Yusuke Tanaka’s Post

I'm going back into startup mode. Pitch deck and all, but more on that later. As we built this business, we accidentally carved out a small niche in a vast market, largely because we had to: → Focus on survival. → Bootstrap with limited resources. → Keep our heads down, unable to look beyond the immediate. But as our business stabilized and we began to plan our evolution and next steps, a few things became crystal clear: → There’s untapped potential in our market. → Timing couldn't be better for what we've built our skills around. → No one else is better positioned to seize those opportunities than we are. And that's exactly what we're doing. So I'm diving back into the foundations: → Customer development. → Business model refinement. → Feedback, iterations, and all. This time around, I’m aiming to avoid the same old mistakes. But I'll surely be making new ones, and will share the lessons learned along the way. Now, let me get back to that pitch deck. The last time I touched that was in 2018 😮💨 Any thoughts on rebuilding and scaling up from a stable base? -- I'm Pierre Sabbagh, (re)building in public. Follow for weekly stories from my journey.

🌟 Did You Know? Over Half of Startup Founders Struggle to Effectively Present Their Ideas—Here's a Better Approach: The gap often lies in not just having an idea, but deeply understanding and articulating it. It’s like aiming for success without laying the foundational work necessary to achieve it. 🔑 As the CEO of a software development firm, I’ve guided many through this crucial process. Here are key steps to refine and articulate your startup idea effectively: Vision Clarity: Begin with a distinct goal or what sets your startup apart. Comprehensive Market Insights: Dive deep into competitive analysis to carve out your niche. Target Pain Point Identification: Pinpoint the critical challenges faced by your potential customers. Solution Fit: Make sure your concept addresses these challenges head-on. Unique Selling Proposition: Clarify why your solution is the preferred choice. Strategic Alignment: Ensure your idea, market, and solution are in sync. Thorough Documentation: Outline the necessary steps and projected benefits. ✨ Armed with these strategies, your idea is not just a thought but a pitch-ready proposition for stakeholders. 📊 To my fellow leaders and innovators: Do you prefer to develop a project from well-researched plans or start with just a spark of inspiration? 🗨️ Join the conversation below! If refining your concept still seems daunting, take advantage of our Free 1:1 Consultations to crystallize your vision.

WTF is Snowballn' ?? 👇 Building a tech startup is f#cking hard. But in recent times it’s become even harder. VCs aren’t writing ‘easy’ cheques anymore. No one is getting funded unless they are able to show they are producing revenue... ..𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘆. But, what does predictability mean here? Put simply, it means being able to sell the same product to the same type of buyer over and over again. And to do that, you need to know how to sell! But, most founders don’t know how to do this… 𝗜𝗻 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁, 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝟴𝟭% 𝗼𝗳 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗱𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱. Yet founders are expected to magically come up with the ability to sell their product/service without any support, guidance or mentorship. Which is the same as expecting non-technical founders to be awesome developers when they have never written a line of code before. Sounds crazy, right? 👇 This is where Snowballn' comes in. → As a founder, we will provide you with the tools and resources to generate leads and close deals. → As a founder, we will coach you to become a sales weapon. → As a founder, we will help you create a predictable revenue generation engine. So that you can grow your business to £1m in ARR and beyond! _____________________ If you would like to stay in the loop with our launch and get early access to our resources, head over to our website and subscribe for future updates 💌 Let’s start Snowballn’ 🚀❄️

Scaling your startup to $10M ARR can be daunting. But the best way to approach it is to just start. Focus on the next immediate step. The more you obsess about the entire journey, the more overwhelmed you'll feel, leading to paralysis. Start with one task at a time: → Sketch out your sales process → Map your customer journey → Run a demand generation experiment Here’s what happens when you start taking incremental steps: → You learn best practices → You collect data filled with insights → You improve with each iteration You'll see how structures gradually fall into place, boosting your confidence and building momentum. Challenges will come. But as long as you have a clear vision, a defined problem, and an identified market, your persistence will pay off. A little guidance along the way doesn’t hurt either 👇 If you’re on the path to $10M ARR, my "Graduating from Series A" newsletter post offers insights from me and three founder-CEOs who have successfully reached this milestone: https://lnkd.in/emsvFN9q

