Abdallah Absi

The "80/20 Principle" for Founders—explained in 1 minute 👇 𝟭. 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 80% distribution, 20% product Focus on getting your product out there more than perfecting the product. 𝟮. 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵: 80% retention, 20% acquisition Keeping customers is far more cost-effective than acquiring new ones. 𝟯. 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲: 80% existing customers, 20% new leads The majority of revenue will come from upsells and renewals over leads. 𝟰. 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀: 80% positioning tweaks, 20% actual price changes How you present the value of your product over constantly changing the price. 𝟱. 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴: 80% customer experience, 20% logo design A strong brand is more about delivering a great customer experience than having a great logo. 𝟲. 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀: 80% listening, 20% pitching Understand your customer’s needs BEFORE pitching your product. 𝟳. 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴: 80% empowering users, 20% company-led initiatives Empower your users to engage over top-down company initiatives. 𝟴. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁: 80% core features, 20% nice-to-haves Keep improving essential, high-impact features over adding new ones. 𝟵. 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲: 80% executing, 20% strategizing Planning is useless without the execution to make real progress. 𝟭𝟬. 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀: 80% user feedback, 20% user behavior Gathering user feedback will tell you more than observing behavior. 𝟭𝟭. 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴: 80% value perception, 20% actual costs How customers perceive the value of your product can be a lot more than its cost. 𝟭𝟮. 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: 80% word-of-mouth, 20% paid ads Organic growth is far more sustainable than relying heavily on paid ads. 𝟭𝟯. 𝗨𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗻𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴: 80% aha moments, 20% feature tutorials Creating aha moments is more impactful than explaining it. 𝟭𝟰. 𝗨𝗜/𝗨𝗫: 80% intuitive flow, 20% aesthetic appeal Make it easy to navigate first, and then add aesthetics. 𝟭𝟱. 𝗩𝗶𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵: 80% reducing friction, 20% incentivizing sharing Making it easy for users to adopt your product works better than incentives. 𝟭𝟲. 𝗥𝗼𝗮𝗱𝗺𝗮𝗽: 80% market pull, 20% vision push Build what the market is asking for over trying to push a vision. 𝟭𝟳. 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: 80% context setting, 20% direct orders Providing the context and vision is more effective than micromanaging. 𝟭𝟴. 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝘀: 80% observing, 20% asking Observing how they react can tell you more than direct questions. 𝟭𝟵. 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴: 80% owning a niche, 20% broad appeal Owning a niche will bring more success than trying to appeal to everyone. 𝟮𝟬. 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲: 80% working on the business, 20% in the business Focus on the 80% that impacts the most growth and less on day-to-day operations. Share, save, bookmark, or print this goldmine for any founder. #strategy #startups #growth #technology #i5growth #i5invest Image Credit: Greg Isenberg

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Understand product metrics: Revenue, MRR, ARPU/ARPA Monthly Revenue: The total amount of money a company or product generates in one calendar month from all its activities, before deducting any expenses. MRR (Monthly Recurring Revenue): The predictable amount of money your product generates from its subscribers every month. This should not include non-recurring fees, such as one-time-payments or any kind of setup/start fees. Average revenue per user/account (ARPU/ARPA): The average revenue one user generates per month. This helps you understand the value each user contributes to the revenue, aiding in financial planning. For most apps with free tiers, this only makes sense to calculate for active users. This is because the total users is an ever growing vanity metric and calculating a ratio with a vanity metric is meaningless as you would just get an ever-decreasing ratio since the total user count is just growing. Within your active users, it makes sense to calculate ARPU for different segments and user types. -- Follow me for more content like this and let me know if you need any help with your product analytics!

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Between April 2023 and March 2024, the top category in seed rounds in both capital raised and valuation was (gasp!) HR. Despite the typical skepticism around HR tech, data from 1,271 priced seed rounds show that HR startups outpaced other industries with the highest median pre-money valuation and the highest median cash raised. This trend contradicts some investors' perceptions and highlights the growing importance of human resources technology and its potential to drive significant value and attract substantial investment. h/t Peter Walker and the always insightful Carta data.

