Business Growth Insights

I had a call with a YC founder building a billion-dollar company in an AI-native way, and he phrased the new world pretty well. The simplest path to building a $1B+ company? It's not fundraising. It's not team building. It's not even product. It's collecting insights before you need capital. Here's what most founders miss: 1/ The biggest mistake founders make: Raising millions before understanding their market. A YC founder who's building a unicorn told me: "The only thing lacking from building a large company isn't money - it's insights." Here's why this matters: 2/ The landscape has changed dramatically: • AWS made infrastructure cheap • No-code tools reduced dev costs • AI accelerated development • Remote work lowered overhead Result? You need 90% less capital than 10 years ago to start. 3/ But here's what hasn't changed: You still need deep market insights to win. Look at the most successful founders: • Brian Chesky (Airbnb) - Lived the problem • Patrick Collison (Stripe) - Felt the pain firsthand • Tobi Lütke (Shopify) - Built for his own needs 4/ The modern playbook is backwards: ❌ Raise millions ❌ Hire a team ❌ Then figure it out ✅ Gather insights ✅ Test assumptions ✅ Build minimal solution ✅ Let customers pull you forward 5/ How to become an insight-gathering machine: • Talk to 100 potential customers • Join industry Discord servers • Attend niche conferences • Follow practitioners, not influencers • Build side projects in your space 6/ The math of insights: • Every conversation = 1 new insight • Every insight = 10% better product • Every improvement = 2x easier sale • Every sale = 3 more conversations It compounds rapidly. 7/ Signs you have enough insights: • You can predict customer objections • You know the market size firsthand • You understand why others failed • You have customers asking to pay 8/ The secret most founders miss: Money amplifies execution. But insights determine direction. Without insights, more money just helps you go in the wrong direction faster. 9/ Your first job as a founder: Become the most knowledgeable person in your space. Not through: • Reading blogs • Watching videos • Following trends But through: • Direct conversations • Real experiments • Hands-on experience The answer to the "What's your insight" question is worth millions.

In today's fast-paced startup ecosystem, making decisions based on gut instinct is no longer enough. Startups that harness the power of data analytics gain a competitive edge by improving 𝖾𝖿𝖿𝗂𝖼𝗂𝖾𝗇𝖼𝗒, understanding customer 𝖻𝖾𝗁𝖺𝗏𝗂𝗈𝗋, and optimizing 𝖿𝗂𝗇𝖺𝗇𝖼𝗂𝖺𝗅 planning. 𝑺𝒐, 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒑𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒂 𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒚𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔? 𝐻𝑒𝑟𝑒’𝑠 𝑎 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑝-𝑏𝑦-𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑝 𝑔𝑢𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑝 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑏𝑢𝑖𝑙𝑑 𝑎 𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑎-𝑑𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑦𝑏𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑠𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛-𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔: 1️⃣ 𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐌𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐬 (What Matters Most?): Before diving into data collection, identify the KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) that align with your startup’s goals. ✅ 𝓟𝓻𝓸 𝓣𝓲𝓹: Avoid tracking too many metrics at once—prioritize the ones that drive real impact. 2️⃣ Set Up a Robust Data Collection Process: Once you know what to measure, build systems to capture data efficiently. ✅ 𝓟𝓻𝓸 𝓣𝓲𝓹: Automate data collection where possible to save time and reduce errors. 3️⃣ 𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐂𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬 (Know Their Behavior!): Use data to segment your audience and analyze buying patterns, preferences, and feedback. ✅ 𝓟𝓻𝓸 𝓣𝓲𝓹: Use A/B testing to refine marketing strategies and optimize conversion rates. 4️⃣ Use Predictive Analytics for Smarter Forecasting: Predictive analytics helps startups anticipate market trends, demand fluctuations, and potential risks. ✅ 𝓟𝓻𝓸 𝓣𝓲𝓹: Start with basic forecasting models using Excel or Python before advancing to AI-driven insights. 5️⃣ Optimize Pricing & Financial Planning: Analyze customer willingness to pay, competitor pricing, and demand elasticity to set the right price points. ✅ 𝓟𝓻𝓸 𝓣𝓲𝓹: Use cohort analysis to understand customer retention and optimize cash flow strategies. 6️⃣ 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐀𝐠𝐢𝐥𝐞, 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚-𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: By leveraging real-time dashboards and reports, teams can react faster to market shifts and customer needs. ✅ 𝓟𝓻𝓸 𝓣𝓲𝓹: Foster a culture where decisions are backed by data, not just intuition. 7️⃣ Continuously Iterate & Improve: Keep refining your data models, experiment with new variables, and stay agile as your startup grows. ✅ 𝓟𝓻𝓸 𝓣𝓲𝓹: Conduct monthly data audits to ensure accuracy and relevance in your analytics. 🔹 The Bottom Line: Startups that master data analytics gain a massive edge in today’s competitive landscape. 💡 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒊𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖’𝒗𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒂-𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔? #DataDrivenDecisionMaking #StartupEcosystems #Startups #BusinessStrategies

