Mishti Sharma’s Post

LA tech week starts October 14 and... I'm not going to many events, but this one, I will definitely go 😁 I've followed consumer tech for 15 years and what if you can ask the serial founder (now VC) who grew Zillow and Hotwire? And what if you can do that and hang with founders and investors in a fancy house with a pool, DJ, and... Hip-hop speed networking 😎 ✅ I've made meaningful connections at Kamp events and you can too. I'll be helping out the team and giving good vibes. Get 15% off with discount code "Ihsan" Info below 👇🏼 #startups #latech #latechweek #networking #investors

Back to basics.... Yes, whenever #recruitment is tough I revert to this...more conversations, more interviews and all the others but..what about the Industry??? I am certainly seeing a focus on smart infrastructure, carbon friendly materials and sustainably growing businesses. It used to be...How much money have they raised? who are the VC's? How much can I make in the short term. Now it's - Who buys the product? Why is it a must have? How close is the business to profitability? How can I further grow my career here? I Love (and I genuinely mean Love) working with mission critical products, game changers, those with legal tailwinds as it is a no brainer to sell to candidates and I know I can go on to build long lasting relationships with those clients. Are you a 'must have' product who needs to bolster the squad? Do you want to be in a mission critical business for Real Estate? lets catch up.... p.s I'll be at Innovation0 and The Workplace event this week followed by CREtech next week. oh and of course our Village Duck Race 🦆

𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞 💥 When founding ClearOps back in 2020, there was a huge problem, a tough market and a really bold vision to always keep the world of machinery moving. Now, a little more than four years later on January 23rd, I want to share the journey of how we grew from an idea to a thriving team of over 50 talents—and how we are now ready to rapidly scale to 1,000 talented individuals around the world by transitioning from software to a platform to a data company 🚀 I’ll talk about the highs and lows of bootstrapping a company from scratch, the balancing act of running a platform company with a high-ticket enterprise go-to-market strategy alongside a high-scale mid-market motion, and what it took to achieve product-market fit in the machinery space. 💡 This Founder Insights Night is a chance to reflect, connect with fellow entrepreneurs, and exchange lessons learned. I’d love for you to join us at our new office—see you there! 🤝🏽 Link: https://lnkd.in/dmgDh4dh

2024 was wild Lost an agency client in February, Started at Light in August, Hosted finance events across two continents by December. This year taught me that sometimes the best opportunities come from embracing change. The journey from solo entrepreneur to scaling Light's GTM motion, Showed me what's possible when you focus on real impact over quick wins. This past year I • Built our initial GTM motion from scratch • Led Light's Global Finance Tour across London, New York, and San Francisco • Helped modernize finance operations for growing startups • Generated consistent sales thought leadership while doing real sales Looking ahead to 2025: Finance teams need modern tools more than ever, and I'm helping building the GTM team to meet that opportunity. If you're a sales rep ready to help shape the future of finance, reach out. To everyone navigating the shift from entrepreneur to key startup player: The skills that got you started are the same ones that help you scale. Just aim them at bigger problems -- Follow me for more startup sales content And thanks to coauthor for this recap post!

Dan, Nikhil and I raised $43M in 14 days We weren’t planning on raising, but here’s how it happened 👇 Nooks was doing extremely well By all metrics, business was great: - Revenue growing 4x yoy - Our AEs were crushing it - We had 6 years of runway So why fundraise? Well a VC firm approached us first… … and you never want to just have one offer at hand So we decided to go all in and see what the market had to offer The next two weeks were grueling: - 18+ hour days - Dozens of investor convos - Prepping decks and data rooms - All while still running the company At the end of it we found most of what we were looking for: - a great VC firm (Kleiner Perkins) - the right amount of $$ - a great price If you aren’t familiar with Kleiner Perkins, they’re a legendary firm in Silicon Valley that has led rounds in Amazon, Google, Rippling, and other market defining companies. We were pumped! We didn’t need the money But we knew this war chest would allow us to: - Invest in our customers - Execute our vision for AI in Sales - Plan and build for the long term 🎯 Couldn’t be more excited about the year ahead 🚀 P.S. we are hiring like crazy. Come join us!

