Startup Syndrome

Andreas has welcomed the new year as an opportunity to suddenly become a morning person, and Julia is also inspired ahead of 2024 after listening to a podcast with author Adam Alter.

They end up speaking about first principles thinking as a way of solving difficult problems creatively, how it might be extra relevant during a time of year where many are looking for new challenges, and how it can be applied as an entrepreneur.

Alumni company of the week: Ebie

Other resources mentioned: Diary of a CEO with Adam Alter: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2dVHm9F530MKDFGwIshWZT?si=FhnOgEbrQpiy7MhhOgFcPw

Hosted by Julia Delin & Andreas Johansson

Edited by Victor Ganguly

Responsible publisher: Lars Strannegård

Andreas has just learned the term “one-round wonder”, a company that only raises capital once and then becomes profitable, and Julia has been thinking about what such a strategy means for the returns an investor can expect.

They end up speaking about what is needed to become a one-round wonder, whether this makes sense for investors, and do a quiz trying to guess which well known companies only raised one round before becoming profitable.

Company of the week: Bantaba

Other resources mentioned: suno.ai

Hosted by Julia Delin & Andreas Johansson

Edited by Victor Ganguly

Responsible publisher: Lars Strannegård

Andreas has been annoying VCs by asking them why founders should choose them, and Julia has made a near-impossible quiz guessing the VC based on what they write about themselves.

They end up speaking about why branding should matter for VCs, how to get dealflow as a VC investor, and which firms actually stand out from the crowd.

Alumni company of the week: Dibz

Hosted by Julia Delin & Andreas Johansson

Edited by Victor Ganguly

Responsible publisher: Lars Strannegård

Julia has a lot of learnings about the New York tech ecosystem from her 2.5 months in the city, and Andreas has been to Slush, with tons of insights from that and his previous week in Silicon Valley.

They end up speaking about why Sweden is one of the strongest startup hubs in the world, how to leverage building in the early days in the Stockholm ecosystem, as well as when and how to later expand beyond the Swedish borders.

Alumni company of the week: Swedish for Professionals

Hosted by Julia Delin & Andreas Johansson

Other resources mentioned: Avalara

Edited by Victor Ganguly

Responsible publisher: Lars Strannegård

Andreas has discovered the flaws of his often-quoted favorite cognitive bias, and Julia has a take on the balancing between fixed and growth mindset.

They end up speaking about mindset, and how it can be applied to entrepreneurship, as well as the importance of learning and share their stories on how they learn (which is not so different after all).

Company of the week: Pocketklubben

Hosted by Julia Delin & Andreas Johansson

Produced by Victor Ganguly

Responsible publisher: Lars Strannegård

Julia has been onboarding new board members at SSE Ventures, and Andreas has been obsessed with the chaos at OpenAI and their unique governance.

They end up speaking about exactly what has happened at OpenAI and why, what lessons startup founders can get about governance from the entire saga, and what they themselves appreciate from a board of directors.

Company of the week: Scrive

Hosted by Julia Delin & Andreas Johansson

Edited by Victor Ganguly

Responsible publisher: Lars Strannegård

Andreas just had a long discussion about product-market fit (PMF) with a founder the other day and Julia is upset that the concept is always explained so badly. 

They end up speaking about how to do things that don’t scale to be able to do things that scale, what the early signs of product-market fit are, and the unit economics and metrics behind it, such as LTV, CAC, Churn, Retention, GRR, NRR and more. 

Company of the week: Relate

Hosted by Julia Delin & Andreas Johansson

Edited by Victor Ganguly

Responsible publisher: Lars Strannegård

Andreas is in New York on a visit and has been thinking about WeWorks recent bankruptcy, and Julia has been learning more about the different types of Chapter bankruptcies that exists both in the US and Sweden.

They end up speaking about where WeWork went wrong but also what they got right, as well as what actually happens when a company files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and why it doesn’t always mean the company is shutting down.

Company of the week: Places

Hosted by Julia Delin & Andreas Johansson

Edited by Victor Ganguly

Responsible publisher: Lars Strannegård

Julia is constantly thrown back to the profit vs. growth discussion in the VC industry and Andreas has been listening in on coaching at SSE Business Lab where coaches give different advice to different startups. How do you know which to focus on? Or can you do both?

They end up speaking about raising a larger round vs. a smaller round in this market, why profitability is only important for VCs when it’s a matter of life and death, and if valuations REALLY matter. 

Company of the week: Astrid Wild

Hosted by Julia Delin & Andreas Johansson

Edited by Victor Ganguly

Responsible publisher: Lars Strannegård

Julia has been digging deep into the documents behind Almi Invest Stockholm losing the public procurement for their next fund, and Andreas has thought a lot about the consequences this might have on the Stockholm startup ecosystem.

They end up speaking about how this affects founders fundraising, what implications this might have on the entire ecosystem and what they think Almi Invest Stockholm need to do to save themselves.

Alumni company of the week: Circulate

The prompt: https://ssebl.com/podcast-aiprompt

Hosted by Julia Delin & Andreas Johansson

Edited by Victor Ganguly

Responsible publisher: Lars Strannegård