participate, don’t wait! Register here:https://lu.ma/ln4gzyh6 Nevo Network

📣 Free founders-only event below! I often see founders get a lot of early traction in signing customers and then hit a wall when trying to scale that repeatedly. Why?? Maybe it's because: 1️⃣ that 1st group of customers came through warm intros from your accelerator batch 2️⃣ you've already combed through industry connections from your previous career 3️⃣ you're just good at brute-force selling but you're only one person 4️⃣ you are still narrowing in on product market fit Next week I'm hosting a free, founders-only candid discussion with two people who have had to break through this wall out of necessity and now coach countless founders on this. More on our speakers: 📈 Ian Illig took his 1st job out of college at a friend's startup (employee #1). He quickly found himself trying to sell a product that was still finding its market fit. Fast forward years later and Ian had completely built out the sales team and revenue, allowing the company to get acquired. And then he turned around and did the same thing again with the same founding team. 👀 Sonia Baschez was one of the 1st employees at Atmos, a consumer & builder-facing product for homebuilding. She developed early marketing channels & helped the company grow from Pre-seed to Series A. Sonia optimized product launches to reach the right customers, a challenging feat given their core customers are actively NOT in the tech bubble (aka Techcrunch and a thread on X are not going to do the trick). Whether they know it or not, both Ian and Sonia have been secret superpowers for me as I've grown The Council Fund and supported portfolio companies. I'm excited to share their playbooks & expertise with founders for FREE next Wednesday. Join us 12-1pm Pacific! Link to RSVP in comments below ;)

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐧𝐨 “𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭” 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫, 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩. 🤔 The question: 'Is it the right time for us to join an accelerator?' should be among the first ones to discuss within the team when thinking about appyling to Techstars or any accelerator! And questions such as "Shouldn’t we have more MRR, more traction, or a bigger team first?" will definitely pop up. Every startup’s journey is unique and the truth is, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer 🪄 What matters most is the readiness to accelerate your company's growth, wherever you are today. 🎥 Hear from our alumni founders on where they were when they joined us and what their goals were, and why timing was less about being “perfect” and more about being ready to accelerate. - Featuring: Benedek Hermán, Carolina Gianardi, Caterina Vertefeuille, Evgeny Klochikhin, Francesco Semeraro, Zsofia Toth

Yesterday 👏 was 👏 EPIC 🤯 The Rare Founders Investor Conference and Demo Day was an absolute success. 🚀 (Which I do *not* say lightly, I'm usually very critical 😅) 👉But when one of the founders said they had 8 (EIGHT!!) investor conversations after their pitch 😱 👉And another founder literally got chased 🏃♀️down by an investor who wanted to make sure they got a chance to talk (how often do things happen that way around) - you know you did something right. In the short time I've had the pleasure of working with Vasily Alekseenko, I've been witness to his incredible hard work, dedication, and creativity. And it all paid off yesterday. 💪 We had: ✅Over 200 investors 📈 ✅Over 300 founders 🚀 ✅Over 700 day tickets ✅Another 120 evening reception tickets 🍻 ✅4 sponsors, 4 partners ✅40 investor partners ✅25 community partners If you're part of the startup ecosystem and weren't there - why??? 😂 In all seriousness, I could not be more thankful for the incredible community and the team we had around us. Over the next few days, I'll be shouting 🗣️ them out in more detail - stay tuned. But for now, I'm buzzing for one *main* reason: The FEEDBACK 🔥 🥺It seemed to far surpass everyone's expectations. People did NOT expect that some scrappy founders could deliver something so different, and get so many people in a room together. 💯 If you were one of those people, make sure to tag us - the more that people know how great it was, the better we can do next time, and the more accessible we can make it too. 🎉 And THANK YOU for being a part of the journey. It means more than you could know. Stay tuned! 👇 Love and luck!!  Seven 💜

⏰ Founders - 4 days left to apply for something special 🚀 Last year’s Demo Day seemed to go well 😃 ✅ 800+ attendees, including 200+ investors ✅ 100 top-rated founders pitched ✅ Eight investor conversations from just one pitch Feels like the next Rare Founders Demo Day on 14 October could be even better. But it’s not just about securing investment on the spot. It’s about building relationships, getting invaluable feedback, and refining your pitch. So whether you’re at Pre-Seed, Seed, or Series A, this is your moment. Don’t let it pass by. 🗓️ Applications close this Friday, 16 August 2024. Apply now and be part of London’s largest and most impactful Demo Day. Let’s make your startup story one to remember 😍

