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Invest in People and a Tale about Product-Market Fit
Benjamin Friedman
July 09, 2024
Morning beehiivcommunity! This newsletter leverages our and others’ experience and insights. In this issue, while people often determine success, founders do not fully invest in them to reach maximum returns.
ICYMI
Last week’s newsletter: Effective Scaling Part 1: Thriving Amidst Uncertainty
“Will startup funding be vibrant again soon?”
Pro: Yes, the sector is already showing signs of recovery, with a significant rebound in Q1 24 indicating renewed investor confidence and activity.
Con: No, ongoing economic uncertainties and cautious investor sentiment will continue to dampen the overall investment climate.
Unknown: While most VCs point to interest rates, our stance is that one wildly successful IPO will quickly supercharge new startup funding.
Let us know what you think of this section and possible new topics by replying to this email.
The video I Shrink 10x every 21s until I'm an Atom is both fun and educational. If you watch the first few minutes just for fun, no one will blame you, and if you want to learn more, keep watching.
Effective Scaling Part 2: Invest in People
"Only hire people who are better than you." - Laszlo Bock
This four-part series will cover startup planning, people, efficiency, and resources as crucial inflection points in growth.
This four-part series will cover startup planning, people, efficiency, and resources as crucial inflection points in growth.
The longest section in my 500-page book is about optimizing teams. People are often a startup’s highest expense and integral to incredible growth. Invest in finding, evaluating, and retaining valuable people. So far, that’s obvious. This post pushes the thinking. For instance, it considers the incredibly daunting and unconscious fear of hiring someone who could replace us.
This post covers hiring, training, and motivating top talent to foster fast growth.
Expert Tips for Startups
This section calls on other experts to offer quick, valuable insights into startups.
An Ancient Chinese Tale Applies to Product-Market Fit
Before killing a product, we should first examine if it targets the right market. An ancient Chinese tale tells of trees that produce plentiful lemons when planted in the south and limes when planted in the north. The key difference is in the soil. The next time you are frustrated at disappointing initial market feedback, consider testing your product in a few different markets instead of completely dismissing it.
Wei Scaltrito is a FinTech startup advisor focusing on product scale-up in niche markets that boost outsized returns.
Founder Tools
As a startup founder, it's easy to get bogged down in the day-to-day instead of focusing on the big picture. Build Scale Grow helps you streamline operations, scale efficiently, and increase runway. For insights right now, here are some tools:
Scale: Reach Your Peak with over 130 business topics to lead holistically.
Startup Diagnostic Assess and prioritize your business quickly.
Productivity Hacks Reach your goals faster.
Facing Your Fears Convert fear into success.
Before You Go!
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