Founder Resources and Guides

Building a startup is a learn-as-you-go endeavor, but that doesn't mean you have to learn everything the hard way. We've compiled the resources that our most successful portfolio founders have found valuable.

Fundraising

• Know your story before the deck — investors fund narratives, not slides
• Target 18-24 months of runway per round
• Talk to 50+ investors; expect a 5-10% conversion rate
• Get your data room ready before starting conversations

Hiring Your First Engineers

Your first five engineers set the technical culture for the next hundred. Prioritize:

1. Generalists over specialists — they need to wear many hats
2. Builders over architects — you need code shipped, not diagrams drawn
3. Pragmatists over perfectionists — done is better than perfect at this stage

The Technical Interview We Recommend

Skip the whiteboard algorithm puzzles. Instead:

# Give candidates a real (small) problem from your codebase
# Time-box to 2 hours, async, their environment
# Evaluate:
#   - How they decompose the problem
#   - Code clarity and naming
#   - What they test vs. skip
#   - How they handle ambiguity in the spec

Product-Market Fit Signals

You have product-market fit when:

• Customers are pulling the product from you (not being pushed)
• Word-of-mouth drives >30% of new signups
• Usage increases organically without marketing spend
• Customers would be genuinely upset if you shut down

If you have to ask whether you have product-market fit, you don't. When you have it, you'll know — you'll feel like you're barely keeping up with demand.