You're receiving this because we've had a real conversation.
In the end, this will likely be one of the most personal videos I ever create, and I've second-guessed sharing it publicly more than once. (I may only share it with you all and take it down)
This one isn't directly focused on building a business inside the world of golf. But I think it's imperative that every founder and investor in this community has a better understanding of how quickly things can change, and what signals to look out for to protect your vision and your upside.
So here's what I'd encourage you to do: watch the video all the way to the end and then if you want more of the nitty-gritty from 13 years of building a startup and navigating two acquisitions, pick up the book.
It's unlikely I'll go this deep into the hard lessons very often, because they're not easy to talk about and can get me into trouble. But I wanted to make sure the people who are here early with me can benefit from all the scar tissue I've picked up along the way.
Insights from this week's one-on-ones:
🎯 On verbal commits: A founder I work with heard from an interested VC who said: I’ll try out the app and invest if the football team I own avoids relegation.
My response: "That's exactly the conversations I'm talking about. The if this, then that shit that can kill an early company.”
Don't get bogged down by soft commits. In the end, it's better for you to say NO first.
🐘 On bootstrapping: Better to be an elephant than a Unicorn.
An Elephant is a company designed to last, often characterized as wise, slow, and steady, contrasting with unicorns, which prioritize fast growth at all costs
🔗 On JV partnerships: "If you're attaching your destiny to someone else's balance sheet. No matter how much you love each other starting out, you're still at risk."
Partnerships can be transformative. They can also be a massive distraction. If you're hinging your entire company's growth model on a third party, that's way too much risk to take on.
Why You Need Custom KPIs
Stop chasing industry benchmarks as your only source of truth.
It’s easy to get stuck tracking DAU, MAU, ARR, MRR etc. as your core health metrics.
The founders who execute at the highest level build their own internal KPIs so they can own their story and their growth.
One quick example: an active user for you may be very different than an active user inside of another platform. Understanding what keeps people coming back and how often they come back is incredibly important, so don't get stuck tracking somebody else's definition with this one.
In short, the more you're in control of your own story, the less likely you are to get 🦈
Here's a starting framework:
Acquisition
How many people found you this week vs. last week
Where did they come from (and which channel is actually converting)
Activation (highly specific to your product - define this yourself)
What does your "aha moment" look like and what % of users hit it
How long does it take them to get there
Engagement (this one will change as you learn more about your users)
Are people doing the thing your product was actually built for
What does usage look like at week 2 and week 4 vs. week 1
Revenue
Trial-to-paid conversion rate
What did it take for someone to actually pay
Retention
Month-over-month churn
Net revenue retention — are paying users spending more over time or less
*Activation and Engagement should eventually spell out exactly how you onboard people, what your trial looks like, and ultimately what your offer and pricing lands on.
The Game of Control
It comes down to one question: how much ownership are you actually willing to give up to hit your goals - and is it worth it?
In other words, you must master your cap table so you can actually play the game without getting 🦈
How well do you actually know your cap table right now?
Keep fighting the good fight. See ya next week 👊
-Spencer
(P.S. Hit the poll. Seriously.)