Founder Weekly (Issue 347 - July 25 2018)

Founder Weekly - Issue 347Â Â

July 25, 2018

Founder Weekly

Welcome to issue 347 of Founder Weekly. Let's get straight to the links this week.

General

There’s a lot of knowledge out there — and networks of talent (especially in Silicon Valley) — on what to do in the early stages of a company, going from 0 to 1, and even in going from 1 to 100… but what about beyond that? It’s not as simply linear as merely doubling or tripling resources and org structures; it’s actually much more complex on many levels, communication to coordination. Because with great scale comes great complexity… and many, many more places for things to break down. So how should founders/CEOs of growing tech startups think about everything from hiring (including key executives) to product management (what is it, really, beyond common myths/misconceptions around the role?) to thinking about late-stage financing, M&A, and other key aspects of building a company? This episode of the a16z Podcast shares both specific answers to — and general mindsets for thinking about — these questions. 

JD.com is expanding its consumer base with drone delivery and local recruits who can exploit villages’ tight-knit social networks to drum up business.

Most founders dream of building a product that eventually becomes a household name and sells for a billion dollars, but chasing that goal comes with some downsides. We chose a different path.

It’s a thrilling thing to build a new product, then watch as consumers actually pick it up. But achieving product/market fit also marks the beginning of a challenging time for a lot of founders. You’ve poured your energy into getting here — now what? Few people have as much insight into this make-or-break moment as Marc Andreessen. As a repeat founder himself and one of Silicon Valley’s most influential investors, he’s seen firsthand that the decisions startups make at this juncture are some of the most consequential they will ever make. I spoke with Marc to get his top recommendations for how startup leaders can turn early success into lasting relevance.

Books

In Teach and Grow Rich, entrepreneur and bestselling author Danny Iny reveals the ocean of opportunity for anyone who has useful knowledge and is willing to share it with others. If you've tried to create and sell an online product before and failed, this book will show you a process that will help you succeed at last: co-creation. This updated edition describes co-creation in greater detail.

Marketing, Sales and PR

The 11 most effective Facebook ads and Instagram ads for mobile and desktop and why these creative social ads actually worked and got results.

Today Emma Valentiner joins us to discuss on-page SEO tips, tricks, and tactics.  We'll dive into SEO tools, meta tags, content creation, content length, keyword research, and more. 

Money and Finance

Nihal Mehta kicks off Seed to Scale’s opening episode with one of VC’s most prominent investors Mike Maples, the founding partner of Floodgate. Mike has backed some of the most well-known tech companies today, including Twitter, Twitch.tv, Lyft, Okta, Chegg, Demandforce, among many others

A snapshot of the current VC landscape in the US, put together using the 2Q 2018 PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor.

How Startups Today Skip a Round of Fundraising.

Startups of the Week

Lumen is a device and app that measures your metabolism through the breath. With the app, you will receive daily personalized meal plans to help you lose weight and optimize your workouts. You may think you have a fast or slow metabolism, but in fact, it changes every day, based on the food you eat, how much you sleep and if you workout. 

Workouts for every life situation. hip.fit helps people live pain free with exercises to fix posture, combat repetitive strain injury and improve fitness.

Goodwall is a professional development network for students that allows them to celebrate their achievements and connect with universities, employers, and other high-achieving students.

Fritz is the end-to-end solution for on-device ML. Create ML-powered features in your app with ease and cross-platform support. Build compelling apps using Fritz today.

Trails.com is the ultimate guide to the outdoors! If you are an outdoor fitness enthusiast or just love to adventure in nature, you’ll love Trails. Join over 3 million fellow sport and outdoor enthusiasts!

LoanSnap Inc. invented the world’s first smart loan technology that analyzes a customers financial situation in seconds and delivers simple personalize loan options. The platform uses artificial intelligence to analyze a person's entire financial picture and recommends the best loan for them now and into the future. By working with LoanSnap, people can save money, time and feel confident that their home loan will safeguard their financial needs. 

Tips, Tools and Services

When Too Many To Do’s Are Overwhelming You.

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