Run @underdogac 🦴 a free venture building programme for #solopreneurs // probably skiing ⛷️ https://xitter.cf/t.co/KBmcrghKWY

London, England
Joined May 2009
The sole founder route to building business is desperately underrated
My very first co-founder took all the money, domains, clients (worth ~$50k) and just said “goodbye” 😁 (read the story to learn why I will never have a co-founder again 👇)
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This meme may be my greatest contribution to the global startup scene so far! I created this (from a template) for a LinkedIn post a few months ago. It got picked up by a few people, went viral, and is still going strong. Note to self: watermark future memes 😂
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Mike Bank 🦴 retweeted
I still think about this question and ⁦@pmarca⁩ answer a lot.
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This!!!
Replying to @ankurnagpal
7 - Lastly, and most importantly: Until the literal day you get money in the bank, operate your business as if the deal will not happen. /Fin
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Sell BEFORE you build // @UnderdogAc
Startup Truth: When Founders suggest that their product isn't ready to sell, they think sales is about selling features/product. 80% of early-stage sales is about getting them excited by YOU (the Founder), how you see the world, and most importantly, how you can uniquely solve their specific problem. Do not delay Founder-led sales because of product— this will haunt you, forever! Bring mock-ups to convo, high energy to learn and go deep on their problems, and, capture market insights Day 1.
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Sell before you build. Even in hardware!
Replying to @Steele_Jared
"I want to make you an offer to be your partner" Having thousands of pre-paid customers + a waitlist of 20k people was absolutely crazy to him. "the fact that you did that without a fully working product is magic to me" So here's where things get REALLY interesting.
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If you've never made money working for yourself, don't build some big plan on how to make $500,000. Instead, ask yourself, "what would I do if I needed to make $100 online in the next 24 hours?" You probably know what you would do. So go do that thing.
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Mike Bank 🦴 retweeted
Profitable companies are, to use Paul Graham’s phrase, “default alive” and have nearly unlimited runway to figure out how to grow and eventually become even more profitable. But the market now has little patience for unprofitable, shrinking companies.
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Mike Bank 🦴 retweeted
Do good things for others, for no reason at all. It makes life more fun. Transactional relationships are meh.
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Stuck for a startup idea? Here's a simple business model for you to try... We've launched a consumer products studio inspired by @RocketBerlin Rocket is the Berlin-based startup incubator founded by the Samwer brothers. It's also known as the 'clone factory'.
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Our aim is to find at least one product to build a proper business around. With 50 shots at bat, at minimum one should stick. We'll also use the lessons learned to help participants in our @UnderdogAc programme better build their own businesses. And hopefully have some fun!
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Comment 'Cat' and I'll privately send you our first brand for you to check out (and copy if you so choose). Cat lovers, this one's for you 😺 ————— UnderdogAccelerator.com
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What's the single biggest barrier to people launching a startup? 💡 It's not knowledge (that's freely available on Twitter/X, blogs and via Youtube).
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We are looking to pool some angels willing to take an early bet on the vetted founders graduating our pre-accelerator course. At preferential valuations. In part to fund our top grads for a 6-month mentor-supported programme to get pre-seed ready (and 10x their valuation).
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Is there anyone you love within your network who might like to learn more? Please tag them in the comments or reach out directly! ------------- Learn more about our pre-accelerator course: UnderdogAccelerator.com
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