Thank you, NYC 🗽 We will be back soon!

Investors: have you ever fought a founder to keep your pro rata? I've seen this play out many times. I'm still waiting to hear from anyone who thought it was worth it.

If you want a tool, I don’t need you to justify why you need it. But I will have high expectations for your output. If you don’t hit the goals, there might be consequences. Listen to the full episode of The Startup Help Desk anywhere you get your podcasts.

Thank you to everyone who came out for @ycombinator alumni feedback night in New York yesterday. It was a great time and there were some big ideas. More NYC events to come!

Big thanks to @greybaker and the @ycombinator team for hosting startups from @imperialcollege London last week. Complete with the obligatory @Waymo ride!

Another great @GBxGlobal Gala in the books. Thanks to @MarkCharkin and the entire team for making it happen!

Stop Discounting to Close Sales In the early days Founders love to discount their product in the hopes of a quick sale. It rarely works. 1. Lower Price Suspicion. It’s counterintuitive but you actually make buyers more suspicious with a low price, especially if you’re quick to discount. 2. Find the Real Problem. While a lower price might be nice, the customer really wants a solution to their problem, so focus on what’s making them hesitant versus price cuts. 3. Solve it Again. These kinds of objections tend to be shared across customers, so you'll be able to use this solution many times to close future customers.

We originally met the Phare Labs team 3 years ago, through our @imperialcollege grant program. Building hardware isn’t easy, so it’s great to see them growing fast and now launching globally. Congratulations to Daniel and the whole team. linkedin.com/posts/danielemc…

A founder asked us: “We’re spending more on AI tools, but I’m not seeing a rise in productivity. The team says they are must-have tools in the current market, but shouldn’t we see some obvious gains?” It doesn’t matter if it’s an AI tool or not; you’re still spending money on it, and your team needs to keep hitting goals. And if they aren’t, then you have the right to ask hard questions about whether they need to keep those tools. Listen to the full episode of The Startup Help Desk anywhere you get your podcasts.

Another Cuil reunion! This was my first job in Silicon Valley. Even though it didn’t work out, the team was filled with great people and a lot of talent. Special thanks to Bruce for bringing us all together again!

Last week - @Cambridge_Uni Founders visited @ycombinator with us to meet one of the partners and ask questions. Special thanks @finbarr! Next week - @imperialcollege Founders will be joining us at YC to meet with General Partner @greybaker. British universities continue to produce some of the best founders in the world, and at @sterlingroadvc we’ve learned that when they land in SF, YC is the place to start.

When Is It Too Late to Do Y Combinator? A lot of founders, especially in Europe, think they’re already too far along for Y Combinator. In most cases, I think they’re wrong. Here’s why: 1. Dilution. The main concern is often dilution but YC companies are usually valued at least 2x higher than their counterparts. So for 7%, the value you get is immediate. 2. Help. The YC partners, network and tools are game changing for many companies. For example, you can benefit massively from their hiring tools, candidate pool and brand at any stage. 3. Valuation. Even if you think your valuation is too high, I would note that at least 1 company this year was raising at a $500M cap at demo day.