Embrace the Hustle: The Many Hats of a Startup Founder As startup founders, we don't shy away from challenges - we embrace them! We eagerly swap our fancy CEO hats for any headgear that gets the job done, whether it's sales, marketing, engineering, or even carpet cleaning! Today, I want to acknowledge and celebrate the tenacity, passion, and grit of founders worldwide. 👉 Sales? We charm our way to customers' hearts. 👉 Marketing? We craft compelling narratives that captivate. 👉 Engineering? We build groundbreaking products and solutions. 👉 Carpet cleaning? You bet! We roll up our sleeves and get our hands dirty to ensure our businesses shine bright! Our entrepreneurial journey may be filled with unexpected twists and turns, but it's in these moments that we learn, grow, and push the boundaries of what we thought was possible. To all the determined founders out there juggling multiple roles, I salute you! Keep crushing it and be proud of the many hats you wear - they are symbols of your resilience, adaptability, and unwavering commitment to building something truly extraordinary. Let's continue to embrace the hustle and remind ourselves that every task, big or small, is an opportunity to learn, improve, and contribute to the success of our startups. 🚀 Stay unstoppable!

This is the most detailed playbook I have seen, which radiates real life experience . I highly highly recommend the link in this post. Terrific advice, Ashu!

Stop pitching your startup's features. Start selling the transformation instead. Founders often miss this key: Customers want life-changing results, period. Here's your new pitch formula: 1. Envision the customer's triumph   What epic win awaits them? 2. Quantify the epic victory   Make it concrete and impressive 3. Highlight the domino effect   How does success snowball? Let's see this in action: ❌ "Our app tracks habits" ✅ "Double your productivity in 30 days" Feel the power shift there? The second pitch promises results. It's what truly motivates buyers. Implement this in your pitch. Watch investor interest skyrocket immediately. Need help crafting your story? Let's connect. Your unicorn awaits.

Your business is just a series of hypotheses until you get Happy Paying Customers. As a founder, there can be a lot of competing priorities — product, raising, networking, taxes, legal, hiring and so much more. But I’ve seen it over and over that founders who make real progress with their startup are ruthlessly trying to close deals. I met one such founder recently — Zach Hawtof on my nyc trip. He’s not only been prioritizing getting customers, but specifically get big logos. He has 10 paying customers (and counting of course), out of which several are big names like Clay. 1️⃣ How did he get these companies to trust him and his startup? 2️⃣ How did he get customer 1? 3️⃣ What is his go-to-market playbook to find, engage and convert dream customers? These are just some of the questions Zach will be answering during tomorrow’s Founder-Led Marketing Club session. I’ll be grilling him on the story behind every single customer from 1 to 10. If you know Zach, you know this is going to be a good one. If you’re a startup founder on your own journey to 10 Happy Paying Customers, I’ve reserved 7 seats. Comment below (or DM if you’re in stealth) with a one liner about your startup to get a guest pass!

Zero to 1 How do you go from Zero to 1 in building your startup? • Focus on finding clear market pull and iterate until you identify the right customer pain points. • Do more for fewer customers initially, rather than trying to serve too many use cases. • Get "messy" by deeply engaging with early customers and understanding their needs. • Leverage referrals, partnerships, and a "Trojan horse" business model to expand reach. • Emphasize execution and rapid learning velocity as a founder. • Data and metrics are important but need to be balanced with the scrappiness required in the zero to one stage. • Avoid becoming overly data-driven too early; focus on finding product-market fit first. • Track key metrics to inform decisions but not dominate strategy. • Achieving "one" signifies a point of repeatability and scalability in the business model beyond initial founder-led traction. Let’s see how I use this to help founders connect at Co-Founder Connect! If you’re a founder or just interested in this space, join me and 200 founders at our next networking event https://lu.ma/wl61ozha

😎We can help make your business visible. This is a challenge we are experts at. One has to have in mind like a dozen things product-wise — business idea, plan, development, technical aspects, the team, testing, legal, further development, design and the list goes on and on. We are here to be your magic button in covering at least half of that. 💬 Effective communication in startups is the glue that holds various aspects of the business together. It ensures that everyone involved, from team members and customers to investors and partners, is on the same page and working towards common goals. By fostering a culture of open and transparent communication, startups can navigate challenges more effectively, build stronger relationships, and set a solid foundation for long-term success. 👨💻 If you’ve noticed there are only 10 things on the slide and wonder where is the rest - good job and here you go: Vision and Mission, Initial Product/Service, Branding, Documentation, Training, Technology and Tools, Pitching and Networking, Finance and Accounting, User Research, Work Environment. This many, yes. Including the ones in the carousel as well. P.S. With us, you’ll be able to get at least a couple of hours to sleep😁 #startupmistakes #ProfessionalInsights #RealTalk #Teamwork