In 66 months, I helped grow Gong from $200k ARR to $7.2B in valuation and worked alongside some of the planet's best sales leaders. Here's the 6 biggest lessons I learned: 1. Overinvest in great marketing early on. I’m still shocked at how few startups do this. Sales with no (effective) marketing early on to pave demand and provide air-cover is a brute-force way to build. 2. Measure twice, cut once when hiring leaders. Your first leadership hires will have cascading effects on your company that ripple through many years. Their fingerprints will weigh heavy on everything from your sales motion, to company culture, to the people they hire, whether you want it to or not. Even after they’re gone. Recruit and hire accordingly. 3. Beat the hell out of what’s working. Finding what works in growing a startup is like drilling for oil. You’re going to drill a number of "wells" and come up dry. But soon, you’ll find one to go DEEP with. Drill it for all it’s worth. Don’t screw around trying to find too many other oil wells when you haven’t even maxed out your best one. 4. Hire salespeople who thrive on ambiguity. Not just those who CAN do that, but those who LOVE to do it (because they'll be doing this for a while as your market evolves). Do this, and you’ll accelerate your learning curve to a repeatable sales motion. Hire entrepreneurial reps. 5. Inject risk into the business as you scale. As you scale, your “portfolio” of growth initiatives should contain more and more risk. It's as if you're a fund manager. Early on, find what works and cling to it. But as you grow and you’re able to rely on several well-established growth vectors, start to introduce risk into your portfolio. Examples: Experimenting with channel partnerships, international, new segments of the market or use cases. 6. Realize the "growth at scale" playbook is different than the "scale up" and "startup" playbooks. What got you to $50M or $100M will not get you to the next level by itself. The path to $100M, and going beyond that (“growth-at-scale”) are two very different situations demanding different means of growing. Early on, nothing matters but (the right) customer acquisition, controlling churn, and making your product absolutely amazing. But if you’re going to continue growing at a fast rate, several other methods have to start firing: high net dollar retention (NDR), multi-product and multiple streams of ARR, going hard and fast on international expansion, and crossing the chasm into “low tech” industries. This list is non-exhaustive. For those of you who have ridden that tornado, what would you add? P.S. Turn "open opps" into paying customers at any phase of growth with these 10 closing motion scripts: https://lnkd.in/gtxYd9Vs

I've invested £120 million into 13 businesses through Growth Partner. Here are 25 lessons from 30 years of building, scaling, and investing: I made plenty of mistakes on the road to exiting HomeServe for £4.1 billion. And each time I did, I learned a new lesson that made me a better entrepreneur. This is for anyone building something ambitious right now: 1. Copy and pivot. Second mover advantage beats being first with an unproven model. 2. If you think you should fire someone, don't wait. Do it today. 3. Build yourself before you build the business. 4. Build an omnichannel strategy where bricks, clicks, and paper work together. 5. You'll work harder than you've ever worked. 6. Work on the business, not in it. 7. Locals buy from locals. Make sure to hire local when you go global. 8. Use direct mail because others have stopped. So now you get a bigger share of the doormat. 9. Test before you invest. (We lost £50,000 a month at first because I skipped this.) 10. Grow by evolving your business not revolutionising it.  11. Create a "not-to-do" list and stick to it. 12. Be a hedgehog, not a fox, when scaling to a billion. 13. Character beats strategy every time. 14. Never stop learning. I'm still reading books at 61. 15. Have the difficult conversations you've been avoiding. 16. Prove demand before you scale. 17. Don't give away too much equity too early. 18. Cash is king. You can't eat net worth. 19. Step up and hire your replacement before it's too late. 20. There's no excuse for poor due diligence. 21. Get the economics right from the start. 22. The UK needs to focus more on scale-ups and start-ups. 23. Customer feedback is your goldmine. 24. Hire for persistence, courage, and integrity, not just skills. 25. Find a coach and a mentor early to guide you. Building a billion-pound business isn't terribly complex. But it does require learning from mistakes and staying focused despite setbacks. That's how you persist long after others have quit. If you want to share your favourite lesson or add one to the list,  Leave a comment down below. 

