The power of Immigration to Venture Capital

The meteoric rise of Indians in America - showcasing the power of what immigration of smart people can do to develop innovation , wealth and health of a country !!!

This article showcases a few powerful people, including my friend Kanwal Rekhi - one of the founders of venture capital and innovation in Silicon Valley.

💥A similar story can be told about the rise of South Africans in America - that can include the likes of Elon Musk ,Steve Collis and countless others that have made a positive influence to their communities . 

💥You can change the narrative of this article by cutting and pasting America  with Australia .

I am proud of what Kala Philip (MAICD, GAICD) and  BSI Learning is doing in collaborating with innovation and education with Indian Universities - and look forward to the day when Australian Politicians will open up immigration again  to people looking to study and learn and add value to our magnificent nation which I am proud  to call home 🏠.

Both Australia and America and indeed most countries on this fragile rock on which we live , can show how the power of immigration can benefit from the positive power of what and how immigration of people with similar ethics and values of people  can do for a country ! 

DFAT #immigration #innovation #lifelonglearning TiE #austrade #emdg 

It the process of the team turning ideas into products that is the magic.

Great ideas are just great ideas until someone has the ability to commercialise them into a saleable product or service 

Steve Jobs gives a great metaphor of his neighbour showing him a great invention in his garage when he was young - that turned rocks  into smooth  polished - by continuously rubbing  and bumping against each other . 

He likens this to an idea and the need for a team 

of incredible talented people bumping up against each other , arguing ,collaborating and working together and polishing each other  that enables one to turn a raw idea into beautiful sellable products !

The 4 gems from Paul Greenberg’s Atomos Journey

Paul Greenberg - the Australian magician in the digital retail space - shares the 4 gems gained while chairing ATOMOS  ( ASX : AMS)

• It’s hard to rightsize a business, to ensure it matches market momentum, but not doing so, is harder. 

• Be nice - but don’t avoid the tough conversations. Human to human conversations lead to better outcomes. 

• Meet your customers, wherever they are. Having great channel partners is key to progress. 

• Resilience - Patience, persistence and perseverence pays off. Staying in the game is key. 

Michael Terpin’s Bitcoin projection for 2025

Michael Terpin’s projection for Bitcoin is to reach three times the halving price (which would equal $194,000.  While there will be pullbacks along the way – perhaps as much as 30 percent – it will not stop the all-time high reaching or surpassing this number (in his opinion).

In his book about crypto - the. “Bitcoin’s Godfather” talks about the Bitcoin Cycle - and where we are at the start of 2025.

The Four Seasons of Bitcoin:

• Bitcoin Spring begins the day of the halving.
• Bitcoin Summer takes place when the all-time high of the prior cycle has been passed, kicking off a parabolic rally that creates an outsized new all-time high.
• Bitcoin Fall is when the bubble pops and price fall for about a year, ending in capitulation and “blood in the streets” (during the last cycle, this occurred right after the collapse of FTX).
• Bitcoin Winter is the longest season (around 18 months), as the market reels and seeks to regain momentum after steep losses from the prior all-time high, ending with the next Bitcoin Spring (or, as happened in March, a new all-time high for the current cycle).

These seasons have repeated systematically for the past fifteen years, and on this past Election Day, Bitcoin Summer came to this fifth cycle with a new all-time high of $74,000.  Within a month, the price of bitcoin passed $100,000, climbing as high this month as $108,000 before retracing to $92.9k in the days after the Fed meeting’s guidance of slower rate cuts ahead, once again shaking out the timid and providing a great opportunity to buy under $100k, which will become much harder to find in the new year. 

https://youtu.be/zW1qVJBfhDc?si=3gCUDLwuLTDCFjIW

Peter Thiel share the 11 things he looks for in a startup

What is the magic formula that has enabled Peter Thiel “crack the code” , thrive and win in the chaos that is early tech and startup investing? 

Investing in startups and early stage tech companies  is frought with failures, chaos and disappointments. 

They say that Peter Thiel is one of the most successful investors in Silicon Valley. 

Part of the paypal mafia with Elon Musk, David Segal, Roelof Botha , Reid Hoffman and Jayde Vance - his investments include Facebook (the first outside investor)  , SpaceX , Tesla , Airbnb , Palantir, Bitcoin and Ethereum . 

Which brings me to point number 1 - 

1. Your network is your networth - have people around you that you know like and trust and that have the ability to support you! 

