Sit Down Startup

Sam Li, co-founder and CEO of Thoropass, has a rich background. His perspective on achieving product-market fit as a startup founder is rooted in resourcefulness, curiosity, and adaptability. Here are some cool parts of the episode to check out!

(00:02:18) Navigating Rookie Mistakes as a Founder

(00:07:48) The Importance of Intellectual Honesty in Pivoting

(00:12:36) Discovering Customer Pain Points for Product Market Fit

(00:19:50) Framework Thinking and Curiosity: Sam Li's Superpowers

Apply to join the Zendesk for Startups program and use Zendesk free for six months. Provide your customers with exceptional customer experiences from day one: https://www.zendesk.com/lp/startup-partner/?ref=gen&partner_account=0016R00003GUn7OQAT

In this insightful episode, Red Panda's founder, Alex Gallego, embarks on a comprehensive exploration of the entrepreneurial journey.

[00:02:33] He reveals the intertwining of personal struggles and leadership challenges, while advocating for a more supportive startup community.

[00:10:36] Alex unpacks his ever-evolving CEO priorities; from achieving product-market fit in the early stages to focusing on team recruitment and understanding market structure later on.

[00:18:49] He underscores the critical importance of a remarkable Developer Experience in tech product development. Citing Red Panda's embrace by Fortune 1000 companies and governments, he emphasizes the pivotal role of swift and efficient software installation. Tune in for a deep-dive into leadership resilience, strategic CEO priorities, and the undeniable value of heightening user experience.

Sit Down Startup is back with Arjun Narayan, founder of Materialize, who shares how they nearly hit product-market fit before their MVP was ready! Host Adam O'Donnell dives into Arjun's journey from India to raising $100M+ (1:40) and revolutionizing real-time data processing with Materialize (00:45). Founders will appreciate the dialogue on tech database funding and the role of investor expertise (16:16). Tune in for more!

Shoutout to this episode's partners Capchase and FounderPass!

Capchase - non-dilutive growth financing solution for SaaS companies. Email [email protected] and mention this podcast to get 10% off.

FounderPass is the perk and discount platform for startups, giving over $1million of discounts on software, tools and business services. Click here for more.

In this new episode of Sit Down Startup, Adam interviews Sentry's founder David Cramer, who shares insights from his illustrious journey that led to successfully raising $217 million. Tune in as David delves into diverse topics such as unraveling unique product monetization, cultivating unwavering belief in success (00:05:41), the power of focus and core concepts (00:08:45), and managing feedback at scale (00:18:37). The conversation touches upon customer engagement wisdom: distinguishing valuable feedback and exploring how focus and determination pave the path to tech success. David emphasizes the criticality of aligning with prospects who inherently understand and connect with your vision rather than convincing all.

Thank you to this week's partners Ignition and Slack!

Ignition is a GTM operating system which helps unlock revenue opportunity by aligning product, marketing, and sales teams around new market initiative launches, with a single suite for planning, execution, and measurement. Zendesk Startups members get 90% off Ignition for their first year when they enter the coupon code ZENDESK90 at checkout. http://haveignition.com

Check out Slack for 25% off Slack Pro - Unlock features like huddles, Slack Connect, automations and unlimited apps in Slack. http://slack.com/promo/partner?remote_promo=1d1d4669

In this week's episode of Sit Down Startup, get to know Donald Muir, the creator and driving force behind Arc, a digital bank crafted for the tech-savvy crowd. As an experienced business leader with a keen desire for breakthroughs, Muir's interpretations of the explosion and teamwork in online banking post-SVB collapse (2:45) come from his hands-on experience of building Arc from scratch.

Muir underlines the value of a dynamic digital bank that blends the personalized touch of a bank like First Republic with the fail-safe security and solidity of a mega-bank such as Goldman Sachs. He's a staunch advocate for cross-departmental cooperation and harmony (10:00) with an execution-focused mindset (20:42). Join host Adam O'Donnell for this latest episode.

Thank you to this episode's partners EXEC and Sprinto!

EXEC is an all-in-one benefits solution designed to empower the modern leader—with unparalleled travel and lifestyle benefits for individuals and organizations. Use promo code ZEN200 to save $200 off your EXEC annual membership access at joinexec.com.