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Today, I had the privilege of attending a meeting with Omer K and HASSAN AYUB and the incredible team at Maida.Co. The conversation was packed with actionable insights on app growth strategies that I’m excited to implement. Here are two key takeaways: 𝐅𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭. Retention is just as important as acquisition—delivering value consistently keeps users coming back. 𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚-𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. Understanding user behavior and iterating quickly is the key to staying ahead in the competitive app market. At NextSalution, these strategies align perfectly with our mission to innovate and scale our apps, which are already serving millions of users. As we prepare to launch our upcoming solutions, these insights will be invaluable. Grateful for the knowledge shared by Omer K and HASSAN AYUB—conversations like these fuel progress. What’s one app growth strategy you’ve found effective? Let’s share ideas in the comments! #AppGrowth #Innovation #Leadership #NextSalution #Networking

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Listening to Lekan Bashua, one of the most brilliant minds in startups. He's maximizing AI to create what could have cost a million dollars to start, only $1,000. We're extending his session. https://lnkd.in/dDuWbMAa

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Scalability is key to any successful engineering project, and at incentiv, we’re constantly pushing boundaries to create solutions that don’t just work today but scale for tomorrow. From engineering architecture to driving liquidity in the secondary market for startup equity, it’s all about building with purpose. Indranil Tiwary Aman Khubani Anadi Sharma Varun Agrawal Utkarsh Birla Tanisha Shrivas #Engineering #FullStackDevelopment #Startups #FinTech #ProductEngineers

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The "80/20 Principle" for Founders—explained in 1 minute 👇 𝟭. 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 80% distribution, 20% product Focus on getting your product out there more than perfecting the product. 𝟮. 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵: 80% retention, 20% acquisition Keeping customers is far more cost-effective than acquiring new ones. 𝟯. 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲: 80% existing customers, 20% new leads The majority of revenue will come from upsells and renewals over leads. 𝟰. 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀: 80% positioning tweaks, 20% actual price changes How you present the value of your product over constantly changing the price. 𝟱. 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴: 80% customer experience, 20% logo design A strong brand is more about delivering a great customer experience than having a great logo. 𝟲. 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀: 80% listening, 20% pitching Understand your customer’s needs BEFORE pitching your product. 𝟳. 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴: 80% empowering users, 20% company-led initiatives Empower your users to engage over top-down company initiatives. 𝟴. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁: 80% core features, 20% nice-to-haves Keep improving essential, high-impact features over adding new ones. 𝟵. 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲: 80% executing, 20% strategizing Planning is useless without the execution to make real progress. 𝟭𝟬. 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀: 80% user feedback, 20% user behavior Gathering user feedback will tell you more than observing behavior. 𝟭𝟭. 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴: 80% value perception, 20% actual costs How customers perceive the value of your product can be a lot more than its cost. 𝟭𝟮. 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: 80% word-of-mouth, 20% paid ads Organic growth is far more sustainable than relying heavily on paid ads. 𝟭𝟯. 𝗨𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗻𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴: 80% aha moments, 20% feature tutorials Creating aha moments is more impactful than explaining it. 𝟭𝟰. 𝗨𝗜/𝗨𝗫: 80% intuitive flow, 20% aesthetic appeal Make it easy to navigate first, and then add aesthetics. 𝟭𝟱. 𝗩𝗶𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵: 80% reducing friction, 20% incentivizing sharing Making it easy for users to adopt your product works better than incentives. 𝟭𝟲. 𝗥𝗼𝗮𝗱𝗺𝗮𝗽: 80% market pull, 20% vision push Build what the market is asking for over trying to push a vision. 𝟭𝟳. 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: 80% context setting, 20% direct orders Providing the context and vision is more effective than micromanaging. 𝟭𝟴. 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝘀: 80% observing, 20% asking Observing how they react can tell you more than direct questions. 𝟭𝟵. 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴: 80% owning a niche, 20% broad appeal Owning a niche will bring more success than trying to appeal to everyone. 𝟮𝟬. 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲: 80% working on the business, 20% in the business Focus on the 80% that impacts the most growth and less on day-to-day operations. Share, save, bookmark, or print this goldmine for any founder. #strategy #startups #growth #technology #i5growth #i5invest Image Credit: Greg Isenberg