I became a founder when I was laughed out of an interview process. Here's the story... It was 2017. I was having an existential moment after being in creator x media for over a decade. I had a decent career to date, but some leadership and work experiences had left a bad taste in my mouth. I had also just caught the real estate investing bug. I had bought my first Omaha rental property, started a real estate newsletter and investor meetup, and homebuying was getting disrupted by companies like Opendoor and Compass. So I was raising some big questions: - Was it time for a career change? - Should I bet big on a new vertical? - Would I be happier doing something new? Through serendipity and proactiveness, I interviewed at a handful of the new real estate x tech disruptors. At one point I was in final negotiations with 2 founders about joining their fast-growing company. I was to be COO and help them scale. During the hiring negotiations, I was aggressive. I wanted upside for the value I planned to bring. I wanted this situation to be different vs my previous roles. I proposed cash comp plus 7% of equity (via vesting). The founders balked at my ask. They were actually offended. So they halted negotiations. They told me to start my own company if I wanted that much upside. Within 1 month, I started RockWater. That (embarassing) moment gave me incredible clarity on what I must do... - Double down on BIG future of creator economy - Build upon my strengths, fix the M&A advisory void - Become an owner, reap big awards if I perform ...RockWater just had a great 2024, which causes me to reflect back on moments like the above that got me here. Those who win take adantage of these life inflection points. Onward. ... I'm the founder of RockWater Industries. We do M&A and strategy advisory for digital agencies and creator economy. My DMs are open. ...photo below is after my recent surf in 40 degree NJ water. Thanks to the 5mm of neoprene that made it bearable!

Chris Erwin has a fantastic newsletter on #creatoreconomy M&A, which I started reading recently. He covers trends and also shares projected/hypothetical deal metrics to give readers ballpark valuation multiples. Check out the founder story below (thanks Chris!).

When Leaders should choose Big Tech over Pre-IPO? 5 reasons... 1️⃣ You haven't had a major wealth-creation event • Guaranteed $1M+ in 4 years beats maybe $10M • Most pre-IPO equity ends up worthless • Recent Carta data: 20% exercised underwater options 2️⃣ Your resume needs a brand anchor • FAANG opens doors forever • Recruiters search by company first • Strong signal of bar-clearing 3️⃣ You want to lead larger later • Scale experience matters more than title • Learn systems that actually work • Build network of proven leaders 4️⃣ You need to rebuild runway • High base + RSUs = predictable wealth • Fewer cliffs or expensive option exercises • Better mortgages and loans 5️⃣ You're tired of hand-to-hand combat • Resources exist to execute • Clear advancement paths • More attempts if a team doesn't work out "But I won't last/will hate working in big tech!" Is that really true or convenient self-talk out of fear? You don't dismiss products without testing, so try a loop. Yes, you might miss a rocketship. But your career isn't a lottery ticket. Thoughts?

Ever felt like you're fighting a losing battle? I sure have. But let me tell you, every punch I've taken has made me stronger. I'm on a mission to bring the latest technology to blue-collar businesses. It's all about mixing the old school with the new. When I started Tsetserra Growth Partners, I knew it wasn't going to be easy. Buying family-owned businesses is tough. Early on, we bought two companies. One of the biggest challenges was getting everyone on board with new tech. I remember arguing with my sales guy who didn't see the vision. But after some hard talks and showing him the big picture, he got it. Now, he’s one of our biggest champions. → Hustle hard in the early stages. → Get your team to see your vision. → Mix traditional methods with new technology. Learn and adapt through every challenge. Different seasons of your business demand different types of hustle. Embrace each phase with a clear vision and relentless drive.

🚀 Dive deep into the critical strategies for hiring in both startup and scaleup businesses. Watch the recording of last week's insightful presentation where Russell White, Director of Future Work, explores the unique challenges and best practices associated with hiring at each stage of business growth. 🎥 Watch now: https://lnkd.in/e-WhbBBN