Ben Einstein, Founder/Partner of BOLT, an early-stage VC investing in hardware startups, shares the stories of several connected devices and hardware companies and their tricks and challenges. We compare and contrast software to hardware in this episode, examining three core aspects of building any company:
1) Building early products (customer dev, prototypes, etc.)
2) Acquiring initial customers (including one "magic" number Ben proposes for a hardware startup to reach)
3) Raising seed capital. (In a fun rant, Ben addresses his fellow investors and tells them how they need to change their approaches to hardware startups and their founders.)
Follow Ben @beneinstein and visit bolt.io to learn more.
And let me know what you think of the show -- tweet me (Jay Acunzo) @jayacunzo
You can also subscribe to receive all NextView projects focused on helping startups gain initial traction, as well as episodes of the show. Click here: goo.gl/4eP9Ch
Sandi MacPherson, Founder of Quibb, a private community of tech tastemakers sharing professional content and discussions, tells the story of creating an application-only social network. She also shares her vision for an important project helping address the lack of women in tech: the 50/50 Pledge. In this episode, you'll hear...
1) The mission behind the great 50/50 Pledge (visit 5050pledge.com to learn more)
2) How an application-only model for a social network affects your model and early traction (and why it's CRUCIAL that Quibb use this model).
3) How Sandi has been able to build a social network where thoughtful, meaningful, and human conversations actually happen in the comments. (Are we sure this is the internet?)
Follow Sandi @sandimac and apply to join Quibb at quibb.com.
And let me know what you think of the show -- tweet me (Jay Acunzo) @jayacunzo.
You can also subscribe to receive all NextView projects focused on helping startups gain initial traction, as well as episodes of the show. Click here: goo.gl/4eP9Ch