Ambitious cloud companies all over the world trust Sprinto to power their security compliance programs and sprint through security audits without breaking their stride. Startups can get up to 40% off their first year through our Sprinto Ignite program. Click here: https://sprinto.com/

Join us for the latest episode of Sit Down Startup! Anyone want to order a pizza? You're in luck. This week's guest Ilir Sela is the founder and CEO of Slice, a platform that "builds innovative tech to empower America’s independent pizzerias." Sounds delicious!

Ilir dives into...

• Fax-machine-MVP - meet the customer where they are
• Why he bootstrapped to $40M GMV vs. raising sooner
• What he looked for in a VC partner
• And more!

Shoutout to our partners DocSend and The Launch Box!

DocSend: DocSend allows you to securely share your pitch deck and streamline fundraising - with DocSend, you maintain control over sensitive fundraising documents, know which investors are engaging with your decks and get real-time, actionable feedback with document analytics.

Founders can get up to 90% off DocSend for a year by filling out the form here: https://try.docsend.com/zendesk

The Launch Box: The Launch Box is a boutique marketing services firm that is on a mission to help more founders succeed by embedding established marketing principles into their company DNA from day 1. Take our FREE STARTUP QUIZ to assess the market fit of your new business and get actionable advice on what you can do next to accelerate your path to market and optimize your chances at success. https://thelaunchboxus.com/startup-quiz

Jeremy Wood's solution, OpenStore, offers these founders the option to sell their businesses or have OpenStore operate and run the stores on their behalf. This innovative approach has not only provided a lifeline for many e-commerce founders but has also positioned OpenStore as a major player in the e-commerce market. Join Adam O'Donnell and Jeremy Wood as they delve deeper into this topic on the next episode of Sit Down Startup.

Lark is a next-generation team productivity suite that boosts organisations' efficiency, creativity, and engagement.

Get 6 months of free access to Lark Pro by joining Lark for Startups program: https://www.larksuite.com/paid/startup

Raion.io is creating the worlds best user experience for founders to engage with investors. Access exclusive discounts and credits from the company's, "including Zendesk" supporting your startup...and connect with Americas leading investors at Raion.io. Learn more at https://raion.io/

Ryan Denehy discussed the importance of overcoming self-doubt in the early stages of a startup. He shares his own experiences, practical advice, and data-driven insights that can help founders navigate the competitive business landscape.

Thank you to this week's partners Aktie Now and WorknetGPT!

Aktie Now has a special offer for startups joining the Zendesk for Startups program: Zendesk Express implementation - Have your Zendesk up and running, fully configured to your processes, including training to your team, with 40% discount, so you make sure you are making the most of your Zendesk! Click here to access discount.

WorknetGPT powers support teams in Zendesk with bi-directional integration to Slack. Automate your work using WorknetGPT - get suggested responses, automatic tagging, sentiment analysis and ticket routing. Click here for more.

Atrium, a software company co-founded by Pete Kazanjy in 2016, has achieved more business success with fewer Sales Development Representatives (SDRs). This accomplishment can be credited to their strong inbound game and their valuable content that educates and provides insights to their community of 35,000 members. 

Atrium's software helps businesses implement data-driven sales management by monitoring KPIs and providing alerts. Host Adam O'Donnell also discusses the challenges of business growth and the importance of experiencing low moments and failure as indicators of pushing boundaries with Pete in this latest episode of Sit Down Startup.

This week's partner shout out goes to two partners:
First, Yext - a content management hub to build consumer grade experiences. Check out their $35,000 credit offer. https://www.yext.com/try/startups Use code ZendeskYS2022

And be sure to check out Forecastr. They make financial modeling easy for founders. Receive 20% OFF your first-year of Forecastr + Waived Implementation Fees + FREE Listing on INVESTOR CONNECT. bit.ly/3s9OE33

The success of Epidemic Sound, a platform for content creators and music artists, is a testament to the skill, and creativity of Oscar Hoglund and his team. Despite the numerous legal and financial obstacles they encountered, they refused to give up on their mission and took the fight to Brussels to change copyright laws and protect artists from exploitation.

The key to their success was their passion for the project and the support of those around them. Through their dedication, they were able to create a platform that grants content creators easy access to music while ensuring artists are fairly compensated for their work.

Every.io does AI-enabled bookkeeping and taxes. We're offering 100% off bookkeeping in 2023. https://calendly.com/d/y5c-hm7-y6x/every-io-zendesk-deal?month=2023-07