Sagar Batchu’s Post

Co-Founder and CEO @ Speakeasy | Build, Test and Distribute your APIs

1mo

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.

8 Comments

Gabi Weinberg

Head of Growth @ Hathora | Leading Marketing, Partnerships & (of course) Growth

1mo

Wise words, Sagar. I'm looking forward to the updated Series A merch ;)

2 Reactions

The Intrepid Wendell

1mo

Absolutely agree! Building strong relationships with early adopters is key to long-term success. What strategies do you recommend for nurturing those champions? 🙌

Mark Neirick

1mo

Great perspective shift from metrics to champions. Adding to this: The same customers who influence VCs can be super helpful for: - Product advisory board - Reference calls - Early access feedback

1 Reaction

Vikas Tiwari

Co-founder & CEO 🎥 Making Videos that Sell SaaS 💡 Explain Big Ideas & Increase Conversion Rate!

1mo

Creating deep bonds vital for growth and investment success.

1 Reaction

Victor Yakubu

Technical Storyteller, Simplifying the web and writing technical documentation | Tech Community Manager | Software Engineer | Technical Writer | DevRel 🥑

1mo

Golden advice here Sagar. Congratulations once again.

1 Reaction

Ira Ko

Founder | Shapeshift

1mo

Well said

1 Reaction

Kevin Swiber

API Strategy

1mo

Love this. Thanks for sharing!

1 Reaction

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Chris Tottman

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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. Credit - the epic Superfluid Newsletter from Abhishek Maran -- ♻️ Found this helpful? Repost it so your network can learn from it, too. And follow me, Chris Tottman, for more content like this. #BrainDumps 🧠 💩 // Brain Dump #40
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Chris Tottman

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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. Credit - the epic Superfluid Newsletter from Abhishek Maran -- ♻️ Found this helpful? Repost it so your network can learn from it, too. And follow me, Chris Tottman, for more content like this. #BrainDumps 🧠 💩 // Brain Dump #40
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Thomas Schreiber

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I couldn’t agree more with Chris Tottman’s insights on the importance of methodically decreasing risk at each stage of your startup's journey. "You will build a fundable startup by methodically decreasing risk at each stage rather than just chasing the next round." 🔑 This is a crucial mindset shift for any founder. 🔍 Early Validation: A key addition I'd like to highlight is the value of validating product-market fit as early as possible, even before fully proving technical feasibility. The risk of investing significant time and resources only to discover there’s little market interest is high—not just for founders, but for investors too. This early validation helps mitigate that risk, ensuring that your efforts are aligned with market demand. 🚀 Shazam Example: That said, I recognise this can be especially challenging when you're working on something truly innovative. Take Shazam, for instance, where I was fortunate to work as an early employee. At the time, it was difficult to gauge how large the consumer market would be for a service that identified songs on mobile phones, especially when such phones were limited to making calls and downloading ringtones. There was no comparable service, and the technology was ahead of its time, making it hard to validate the market size early on. #StartupAdvice #Innovation #VentureCapital #Entrepreneurship
Chris Tottman

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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. Credit - the epic Superfluid Newsletter from Abhishek Maran -- ♻️ Found this helpful? Repost it so your network can learn from it, too. And follow me, Chris Tottman, for more content like this. #BrainDumps 🧠 💩 // Brain Dump #40
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Pablo Schuhmacher

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4mo
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It doesn’t matter if your pitch deck is pretty AF. I’ve met so many founders in love with their decks and their clever TAM figures that, well, a mildly sophisticated thinking person using gpt researchers will quickly determine are inflated. This is bit of real talk that either puts founders off, or wakes them up. Below is a great simple AF single-sentence breakdown that every founder who wants to raise capital should be able to recite in their sleep. — and when they’re awake, be realistic AF about where they actually are. (courtesy of Chris Tottman by way of Abhishek Maran’s newsletter). Bottom line: if you aren’t derisking constantly - and if you don’t know where you stand - get support. If you want a reality check: ask your team what they think are your biggest risks today. Brave founders trust their teams to be honest; successful founders ensure their teams can be honest with them at every step of the journey.
Chris Tottman

Partner at Notion Capital
4mo Edited

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. Credit - the epic Superfluid Newsletter from Abhishek Maran -- ♻️ Found this helpful? Repost it so your network can learn from it, too. And follow me, Chris Tottman, for more content like this. #BrainDumps 🧠 💩 // Brain Dump #40
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Randy A.

