A Deep Dive into Finding Product Market Fit with Sean Sheppard, Venture Capitalist and Managing Partner at Corporate Venture Builder U+.
Are you an early-stage startup struggling to attract investors and find product-market fit?
Do you ever wonder what you might be missing when it comes to presenting to VCs?
Well, we recently spoke with the brilliant mind that is Sean, and he dropped some major knowledge bombs on the subject.
Sean is a savvy serial entrepreneur, who knows how to make a business boom! With three successful exits and a background in Venture Capital, Sean is the Managing Partner at Corporate Venture Builder U+.
For over 30 years, Sean has been bringing new products to market as a five-times sales founder. With his extensive experience and expertise, he helps startups find their footing in the industry and develop predictable revenue models.
It's no wonder Sean has been recognized as one of the Top Sales Influencers You Should Be Following on social media.
Transparency is the Key in Entrepreneurial Ventures
You know that feeling when someone isn't being totally honest with you?
Well, that's exactly what gets VC investors like our speaker here worried.
In our conversation with Sean, he pointed out that most young start-ups often lack honesty when presenting to VCs.
And that's a big issue because finding product market fit is a tough journey.
“...tell me what you don't know and how you're going to find out; to be a learner at all instead of a know-it-all and have that growth mindset...embrace ambiguity. Replace the word rejection in your vocabulary with feedback, and you see feedback as a gift...” ---Sean Sheppard
It's not just about what entrepreneurs are holding back from investors; it's about their attitude towards learning and growth.
Building a successful startup isn't just about having a great idea or cool technology...
It's about understanding the problem you're trying to solve, and the people you're trying to solve it for.
Balancing Immediate Gains with Long-Term Strategy
One of the pressing topics about market strategy is the difference in mindset between those who prioritize short-term gains and those with a strategic understanding of technology companies.
Sean explains why Wall Street guys tend to prioritize quarterly earnings...
While those with a strategic understanding of technology companies can see the bigger picture.
Adobe's acquisition of Figma is an example.
Sean emphasizes the importance and the need to adapt between generational demographics and to own relationships with customers to stay on top in the long run
“...if you don't adapt, you are going to die... that doesn't mean you can't reinvent yourself tomorrow. I think everybody can and everybody should. But you have to stay out in front to stay relevant. And that means understanding the Gen Z demographic versus the millennial demographic...” ---Sean Sheppard
Sean’s Insight about the Shift of the Knowledge-Worker to Intellectual Capitalist
“The way that we're investing now is we're giving less money to more companies earlier on...Because applied technology means anybody can do it … and that measured by the cost acquire customer over the customer lifetime value...and it was because they could find product market fit, and they understood the real problem.” - Sean Sheppard
This is the age of infinite leverage.
In today's age of applied technology, it's easier than ever to get products into the market but also harder than ever to get traction for them.
Sean gave an example like what happened to match.com which Will Bunker founded.
He found a repeatable, predictable, scalable customer acquisition channel through affiliate marketing.
They reinvested all their capital and never raised any more money, and that's how they found product-market fit.
The cost to acquire customers over the customer lifetime value is the key ratio to measure this.
Connect With Sean
Sean is a serial entrepreneur with 3 exits, Venture Capitalist and Managing Partner at Corporate Venture Builder U+. He is a globally recognized thought leader with over 30 years of experience bringing new products to market, including as a five-times sales founder with three exits.
In addition to helping hundreds of startups find product market fit and predictable revenue models, Sean helps global multinationals to identify new applications for their existing technology portfolio, bring new products to market with profitable business models, and organize and train self-managing early product stage sales and marketing teams. Sean was named as One of the Top Sales Influencers You Should Be Following on social media.
Sean is an active mentor, advisor and guest lecturer at global startup accelerators, innovation conferences, and colleges and universities including NASDAQ, 500 Startups, Y Combinator, Galvanize, Alchemist, GSVLabs, London Business School and the Owen School of Business at Vanderbilt University. He’s now committed to working with countries, companies, entrepreneurs and those who want to work with them on building startup ecosystems to find product-market fit and developing the next generation of leaders for the innovation economy.
LinkedIn | Instagram Sean Sheppard (@seanasheppard)
Mentioned:
Will Bunker
Andy Raskin - The Greatest Pitch Deck I've ever Seen about Zuora.
Jim Collins - Good to Great
