CoFounder Weekly is a newsletter about startup life. Sections include: Thought Starters, Crossword Puzzle, Trends, Founder Stuff, Investor Stuff, Asks & Offers, Weekly Thought. This is not your average newsletter (could be better or worse).
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Welcome back to the office post holidays!
THOUGHT STARTERS
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CROSSWORD
This week’s puzzle covers CEOs en Vogue.
Don’t click the image, puzzle is here: http://cofounder.life
Can you beat the best time? Give it a go: http://cofounder.life/
“The Distractadact was a creature that only appeared when everyone was looking at their devices and would sometimes consume small children or the weak minded.”
By: Grickle
PREDICTIONS, PREDICTIONS, PREDICTIONS 🔮
Errrbody in the club got predictions. So we rounded them up for you:
Fred Wilson of USV - What is going to happen in 2019?
“I think we will see major dislocations in the leadership of the United States, a bear market in stocks, a weakening economy, a number of issues with the global economy including a messy Brexit and a sluggish China. All of this will lead to a more cautious stance by investors in the startup economy. And crypto will not be a safe haven for any of this although there will be signs of life in crypto land in 2019”
“I expect 2019 to be another solid year for the tech/startup sector as we are in a possibly century-long conversion from an industrial economy to an information economy and the tailwinds for tech/startup vs the rest of the economy remain in place and strong.”
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Betaworks Ventures, Google Ventures, Accel, etc. - The biggest tech trends of 2019
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Read more here.
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Read more here.
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Read more here.
FOUNDER STUFF
Have trouble saying “No”? I do! Investor Erik Torenberg asked people to submit their best way to say no. See the responses below…
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Fantastic infographic series about startup Word-of-Mouth strategies by Vikasan Veerasamy (LINK). Includes strategies from Warby Parker, GoPro, Tinder, and more. Word of Mouth is so damn important to keep acquisition costs down early on; every startup should have a strategy.
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Trying to validate a new idea? Try one of the tests below…
VC Pecking Order
INVESTOR STUFF
Seed fundraising is no longer a local game (LINK). Why?
“Entrepreneurs’ are finding not just the best investors, but the ones which are the best fit for them. The “best” investor for a startup is not a one-size-fits-all, but rather founder-investor fit is paramount. Different VC investors can add a thematic perspective, complementary skillset, functional expertise, network in a specific domain, or tangible operational help to a venture. As these defining characteristics increase in importance, proximity as a priority diminishes.”
“Only 2% of founders cited geographic proximity as one of their three most important criteria in picking a lead investor. Why is all of this happening? There is a confluence of factors pushing this underlying trend. We now have hyper- transparency about VC investors’ thesis, style, and approach from blogs, Twitter, and other social media, communication tools like Zoom for first meetings is leveling the playfield for both sides in the seed fundraising marketplace, and systematic “Platform” efforts offered by seed firms which have emerged over the past few years have built robust portfolio support services which aren’t tied to geography.”
OVERHEARD/FUNNIES
“I should have shorted Apple. I’m so stupid” - some guy at the Apple store.
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Add the tabs you have open at @cofounderlife
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Hit reply and send us your favorite OH’s and we’ll include them in next week’s newsletter!
ASKS & OFFERS
Ask: Our 2019 goal is to get 1,000,000 subscribers. We’re only about 999,000 short. If you enjoy our newsletter, please share the love! Hit forward and send this to your most interesting friend.
Offer: Kinnek is hiring a team of Account Executives to launch their latest product for supplier reputation management. What’s Kinnek, you may ask? A $20M Series-B led company that makes it easy for small businesses to discover the best suppliers (from beer vats to labels). Karthik Sridharan is an awesome CEO.
Offer: Got any Asks or Offers? Things like cool job opps, asking for feedback, etc. Send them to us and we’ll include it in an upcoming newsletter
What do you think of this idea?
Idea: Gallery for Instagram artists.
How: Fans vote which artists are displayed for each showcase.
Why: Social media has enabled a wave of new artists to showcase their work, amassing huge followings of dedicated fans in the process. Meanwhile, traditional galleries rely on curation from a handful of curators. Shouldn’t the new generation of artists have a physical space to show their stuff? A bottom’s up approach to a gallery.
Let us know what you think of this idea! Would you want to participate/attend?
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Hugs,
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