10 non-obvious lessons for entrepreneurs, creators and builders from building Heights into a £20M revenue company: 1. 𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴. With ADHD, distractions are everywhere. Focus like your business depends on it-because it does. 2. 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁. We started as a newsletter called 𝗗𝗮𝘄𝗻 with no idea where it would go. Starting created the clarity. Lesson: act first, refine later. 3. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹-𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹. People don’t buy science. They buy feelings. Your customer is the hero of the story, not your product. 4. 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 > 𝗮𝗰𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. At Heights, our #1 growth metric has always been retention. New customers are fuel. Retained customers are the foundation. 5. 𝗠𝗼𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹. Fundraising is hard. Waking up every day and keeping momentum is harder. Persistence-showing up despite setbacks-is 90% of the game. 6. 𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗽𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗰𝗼-𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀. Skills can be learned, hired, or outsourced. Trust is the only non-negotiable. 7. 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰. “Stealth mode” is a 🚩. Share what you’re building, get feedback, and bring people into the journey early. 8. 𝗜𝗴𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. Viral activations and trendy campaigns look great on social but don’t compound. Focus on the unsexy work that actually drives growth. For us, it was email. 9. 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘀. Your brand 𝗶𝘀 trust. It takes years to build and seconds to lose. Protect it like it’s your moat-because it is. 10. 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲. Values aren’t set in stone. As you grow, your old values may break. Adapt or you’ll get stuck. These are lessons forged in the fire of building Heights from nothing to £20M in revenue. None of them came from theory-they came from mistakes, false starts, and small wins that compounded. ------------------------------------------------- I'm deep diving into these lessons in my newsletter The Science Of Success tomorrow, where I break down stories and studies of success to teach you how to turn it from probability to predictability here: https://lnkd.in/ecuRJtrr Follow me Dan Murray🧠 for more on business building. ♻️ Repost this if you think it can help someone in your network!   Thanks.

A Founder's Journey: The Power of Unexpected Conversations in Shaping Vision. In the exhilarating saga of building a startup, the path to success isn't always a straight line. Often, it's the unanticipated turns and unplanned conversations that lead to groundbreaking insights. In the initial stages, I had a "reasonably clear" vision for my venture, convinced I held the map to navigate every twist and turn. Little did I realize that the real treasure lay not just in sticking to the charted course but in the uncharted waters of unexpected conversations. The magic happens when you open the door to perspectives that, at first glance, seem unrelated to your grand vision. 1. Diverging from the Blueprint: Embracing Serendipity As founders, we craft a blueprint, a vision that serves as our guiding star. It's easy to fall into the trap of viewing everything through the lens of that blueprint, dismissing ideas or conversations that don't align directly with our preconceived notions. But here's the pivot point in my journey—realizing that the most transformative insights often come from the least expected sources. It's in those unplanned conversations over coffee, chance encounters at networking events, or even random musings with individuals from diverse fields. 2. Breaking Free from Tunnel Vision In the early days, I might have considered these divergent conversations distractions, taking me away from the 'real work.' However, the realization struck that this eclectic mix of perspectives was enriching the narrative of what my startup could become. Embracing unexpected conversations isn't about deviating from your vision; it's about expanding its horizons. It's about allowing your vision to evolve and grow, not in isolation but in synergy with the unexpected input that comes your way. 3. The Power of Unlikely Collaborators Lease Negotiations Unveiled: A pivotal moment unfolded when a retail client harnessed our data to renegotiate leases with malls. This unforeseen application not only fortified their position but also opened up a new category for us, resulting in acquiring more retail customers. Financial Institutions and Credit Models: While engaging with financial institutions, an awareness dawned on us. The data we captured had the potential to augment credit and risk models. This revelation, sparked by an unexpected conversation, broadened the horizon of our applications, showcasing how diverse discussions can reshape a startup's trajectory. 4. Serendipity as a Growth Catalyst In this journey, I've come to see that serendipity is not a stroke of luck but a growth catalyst. It's the mechanism through which a startup, which might have remained confined to a niche, bursts forth into a realm of unforeseen possibilities. #FounderJourney #SerendipityInBusiness #VisionaryLeadership #StartupInsights

I was recently asked to share some thoughts on what truly drives company growth in an interview with Helsingin Sanomat, Finland's largest daily newspaper (link in comments for those who read Finnish!). For my international network, here are three key lessons I've learned along the way: 1️⃣Clear Vision, Actionable Steps, and Measurable Progress: Ambitious growth goals are vital, but they're just aspirations without a roadmap. Break down those big targets into clear, daily actions for your teams, and rigorously track the metrics that truly indicate progress. This sharp focus ensures everyone knows their role and that you can steer the ship effectively. 2️⃣ Ruthless Execution: We can strategize and analyze all day, but sustainable growth demands relentless action. It's about consistently putting in the work and effectively implementing our plans, day in and day out. Knowing what to do is only half the battle; the real win comes from doing it exceptionally well. 3️⃣ Continuous Evolution: Complacency is the enemy of progress. The market doesn't stand still, and neither can your company. Growth requires a constant willingness to evolve, innovate, and even challenge your core offerings to keep apace and ahead of the changing customer needs. These insights, explored further in the HS article, aren't just theoretical concepts; they're the fundamental building blocks we're using at Supermetrics as we continue on our growth journey. What are the non-negotiables you've found in your growth journey? Let's discuss in the comments! 