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4mo
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Good advice that I tell all my clients. Investors are focused on risk/reward you should minimize risk and maximize reward.
Chris Tottman

Partner at Notion Capital
4mo Edited

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. Credit - the epic Superfluid Newsletter from Abhishek Maran -- ♻️ Found this helpful? Repost it so your network can learn from it, too. And follow me, Chris Tottman, for more content like this. #BrainDumps 🧠 💩 // Brain Dump #40
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Stephen Brock

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4mo
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Great post Chris Tottman. I have met 7000 founders, investors, scientists, co-founders, major investors for companies in the Medtech, Pharma, Life Science, Biotech space since 3/2020 when I converted from taking companies public to helping physicians convert their practices to concierge and I love what they do as their goal is to save lives or change patient outcomes and often see they are in it for as much as 20 plus years working on clinical trials, 510K filings, IND, NDA's, De Novo, orphan drug acceptance and the list goes on - and they all want VC-VC-VC and they are lucky if .005 % will buy their deal - who doesn't want a 40 million check or their network to grow your model. In the meantime follow what Chris says and get your Pre and Post money valuations from comps or projected sales, or how to stay in control of your company, what should our share price be or what state should we be domiciled in and should we convert from an LLC into a C - and the list goes on. Best modeling you can think of - and many of whom I met did not have this information for presentation. Thank you Chris. I want these companies to win as their hearts and dreams and often close proximity to what they experienced in this role of medical and want to save lives because of what they have seen.
Chris Tottman

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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. Credit - the epic Superfluid Newsletter from Abhishek Maran -- ♻️ Found this helpful? Repost it so your network can learn from it, too. And follow me, Chris Tottman, for more content like this. #BrainDumps 🧠 💩 // Brain Dump #40
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Brent Fulfer

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What’s the most overlooked slide on your pitch deck? Most founders think it’s the product or solution, but it's not. It's the GTM slide (Go-To-Market). GTM and fundraising are a mirror. A product or solution may be similar between companies, but GTM is THE key difference between early-stage startups and is the key ingredient to raising your next round. If your GTM doesn’t work, you will most likely not raise your next round, and your investors will lose all their money. So you need to have a crystal clear, coherent strategy for how you will scale your first whatever ie. $1M ARR, 100k users, 100 B2B customers, etc. If your plan for this isn’t clear, your odds of raising go down dramatically, and on your deck, if it's not clear, your odds of getting a meeting are low. Companies with a clear GTM usually have strong traction and are closer to PMF (Product Market Fit), which attracts investors and makes raising easier. Don’t overlook GTM, if anything should be one of the slides you spend the most time on positioning. If you like these tips, give me a follow or send me a DM about working with tbv on advisory.

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Double S Consulting

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1mo
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Want clear, simple, and actionable advice as you build you’re startup? See Chris Tottman ‘s post below⬇️⬇️⬇️ #startup #fundraising
Chris Tottman

Partner at Notion Capital
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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. -- ♻️ Found this helpful? Repost it so your network can learn from it, too. And follow me, Chris Tottman, for more content like this. #BrainDumps 🧠 💩 // Brain Dump #37
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StartHub.Agency

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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. -- ♻️ Found this helpful? Repost it so your network can learn from it, too. And follow me, Chris Tottman, for more content like this. Hashtag #BrainDumps 🧠 💩 // Brain Dump #37
Chris Tottman

Partner at Notion Capital
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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. -- ♻️ Found this helpful? Repost it so your network can learn from it, too. And follow me, Chris Tottman, for more content like this. #BrainDumps 🧠 💩 // Brain Dump #37
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