The Saboteurs That Threaten Innovation — And How to Handle Them

The Saboteurs That Threaten Innovation — And How to Handle Them

Steve Blank (of Lean Startup and Four Steps to the Epiphany fame) unpacks why innovators and founders should expect fierce battles from incumbents on the path to disruption.
Passing the Button-Clicker Test, and Other 0 to 1 Lessons from Lattice’s First Marketing Hire

Passing the Button-Clicker Test, and Other 0 to 1 Lessons from Lattice’s First Marketing Hire

The behind-the-scenes story of how Lattice built its marketing strategy from the ground up, as told by its third employee and first marketing hire, Alex Kracov.
Non-Obvious Signs of Early Startup Traction — And How to Spot Them

Non-Obvious Signs of Early Startup Traction — And How to Spot Them

We gathered the most surprising anecdotes from seasoned founders about when things clicked into place.
Why Startup Marketers Should Be Diagnosticians — Advice from OpenAI's and Stripe's First Marketing Hire

Why Startup Marketers Should Be Diagnosticians — Advice from OpenAI's and Stripe's First Marketing Hire

Krithika Muthukumar was the very first marketer at OpenAI and Stripe. Here, she unpacks what it takes to found and scale a marketing operation to build an enduring brand.
Gong’s Path to Product-Market Fit — Why This $7B Company Still Works With Design Partners

Gong’s Path to Product-Market Fit — Why This $7B Company Still Works With Design Partners

Gong co-founder and CPO Eilon Reshef sits down with First Round partner Todd Jackson to unpack how he turned an early bet on AI into a multi-billion dollar category leader in revenue intelligence.
Here’s What You Can Really Expect When Pitching Your Seed-Stage Startup at a VC Partner Meeting

Here’s What You Can Really Expect When Pitching Your Seed-Stage Startup at a VC Partner Meeting

There isn't much advice to guide founders on navigating their first VC partner meeting. So First Round Partner and former founder Liz Wessel shares her playbook for seed-stage startups tackling one of fundraising's most opaque processes
An aerial view of a stack of orange, green and red heirloom tomatoes.

Make an Org Chart You Want to Ship — Advice from Linear on How Heirloom Tomatoes Should Inspire Team Design

Nan Yu, Head of Product at Linear, has advised dozens of startups of all stages and sizes. He unpacks why founders should be suspicious of symmetry in their team structure, and offers a three-part framework on how to optimize for an “heirloom tomato” org chart.
The Guide to Going Multi-Product: 11 Tactics for Tackling Your Next Bet

The Guide to Going Multi-Product: 11 Tactics for Tackling Your Next Bet

Founders and product leaders from Atlassian, Stripe, Gong and more share their strategies for going multi-product, from managing extensive product lines to bringing brand-new bets into being.
Starting an Analytics Org From Scratch — Lessons From a Decade at DoorDash

Starting an Analytics Org From Scratch — Lessons From a Decade at DoorDash

DoorDash VP Jessica Lachs has grown the company’s analytics team from a band of scrappy generalists to a highly specialized 300-person org. Here, she spells out how founders can lay the groundwork for an analytics function at their startup and pick the right first hires for the team.