Founder Response Time & Startup Success, Tech Co-Founders Needed (?), Best Marketing ROI & More
Digesting Insights From the Data
👋 Hi, I’m Andre and welcome to my weekly newsletter, Data-driven VC. Every Tuesday, I publish “Insights” to digest the most relevant startup research & reports, and every Thursday, I publish “Essays” that cover hands-on insights about data-driven innovation & AI in VC. Follow along to understand how startup investing becomes more data-driven, why it matters, and what it means for you.
Welcome to another “INSIGHTS” episode where we cover the most interesting startup research & reports from the previous two weeks.
We read all reports, studies, and papers about startups and the wider ecosystem, and condense the most important insights for you.
The only source you need to keep up with data-driven startup insights.
Stop Looking for a Technical Co-Founder
In the entrepreneurial world, the journey from idea to execution is often hampered by the search for a technical co-founder. Nir Zicherman explores how many founders believe finding a technical partner is crucial for their startup's success, but the reality is starkly different. Here's why aspiring entrepreneurs should consider becoming the technical force behind their ideas:
Scarcity of Technical Co-founders: There's a significant imbalance between the number of idea-makers and available technical co-founders. Most startups waiting for such partners either never launch or fail due to insufficient internal capabilities to innovate and iterate.
The Self-Taught Success: Learning to code or handle the technical aspects of a startup is feasible at any stage of life. The narrative of needing a formal technical background is debunked by many successful entrepreneurs who began with no such education but adapted to meet the demands of their projects.
Solo to Co-founder Journey: While being your own technical co-founder is empowering, the importance of having a supportive partner in the startup journey is undeniable. This partnership can alleviate the challenges and loneliness often faced by solo founders.
✈️ KEY TAKEAWAYS
Aspiring founders are encouraged to acquire the necessary technical skills to build their vision, transforming themselves into the invested co-founders their startups need. This approach not only accelerates the development process but also enriches your understanding and control over your venture.
Is Founder Response Time Predictive of Future Success?
In an analysis of email exchanges with 1,500 startups between 2012 and 2020, Adam Shuaib from Episode1 aimed to determine if the speed of founder responses could predict future success in terms of their ability to secure further funding.
Criteria for Analysis: Only startups with at least three email interactions were considered, ensuring that median response times were neither too high nor skewed by limited data.
Success criteria: The benchmark for success was whether a startup went on to raise a Series-A round, a milestone achieved by approximately 10% of the companies in the dataset.
The shocking findings: Founders of companies that later secured Series-A funding typically responded to initial emails twice as fast as those who did not progress to further funding rounds.
✈️ KEY TAKEAWAYS
The findings suggest that responsiveness may be an overlooked indicator of a founder's commitment and efficiency, potentially influencing their venture's success in securing future investment. The assumption is that this behaviour translates to quick turnaround times in customer and stakeholder interactions.
The Mixed State of Startup Funding in 2024: A Cautious Start with Bright Spots
The first quarter of 2024 has painted a mixed picture of the global startup funding landscape, according to recent Crunchbase data. While the overall investment tone remained cautious, certain sectors like AI, healthcare, and energy saw significant financial injections, highlighting a selective yet optimistic investment approach.