The Mint Recap: Key Themes From Our Guest Speakers

In the 1st cohort of The Mint by Better Tomorrow Ventures, we had some amazing founder firesides: Ryan Petersen, Immad Akhund, Eric Glyman, Tim Chen, Drew Houston, Yinon Ravid, and more.

Across them, we noticed a few key themes surface:

1) Find durable advantages
2) Importance of creativity
3) Speed to market
4) Hire for value creation
5) Evolve as a leader

1) Find and invest in a durable advantage. 

Founders talked about the need to differentiate and articulate a unique value proposition. Success lies in understanding and strengthening a durable edge, not playing in fiercely competitive areas.

2) Be creative.

Being creative and constantly experimenting applies to every aspect of the business. This is especially true in the earliest days of acquiring users. Doing so demands creativity and constant experimentation.

3) Fast market entry accelerates PMF.

In the early days, demand speed over perfection, engage with users and iterate to find PMF (a solution users will pay for).

Get the product out ASAP. Quick market entry and customer traction are key to success; the rest can be figured out over time.

4) Great companies can only be built with exceptional people.

Counterintuitively, you can save money when you pay people more.
Performance follows a log scale: Hire fewer people, promote great ones very quickly and pay them well, and use case studies. 

5) The Founder-to-CEO transition demands continuous learning.

Self-education, self-awareness, and adaptability to manage company growth are critical. Ongoing learning and being surrounded by the right people are crucial for long-term success.

It was pretty awesome to have these folks in to mentor our companies in a small-group setting. Our next cohort starts in March! If you are starting a fintech company, apply here!