8 Ways Momentum Lies

Hey y’all — can a market pull you in the wrong direction?

Unfortunately, it can.

Before you hit PMF, you should be suspicious of growth metrics — even revenue isn’t always trustworthy.

It can make sense to fire your users and change course.

Here’s what I mean…

On the Pod: Dara Ladjevardian

Dara sold his first AI company in 8 months. Then he built trust with Keith Rabois by helping out at OpenStore, founder a co-founder, and has now raised $2.7M from Keith and Founders Fund to take a big swing.

That swing is helping anyone build an AI clone version of themselves, and he’s already got big names like Ryan Hoover onboard (stay tuned for a Houck clone…).

And the whole thing was inspired by wanted to get entrepreneurial advice from his grandfather, who was known as the Rockefeller of Iran.

We talked about…

• How he impressed and built a relationship with Keith

• How he knew he’d finally found the right co-founder

• How software products can build defensibility in the age of AI

Check it out below on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.

New Case Studies

• SimpleClosure ($5.5M raised) → Automation platform for helping to shut down companies. Got a term sheet within 24 hours of meeting their lead investor.

• ettitude ($9.1M raised) → A great story of how the founder successfully raised while pregnant, despite some questions from investors.

• TextPower ($1M raised) → Got acquired after raising solely from angels.

Get full access to our library of 80+ case studies here. It’s growing every week.

8 Ways Momentum Lies

If you take one thing away from this week’s issue, let it be this:

When you’re in the idea maze, the only truths are failures.

You can learn what doesn’t work but you won’t actually know what works until you hit PMF and, by definition, are no longer in the idea maze.

Success is truth. Failure is truth. Everything in between isn’t.

This implies a few things:

1. You’re going to run into a lot of false signals

2. Honing your instinct to make correct decisions based on those signals is critical

Signing one customer does not necessarily mean you can sign 100.

The stakes are high. What you do based on these signals directs your time, and what to work on in the first place. Should you pivot or not?

Here are 8 signs the signals you’re seeing may be lies:

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