Eva De Mol Ph.D’s Post

Talking about selecting the right Founders: That's a great essential start, and I agree, it is a prerequisite for any venture or investment to grow. (but, you are still a long way to scale and succeed, but we will come to that question of 'end-to-end having a repeatable process' to build great companies another day. Or, like, I prefer to say -How can I "Industrialize Innovation") For today, let me share one quick point - YES, that a founding team ought to be passionate but having a lot of passion - that hand waving - we will change the world - is NOT enough! IMHO, "Oh - I invest in a passionate team" - is such flawed investment model. Its good to have raw energy but not good enough to succeed. You could be simply running in wrong direction. Therefore, "passion combined with deep-domain-expertise" is ESSENTIAL. Where Founders know that despite them knowing so many nuances - it may be a long run - could be a marathon - a roller coaster ride - challenging - that you may still fail - and hence you would always be open to learning new things - from others - all the time - and still stay positive and energetic. That is the hallmark of a resilient Founder's DNA - makings of a successful foundation. And then, secondly, and equally importantly - is that the Co-founders you choose - must come together for VALUES and not for mere complimentary skills. You know Power Point and I know Excel is not what you need - Are your deep core values and purpose aligned? https://lnkd.in/eSB9bqdE Best, Suresh

I obtain comparable insights as a mentor with experience in over 100 startups and scale-ups, while also leveraging my own entrepreneurial background.

Even the smartest, most capable people can make wrong decisions. Who are we to judge? A decision that seemed right at one time may not hold up later—that’s just how life unfolds. Rather than carrying the heavy burden of trying to make decisions that will ‘always’ be proven right in the future, focus on making decisions that give you peace of mind ‘today.’ What matters is knowing you’ve done your best with the information you have right now. Fear of making the wrong choice can often paralyze us into making no choice at all. But remember, indecision is its own decision—and often the least productive one. If now isn’t the right time, then choose ‘Not Now’. But take a stand. Move forward with a decision, and don’t let fear keep you stuck in place. #DecisionMaking #Leadership #GrowthMindset #FearOfFailure #ProgressNotPerfection #SmartChoices #PeaceOfMind #TakeAction #OwnYourChoices #BusinessMindset #CourageToDecide #ClarityInAction #StrategicThinking

𝗩𝗖 𝗙𝗢𝗠𝗢: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽𝘀 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗞𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗺𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗨𝗽 Turns out, even the sharpest investors sometimes say "No" to future unicorns. Startups like Airbnb, Uber, and Dropbox were once dismissed as "too risky" or "not scalable," but today, they stand as iconic brands that reshaped industries. Imagine the impact if those early investors had believed in them! For founders and investors alike, these stories are powerful reminders: vision and persistence can outshine any initial rejection. 𝗦𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘀, 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹. 👉 Want to learn from the biggest VC missteps and avoid making the same mistakes? Dive into these stories serve as a reminder: sometimes, the ideas that seem the "craziest" are exactly what the world is waiting for 🚀 A big shoutout to Rubén D. and Joseph Jordan for putting together this compelling list! #StartupSuccess #VCRegrets #EntrepreneurMindset

From Startup to Unicorn 🦄: "How Not to Die" Most founders dream of building a unicorn—a company valued at $1B. But the reality? The drive to keep pushing through the tough times doesn’t get talked about enough. The highs are great, but the lows test your resilience like nothing else. Fundraising challenges, product setbacks, and team dynamics - it’s all part of it. One thing I've learned? Success isn’t just about having the best product or the smartest team (though that helps). It’s about being relentless, learning fast, and adapting even faster. Survival is key. Building a unicorn isn’t just a dream; it’s persistence. You can’t give up, no matter how tough it gets. The next breakthrough might be just around the corner, something we keep telling ourselves. Our CTO, Ignacy Sewastianowicz, recently sent me a note from Paul Graham that really hit. I'll drop it in the comments. Highly recommend giving it a read. It's called "How Not to Die" as the title used for this post. Published in 2007. PS. The picture is me pitching to fellow founders at Startupbootcamp.

