Now We Build

Ep 5 - Heikki Haldre - Exiting to Rakuten, how to build visionary products and why product-market fit should always be your starting point.

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Heikki Haldre, a serial entrepreneur with four exits, shares his insights on building successful startups and achieving product-market fit. He emphasizes the importance of understanding the problem and market before building a product. He also discusses the challenges of creating MVPs for visionary products and the need to involve customers early on. Haldre highlights the significance of aligning the team's understanding of the value proposition and the market. He also shares his thoughts on when to focus on a specific strategy or product. Heikki Haldre discusses the importance of delivering value to customers and the role of customer validation in the early stages of a startup. He also shares insights on acquisitions and the common mistakes that occur during the process. He emphasizes the need for founders to have knowledge and guidance on building a company for exit. Heikki also talks about the challenges and successes of his own startups, including FitsMe and Miros.


Keywords


serial entrepreneur, exits, startups, product-market fit, understanding the problem, market research, MVP, visionary products, involving customers, aligning the team, focus strategy, customer validation, delivering value, acquisitions, mistakes, exit, startups, FitsMe, Miros


Takeaways


  • Understand the problem and market before building a product
  • Involve customers early on to validate the product
  • Align the team's understanding of the value proposition and market
  • Focus on a specific strategy or product when there are clear signals of success Focus on delivering value to customers rather than just selling
  • Customer validation is crucial in the early stages of a startup
  • Acquisitions can be a profitable growth strategy if done right
  • Lack of a data room and culture clash are common mistakes in acquisitions
  • Founders need knowledge and guidance on building a company for exit
  • Building a successful startup requires conviction, alignment, and perseverance


Titles


  • Involving Customers Early on for Validation
  • The Importance of Understanding the Problem and Market Building a Company for Exit
  • Common Mistakes in Acquisitions


Sound Bites


  • "Sometimes the best founders come from different industries."
  • "I really wanted to change the world."
  • "Customer money is the one that validates that your idea is good."
  • "Where do we deliver value? Nobody else can deliver well."
  • "Is it about helping e-commerce brands actually sell more? Or is it deeper than that? Is it about understanding how their products are viewed, what their customers are thinking about?"
  • "Your product is early days. First MVP doesn't deliver probably any dollar value, right? Your version 1.0 delivers just a tiny bit."


Chapters


00:00 Introduction and Background

05:56 Building Products and Achieving Product-Market Fit

15:57 Understanding the Problem and Market

28:12 Acquisitions and Growth Strategy

38:45 Challenges and Successes of FitsMe and Miros





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Now We BuildBy Sam Marchant