All of our Starting Up articles

The Fundraising Wisdom That Helped Our Founders Raise $18B in Follow-On Capital

The Fundraising Wisdom That Helped Our Founders Raise $18B in Follow-On Capital

Two years ago, First Round launched its Pitch Assist program to help founders raise follow-on capital. Here are the most important fundraising lessons we share.
'Get in the Van' and Other Tips for Getting Meaningful Customer Feedback

'Get in the Van' and Other Tips for Getting Meaningful Customer Feedback

Michael Sippey has been building tech products for over 20 years. His most valuable ideas, though? They came from speaking with customers. Here's how.
AppNexus' First Pitch — Before It Steered Around the Cloud to Win Big in AdTech

AppNexus' First Pitch — Before It Steered Around the Cloud to Win Big in AdTech

AppNexus opens the vault and shares its very first seed funding pitch deck, created before its impressive pivot.
From 0 to $1B - Slack's Founder Shares Their Epic Launch Strategy

From 0 to $1B - Slack's Founder Shares Their Epic Launch Strategy

“HELL YEAH WE'RE USING @SlackHQ AT WORK I. LOVE. SLACK.”
There’s a .00006% Chance of Building a Billion Dollar Company: How This Man Did It

There’s a .00006% Chance of Building a Billion Dollar Company: How This Man Did It

David Friedberg, CEO of The Climate Corporation, tells the story of how they built a valuable company from scratch.
Drew Houston’s Morph from Hacker to Hyper-Growth CEO

Drew Houston’s Morph from Hacker to Hyper-Growth CEO

Dropbox Founder and CEO Drew Houston turned a great piece of software into a massive business. Here's how he got there.
90% of Feedback is Crap: How to Find the Next Big Startup Idea

90% of Feedback is Crap: How to Find the Next Big Startup Idea

Flatiron Health Co-founder Nat Turner on the process he uses to distill, pitch and iterate on new ideas.
Why This Entrepreneur Left McKinsey to Get a Job Flipping Burgers

Why This Entrepreneur Left McKinsey to Get a Job Flipping Burgers

Ayr Muir of Clover, a new type of restaurant chain, explains why it's so important to investigate every part of your business.
How Design Thinking Transformed Airbnb from a Failing Startup to a Billion Dollar Business

How Design Thinking Transformed Airbnb from a Failing Startup to a Billion Dollar Business

Airbnb Co-founder Joe Gebbia talks about the true meaning of being scrappy and being willing to do things that don't scale.