Unicorn Bakery - For Startup Founders Fabian Tausch

Kevin Hartz is not only one of the most influential seed investors in Silicon Valley, but also a successful founder. In addition to early-stage investments in PayPal, Uber, AirBnB and SpaceX, he founded Xoom (exit to PayPal for approx. 1 billion dollars) and Eventbrite (IPO). With his current startup Sauron, Kevin is in the process of developing new technologies for the home security market.

Kevin talks about how he identifies outstanding founders and thinks about team building in young startups. Kevin also elaborates on how he adapts to new technologies, evaluates them and draws conclusions for new companies and investments.

Finally, he discusses his hypotheses on the future of value creation in AI startups and provides insights into the future of Sauron.

What you learn:


How does Kevin identify successful founders?
What is the importance of flexibility and adaptability in building a company?
What makes a good early-stage investor?
Where will the value creation in AI startups take place?
Building a founding team

Further links:

ALL ABOUT UNICORN BAKERY: https://zez.am/unicornbakery



Kevin Hartz

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hartz/

A*: https://www.a-star.co/



Unicorn Bakery WhatsApp Broadcast: Find out everything you need to know as a founder: https://drp.li/jrq5S

Our WhatsApp Broadcast keeps you up to date with insights into the scene, news and top content.




Marker:

(00:00:00) Importance of having a flexible mindset

(00:02:31) Did the characteristics of great founding teams change over the last 20 years?

(00:04:57) Great team & market opportunity: is it always working hand in hand?

(00:07:14) Assessing potential in founder

(00:20:25) First hires in Kevin’s new venture Sauron

(00:23:10) Why incubations are often bad ventures?

(00:28:22) Kevin Hartz thoughts on Fundraising

(00:34:22) Inhouse creation vs. outsourcing?(00:37:19) Is the Go To Market Motion creating enough defensibility ?

(00:39:50) Evaluating new trends and opportunities

(00:43:38) Where will value creation happen in the future of AI?

(00:51:34) What do you think about the lifecycle of companies?

(00:56:51) The impact of AI on Startup Complexity: Will people focus on more complex problems  or focus on building  “easier” companies faster?

(00:59:32) What are your takes on other ecosystems compared to Silicon Valley?

Richard Socher, most recently Chief Scientist at Salesforce under Marc Benioff and one of the most renowned AI researchers in the world, has now founded you.com instead of joining one of the big AI companies. Richard believes that he can have a more positive impact on humanity. you.com now reaches millions of users and gives you as a user the opportunity to work based on the latest models.

Richard talks about building an AI company that always has to work on the edge of innovation, how he would manage research teams today, how you as a founder find out which AI tools really help you and how he himself thinks about prioritization privately and in the product.

The conversation was particularly impressive for me, as Richard grew up in Dresden and moved to Silicon Valley at an early age and (not only) became an absolute luminary for artificial intelligence from there.



What you learn:


How do you evaluate which AI tools will really help you and your company?
When does it make sense to develop your own services in-house vs. outsourcing or buying in services?
As a founder, how can I find out how much money I really want/should raise?
How can I optimize my energy management as a founder?
What qualities should a good mentor have?



Further links:

ALL ABOUT UNICORN BAKERY: https://zez.am/unicornbakery

Richard Socher:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardsocher/

Website: https://www.socher.org/

you.com: https://you.com/

Unicorn Bakery WhatsApp Broadcast: Here you can find out everything you need to know as a founder: https://drp.li/jrq5S Our WhatsApp Broadcast keeps you up to date with insights into the scene, news and top content.




Marker: 

(00:00:00) How to evaluate AI tools

(00:22:01) Will AI and LLM wrappers be valid businesses? 

(00:25:48) Product decisions: Building things inhouse vs. implementing things 

(00:29:23) How to size funding rounds

(00:34:24) you.com team setup & how to run high performing AI research teams

(00:38:59) Why is it more impactful to build you.com than joining OpenAI?

(00:43:44) Energy management as a founder

(00:52:58) Prioritization for founders

(00:56:19) What makes a great mentor?

(01:00:57) What is the easiest way to try you.com?

