I’m guilty as a non-technical founder I have to admit it. I’m guilty as a non-technical founder who doesn’t have coding experience but took a coding bootcamp and has an EXTREMELY entry-level understanding of code. I have, what I believe to be very great “concepts of a plan” *Trump Voice*. But, I know how hard you developers work when you’re coding these applications/softwares/platforms. I don’t know the best way to partner with someone (if you don’t have the capital to pay them to develop the project while I spend time on the front lines making... 1 10 replies
GCP or other AI Startup Cloud Credits Wanted to see if anyone has any tips. We have an actual AI-based solution (not just wrappers) and can fund our work with our own investments, cashflow, 100k-300k, but it would also be great to get cloud credits from GCP, AWS, etc. The problem is for the "Scale" tier they have these requirements where for AI, we need an incubator/accelerator support, which we don't have. We have applied to places like YC, but rejected, but despite that we can fund our work, our own + government, and wanted to... 2 6 replies
Startups expecting free work? I don’t understand where people get the audacity to expect free work on their terms. A friend of a friend asked me to meet about “hiring” me part-time on their startup. I figured I could probably work on it a few hours a week, so I messaged them back and had a meeting. They said they expected me to volunteer and I wouldn’t get any money or stock. I laughed. Then they said that I’d need to put in 10-20 hours a week on a schedule doing software development... 5 10 replies
Getting "funding" from users? Customer vs Investor conflict I'm pondering over a conflict I see in the startup world. Sorry if my text is too long to get to the point. When a product is initially launched, the founders/company start 2 priorities: 1. Deliver value to the users 2. Make money for yourself These are usually in somewhat of an equilibrium, because you need to achieve #1 to even get to #2. Then, if the company gets big VC investment and eventually IPOs, you get a new priority that seems to take the #1 spot - delivering... 5 2 replies
Startup founders Im looking for people with some experience in the industry. I have a platform for students that helps them build their idea into reality. For the next step im bringing in coaching groups. They will be 10-15 people and there will be weekly/ biweekly coaching sessions to see that everyone is on track. I need more experienced founders to coach these groups. Let me know if you are interested. 3 4 replies
Fintech startup Founded a fintech startup based on P2P loans and P2B investing. Currently working on pitch and business plan. Presenting it to a VC fund in less than a month. Does anybody have any suggestions or ideas. • How to get funding and hook VC or investors? •Best tips and ideas for making pitch and business plan better. •Any tips regarding startups/fintech/running a company. Thank you in advance. 5 8 replies
Looking for Co-Founder/Mentor: Experienced Game Dev Seeking to Start a Studio Hi Everyone! I'm a Technical Artist with over six years of experience across AAA, mobile, and AR/VR game development. I possess a strong foundation in production methodologies, including Agile, and excel in resource allocation and risk assessment. I'm passionate about creating engaging casual and hyper-casual mobile games. I'm seeking a business-minded co-founder to handle the business development aspects of the company while I lead game production. If you're a driven individual with a passion for mobile gaming and a strong entrepreneurial spirit, I'd love to hear from you. Please... 5 1 replies
What's the sweet spot for traction for a pre-seed company? Ideally you'd would walk into a VC firm with amazing traction numbers and they'd be so excited, you'd only have to pitch 1-2 VCs before closing your round. I mean , I want to spend time building my product not pitching to VCs. The question I have is what's the sweet spot? If I don't have decent traction and try to raise I'll spend all my time in meetings. If I want too long then I'm hindering my growth as I don't have enough money to grow my company.... 1 10 replies
$100k ARR but not able to scale! Hello Founders, I need genuine help to scale my B2B Marketing Tech SaaS. We are doing $8k MRR and spending $5k expenses, we are not able to scale. Every month I need to build the runway for next month. We are bootstrap, raised $35k from known angel investor and got few VC’s traction but no luck. I need fund to do PMF and spending major time to build next month runway :( 4 3 replies
Best Place to Hire Developers for a Startup (with Business Mindset)? Hi I have been working on a project with freelancers on project basis, and now to take one step further to hire a Developer either on full-time, part-time basis but something which is more consistent keeping nature of SaaS development in mind. i.e. Speed to Market, iterations, Sprints, backlog etc. Not a traditional developer who use waterfall method to scope everything out and most of the time fail to deliver ready product on time. I can continue to invest in the project and keep it bootstrapped, down the line... 4 10 replies