I was on a call with a NYC VC yesterday. He asked me for clarity on what I mean when I said part of the mission is we’re creating ‘access’ for startups. You may have noticed Ive been writing on the topic from time to time. For context, I think of ‘access’ standing behind a giant concrete wall. There are growing populations of founders coming out of underserved communities. Outside of major city hubs. All over the world. AI is changing shit up. And that giant concrete wall inhibits founders from getting to their future customer base, to the team they need to execute, the investors they need to accelerate, and the mentors they need for support along the way. Every founder deserves access. Far beyond the Valley, NYC, London and Toronto. I was on a call with one of my new advisors the other day, and he mentioned to me that what he feels I’m doing is providing ‘keys to a kingdom’. Im taking this work very seriously. And I have a growing roster of people rolling up their sleeves. Im humbled by that. If you are an underdog founder, connect with me, reach out, and schedule a free call. Consider reposting this. You might be connected to founders who might need support. There’s a team here that genuinely wants to help. 165 B2B founders deep now. All with a sledgehammer in-hand. Happy Thursday, ya’ll.

If you’ve got multiple co-founders, Here’s the secret sauce to success. 🫢 No, it’s not more funding. It’s something way more fundamental. Let’s talk about Founder Agreements (aka the Pre-Nup of the startup world). 😉 I know, I know. It sounds tedious. But hear me out. Here’s my step-by-step guide for a foolproof Founder Agreement: 📍Define each co-founder's roles and responsibilities. 📍Set an equity split that reflects each person's contributions. 📍Establish a vesting schedule to incentivize long-term commitment. 📍Include decision-making protocols to avoid deadlock situations. 📍Plan for exits—because breakups happen, even in business. Most founders jump straight into the grind, Ignoring the legal foundation. But without this, you’re building a house on quicksand. A solid Founder Agreement protects your startup's vision, prevents internal drama, and keeps everyone aligned toward scaling. Remember that time you launched a group project and things got chaotic? Now, multiply that by a million Startups are even messier. The point is, don’t just dream big. Prepare big. Get your paperwork in order, so your only focus is growth. I am curious: How many co-founders does your startup have? Drop a comment below. P.S. If you’re still debating who gets what percentage, it’s time to have the hard conversation. Trust me.

And just like that, we crossed 100 sign-ups for Startup CEO Succession: Starting the Conversation! Franziska Joseph, who will be flying in from Berlin, was the hundredth person to sign up :) I'm blown away by people flying in for the event. Someone will come from Geneva. Someone from Barcelona. Someone tried really hard to rearrange a board meeting to fly from Scandinavia but couldn't. That's not to mention people coming from other parts of the UK. The topic resonates. So many founders consider stepping down at some point but don't know how to approach this process. Every VC will take part in a CEO succession in their portfolio sooner or later. Yet, we don't talk about it in public openly. We don't learn from each other. As a tech community, we don't discuss what good transitions look like and what mistakes to avoid. This needs to change. Taking your startup from an idea to when it makes sense to bring a new CEO is a sign of success, not failure. A change of leadership in a startup is just that — a change of leadership, not a crime for which founders should pay an arm and a leg. Yet, that's how some founder CEOs feel when considering stepping down. If you'd like to be part of the conversation, the sign-up link is in the comments. See you there!

5 founders building in public to follow.. The #buildinpublic movement is everywhere right now - with everything from scrappy indie hackers on solo ventures, to VC-backed founders, transparently sharing their journeys for the world to see - and engage with. Here are 5 founders to learn from: 1. Adam Robinson - growing Retention.com to $14M ARR with only 6 employees. Sharing ups and downs + his playbook on using founder brand, content and LinkedIn to grow. 2. Marc Lou - bootstrapped micro SaaS founder building in public with 6 micro SaaS companies in the portfolio. Sharing his learnings and life as a talented solo entrepreneur, located in Bali. 3. Guillaume Moubeche - growing lemlist & lempire, from $0 to $20M ARR in 5 years bootstrapped. Sharing tips on how to grow a profitable SaaS business w/o VC. 4. Simon Høiberg - building a portfolio of bootstrapped SaaS + running YouTube as a business. Sharing helpful insights around building an automated business from the ground up - using no-code and AI. 5. John Hu - former Stanford MBA / Goldman Sachs Banker. Quite recently grew his SaaS for creators Stan past $5M ARR. Sharing a daily journal building a venture-backed towards $1B in Silicon Valley. Any founders missing in the list - put them in the comments 👇

Choosing a cofounder can be a make-or-break decision for startups. On one hand, cofounders can bring needed skillsets and other resources that an individual founder may lack. On the other hand, however, cofounder relationships can be a source of immense conflict that can prove fatal for a startup. For example, recent evidence suggests that up to 43% of founders are ultimately forced to buy out their cofounder due to interpersonal rifts and power struggles.