Dan Siroker built Optimizely to more than 120 million ARR before leaving the company. The company was sold and merged, and then launched, rewind.ai-now limitless.ai, a consumer product that, unlike Dan's previous company, has a software and hardware component.



Dan gives deep insights into the transition from software to hardware development and the use of AI in modern startups. He explains how empathy and user research can improve the product development process and the strategies he uses to build an efficient team. He also shares his experience in fundraising and gives tips on how to choose the right investors.



You'll also learn how to identify the biggest red flags in the hiring process and save yourself hassle and money. Basically, Dan shares many things that he now looks at differently as a serial founder: How do you find the right investor? What mistakes lurk in fundraising? & Which founder misconceptions are simply based on b******t?

What you will learn:

The challenges and opportunities of transitioning from software to hardware

How AI can be used as a superpower to increase productivity

The importance of empathy and user research in product development

Strategies to avoid classic hiring mistakes

How to attract investors and choose the right partners

What you can learn for your energy management from a father of three and founder of two



ALL ABOUT UNICORN BAKERY: https://zez.am/unicornbakery



Dan Siroker: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dsiroker/

Limitless: https://www.limitless.ai/

Optimizely: https://www.optimizely.com/



Unicorn Bakery WhatsApp Broadcast: Here you can find out everything you need to know as a founder: https://drp.li/jrq5S

Our WhatsApp Broadcast keeps you up to date with insights into the scene, news and top content.



Marker: 

(00:00:00) Company Building in the era of AI

(00:06:35) What do you use GPT4 for, and what about old habits that block us from using new tools like AI?

(00:10:48) Building the founding team - what people are you looking for and how is your leadership-style?

(00:19:59) How to do Backchannel References?

(00:23:36) How do you find out if former founders are recruitable?

(00:26:45) How do you describe the journey of Limitless to Product-Market-Fit?

(00:32:13) What are the biggest fallacies about finding PMF?

(00:35:01) Round Sizing: How do you evaluate how much money you want/need from investors? 

(00:39:22) Why founders need to have empathy for investors

(00:45:47) How do you know if the investor you are talking to is the right investor for you?

(00:49:45) What unusual decision did you make in your fundraising?

(00:53:30) How do you think about burn management?

(00:56:16) To what extent can you test your hardware for product market fit?

(01:01:03) How do you think about energy management now as a 3-times-dad and a 2nd time founder?

(01:06:02) What is one of the biggest misconceptions that founders have?

Only 10% of start-ups are successful and yet 82% of founders think they will be successful. 78% of start-ups don't even manage to pay back their investors.

Dave Hersh scaled a company with Jive to more than 10 million dollars in turnover, took a growth investor on board and Jive later went public.

Through his other positions as a coach, board partner at a16z and also as a buyer of start-ups, he has a 360-degree perspective on the things that go wrong in the venture ecosystem. 

His book Reignition is all about dealing with the 90% of startups that don't achieve outlier success.

As a founder, how can you prevent your startup from getting stuck halfway through, or pull the cart out of the mud if that has already happened.

What you learn:


The evolution of the venture capital ecosystem and its current challenges


The importance of intuition versus data-driven decisions in company building


When and how to raise capital and the risks of funding too early or too much


The role of market access and operational efficiency in the success of startups


How to choose the right investor and the importance of deep personal connection and trust



ALL ABOUT UNICORN BAKERY: 

https://zez.am/unicornbakery

Dave Hersh:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davehersh/ 

Reignition - Transforming Stuck Startups: https://amzn.eu/d/3ZHnrUK 

Unicorn Bakery Whatsapp Broadcast:

Here you can find out everything you need to know as a founder: https://drp.li/jrq5S  

Our WhatsApp Broadcast keeps you up to date with insights into the scene, news and top content.

Marker:

(00:00:00) To what degree do you think the venture ecosystem is broken?

(00:04:67) What questions must be answered before building a company?

(00:11:33) Where do I position myself to set the guidance for the last few years?

(00:16:23) When is the right time to raise money, and do you differentiate between private and institutional investors?

(00:22:49) What do you tell founders that are scared of not reaching sales targets fast enough?

(00:25:36) How do I find the right investor, and what should I look for?

(00:29:26) How can founders see if they are on the right track and the company is moving in the right direction?

