Intro

"If your product is working, you'll know. If there's any uncertainty, it's not working." - Nikita Bier ($100M+ in exits to Discord & Meta) -- Follow Intro to learn how the world's most successful founders built $100M+ businesses.

The co-founder of Foursquare is now on Intro! Schedule a call with Dennis Crowley if you want advice on: ✔️ Fundraising from top VCs ✔️ Building a viral tech startup ✔️ How to go from 0 to 1 ✔️ Growth & Scaling ✔️ ... and more Book me on Intro: https://lnkd.in/gCZC6NAt

Elon Musk bought his startup. Before that, he sold two companies for over $100M. Now, he's on Intro to help you scale from $0 to $1M+ in founder-led sales. -- B2B startup founder? Subscribe to Chris Bakke on Intro. Comment "interested" to get started.

He grew up in poverty, selling flowers on street corners while also caring for his sick mom. Today, he runs a $1 billion portfolio that has invested in 100+ successful startups. He's partnered with Gary Vee, David Chang, and Christina Tosi to build VaynerMedia, Momofuku, and MilkBar. Read this story if you need a reminder that your current circumstances ≠ your future success. Matt Higgins was raised by a single mom in Queens, New York. He lived in a shoebox apartment with his mom and three brothers, where Matt slept on a mattress on the floor. From a young age, Matt realized that if he wanted to break the pattern, he would have to follow his own path. His mom was struggling with her health. Yet, despite her tough circumstances, she was a huge inspiration to him. She was a high school dropout, but at age 38, returned to school to get her GED and two master's degrees. Inspired by her journey, Matt had a realization... "If I drop out of high school on purpose, I can also get my GED early. If I can go to college early, I can get a high-paying job and get us out of this situation." And so he did. Starting in 9th grade, he was held back three years in a row. (Again, this was his master plan to get into college early.) On his last day of high school, he went to turn in his textbooks. His teacher said in front of the whole class: "Higgins, what a waste. I'll see you at McDonald's." Matt replied: "If you see me at McDonald's, it's because I own it". And guess what happened next? He worked multiple jobs while going to school at night. 7 years later, he graduated from Queens College with a degree in political science. He then got a law degree from Fordham University School of Law. HE DID IT. His career started taking off. At age 26, he became the youngest press secretary in NYC history. Everything was falling into place. Until... Sadly, on his first day at his new job, his mom passed away. It was the toughest day of his life. Matt knew that if his mom had been able to live longer, she was on the verge of reaching her fullest potential. In her honor, he decided to reach his fullest potential. He went on to: - Become the youngest press secretary in NYC history - Run the business of two NFL teams - Appear on ABC's Shark Tank as a Shark - Partner with Gary Vee to launch VaynerMedia - Lead the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan after 9/11 - Teach at Harvard Business School - Invest in 100+ startups like Momofuku and MilkBar - Start RSE Ventures with billionaire Stephen Ross - Become a WSJ bestselling author with his book "Burn The Boats" ... the list goes on and on. This story is proof that you can overcome the toughest circumstances. Your current circumstances ≠ your future success. Scaling a business? You can now book Matt Higgins on Intro. -- Repost and follow Intro to learn how the world's most successful entrepreneurs built $100M+ businesses.

"In the beginning, it's okay to hack things together. We didn't spend 6 months on building something fancy. We just launched." - Stanley Tang (Co-founder of DoorDash) -- Follow Intro to learn how the world's most successful entrepreneurs went from 0 to 1.

Sam Altman (CEO of OpenAI) on how to acquire your first 100 users: -- Found this valuable? Follow Intro to learn how the world's most successful entrepreneurs went from 0 to 1.

Building a B2B software startup? Zack Urlocker is now on Intro! Schedule a call for advice on: ✔️ Fundraising from VCs ✔️ Scaling your software startup to $1B ✔️ Lessons from Zendesk, Duo, PagerDuty ✔️ B2B SaaS ✔️ ... and more Book me on Intro: https://lnkd.in/gjeJREjg

"You can always recognize the first-timers because they are too secretive. Once you've done a few startups, you realize how much execution, difficulty, and risk there is." - Naval Ravikant (founder of AngelList, valued at $4B) -- Follow Intro to learn from the world's top founders.

She got rejected by every single investor when pitching her "Chinese hot sauce". Today, her $50M Chinese food brand is sold in 5,000 stores, including Whole Foods, Target, and Costco. Here's the story of how Jing Gao quit her tech job, raised $120K on Kickstarter, and produced her first batch of Sichuan chili crisp👇 Jing Gao is the founder and CEO of Fly By Jing, a company specializing in Sichuan flavors, like its ultra-popular chili crisp, hot pot kits, and frozen dumpling line. Jing was born in Chengdu, China, but lived all over the world as her father was a traveling professor. After living in Canada for over a decade, a job offer brought her back to Asia, where she lived in Beijing, Shanghai, and Singapore. “When I was in China,” she reflects, “it was the first time I had realized how disconnected I had become from my heritage.” Jing quickly reconnected to her culture through the local flavors of Chengdu. She started an underground supper club showcasing Sichuan cuisine, hosting private dinners across the world. Her Sichuan chili crisp was a big hit at her dinner parties, most guests asked if she had extra sauce they could take home. That was the exact moment when Jing realized this could be a business. She continued to host dinner parties all over the world. While in California, she attends Expo West, the natural food industry’s biggest trade show. She was shocked to find out that only 5 out of 3,000 food vendors were Asian food brands. She did what every entrepreneur would do: figure out if there's any demand for her business idea. She launched a Kickstarter campaign. Campaign goal: $35K Actual money raised: $120K!!!!! Consider the idea VALIDATED! She had proven that there was a ton of demand for her products and yet... Investors told her it was "too niche" and they passed on investing 🙃 But guess what happened next? Her Sichuan chili sauce blew up, revenue 20x'd, and she raised $12M through private equity. Today, her $50M Chinese food brand is sold in 5,000 stores, including Whole Foods, Target, and Costco. 3 takeaways for entrepreneurs: 1) Validate your idea. Jing launched a Kickstarter to confirm whether there would be actual demand for her Asian food brand. After she got an overwhelming response, she went all-in 👏 2) Find a gap in the market. Jing recognized an untapped market opportunity in the Asian food brand space. The best way to find business ideas is to pick an industry you love & keep studying it. 3) Persistence pays off: Despite facing rejection from investors who deemed her idea "too niche," she kept going. The reward for not giving up? Every time Jing goes to Whole Foods, she now gets to take a selfie holding her own brand 🙌 Want to get business advice from a CPG industry expert? You can now book Jing Gao on Intro. -- Found this valuable? Repost and follow Intro to learn how the world's most successful entrepreneurs built $100M+ businesses. 

"The greatest people don't need to be managed. They just need a common vision. That's what leadership is."- Steve Jobs -- Want to be a better leader? On Intro, you can work 1:1 with the world's most successful CEOs & executives. Comment "interested" to get matched.