Forecasts are overrated—great founders build one step at a time. | PMF Observations

I break down my top insights from recent conversations with four founders who won in unconventional ways. You’ll hear how Noah turned LinkedIn posts into his primary sales channel (without ever going viral), why Dan’s startup survived a brutal 95% downround but ended up at $400M ARR two years later, how Adam turned a stagnant $3M ARR business into a $25M cash cow by solving one overlooked customer pain point. Plus, and how Cleerly used a 17 day-from- bankruptcy moment as its turning point. 

Why You Should Listen

• How to turn LinkedIn into your best sales channel without going viral

• Why a 95% downround doesn’t mean your startup is over

• How near-failure experiences can lead to breakthrough growth

• The power of uncovering overlooked customer problems to drive massive profits

• Why constraints and limited resources can become your biggest advantage

Keywords

product market fit, startup growth, LinkedIn lead generation, fundraising, downround, bootstrapping, founder lessons, pivoting, scaling startups, entrepreneurship

00:00:00 Intro

00:01:01 How Stacker Leveraged LinkedIn for Explosive Growth

00:04:43 Clutch’s Wild Ride from Unicorn to Nearly Bankrupt and Back

00:07:38 Navigating Market Cycles as a Founder

00:08:32 Retention.com’s Pivot from Stagnation to Massive Profits

00:13:33 Cleerly’s Near-Death Moment with Only 17 Days of Runway

00:16:21 Why Constraints Are a Secret Weapon

Send me a message to let me know what you think!