(00:34:27) What is the flywheel that leads to being stuck as a company?

(00:35:39) Trying to do my best hiring vs. putting persons in the position that hire better than me

(00:38:33) How do I unstuck my company, and how do I realize my own mistakes?

(00:49:01) What about overthinking in the early founder stage?

(00:52:39) What do you have to think about to become the best performer, and where do I start?

(00:59:20) Is it even possible to be successful in the early 20s?

Alexander Keesling researched quantum computers at Harvard and, together with a team, decided to found a company based on his research.

Today, QuEra generates tens of millions in revenue, licenses its quantum computer via AWS and is building a new quantum computer in Japan for around 41 million dollars.

In the podcast, we talk about the status quo of quantum computing, when quantum computers will be available to the general public, and also how difficult it is to go from researcher to CEO of a fast-growing startup & where the parallels lie.

What you will learn:

What are the challenges of building a great technical team?

When will quantum computing become interesting for the general public and in which industries can it be usefully applied?

What do you need to set up a company as a researcher and how do you find your first customers?

Technical sales: How do you set up a sales organization for a technically sophisticated product?

What difficulties do you encounter when you want to export a new quantum technology to Japan?

ALL ABOUT THE UNICORN BAKERY:

https://zez.am/unicornbakery     

Alexander Keesling

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-keesling-66229730/ 

QuEra: https://www.quera.com/ 

 https://aws.amazon.com/de/braket/quantum-computers/quera/

Unicorn Bakery Whatsapp Broadcast:

Find out everything you need to know as a founder: https://drp.li/jrq5S       

Our WhatsApp broadcast keeps you up to date


Marker:

(00:00:00) Researcher turning CEO: Job Similarities and differences

(00:07:14) Why is it still complex to deliver quantum computers?

(00:15:24) How would you explain what a quantum computer is?

(00:26:41) What is the ChatGPT-moment of quantum computing - when will it be accessible to the public?

(00:34:47) What circumstances made you build a business out of your research?

(00:45:25) How do you build your sales motion for a complex technical product?

(00:54:41) Why Quantum Computing will change the world and how you can try it today

Fabrice Grinda, founder of FJ Labs and extreme athlete, explains how he has made over 1100 investments, primarily in marketplace and network-effect startups, generating an average 40% return over 26 years.



Fabrice also likes to simplify a lot in his life by outsourcing things. Find out his recipe for a fulfilling life and managing virtual assistants in the podcast.



What you will learn:


Outsourcing: How to outsource more professionally and privately to increase your quality of life and output
Marketplaces: What are the difficulties in scaling marketplace companies, the most important KPIs and current valuations?
FOMO: How do you manage not to be pushed by others?
Senior hiring: Is it typically European to hire senior rather than young and motivated?



ALL ABOUT UNICORN BAKERY:

https://zez.am/unicornbakery



Fabrice Grinda

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fabricegrinda/

FJ Labs: https://www.fjlabs.com/



Unicorn Bakery Whatsapp Broadcast:

Find out everything you need to know as a founder: https://drp.li/jrq5S



Our WhatsApp Broadcast keeps you up to date with insights into the scene, news and top content.



Marker:

(00:00:00) What does a successful life look like to you and what role does money play in your life?



(00:05:50) How do you decide what things you outsource vs. what you do by yourself and how do you delegate successful?



(00:12:56) Managing lessons to become a relaxed manager/avoiding things you don't like



(00:16:38) Is hiring seniors instead of young ambitious people an European problem?



(00:20:27) FJ Labs’ Investing Strategy that leads to 1100+ Investments and 40% realized IRR over 26 years



(00:36:13) What fascinates you about marketplaces and why did you stay focused?



(00:43:28) What is needed to scale a marketplace successfully



(00:56:18) How do you manage and resist FOMO?



(00:59:39) Fabrice Grinda’s view on the macroeconomics and their influence on the venture ecosystem



(01:06:37) As an extreme sports-fanatic: what are the biggest parallels between extreme sports and investing/building a company?



(01:09:37) What did you learn about yourself through your extreme adventures and how do you manage stress?



(01:13:49) Was it as easy as it appears for you to reach everything you want and how much do you need other people's opinions?