Founding Journey

How Zayd Ali Sold His First Startup in High School


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This is how Zayd Ali sold his first company in high school and immediately started a new one in AI, called Valley, that has raised over $3 million already.

πŸ“š 1,800 Pitch Decks (Free) β†’ deck-database.carrd.co

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🐦 X β†’ x.com/zaydsyedali
πŸ’Ό LinkedIn β†’ linkedin.com/in/zayd-syed-ali-4201101a9
πŸš€ Startup β†’ joinvalley.co

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Founder's Journey

  • (01:19) β€” Selling a company in high school
  • (07:03) β€” The feeling after selling a company
  • (09:09) β€” Community accelerator programs
  • (21:30) β€” Bootstrapped vs. venture-backed startups
  • (34:58) β€” Selling before building
  • (52:34) β€” Risk of startup life in your 20s


The Art of Pivoting

  • (14:51) β€” Executing a pivot
  • (17:39) β€” Advice for reluctant founders
  • (18:54) β€” Founder market fit & "why now"


Investor Dynamics

  • (23:11) β€” High-profile investors’ impact
  • (24:52) β€” High energy in investor meetings
  • (28:23) β€” Creating urgency for investors
  • (38:03) β€” Investor response to customer LOIs
  • (38:47) β€” Pre-read deck strategy
  • (41:45) β€” Analyst to partner transition
  • (44:01) β€” Anticipating investor pushbacks
  • (45:10) β€” Avoiding introductions from investors who passed
  • (47:30) β€” Challenges for AI startups
  • (50:44) β€” Raising in a hot market


Rapid Fire

  • (54:56) β€” Who's an investor you'd recommend?
  • (55:47) β€” One thing you'd change about startups?
  • (56:44) β€” Advice for first-time founders?
  • (57:38) β€” Something you believe that most disagree with?
...more
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Founding JourneyBy Michael Houck