2. Resilience - is a biggy - continuing when most people quit.

3. be super niche -  own 𝗮 𝗧𝗶𝗻𝘆 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗕𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗕𝗶𝗴

Stop trying to “boil the ocean.” Instead, corner a small, hyper-specific market. Become the king of that niche, then expand your empire. You just need to be everything to the right few people 

4. 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗜𝘁𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳

Build something so good that people can’t shut up about it. Great products create demand; mediocre ones need PR stunts. Finding product-market fit is always job #1.

5.𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗮 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆, 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗮 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁

A culture that’s tight-knit and laser-focused on a shared vision separates legends from has-beens. 

Build a team obsessed with your company’s mission or prepare for HR chaos (and failure).

6.𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗗𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗼𝗿 𝗚𝗼 𝗛𝗼𝗺𝗲

If you’re copying what everyone else is doing, congrats, you’re irrelevant. Thiel’s advice: think contrarian. The next big idea won’t come from playing it safe. Learn to think for yourself and connect points others ignore. Let curiosity reign.

7.𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿, 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲

Short-term wins are cute, but they won’t build a legacy. Play the long game. Focus on moves that still make sense 10 years down the road. Instant gratification is for amateurs. It’s easier to attract top talent to big visions.

8. 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗘𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 = 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿

The secret to scale is a product that gets better the more people use it. Think PayPal, Facebook, or LinkedIn. Build something that feeds off its own growth. Non-tech products can do this too with a compelling brand and obsessed customer base.

9.𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗜𝘁 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗻, 𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗜𝘁 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝗻

Massive teams sound cool until you realize they’re just expensive bureaucracy. A small, scrappy, no-BS team can pivot faster, adapt quicker, and punch above their weight class.

10. 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗢𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘀

Train yourself to see what others ignore and go where no one else dares. Achieve this by creating space to think, observe, and be curious.

11. 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗕𝗹𝗲𝗲𝗱

The struggle is certain, but suffering is a choice. Take care of yourself, build community, and learn to laugh at challenges. Building a startup is hard, but it mustn’t be horrible. 

𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘯 𝘶𝘱 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘵!

—

Source 

FounderIV - written by founders for founders to help you build a great life and a great business.

If you’re a startup here’s what not to do

Great insites from Pascal Weinberger on why startups fail 

I've worked with and invested in over 50 startups over the last ten years (a lot of which YC backed). Most, if not all, have suffered from the same 5 problems.

Young founders, don't do this:

1. Launching late

There's this idea of "perfecting" your product before launch.

So then you build and build and build.

And when you FINALLY launch, you realize:

➜ There's no product-market fit

➜ It had bugs you didn't test for

➜ We were so busy building and spend 0 time marketing and testing with users

2. Chasing vanity metrics

No one cares about your TechCrunch feature or that “Top Innovator” award, or conference talks or any of that stuff.

Instead of focusing on customers, team and product, a lot of founders waste time chasing clout:

➜ “We raised X dollars!”

➜ “We got into Y accelerator!”

➜ “We spoke at Z conference!”

None of that will get you to a 7-figure ARR.

- Stop chasing trophies 

- Start chasing traction

3. Hiring for experience instead of character

“10+ years of experience” is meaningless in startups.

I’ve seen too many founders hire corporate veterans who come in saying, “This is how we did it at [BigCo].” And guess what? They do it the same way—and fail.

Startups need hustlers... not corporate MBAs. Look for:

➜ Grit > pedigree

➜ Curiosity > complacency

➜ Adaptability > arrogance

The best hire isn’t the one who’s “done it before.” 

↳ It’s the one who’s hungry AF. 

You're trying to build something NEW - you can't do that by doing it the "old" way. 

4. Destroying your team from the inside

Co-founder drama will kill your startup.

Founders fight over (1) ego, (2) compromising, and (3) money.

*Then they blow up their teams in the process. 

Here’s what that looks like:

➜ “I’m right, and I’ll prove it” syndrome

➜ Refusing to let people fail and learn

➜ Prioritizing control > collaboration

You’re not building alone. 

Treat your team like a team.

5. Following the hype

**AI/Crypto/Web3. 

New founders often chase what’s “hot.”

But the more hype in a market, the worse your odds of winning.

Real founders zig when others zag. 
Find a space you understand better than anyone else and dominate it. 

TLDR

- Launch ASAP

- Ignore vanity metrics

- Stop hiring for education

- Trust your team

- Be original and daring

Oh, and by the way...

This isn't me making fun of inexperienced startup founders.

I STILL make some of these mistakes.

Dropping my 2 cents.

Feel free to drop a question/DM if you need help or wanna talk.

