Top Tweets
My most viral
Building a startup is hard.
— Saba Karim (@sabakarimm) March 20, 2021
Bring back HBO’s Silicon Valley
— Saba Karim (@sabakarimm) November 13, 2022
Startup hack: Be nice to people
— Saba (@sabakarimm) June 4, 2021
Custom Twitter Lists
My Twitter Masterclass
Building a startup is easy.
— Saba (@sabakarimm) March 26, 2021
All you need to know is TAM SAM SOM GMV YTD LTV CAC CTR KPI GTM SEM SEO OKR ARR MRR MAU WAU DAU WOW MOM YOY B2B B2C BB2C CSM NPS IPO
Pitching
Memorize your pitch.
— Saba (@sabakarimm) May 14, 2021
Memorize your pitch.
Memorize your pitch.
You're going to say it over 2000 times for the life of the company.
Don't read.
Be sure to pause.
Weave in "ums" and "what I mean is" to make it sound natural.
But memorize it.
Every word matters.
— Saba Karim (@sabakarimm) March 5, 2021
The best startup descriptions (and pitches) are concise and simple...
— Saba Karim (@sabakarimm) February 17, 2021
I know others don't like 'Uber for X' or 'SendGrid for Y but we're for Z instead', but I love them - because a reference point makes it easier to follow along.
Give it a shot. What's your X for Y but Z?
The best pitches:
— Saba Karim (@sabakarimm) February 19, 2021
"We are doing"
vs.
We will, We're trying to, or, We're thinking about.
How to tell if your friends or mum are just saying that your idea is awesome:
— Saba Karim (@sabakarimm) January 26, 2021
Pitch them a horrible idea.
Opening lines of pitches that sound too pitchy:
— Saba Karim (@sabakarimm) March 31, 2021
__________ is broken.
Our trillion dollar idea is __________
We’re going after “Apple”
We are revolutionizing __________
Sometimes the best pitch is not a pitch at all, and it's just low-intensity conversation between two people.
— Saba Karim (@sabakarimm) January 20, 2021
Throw in a screen-share and demo of what it actually does, live, and we have a turn of tables from; here is what I want to build to here is what I have built.
Investor meetings:
— Saba Karim (@sabakarimm) April 13, 2021
Build rapport
Don’t pitch
Don’t pitch
Ask "how do you like to run these?"
Write down the Q
Answer the Q
If you rambled, ask if you answered the Q
Be concise, not fast
Demo where possible
Avoid bold claims
Have a clear ask
Define next step
Offer investor update
Situation to avoid 100% of the time.
— Saba Karim (@sabakarimm) January 28, 2021
“So I have built this thing. Does anyone in the world have a problem that this solution could help with?”
Growth
You’re not just building a startup. The startup is also building you.
— Saba Karim (@sabakarimm) May 22, 2022
Here are 7️⃣ pieces of advice you won’t hear often but will realize as you grow.
Every startups goal is to stop being a startup.
— Saba Karim (@sabakarimm) April 15, 2021
Half of marketing is just listening.
— Saba Karim (@sabakarimm) April 19, 2021
If you're running a startup and looking for a CMO, Head of Marketing, etc. see how good of a job they do at listening to what you want, versus selling what they think.
Steps to launch:
— Saba Karim (@sabakarimm) November 19, 2020
Come Up With An Idea → Thats the easy part
Create A Mockup → Often overlooked
Prototype → 50/50 do this
Build MVP → Takes too long
Closed Beta → The secret to success - validate hypothesis
Launch → Duh!
Another Launch → Definitely
Launch Again → Yep
No startup has immunity from community.
— Saba Karim (@sabakarimm) March 25, 2021
Without it, you're just lines of code.
Building a startup is easy.
— Saba Karim (@sabakarimm) March 26, 2021
All you need to know is TAM SAM SOM GMV YTD LTV CAC CTR KPI GTM SEM SEO OKR ARR MRR MAU WAU DAU WOW MOM YOY B2B B2C BB2C CSM NPS IPO
Listen to your users.
— Saba Karim (@sabakarimm) November 2, 2020
Email them.
Send follow up surveys.
Try and have phone calls.
Video where possible.
Whatever it takes to give them a voice in your product development roadmap.
Don’t get lean launch confused with a lazy launch. Do what’s best for the brand.
— Saba Karim (@sabakarimm) February 13, 2021
Some advice I gave a founder last night:
— Saba Karim (@sabakarimm) January 5, 2021
Don't wait 3 months to launch. Just launch tomorrow to your friends and family.
The sad truth is no-one will really see it.
Then launch again a week later on Reddit.
Then update your site a month later and call that the official launch
Building a startup is easy.
— Saba Karim (@sabakarimm) November 22, 2020
All you need is an idea,
and the right skills,
with related past experience.
alongside a strong team,
with just the right amount of money,
a grand vision,
an insane level of perseverance,
people open to giving you a shot,
luck,
all at the right time.
Fundraising
Every startups goal is to stop being a startup.