Why startups burn cash I dont understand what is point of geting funds and hiring 20 pepople, if you can do same results with 3-4 people? Having offices in US, everything is ridiculously expensive, you can do same in Europe, with same quality employees. I heard that many VCs require startups to move to US if they want to get investments. So whats the deal, why they do that, and why startups burn cash? Does your valuation increase if you have more employees or something 4 10 replies
Investment Banker seeking to transition to Startups / VC – Offering help with pitch decks, financials, etc. Hi everyone, I’m currently a second year Investment Banking Analyst where I work with companies in the TMT sector. I’ve been exposed to financial modeling, valuation, advising on M&A and financing transactions. After almost 2 years of banking, I want to pivot to the VC / start up scene and figured I’d do something a little unconventional. I want to gain deeper exposure to the startup world by collaborating with founders in any way that I can. If you’re working on a pitch deck, need help refining financials, or... 3 8 replies
10 Years Later: Struggling between startup dreams and stability **TL;DR:** I’m a technical founder who, after a decade of side projects and pivots, now runs a small digital platform making about $200/month. It barely covers costs and requires freelancers. I’m torn between quitting my job to go all-in or keeping my safety net. Any advice? Hi everyone, I’ve been at this for about ten years, starting out with a WordPress plugin that made around $60k over two years. After moving from the Middle East to Europe, adjusting to a new job and culture slowed my side-project momentum. Several attempts... 1 8 replies
How do i begin with it? I really struggle with either forming ideas or if i have an idea i automatically start to notice the complexities in it or that something similar to my idea is already existing in the market. I really wanna work on something in the mental wellbeing field related to technology but all the recent fast developments have made me doubt my ideas alot, what if a tech giant is planning or will plan something like that in the future? I dont wanna follow this quick money thing but rather build... 2 7 replies
Two notifications this morning: one bad, one good. Hi startup folks, this morning started with two news, bad and the good one (of course I would like to switch them) A bad one: another rejection email from Y Combinator. It’s very disappointing, but of course it’s not the end of the road. We had two interviews with YC during these 2 years (applied 6-7 times). Rejections are just part of the process, and every “no” gets us closer to the next “yes.” The good: I also got a notification about another paying customer for Trag (ai code... 4 4 replies
Where to find a marketing cofounder I've built two Shopify apps this year - an analytics tool and an order editing app. Recently bought out my partner, and now I'm stuck in the classic developer's trap: The products need constant work, leaving zero time for marketing. The few customers I have absolutely love the products and stick around, but growth is non-existent. I've got two years of runway saved up, but I spend every day buried in code - I’ve recently a had more time to try get more users but it’s really not my... 2 1 replies
3D Printed Shoes Anyone with experience in material science engineering and design interested in exploring 3D printed shoes market, please DM. Many brands are exploring and launching 3D printed shoes/soles, so wondering if anyone with similar experience is willing to talk about it? Thanks! 3 0 replies
What actually matters when partnering up with a non-technical co-founder? Building my second startup (I'm the tech person) - but solo this time after leaving my previous one due to disagreements with my co-founder(s) after 4 years. But I'm starting to feel overwhelmed juggling all the business stuff while building the product. What ended up mattering the most in your experience? What do you wish you knew before partnering up? And how did you figure out if you're truly compatible before making things official? 2 4 replies
It’s Lonely At The Top Lately, I’ve been feeling the weight of this phrase, and I imagine many of you have too. Being a first-time founder has reminded me a lot of my time as a paramedic student. Back then, my instructor had a saying: "I have a year to split your head open and cram in as much knowledge as possible." The pace was intense, and by the end of it, we were expected to step into the field and make it happen…thrown to the wolves, you could say. Founding a startup feels... 5 2 replies
Looking for a Co-founder in Bay Area I'm a self-taught developer, I was the lead developer for a flying car company and the lead developer for Ai at my current one. I'm unconventional and smart. I've built the full system for the flying car in 2 months without prior knowledge of the automotive and Aeronautics industries. I'm looking for a technical and visionary person, with the grit to change how people interact with technology as a whole. Preferably you built your own version of JARVIS. 1 2 replies
