Has a shot at a Big Deal ever turned your attention to just the deal instead of the customer? Our must-read this week helps you understand the value, but also the potential pitfalls of those important deals.
Further, this week's Curated focuses on the position of gatekeepers, networking and connecting, and how to grow your company.
Enjoy reading,
Must read
Big deals
”They’re the deals upon which the entire life/death/success of the company rely.” — On how the Big Deal can get founders distracted.
Culture
Don’t waste your time with passion
Startups are often romanticized as projects that follow out of a passion, and therefore might succeed. This article argues how that's a misleading thought: passion might be a big hurdle for a startup's development.
Networking, connecting
On the difference between networking and connecting, and networkers and connectors.
Modern Entrepreneurship
How to make ‘gatekeepers’ a source of power and speed
Eric Ries take on how startups can avoid falling into the traps of growth that kill too many companies each year. The secret to that? Create and work with gatekeepers.
When to talk features vs. when to talk benefits
"One, discussing features, is you talking about you or your product. The other, discussing benefits, is you talking about them (your customer)."
Growth
Case study: How cloudHQ gains 8,400 users per week by launching a new product every 1-2 weeks
This case study presents some strategies for companies looking to accelerate growth — including several that sound more counterintuitive, like don't get stuck in a niche.
Trends
The do's and don’ts of crafting frontier-tech companies
How should you go about setting up a business in a 'frontier-tech company', i.e. those working with AI, VR, or AR? Do set out to build magical content, but don't start an AI company and hope for the best.
Finance
Seed fundraising — term sheet problems part 1 — money talks
A practical insight into some of the clauses in a term sheet.
Thank you
Thank you for finishing issue #162 & 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!
If you value Startup Curated, feel free to forward this copy to your friends to help us grow. Or consider sponsoring, simply reply and we'll talk!