— Saba Karim (@sabakarimm) April 15, 2021
A like if you've heard "just get family or friends to invest for now"
— Saba (@sabakarimm) May 5, 2021
I'm putting the fun 🤪 in fundraising 💸
— Saba (@sabakarimm) July 6, 2021
Reply with the latest emoji you used and I'll send you my fundraising cheat sheet that will help you get started.
Fundraising is a step. Not a goal.
— Saba Karim (@sabakarimm) January 25, 2021
No amount of blogs and webinars can make up for learning the ins and outs of fundraising like first hand practice.
— Saba Karim (@sabakarimm) April 12, 2021
Investment > due diligence > interview > video call > phone call > email > direct message > retweet > comment > like
— Saba Karim (@sabakarimm) March 22, 2021
Yup, sometimes, it starts with a like.#butterflyeffect
It can take 50 no’s to get 1 yes,
— Saba Karim (@sabakarimm) March 23, 2021
Then 1 yes to change 50 minds.
If you’re willing to take investment from any investor, you’re not doing your homework right.
— Saba Karim (@sabakarimm) August 4, 2020
You’ve got to find a fit with their approach and thesis, and genuinely like and know the actual partners you’re going to be working with.
Control of your company isn’t about maintaining the most equity. Whether you have 5%, 51% or 80% – it doesn’t matter as much as board seats and voting rights.
— Saba Karim (@sabakarimm) January 8, 2021
Quick tips for reaching out cold to investors:
— Saba Karim (@sabakarimm) February 24, 2021
– Really work on the subject line. A/B test. If it isn’t opened, the rest won’t matter
– Add personalization
– Be clear and concise
– Make it human
– Attach a pitch-deck. Avoid anything that makes it more complex
– Have a clear ask
Quick start guide for #founders:
— Saba Karim (@sabakarimm) June 27, 2020
- Build something people want
- Start fundraising before you need it
- Don’t try do everything. Always be recruiting and delegate
- Find and cherish 3-4 mentors
- Keep things simple
- Only do it if you’re having fun
VC fundraising is easy.
— Saba Karim (@sabakarimm) April 4, 2021
All you need to know is stuff like:
SAFE Notes
Convertible Notes
Capped Notes
Val Caps
Liquidation Preferences
Pro-Rata Rights
Stock Options
Voting Rights
Board-Observer Rights
Warrants
Full Ratchet
Due Diligence
Data Rooms
Partner Meetings
FOMO...
Leadership
1st time founders, grab some 🍿
— Saba Karim (@sabakarimm) June 2, 2022
2nd time founders, this one’s for you: What’s one thing that’s obvious to you now, that you would tell your first-time founder self.
Tell me a better skill in startups than talent recruitment.
— Saba (@sabakarimm) July 7, 2021
If you wanna go fast, build alone.
If you wanna go big, build a team.
ONE word for why you started your company...
— Saba (@sabakarimm) August 17, 2021
Building a startup isn’t a choice.
— Saba Karim (@sabakarimm) April 19, 2021
I believe that everyone is born with an entrepreneurial seed inside of them. The question is will you water it?
— Saba Karim (@sabakarimm) March 2, 2021
Founders beware: Notice the difference between advice that comes from experience as opposed to assumption.
— Saba Karim (@sabakarimm) March 14, 2021
Most of the times it’s easy to spot the difference:
“In my experience...”
“When I was in the situation...”
“What I’ve found in doing X is...”
vs.
“I think that...
Massive assumption here but I reckon the secret to building a great company could by doing it on your own terms.
— Saba Karim (@sabakarimm) January 9, 2021
There isn’t, and just can’t be, a how to guide that works for every founder.
Best last question to ask at the end of any mentor meeting: What question should I be asking you?
— Saba Karim (@sabakarimm) January 12, 2021
Sometimes you just have to do the work. Sure you can have the best team, world-class mentors, and super supporters – but now and then you just gotta roll up your sleeves and get in the weeds and make sh%t happen yourself.
— Saba Karim (@sabakarimm) December 1, 2020
7 ways to find a co-founder.
— Saba Karim (@sabakarimm) February 7, 2021
A thread
👇 👇👇
Be wary of broad advice:
— Saba Karim (@sabakarimm) January 11, 2021
- "Do things that don't scale" - doesn't always work
- "Just keep building" - no, sometimes you should stop
- "Listen to your customers" - but its OK to follow your intuition
- "Spend more on marketing" - or be scrappy and creative
You don't need to be obsessed with speed.
— Saba Karim (@sabakarimm) February 23, 2021
Working fast is great,
But work smart, ask why, and validate properly too.
Being thoughtful – that's just as important.
The four big ones in building your startup is: solution, traction, problem, and people.
— Saba Karim (@sabakarimm) February 14, 2021
We pursue them in that order but their importance is reverse.
Meaning: find people to work with that care about the same problem as you, move forward and validate, then start building.
The ultimate #startup #team:
— Saba Karim (@sabakarimm) June 19, 2020
The Heart - Idea, Vision & strategy
The Hero - Product
The Hound - Research
The Hipster - Branding and Design
The Hacker - Technology
The Hustler - Marketing & Sales
Early on, pick up to 3 per person.