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Last call! Don't miss our online event today at 12pm ET with Hooman Shahidi, Chief Product Officer at SimpliSafe. We'll talk about how product teams are structured at the company; Building hardware, software, & services; Working with cross-functional teams; Getting feedback from consumers; How AI will change the role of Product Management; and more!!!

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In just 7 weeks, we've turned the idea Outhad AI! 🚀 into a revenue-generating startup, thanks to the incredible support from Anthony Swindell and the gener8tor team. 🙌 Join us on December 11th at 6 PM at the gBETA Beloit Showcase as we share our story, talk tech, and showcase how Outhad AI is shaping the #future of e-commerce with AI-powered #recommendations. Learn more about us at 🌐 outhad.com – we can’t wait to see you there! #startup #AI #entrepreneurship #ecommerce #innovation

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Why do 99% of YC founders fail post-demo day? Ever notice how startups in Y Combinator operate? They work backward over 3 months, go full throttle, and by the end, many land major funding.  But what happens after the big launch? This initial momentum tends to wear off, and most companies get trapped in a slump, almost like quicksand - slowly and steadily but not realizing you're unable to get out. At Oliv, we fell into the same trap—a massive build-up, then a dip in energy, followed by another scramble to get things going again. It wasn’t sustainable. That’s when we decided to convert YC training into a process. We decided to do a launch every 8 weeks. Why 8 weeks? And why not the standard 3 to 6 months? For a start-up at our stage, we need to ideate fast and execute even faster. This sweet spot gives us just the right amount of time to plan, ideate, and execute—all with a laser focus on our next big goal. No more long lulls or lost momentum. Here’s our approach: - OKRs: After each launch, the team sets clear OKRs for the next launch. It’s all about aligning with the big picture while keeping it actionable. - Tailored sprints: Marketing thrives on weekly sprints for agility, while engineering goes bi-weekly to dive deep into complex tasks. And this is why it works,  - Complete visibility: We see everything in motion at a glance—team objectives, progress, and any bottlenecks. Decisions get made faster, and issues get resolved quicker. - Velocity, not speed: While we want to execute faster, launches help us tweak and realign in the direction the market needs us. - Accountability becomes habit: With structured sprints, everyone stays aligned, transparent, and accountable. No one’s coasting—ownership is built into the process. Switching to 8-week sprints wasn’t easy, but it’s been a game-changer for us at Oliv.  We’re no longer just launching products—we’re consistently delivering results, staying energized, and reaching the potential we knew was there.

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‘The Power of Pause’ -Mohammad Afeez, CEO As I sip my morning coffee, I realize that my greatest successes began with a single word: wait. In today's fast-paced world, waiting is a strategic advantage. At Geek Buds Designs, we've learned to: •⁠ ⁠Refocus on innovation •⁠ ⁠Build resilience •⁠ ⁠Foster deeper customer connections Waiting is not laziness; it's strategic patience. Key Takeaway: Slow down to speed up. Share your own experiences in the comments!

