Are you an artist or an innovator when it comes to your style of entrepreneurship? Find out by reading this week's must-read. Also, read about why you shouldn't waste the first slide of your pitch-deck, what actually happens during venture negotiation rounds, and how to pick a founder-friendly VC.
And... if founder fatigue kicks in, realize you're not alone! How do you deal with it? Hit reply to share!
Enjoy reading,
Must read
The artist and the innovator
This is the story of Steve and Larry, both are entrepreneurs and both are chasing their dream. Ash Maurya tells two stories to clarify their different styles. Steve and Larry resemble the two 'entrepreneurial archetypes' Maurya discovered after working with a myriad of founders over time: the Artist and the Innovator. In which one do you recognize yourself?
Culture
How to deal with founder’s fatigue, your worst friend
"Starting a company requires relentless input. In order for the business to grow it needs constant creative energy."
How porsche stole my heart
A lesson in branding and experience; demonstrating faith in the brand and in the customer.
What to do after you killed your business
A story about one of the hardest decisions a founder can face: pivot another time or kill the business?
Modern Entrepreneurship
How to beat Silicon Valley competitors
"Arbitrages are vacuums for founders to fill. But they don’t last long. Pretty soon, vacuums fill up. So how do you build an ecosystem, not a company?"
Don’t waste your first slide
An important note for entrepreneurs going into a VC-meeting: make sure that your first pitch-deck slide really showcases your company and its achievements.
Customer development: fight or flight
Get out of the building! Do these words evoke a fight or flight reaction in you?
Growth
The quick and dirty guide to building your startup brand
"Growth was important, but companies needed to be profitable (or show at least clear path to profitability), too. So what’s the optimal ratio between these two fundamentals?"
Team
Startup recruiting — Why you have to fire fast
Firing an employee is hard, but sometimes it's better to let a person go. This is a how-to on letting bad hires go (and why they need to go).
Finance
Is your VC founder friendly?
Steve Blank offers you five questions that can help you select the right investor.
An inside look into a venture negotiation
An insight into what happens in and during the actual venture negotiation rounds.
Thank you
Thank you for finishing issue #159 & credits
Thank you for reading Startup Curated, and special thanks go out to Raymond from DigiGurus, Ayush from RefR, Vartika from the BFF app, and Alessandro from Difitek for curating!
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