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Listen "Right moves successful entrepreneurs make at every funding stage ft. Leo Polovets of SUSA Ventures."
Episode Synopsis
Leo Polovets is the co-founder and General Partner of SUSA Ventures, a seed-stage fund focusing on traditional tech, where he's been instrumental in shaping the landscape of B2B SaaS, healthcare, and fintech.
Leo began his journey as a software engineer, where he made significant contributions to industry giants like LinkedIn and Google, before venturing into the startup world with Factual.
Tune in to the Seed to Sequoia Podcast's premiere episode, where Leo Polovets and Host Alex Shartsis discuss the intricacies of building a successful startup, covering - hiring, sales, pilot projects, and more.
Show Notes:
0:00 Introduction
2:27 GTM at various Investment Stages
5:06 Importance of Founder-led Sales
6:56 Self assessment on Sales capabilities
9:24 Goals of Early Stage Sales
11:11 Indicators of Right and Wrong Tracks
16:00 The Importance of Go-to-market Strategy
19:50 The Role of Metrics in Business Growth
22:40 The Dangers of Vanity Metrics
24:05 Pilots in Deep Tech
29:00 Gap Between Original Pitch and Actual Customer Needs
31:32 Knowing when you hired the right person
34:50 What should founders ask more of to investors
39:00 The Role of Strategic Investors in Early Stages
41:20 Best Practices for Founders
44:50 Conclusion and Contact Information
Guest: Leo Polovets(linkedin.com/in/lpolovets)
Host: Alex Shartsis(linkedin.com/in/shartsis)
Audio Engineer & Video Editor - James Fixx (fixxmusic.com)
The Seed to Sequoia podcast is created by Silverwood Advisors to help founders with practical advice on building successful startups.
If you would like to get expert advice for your startup reach out to us on:
Website: silverwood.ai
Linkedin: linkedin.com/company/silverwood-advisors
Below is a list of startups backed by SUSA Ventures:
Accorded. Andela. Aquera. Ascend. Assemble. Avro Therapeutics. BetterStack. Bright Cascade.Casetext. Centaur Labs. Chapter. Chatdesk. Claim. Cocoon. Coros. Cortex Health. Curebase. Drivezy Expanse .Farmraise. Flexport . Float . Flock . Focal Point . Fynn . Gentem . Guilded. Hallow . Headrace . Higo. Hodinkee . Honeybee Health . Human Interest . Hyas . Interviewing.io . Intricately . Journey . Juvena Therapeutics . LifestyleRx . Lightyear . Locale . Loop. Lyst . Mashgin . Meadow . Medallion . Memo. Merit. Miso . MK1 . Modelbit . Modernanimal . MUX
More episodes of the podcast Seed to Sequoia
The Reason Why 90% of Startups Fail (and How to Be the 10%) | Dave Hersh, Author of 1 in 10000
21/11/2024
The Problem with Freemium & Rethinking Software Pricing | Luke Hohmann - Author of Profit Streams.
05/09/2024
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