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I helped a VC company with over 400 portfolio companies & $1B raised in follow-on funding rank #2 with a link I built them… Here’s how: Two months ago I talked with the Marketing Manager of Forum Ventures an Early Stage B2B SasS fund. They needed a link-building partner to: - Reach out to relevant companies, media outlets, and bloggers - Setup off-page strategy that will increase brand awareness - Effectively establish meaningful partnerships - Facilitate industry-relevant backlinks They had a great brand, lots of authority, and were willing to invest in growing. Once we analyzed the industry and the website we immediately saw that one particular strategy would reap results quickly and effectively. Listicles. Yes..those "Best X" types of list articles. So using Ahrefs and Google search we: 1/ Extracted all relevant results. 2/ Setup a multi-layered outreach sequences 3/ Cross-matched them with the client's Ref. Domains 4/ Filtered out the best opportunities (based on Traffic/Relevance) ..and started reaching out. We began facilitating backlinks from such lists one by one and moving forward with adding more off-page strategies.. A week ago while on a call with the Marketing Manager at Forum Ventures, she casually mentioned that a few days before our meeting they invested in a SaaS company that found them through one of the listicles we built. (We facilitated an inclusion at #2 from a list of 92 companies) And it was all because we were able to understand: - Their Goals - Their Industry - Their Brand - Where they want to position themselves That said, if you are a SaaS/Tech company and you aren’t leveraging listicles, you could be missing out on a great way to: - Build brand awareness - Drive direct traffic - Earn industry-relevant backlinks - Scale your non-paid traffic We've helped over 10 companies in the last 12 months double first-page positions & non-paid traffic using industry-relevant off-page strategies while eliminating unnecessary micromanagement, allowing them to focus on their core product/service. I guarantee it could do the same for you. Want to learn how to implement it? Comment "Listicles" and I'll send you the framework we use for this strategy in detail.

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Something I wish I had on my wall a few years ago. Y Combinator has invested in over 4,000 companies that have a combined valuation of over $600B. Here's what they consider their most important, most transformative advice for startups: 01. Launch now 02. Build something people want 03. Do things that don't scale 04. Find the 90 / 10 solution 05. Find 10-100 customers who love your product 06. All startups are badly broken at some point 07. Write code - talk to users 08. "It’s not your money" 09. Growth is the result of a great product not the precursor 10. Don’t scale your team/product until you have built something people want 11. Valuation is not equal to success or even probability of success 12. Avoid long negotiated deals with big customers if you can 13. Avoid big company corporate development queries - they will only waste time 14. Avoid conferences unless they are the best way to get customers 15. Pre-product market fit - do things that don’t scale: remain small/nimble 16. Startups can only solve one problem well at any given time 17. Founder relationships matter more than you think 18. Sometimes you need to fire your customers (they might be killing you) 19. Ignore your competitors, you will more likely die of suicide than murder 20. Most companies don't die because they run out of money 21. Be nice! Or at least don’t be a jerk 22. Get sleep and exercise - take care of yourself #yc

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My top 6 of this list: 5 / 6 / 8 / 10 / 12 / 17.

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This year, I wasn’t able to attend GITEX GLOBAL Largest Tech & Startup Show in the World in person and participate in Expand North Star the event dedicated to startups. However, some of my colleagues from VC Lab who are there shared with me a few potential companies to invest in from #HealthTech and #BioTech. What pleasantly surprises me is the growing number of companies addressing #oncology solutions this year. 💡 Some of these companies are working on cancer detection 🧬, while others are focused on developing innovative treatments for cancer. 🔬 I can’t wait to introduce them to you and watch them progress through our Tech Add-Venture Accelerator.🚀 For #investors interested in #HealthTech and #BioTech, especially in companies addressing #oncology #solutions, please feel free to DM me. I would love to connect and co-invest in these startups that are sure to make a positive impact on the world. 🌍💙 #GITEX2024 #HealthTech #BioTech #OncologySolutions #CancerDetection #StartupInvesting #TechAdventure #InnovationInHealthcare #VCCommunity #InvestInTheFuture #ImpactInvesting