Everything you need to get right to get to $100m ARR

• Market/product Fit - product /audience/connection - is your product a painkiller or a vitamin ?
• Product /channel fit -product aligns with channel behaviour - acquire, convert and retain 
• Channel/model fit - model is profitable , sustainable and scalable 
• Model/market fit - model aligns with the market behaviour , predictable, scalable and market acceptance 

#Referron - a case study of note 

Venture Capitalists invest in leading indicators - not lagging indicators!!!

Another great Insite by Michael Ho!

Companies pre revenue raises

Canva $6.6m

Kinde $ 12m 

Why did they invest?

What were they looking for?

They're looking for FUTURE revenue growth 

→ once Canva started making money

→ they went from $0 to $105M in 4 years 🤯

Raising money from VC  is about them believing in your (future) ability to hit Venture Scale

What are the indicators?

• (historical) traction ?
• the team
• some crazy breakthrough
• What else? 

Why do Many startups fail to get more funding 

Many startups raised - focusing on getting to the next milestone - hit the metrics 

→ Growing 2-3x yoy = successful raise

→ getting to $3M ARR = Series A

And was not enough for a series B…. Why?????

Here is the thing!!?

Revenue is a high level lagging indicator and VCs are looking for the leading indicators to future growth instead

What are the leading indicators to get you from $3-100m 

How do you 

→ grow at 10% mom for 24 months straight

→ and 6% mom for the next 3 years 🚀

Some leading indicators

• ICP - your ideal customer profile being nailed - and a model to get to them
• The team and stakeholders
• Have they done it before 
• Repeat purchases 
• Virality
• Energy
• growth tactic and stage 
• gut & intuition on the VCs side - 

So - when VCs say  “you need more traction”It’s bullshit

The Gem

Dig deeper and figure out what leading indicators you need to de-risk

And use that as your roadmap 💪

Article from Michael Ho 

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/themichaelho_canva-raised-a-66m-seed-a-15m-series-activity-7274788934562324480-JAu9?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios

Only 1pc of startups get to 100m arr - doesn’t mean that your start up is still successful !

A great piece by Michael Ho

1% of VC backed startups will make it past $100M ARR

But does that make the other 99% a failure?

Let’s dig in to the numbers…

I was fortunate to have Chris Tottman introduce me to Stephen Millard who analyzed 117K startups founded between 2005 and 2022

→ Of those 117K startups founded

→ 31% (37K) were VC backed

→ 12% (13K) raised $3M+

Of those 13K startups, 1.8% (243) either made it past $100M ARR and/or achieved a $1B+ exit

→ 0.5% (71) had a $1B+ exit without reaching $100M ARR

→ 1.2% (168) made it past $100M ARR

→ 109 of the 168 did it <10 years

I was excited to talk to Stephen because he shares my deep belief…

💡 Every company is a snowflake, but we should be able to identify the key operating markers of (capital efficient) venture scale growth to give startups a better roadmap and increase the probability of success

Okay...

Let’s talk about the two elephants in the room

🐘 Why do VCs care about $100M if only 1% make it there?

🐘 Does that make the other 99% a failure?

--------

🐘 Why do VCs care about $1M to $100M in 7 to 10 years?

Because venture capital is a power law game

They understand that a VERY small % of companies will make it to $100M and they’re job is to figure out which ones have a better chance of getting there

So that’s the lens they look through

Now…

Because there’s a lot of future risk with every startup, betting on anything less than a *potential* to reach $100M would put a glass ceiling on their fund that goes against their power law objectives

Series A is the inflection point of the venture scale curve and where VCs are trying to build conviction on a startups *potential* to reach $100M

--------

🐘 But does that make the other 99% a failure?

Absolutely not ❌

I like how Stephen phrased it: many companies have great outcomes at smaller revenues, especially if they have not raised too much capital and / or strike a balance between growth and profitability

And this has become my life’s work…

→ I don’t believe venture is a $100M or bust binary game

But we need clearer milestones to truly understand where we are in the journey that we can check ourselves against every month/quarter/year so we can continually make better informed decision on a go-forward basis

The chances of becoming a pro athlete is <1% in any given field

But that doesn’t mean we tell kids not to dream of the big leagues?

Of course not...

But it does mean we need to help them re-evaluate their chances of making it every month/quarter/year

--------

Okay, so where can you start?

Focus on unlocking milestones and keep your cap table as light as possible until you're ready for step 3️⃣

1️⃣ Problem Solution Fit

2️⃣ Go to Market Fit - unlocks Series A

3️⃣ Scale PMF #1 - Series A use of funds

4️⃣ Scale PMF #2

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♻️ Repost to help a founder in your network

Click 'visit my website' at the top of this post to register for my Seed to Series A session

Michael Ho