Looking back, it’s funny to see how naïve I was as a first time founder. I blindly believed the numbers we plugged into our excel sheet. Hundreds of employees and millions in revenue within no time. A combination of naïveté and arrogance to build a startup faster and in areas where others had failed. I booked intro meetings with all the top tier VCs. My ego loved it and I was convinced this would be part of the job when I needed their millions to scale. The more I told the story, the more I began to believe it. But then the setbacks started. Pivoting away from the first idea, wasting a year, and making almost no money. That excel model was looming over my head and I haven’t opened it since. Now, having founded three ventures, I've learned a few lessons: 1. Good Things Take Time: Patience and perseverance are crucial. Success doesn’t happen overnight, and rushing can often lead to mistakes. 2. If It’s Too Good to Be True, It Probably Is: Early on, I was enamored by overly optimistic projections and promises. Now, I’m more skeptical and prefer to base decisions on solid evidence and realistic expectations. 3. Setbacks Are Inevitable: Challenges and pivots are part of the journey. Each setback is an opportunity to learn and grow, shaping a stronger and more resilient business. 4. Build a Community: A lot of our success comes from talking to customers on LinkedIn every day. Engaging with your community helps you understand their needs and fosters loyalty, driving continuous improvement and innovation. 5. Focused Networking: Instead of chasing every top-tier VC, I now focus on building meaningful relationships with partners who understand and are genuinely interested in the vision and journey of the company. 6. Team Over Ego: Building a culture where failing is okay and learning is key is crucial. Open communication and clear incentives create a strong, dedicated team. Success is a collective effort driven by the team's combined skills and passion. To all the first-time founders out there, embrace the journey, learn from each misstep, and stay resilient. The path to success is rarely a straight line, but with each twist and turn, you'll gain the wisdom needed to navigate it. The Picture is from Michael and I in 2018, him joining helped set us on the right path. #startup #entrepreneurship #lessonslearned #secondtimefounder #resilience

Early in my career, I asked a mentor a question that I now realize was completely wrong: "What mistakes should I avoid as a new entrepreneur?" I was terrified of messing up a good thing. But looking back, I shouldn’t have been trying to avoid the fire - I should have been learning how to walk through it! Mistakes aren't just speed bumps, they are the blueprint. Here are the 5 brutal lessons that actually built my business: 1. Chasing money over meaning. I started hauling junk to get rich fast…and it backfired. I neglected my culture, my health and my marriage. Hitting rock bottom taught me that profit sustains a business, but purpose is what makes it grow. 2. Hiring for "muscle" instead of "mindset." My first hiring requirement was literally "Can you lift 50 lbs?" Later, I hired for resumes but ignored culture. It got so toxic I had to let go of my entire team of 11 in a single day. It was brutal, but it taught me that you can't build a great company on skills alone. 3. Letting my ego drive the bus. I thought I had to have my hands in every marketing and sales meeting. That wasn't leadership - it was micromanagement fueled by ego. If you’ve hired the right people, get out of their way so you can focus on the vision. 4. Obsessing over the competition. When a top employee left to start a rival business, I became obsessed with taking him down. While I was looking sideways at him, I stopped looking forward. I learned the hard way: Collaboration and self-focus are far more profitable than spite. 5. Listening to "experts" instead of my gut. When I decided to franchise 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, the consensus was that a junk business couldn't scale. I almost listened!! Trusting my intuition was the difference between a local side-hustle and a global brand. The only "fatal" mistake in entrepreneurship is never starting because you're too scared of the mess :)

Growing an e-commerce business isn’t about guesswork – it’s about making smart, data-driven moves. Every decision, from optimizing the checkout flow to fine-tuning ad spend, should be backed by insights. In e-commerce, numbers don’t just tell a story – they reveal the next best step. But here’s the catch: not all data is useful. It’s easy to drown in endless reports and vanity metrics that don’t move the needle. The key? Focus on what truly impacts growth: ➝ Conversion rates. Are visitors turning into buyers? ➝ AOV. Are customers spending more per purchase? ➝ Retention. Are they coming back for repeat purchases? ➝ Customer journey insights. Where do people drop off, and what drives them to buy? By prioritizing what fuels revenue and engagement, you avoid wasting time (and money) on data that doesn’t matter. Think of analytics as your built-in GPS, helping you: * Navigate market trends * Spot new opportunities * Stay ahead of competitors It’s not just about tracking numbers – it’s about understanding the behaviors behind them. So let’s not leave growth to chance. Let’s use data to sharpen our strategy, eliminate guesswork, and scale smarter. ––– 🤗 Drop your thoughts in the comments – I’d love to hear what you think 🤘 Follow me, Gadashevich, for more insights on growing your e-commerce business #shopify