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VC Secrets: How I Use GRR and NRR Signals to Identify Investable Software Startups When evaluating software startups for investment, I rely on two key retention metrics: Net Revenue Retention (NRR) and Gross Revenue Retention (GRR). These metrics reveal how well a company retains its revenue and grows it through upsells, providing clear indicators of scalability and product-market fit. 📊 NRR > 100% and GRR > 80% are my go-to benchmarks. Here’s how I break it down: 🚀 Rocket Ship (High NRR, High GRR): These startups are ideal candidates because they retain and expand revenue, signaling product-market fit and efficient scaling potential. 🪣 Leaky Bucket (High NRR, Low GRR): Growth through upsells, but customer churn is dragging retention down. I ask: Is the ICP misaligned? How quickly does the product deliver value? These insights help me assess whether the company can plug revenue leaks. 🔗 Shackled Sprinter (Low NRR, High GRR): Great retention but no upsell strategy—my focus shifts to understanding their upsell/cross-sell strategy. Even great retention won’t lead to the scalable growth I seek if expansion opportunities are lacking. 🧟‍♂️ Walking Dead (Low NRR, Low GRR): Weak product-market fit with high churn. High risk without a clear pivot strategy. I look for potential pivots or I pass if no clear path to recovery exists. 📍 Sometimes, just one is enough: While I usually consider both metrics, sometimes one carries more weight than the other, depending on the startup's stage. For example, early-stage companies with strong GRR show retention potential, while growth-stage companies with high NRR indicate scalability. 👉 Bottom Line: By analyzing GRR and NRR within the retention dimension, I gain insights into how well a company maintains and grows revenue from its existing customer base. In addition, I evaluate the economic dimension through unit economics to understand the underlying financial sustainability. Together, these metrics reveal a company’s growth potential, with segment-level insights often uncovering hidden risks or opportunities that guide investment decisions and post-investment support. #VentureCapital #SaaS #Fundraising #SeriesA #Seed #Startups #CustomerRetention

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[21] New venture. Same founders. Consulting vs Product. 2018 vs 2024. Here are ten quick comparisons between our first year back in 2018, founding Jungle Devs, and 2024, building our new venture: #1 2018: Service-based, bootstrapped company with free cash flow since inception. 2024: Too early to talk about breaking even. We're building a product for a few customers and focusing on iterating repeatedly to narrow our ICP and get closer to PMF. #2 2018: Founder-led sales. 2024: Founder-led sales. #3 2018: We need more talent for us to hire. 2024: We’ll grow our headcount once we have confidence in our ICP. #4 2018: “By the time you read this, things have already changed.” This was the first line of our org structure doc, shared with everyone joining Jungle in 2018. 2024: “By the time you read this, things have already changed.” This is just how we operate. Iterate quickly. #5 2018: "I spent the day working on feature A for client X. I’ll push code from feature A and move to feature B. No blockers." Typical stand-up meeting. 2024: “We decided to pause feature A development and focus on this customer feedback until we get it done.” Typical Dynamo meeting (see post #15 in the comments). #6 2018: Every client had dev, staging, and production environments. 2024: No staging. The code gets pushed to production every day. #7 2018: Very few commits on Saturdays or Sundays. 2024: At least one commit on almost every Saturday or Sunday. #8 2018: Founders traveling to South Africa together—no marriage, no kids. 2024: The founders travel to Foz do Iguaçu together. Everyone is married, with four babies under three years old. #9 2018: There were no company roles at all. Roles were introduced in 2019. In year one, we were still figuring out who handled XYZ. 2024: We’ve defined our team roles for external visibility. Internally, we don't care about roles—we know exactly who handles XYZ. #10 2018: More projects than we could handle—no time for marketing or public relations. 2024: Distribution is challenging. We’re slowly building our audience while sharing our journey. This may sound familiar if you’re on the software consulting to software product path (see post #12 in the comments). We most likely have something to learn and share with you. DM me. Pic: Founders working while traveling in South Africa—Cape Town, April 2018. You get the difference from post #19 (link in the comments) with us in Foz do Iguaçu traveling with our families. This is post #21 of a series I’m writing while founding a startup still in stealth mode. You can navigate between posts 1-20 using the hashtag #behindthescenesonstealth #nektjourney. Let’s work!

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