Why should people topics be a priority on the CEO agenda? 🤔 Many successful leaders, including for example the CEO of Kununu Nina Zimmermann, regularly highlight it’s non-negotiable. And I couldn’t agree more. When employee experience isn’t a core focus, it becomes much harder for teams to deliver top-notch service to customers. Engaged teams, driven by a clear purpose and a strong company culture, always outperform those who lack this connection. 🌟 Just recently, I had the privilege of sharing my insights and tipps on some core people and culture topics during the Born Global Academy Program by Female Founders 🌎 Amelia Suda-Gosch and I delved into strategic planning, global hiring, and the cultural nuances that can make or break a scaleup’s journey. We were truly inspired by the smart and driven cohort of entrepreneurs we met. Wishing all the participants the very best on their exciting paths ahead! 🙌🚀

Fresh out of 3 days at Techcrunch Disrupt in SF - the largest business event to attend since the pandemic, and here are some thoughts. As someone on both sides and in the middle of the startup-investor game, I had a neutral badge for the first day, and enjoyed the possibility to start (or not start) a conversation with anyone I wished. Then, to get in a designated zone, I had to replace it with an investor badge. Color green. At that moment, everything changed. I was not able to sit down and write a message on my laptop, or to have a longer, meaningful conversation with someone (something I mostly do) as other people were interrupting. What were the interruptions about? Well, all the same. We do this and you can invest. Or - what do you invest in? And then, without waiting for an answer, the "We do this and you can invest" followed. Sometimes, it felt funny, sometimes - frustrating, but in most cases - confusing. Is that what the founders are being taught to do? I can't recall suggesting such an approach to anyone at Alchemist Accelerator where I've had opportunity to mentor, coach and judge for years, or when attending a business school or exec training, or when developing a new venture and supporting its team. Even with an elevator pitch - you start with something else when you open your mouth, and you allow the other party to open it, too. Could that be the lack of training, mentoring and education? Or is that what the world is leaning to - pure transaction instead of a human interaction, why, and whom and how. Or a LinkedIn invite note brought to the real world, after the pandemic. I'm curious if any investor in my network has ever invested after such a start. Recalling Ashton Kutcher's note during the conference panel. "It is not your deck what we are seeking!" I would add that it is not your solution that the world has always awaited. Especially if it is just another "same but better" solution the majority of the founders have. Or would have, with an investor's money. Cheers to TechCrunch for another quality and well-attended event. Been great to catch up and make new acquaintances. The picture: my escape during the event - the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts park.

🔊Tech enthusiasts, listen up! 🔊 💡Have you had that 'lightbulb moment' where you’ve identified a problem, but feel lost on where to start? The Go Global program is right for you! It's a six-month program designed for individuals eager to bring business ideas to life or take them to the next level. Like you! Here’s a sneak peek of what you’ll gain: ➡️Full support with everything from crafting a solid business plan to navigating business incorporation, mastering marketing and sales strategies, and even guidance on securing grants. ➡️You'll also enjoy exclusive 1:1 sessions with business coaches, industry experts, and unwavering support from the Global Startups team. ➡️But that’s not all! We'll dive deep into customer discovery interviews, conduct thorough market research, and host focus groups tailored to your company’s needs. Ready to launch? Learn more - https://lnkd.in/gET8MmfX

The fascinating thing about pitch events is that they reveal patterns you wouldn't notice otherwise. When you put 20 founders on the stage, from different corners of the world, each with limited time to explain their vision, you start to see what really matters. The art of pitching under pressure revealed itself in two forms. Detailed five-minute deep dives where founders unpacked their visions. Lightning 60-second pitches where every word had to count. Both formats pushed founders to do something incredibly difficult - distill years of work and passion into moments of clarity. Hosting "Pitch Perfect: Your idea's big break" at SF TECH WEEK by a16z was more than I could have hoped for. People weren't just there to present or judge - they were there to learn, to connect, to build. What struck me most was how founders who had just pitched started giving each other advice, and how the audience, instead of thinning out, stayed engaged until the last pitch. Thank you Mala, Vince, Hardik, and Lei — for going beyond giving feedback and asking the kind of detailed questions that usually only come up in private meetings. And to our partners EchoHer, CMU Tech & Entrepreneurship, Matija Pavicevic 马丁, Roan Weigert 🤖, and the incredible founders who shared their visions with us — Michael Cutajar | Brandon Amoroso ⚡ | Joan Rodriguez | Derek Gregg | Timothy Sun | Daniil Sergunin | Juan Pablo Linares Uscher | Nnamdi Adom | Faraan Irfan | Amir Zarkesh | Daud Grewal | Jonathan Brown | Navneet Sankarambadi | Arjun Chintapalli | Bhavani Kalisetty | Wayne Chan | Matthew Lin | Erfan Erken | Breck Yunits | Jordan Gray — you made this event what it was. See you at the next one! 42px Media #SFTechWeek

My GrowthX partner, Jeanette Renshaw, spends all day working hard alongside founders helping them build and execute their GTM strategy. One recent founder had this to say about her: “Jeanette helped our company tremendously! One of the best we’ve had in our journey and that comes against programs led by a16z, Techstars, and gener8tor.” Here are the top mistakes Jeanette sees founders making (and how you can avoid them): https://hubs.ly/Q02mV4kK0