Okay, I just got investment from the largest and most reputable VC in my country.

As part of the deal, I will have access to around 1000 large companies. Basically VC can just call these companies and have them try/buy my product. So this really is a golden ticket. The VC money I am getting is also a pretty size-able amount.

This is a pre-seed round, my product is still at ideation phase. What I am looking to develop is basically airtable.com competitor, but much easier to use, more geared toward small/medium enterprises and will have more country specific integrations. Basically I have unlimited access to distribution and sales should come easy, given the respect VC has in my country.

Given that I will have immediate access to about 1000 large b2b customers, is airtable like competitor the best course of action? Or is there a better idea I can develop into an MVP? My main goal is to develop the MVP and get to profitability as fast as possible.

  • Bavoon@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Having seen this situation personally, a warning: those 1000 companies will convert horribly.

    (Caveat: anecdotal / YMMV)

    No-one likes a call from their investor telling them to use a new product. Many people take the calls because they are afraid to say no.

    This leads to weeks and months of painful, drawn out sales where the companies are trying to avoid doing anything but refuse to say “no”. They will give a million reasons why your product is not for them, distracting you from your real focus with fake feature requests. They will still say no at the end. Your VC will then look at your badly, because these companies come up with a million valid reasons to not use you.

    These are NOT potential customers, they are hostages.

    • triggerbee1@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      10 months ago

      👆 this. We’ve been in the same situation, and the same promise is made everytime we sell into a company that is part of a larger consortium of brands.

      It’s always the same story “since we use it you’re not going to have any trouble getting our other 10 companies as customers.”.

      It’s a negotiation tactic, and rarely a true opportunity.

      Also, VC’s are pretty well-known for pushing stuff without knowing anything about it, and like Baboon said… They’ll come up with VALID reasons for not using you.

      At least this is my experience.

      With that said, you might have a killer product and team. Perhaps you’ll be able to replace Airtable and spreadsheets for smaller companies.

      If you do however, that growth is most likely going to come from YOU and your company’s execution. Not your VC.

      So, don’t take your VC as a golden ticket. You are your own golden ticket.

      • Ecstatic-Balance-274@alien.topOPBEnglish
        1·
        10 months ago

        So, don’t take your VC as a golden ticket. You are your own golden ticket.

        And yes I am definitely going to work my ass off to make this work. Will live in my office if I have to

        • Bavoon@alien.topBEnglish
          1·
          10 months ago

          To try and help, here are some types of hard work that probably won’t be the deciding factor in a successful startup:

          Long hours, sleeping at work, giving it 100%.

          Here are somethings that do help:

          Challenging your biases, admitting you were wrong, being vulnerable and accepting good feedback, growing as a person and a professional.

          Some people find the 2nd list MUCH harder. Try not to be the person that lies to themselves and grinds away instead of learning from mistakes.