#startups

Disrupt and defend with platform envelopment

It can be difficult to convince a customer to adopt your product when they already have a solution they’re happy with. This is why disruptive products typically need to be radically better, radically cheaper, or both. However, thanks to platform envelopment, it’s actually possible for a notably worse app to disrupt superior incumbents.

· Startup advice  #advice #startups #strategy
Great startups lean into chaos

Most managers in early-stage startups think that chaos is inversely correlated with results. That is, they think that chaos breeds bad results and an unhealthy environment, while order breeds good results and a more harmonious environment. This perception is wrong.

· Startup advice  #advice #startups #operations #strategy
Salespeople need decisive decision makers

The best salespeople have great intuitions for which prospects are most decisive, and how to get access to better contacts. Everyone else wastes their time talking to people who will never buy, no matter how appealing they make it sound.

· Startup advice  #advice #startups #sales
The impact of GDPR

The study analysed data from 6,286 websites across 24 industries to assess the impact of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) on online usage over time.

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People like surveillance capitalism

The widespread negative perception of surveillance capitalism is misguided; its dangers are exaggerated while its benefits are underappreciated.

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How YC handles visas

International founders often join the batch as business visitors under ESTA or a B-1 visa.

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Startups must work smart and hard

To win, startups need to lean into their advantages because they’re a decade away from the kinds of moats enjoyed by established corporations. This means they need to work smart (i.e., mostly do the right things) and work hard (i.e., execute at a pace and with intense risk tolerance).

· Startup advice  #advice #startups #strategy
Information compression

Conveying complex ideas through language often results in loss of nuance, leading to misunderstandings and flawed approaches to problem-solving.

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The JOLT Effect by Matthew Dixon & Ted McKenna

## Background

· Book  #startups
Hire salespeople in pairs

Startups should try to hire salespeople in pairs. This is particularly important when spinning up a new channel (e.g., launching in a new market, opening up a partner channel, or kicking off outbound sales).

· Startup advice  #advice #startups #sales
Australia's new superannuation tax will reduce tech investments and therefore innovation

The introduction of a new tax on superannuation earnings over $3 million, including unrealised capital gains, is raising concerns about negative impacts on self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs).

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Why founders should "go direct"

Founders historically relied on media and publicists to share their narratives, but with the ubiquity of social media and email, they no longer need these traditional gatekeepers.

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Australia to reject tech acquisitions

Under proposed changes in Australia, acquisitions exceeding certain financial and market share thresholds must be reported to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), with initial reviews taking 15 or 30 days.

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Jason Lemkin on building a world-class sales org

Direct customer engagement by founders is highly valued in early stages.

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NYT techno-cynicism was an intentional editorial decision

A few years ago, the New York Times chose to apply an investigative and critical approach to technology reporting, focusing more on scrutiny than on business or consumer interests.

· Link post  #history #startups
Hyrum's Law

Hyrum’s Law states that with enough users, all behaviours of an API will be relied upon, regardless of the intended contract.

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Understanding tacit knowledge

As great as it would be to solve all problems with clearly defined processes and documented knowledge, the reality is that most organisational knowledge tends to be tacit. So, companies should factor this into their ways of working.

· Startup advice  #advice #startups #operations
The impact of tacit knowledge management performance

The research investigates whether organizations have strategies for managing tacit knowledge, which may affect their performance both materially and non-materially.

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Retaining tacit knowledge

Organisations must improve retention of tacit knowledge to increase staff productivity and improve managerial decision-making, as traditional methods like explicit knowledge and old training courses are inadequate.

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Allocating deals to your best salespeople

Adding new sales representatives reduces productivity as they may have lower closing rates than experienced reps due to unfamiliarity with the product or industry.

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Teams that disagree perform better

The study examines the effect of disagreement on team performance in a game that simulates positive production externalities.

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Labor to overhaul ‘sophisticated investor’ criteria in Australia

The Australian Labor Party aims to increase the criteria for investors to be classified as “sophisticated investors” to limit their exposure to riskier investments.

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Australia to quash angel investing

The Australian Government is about to make it nearly impossible for successful startup workers to reinvest their earnings into new startups. Let’s explore the upcoming changes and how they will affect startups, workers, and the Australian economy.

· Startup advice  #advice #startups #society
IT employment grew by just 700 jobs in 2023

In 2023, the IT sector saw a significant reduction in job growth with only 700 new jobs compared to 267,000 in 2022.

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Don't copy current-state of established companies — look at what they did to get to where they are

When designing a new app, people often reference current popular apps, overlooking that these incumbents have established user habits and reduced aggressive growth tactics due to criticism.

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