Daniela Pico’s Post

One hidden way startup founders burn through cash is not leveraging their technical partner post-launch. Founders will focus on sales and marketing to drive revenue, but they also need to make sure they're planning for their product's future. Without this, their product can become yesterday's news very quickly. But there's a better way. Watch this short video and learn: • Why unused retainer fees hurt your bottom line • How to turn your retainer into a product growth engine • The strategy to maximize your development investment

𝗣𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗣 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻. I see too many founders with big dreams but no fundamentals. If you want to raise capital, do this at each stage: 1. Pre-Seed: Focus on developing your MVP and proving technical feasibility 2. Seed: Validate product-market fit and establish early traction 3. Series A: Implement a scalable go-to-market strategy and grow your customer base 4. Series B: Expand your addressable market and optimize operations For example: → Conduct user testing to refine your MVP → Survey customers to identify key pain points → Hire experienced sales leaders to scale revenue → Invest in infrastructure to support rapid growth You will build a fundable startup by methodically decreasing risk at each stage rather than just chasing the next round. Do that consistently and watch your valuation soar. Visual from Chris Tottman Jimmy Acton Vencha

This analysis has some great advice about de-risking at each stage of funding growth.

A common misconception: investors care most about your metrics 📈 While growth matters, we discovered something more powerful during our Series A fundraising... customer champions who can articulate your value better than you ever could 🚀 The strongest signal of product-market fit isn't a line on a chart – it's in the engineering leader who proactively emails a VC about how your product transformed their team's workflow. It's in the developer who builds their entire platform strategy around your solution. Three key insights from our fundraise: 1. Product usage data tells investors what. Customer champions tell them why. 2. The best references aren't just users – they're partners who've tied their future to your product. 3. Early champions often become your most valuable GTM advisors, sharing insights that shape your entire go-to-market motion. This realization has profound implications for early-stage startups. The time you spend deeply understanding and supporting your early adopters isn't just about customer success – it's building the foundation for your future fundraising narrative. Having just closed our $15M Series A, I can say with certainty: your early champions are worth their weight in gold. Invest in those relationships long before fundraising is even close to being on your radar.

The Balderton Capital 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿’𝘀 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗕𝟮𝗕 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 is one of the best free resources I recommend to almost every first-time founder that comes to me. Especially useful to the ones who kicked off a tech venture thinking it’s all about the product (which it is BUT 😉), to realize that SaaS businesses often spend more on sales and marketing than on R&D. Surprise! Turns out, you’re running a distribution gig 💸 Here's what the guide covers, in a very structured way: 📌𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴: Tips for founders diving into sales. 📌𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴: How to construct a sales team from scratch. 📌𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴: Navigating the ins and outs of sales team management (this one is very much relevant not only for startups, but corporates too ❗ ). 📌𝗥𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴/𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴: Syncing up sales and customer success for future growth. 📌𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: Using the right marketing strategies to fuel your sales funnel. 📌𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴: Leveraging partnerships to boost reach and CVR. 📌𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴: Choosing key metrics, monitoring them and forecasting. While there are plenty of SaaS benchmarks floating around, this one is a great starting point and a reference resource to go to. Kudos to Dave Kellogg and Michael Lavner for their work on this 👏 #SaaSInsights #TechFounders #SalesAndMarketing #BusinessGrowth #StartupAdvice #DistributionStrategy #SalesManagement #MarketingTips #CustomerSuccess #Partnerships #EntrepreneurshipTips #B2BSales #BusinessPlanning #Benchmarking #LinkedInTips

Juggling numerous responsibilities whilst attending multiple accelerator days can be time-consuming and have diminishing returns on productivity. Shorter denser days can lead to: - Reduced disruption to daily business-critical activities - Focus on concentrated, high-impact learnings - Faster feedback loops from learning to direct application in pitches and demos Our one-day accelerator is purposefully designed to deliver insightful and applicable knowledge that will have a tangible impact on your startup. The day is divided into two powerful segments: 1️⃣ Morning: Expert-led sessions on sales, product development, marketing, and fundraising. 2️⃣ Afternoon: Practical implementation and pitching to investors and corporate partners. Sign up now - link in the comments! 📅 Date: September 2nd 📍 Location: London #SuperSaaS #Accelerator #StartUpGrowth #B2BSaaS #LearningAndDoing

Every business faces slow periods, and bootstrapped startups are no exception. As a bootstrapped founder myself, I've experienced the ups and downs of business cycles firsthand. Just like navigating a new city with a map, navigating slumps requires a combination of strategy and resourcefulness. Here's how we've charted our course through slow seasons at 26Tech: 🗺 Test new lead nurturing strategies: Experiment with different approaches to nurture leads and convert them into customers. 🗺Invest in team development: Team members learn new skills and explore emerging tools. 🗺Tackle the to-do list: Catch up on administrative tasks like website updates and marketing collateral. 🗺Deep dive into data: Analyse business performance to identify areas for improvement and brainstorm new lead generation strategies. By proactively addressing these areas, we've been able to weather the storm and emerge stronger on the other side every year. As a fractional CMO who's been in your shoes, I understand the unique challenges faced by bootstrapped businesses. I can provide tailored marketing support that helps you navigate slumps effectively and achieve long-term growth. Let's work together to turn your business slumps into opportunities for growth. Contact me today to discuss your specific needs: https://rebrand.ly/f1yfuo3 #founderjourney #founderinsights

🚀 Introducing Lujic Group LLC! 🚀 Lujic Group LLC specializes in helping startups build scalable revenue models and deliver actionable data to decision-makers. Founded by Katarina Lujic, a RevOps leader with over $500M in exits/IPO and a track record of securing investors, scaling sales, and deepening customer relationships, we offer: 💡 Revenue Process Automation 📈 Strategic Growth Management 📊 Data-Driven Reporting ⚙️ Operational Efficiency 🤝 Cross-Team Collaboration Follow us for insights on how to optimize RevOps and drive long-term business success! #RevOps

Before Starting My New Company, I Set One Clear Goal: Close our first customer. Build nothing until then. Why? Because easy money is gone. We’re in a time where traction, ideas, or a little revenue can still get you funded. But for AI-driven ventures, to achieve 10x-plus returns, it has to stick. So, I took a revenue-first approach: > Revenue first > Company Formation second > Fundraising third This approach is unlike anything I’ve done before. Now, we’re navigating the next phase: --> Building the product based on our thesis and real paying customer feedback --> Building a team that really believes in the vision without any funding --> Honing in on the ICP and figuring out what our wedge would be --> Execution to close more customers (Follow along as I share each step in real-time.) I’d call this the revenue stage rather than the venturing stage. There’s so much to figure out, but one thing’s clear: Start with revenue. Build from there. Everything else follows.

Why Investors Should Rethink Outbound—A New Approach for VCs 🚀 As traditional outbound strategies lose impact, VCs have an opportunity to lead their portfolio companies towards innovative growth strategies. Here’s how: 🔹 Demand Original GTM Strategies: Encourage startups to differentiate their customer acquisition methods from the rest of the pack. 🔹 Be a Strategic Partner: Offer your expertise to help companies craft unique, relevant GTM approaches that drive real results. 🔹 Build a Network of GTM Engineers: Create a pool of growth experts to support startups struggling with customer acquisition. A strong, unique GTM strategy isn’t just about awareness—it’s about building a sustainable growth loop. If you’re a VC looking to enhance your portfolio’s growth approach, let’s connect and explore some strategies to help your investments stand out. 💡 #VCAdvice #StartupStrategy #GTM #GrowthMindset