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(BNS) How To Know When To Kill Your Startup
Nov 16, 2024
Kara Bornstein-Marin, a former software engineer at Twilio and founder of Stashpad, shares her candid story about startup life. She discusses how to recognize the signs of startup failure and the invaluable lessons learned along the way. Kara emphasizes the importance of user feedback in product evolution and navigating the tricky waters of branding. She also reflects on the emotional challenges of shutting down a project and offers insights on rethinking personal identity post-startup while searching for new career opportunities.
51:29
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Quick takeaways
- Kara's journey from engineer to founder reveals the importance of aligning product features with genuine user needs to avoid missteps.
- The struggle of Stashpad highlights how a vague ideal customer profile can hinder sustained user growth in a competitive market.
Deep dives
Kara's Journey to Entrepreneurship
Kara Bornstein-Marin's transition from a software engineer at Twilio to entrepreneurship was driven by her passion for customer interaction. She identified a significant issue in knowledge management within software engineering, prompting her to establish a solution that would eventually evolve into Stashpad. Early research revealed that over 90% of software developers relied on basic note-taking applications, leading her to conceptualize an organized notepad that would streamline this process. The initial investment phase involved securing a $1.8 million round, despite the prototype lacking intuitive usability, which illustrated both the excitement and challenges of launching a startup.
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Discover
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Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode