On our 102nd episode, we chat with Jon Sakoda, Founder, Decibel Partners, a Cisco-backed venture fund. Jon founded Decibel to push through the conventional boundaries of early-stage investing in SaaS startups. 

After being an entrepreneur for a few years and working as a General Partner at New Enterprise Associates, Jon decided to set up Decibel Partners. 

With Decibel, Jon’s vision was probably an industry-first approach to provide a way for entrepreneurs to get access to unparalleled resources at a time and stage when they need it most.

In this episode, catch Jon talking about pivoting as an entrepreneur, finding the right coach to guide you through your startup journey, and much more. 

Notes - 

01:39 - “I’m a recovering entrepreneur.”

06:29 - Pivoting and finding product-market fit

09:11 - Partnership with Cisco

13:20 - Leveraging strongholds of industry dominant LPs in the VC firm

17:20 - “What makes you great in getting you from 0 to 1, may not be great in getting you from 1 to 10 or 10 to 100.”

23:10 - Coaching for early-stage founders; for Performance and Efficiency

29:27 - Having an Advisor v/s having a Coach as an early-stage founder

32:30 - “You should be more conscious about who you want to work with, rather than, where you want to work.”

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