In this episode of the Startup Ignition Podcast, hosts Tyler and John Richards dive into a special Q&A session to answer the most pressing questions from their community of founders. Before getting into the startup advice, they celebrate a recent Seattle Seahawks Super Bowl victory and play a fun venture capital game called "Invest, Pass, or Instantly Dead." The duo then tackles critical topics like when to raise venture capital, how to truly validate a business idea, the real definition of product-market fit, when to actually build your MVP, and the shifting expectations around Total Addressable Market (TAM) for modern startups.

(00:00:00) Episode introduction and the danger of building products too early

(00:01:58) Celebrating the Seattle Seahawks Super Bowl victory

(00:02:45) Playing the Invest, Pass, or Instantly Dead investor game

(00:11:00) Transitioning to audience Q&A on common startup issues

(00:11:57) When should I raise venture capital and am I venture backable

(00:14:10) Understanding the ladder of proof and startup traction

(00:15:54) How to know if your business idea is actually a good one

(00:17:39) How many customer interviews are enough for real validation

(00:20:10) What does product market fit really mean for your startup

(00:24:17) When should I build a Minimum Viable Product for my customers

(00:28:12) How big does my Total Addressable Market really need to be

(00:30:35) Why a massive TAM is not always required for pre-seed funding

(00:33:15) Episode wrap-up and final thoughts for ambitious founders

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