Oversubscribed Weekly #13

A must-read from a founder

Here it goes! My best attempt at compressing the last eight years of Gumroad into a single article. Includes: Failing to raise money, laying off 75% of the company, building back up and becoming profitable, restructuring our cap table, and more…https://t.co/m4XHanlvIs

— Sahil Lavingia (@shl) 7 de febrero de 2019

Sahil Lavingia, the founder of Gumroad, wrote a tell-all, Reflecting on My Failure to Build a Billion-Dollar Company which is a 13-minute must-read for any founder considering raising money. His experience demonstrates the highs and lows of building a VC-backed startup., and all the nuances in-between. He recalled that “every month of less than 20% growth should have been a red flag” —an unforgiving truth when you begin growing on the venture-backed path.

A must-read from the other side of the table

Lost a deal recently. I HATE LOSING. But it makes you stronger. Was a great chance to reflect with the team on how to improve. I dug out this post from many years ago that still holds true: https://t.co/ZBhKo8iKun

— Mark Suster (@msuster) 7 de febrero de 2019

Mark Suster dug up an old post, detailing how he lost a deal. Max and I have written extensively in our book (and this newsletter) about the importance of creating competition for your deal and generating FOMO for investors. In Mark’s essay, founders can get the perspective of an investor who lost a deal. Remember that a successful fundraise doesn’t include asking investors for money, but rather making investors compete for your deal. With a good fundraise, there should be losers. 

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