A Product Market Fit Show | Startup Podcast for Founders

He raised $20M, hit $3.5M in revenue—& failed. Here are the top 3 lessons he learned. | Ned Phillips, Founder of Bambu

Feb 6, 2025

Ned Phillips, Founder of Bambu and former leader at E-Trade Asia, shares his rollercoaster journey in the fintech sector. He turned down a major opportunity to start his own venture, achieving $3.5M in revenue and raising $20M in funding. However, he faced unexpected challenges as enterprise clients often failed to support the product, leading to financial struggles and eventual layoffs. Ned discusses the importance of product-market fit, team dynamics, and the emotional toll of startup life, offering valuable lessons learned from his experiences.

01:01:11

Episode guests

Ned Phillips

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Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Customizing software can generate initial revenue but may distract startups from their core product goals and scalability.

Sharing stories of failure among founders is crucial to foster a genuine narrative that helps others avoid the same mistakes.

Product market fit is a dynamic process that requires continuous customer feedback to align offerings with real market needs.

Deep dives

The Reality of Customization

Customizing software for clients can be a double-edged sword for startups. While accepting customization requests can lead to lucrative deals and initial revenue, it can also derail the focus on core product development and profitability. The podcast discusses how this blurs boundaries, causing startups to deviate from their main product goals, leading to difficulties in scalability and financial sustainability. The experience sheds light on the importance of setting clear policies on customization, emphasizing either to fully embrace it with significant pricing or to restrict it altogether.

Intro

3min

Navigating Startup Success: Insights from the Fintech Journey

19min

Navigating Team Dynamics and Financial Constraints

5min

Driving Success with Executive Support in Fintech

4min

Building Brands and Champions in Startup Sales

6min

Navigating Startup Turbulence

23min

Reflections on Entrepreneurship: Passion, Resilience, and Growth

2min

Ned had a chance to run Robinhood Asia but he turned it down. Instead, he launched a competitive product. He decided to go B2B and sell to banks and other financial institutions. He locked down a $400K revenue sale before writing a line of code. It seemed easy at first. Overtime, he grew to $3.5M in revenue, billions in assets under management and hundreds of thousands of users. He raised $20M in venture capital.

But then the problems started. Enterprises that paid for large contracts didn't push the product—many had no marketing budgets. In some cases, they shelved the product altogether. The one-time revenue never turned into ARR. Running out of money, he was forced to raise a small bridge and lay off more than half his staff.

He came close—but ultimately, he just wasn't able to recover. He sold off the company for parts and went through a wind down.

This is his story—and the lessons he learned.

Why you should listen:

Why the difference between success and failure can be minimal.
How to balance custom contracts with building scalable product.
Why enterprises might not push the product they've paid $100K+ for.
How to build a strong company culture.
Why layoffs are the hardest thing a founder will go through.
When things go south, "the days are long, but the months are short".

Keywords
startup, FinTech, B2B2C, customization, revenue models, marketing, client engagement, leadership, company culture, lessons learned, B2B sales, startup challenges, emotional toll, liquidation, lessons learned

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