Ask VC

Offline Event in Serbia by Ask VC Ask VC is hosting an in-person event for startup founders in Belgrade next Thursday, March 27. If you're in the city, join us for insightful presentations and networking opportunities with fellow founders and investors. Reserve your spot here:?https://lu.ma/85ow1dfh See you next Thursday!

We at I2BF Global Ventures actively invest in Vertical SaaS startups that transform traditionally overlooked and underappreciated industries. Today, we’re excited to share an overview of the U.S. deals in this niche that closed in January and February 2025. Two startups from the 30 deals—Roofr and Humanitru—are portfolio companies of I2BF Global Ventures. If you're building a Vertical SaaS business and planning to raise funding, feel free to reach out to us at [email protected]. We’d be happy to discuss potential investment opportunities. https://lnkd.in/d6nDsNk8

Product-Market Fit vs. the Founder’s Persistence You’ve probably heard the advice that, in the early stages of a startup, the founder should be the one selling the product. This happens because a founder's motivation is much higher than that of a hired sales professional. However, there’s a flip side of the coin. A highly motivated founder, fueled by sheer energy, can sell anything. But sometimes, this energy masks the reality that the startup hasn’t actually achieved product-market fit (PMF), causing it to miss the right moment for a pivot. I work with a startup that grew from $1,000 to $15,000 MRR (with 10 paying customers) in just 9 months. That sounds like time to celebrate, but a couple of things concerned me. First, out of 1,000 potential customers the founder had contacted over a year, only 10 converted paying clients (a reasonable but concerning ratio). Second, when asked to explain why these customers bought, the founder struggled to articulate the real value they saw in the product. It felt like they purchased simply because of his energy—it was just easier for them to say yes, as the cost wasn’t significant for them. Additionally, one client was paying more than all the others combined, but their use case was vastly different from the rest. I shared my concern with the founder that the startup still lacked product-market fit and that his sales might be driven more by his charisma than actual demand. To help validate this, I introduced him to 10+ people, including an experienced marketing expert. This led him to a new hypothesis—one that seemed far more financially promising to me. He tested a revised value proposition on a prospecting client who had previously refused to buy the product for several hundred dollars. With the new positioning, the same customer purchased it for $4,000 after just one call. It’s too early to call it a successful pivot, but such a strong initial response is very promising. And as a VC, I find this new niche more attractive for fundraising. If your sales are slow, customers aren’t particularly enthusiastic, and investors remain skeptical about your startup, you may not have product-market fit yet. Add “+” in the comment section. I’d be happy to help you out. P.S. I also want to share a great article on common mistakes founders make when searching for product-market fit: https://lnkd.in/g6UBxAEw

Unlock Web3 Sales: The Founder’s Guide to Revenue Growth Join Ask VC for a webinar with Pedro Cerdeira on March 13, 2025, at 7 PM UTC, where we’ll dive into building Web3 sales for startups. Finding product-market fit and driving sales in a nascent space like Web3 is challenging. Learn how to align a real pain point, an ideal customer persona, and a scalable business model to unlock revenue growth. For more details, visit: https://lu.ma/ufzlwiqm Looking forward to seeing you there! ??

I am a physicist by education and a mathematician at heart. I feel comfortable when I see a formula, a pattern, or a law of nature. That’s why I used to be very skeptical about coaching—I thought it simply didn’t work. In September 2021, a lot of things happened in my life at once. I felt terrible. Later, I realized that I had burned out. So I decided to talk to my friends entrepreneurs about how they deal with stress (after all, their challenges seemed much tougher than mine). One of them recommended that I speak with my former classmate, Pavel Doronin. At the time, I didn’t even know he was a coach. Honestly, I was in such a bad condition that I was ready to try anything… What happened next was unusual. Pavel started asking me different questions, clarifying my answers. We talked a lot about what I was doing, what I enjoyed, and what I didn’t. I don’t remember all the details, but there was clearly some kind of framework behind it. After two hours of conversation, he suggested that we put together my personal mission. I phrased it like this: “I want to help people who can positively impact humanity within the next 10 years.” Pavel listened and said, “I think your horizon is bigger than that. What about making an impact on the scale of generations?” That was a moment of revelation for me. I looked back at my entire life—my love for math and the physics, my passion for space and science fiction, the reason I started working in VC (to earn money from technology and reinvest it into fundamental science), and all the activities I had done with Ask VC. You’ve probably heard Steve Jobs’ words about how “the dots connect only when you look back.” This was exactly one of those moments. Everything suddenly made sense. Everything fell into place. Life had meaning again. I said to Pavel, “Okay, I get it now. What’s next?” He replied, “The hardest part is staying on the path. That’s why you need a guide—someone like me.” And he was right. Since then, I’ve been working with a coach. There have been ups and downs, emotional highs and panic attacks. But one thing I know for sure—I wouldn’t have made it through this journey as easily without a guide. That’s why, when I see people in a similar situation, I always recommend turning to a coach or therapist. From my own experience, I know that their advice works. By the way, Pavel is currently offering a few free consultations. It’s a great opportunity to work through your challenges. You can reach him on Telegram: @pdoronin. Build great projects and be happy!

In 2017, I experienced a primal fear for my future. I saw the disruption happening with AI and crypto and wondered if I, as a venture investor, could end up without a job. At that time, Alexey Alexanov told me, “We’re in the people business.” Over time, I realized he was right. This doesn’t mean we won’t use AI, but it does mean that we are unlikely to fully eliminate humans from the process. That said, in 2018, I read over 60 articles on the use of data and AI to improve the efficiency of venture funds. A surprising fact is that, despite VC investing in cutting-edge technologies, the adoption of automation and AI within its own processes lags significantly behind. For example, some of my acquaintances developed an LLM solution for writing investment memorandums. Maybe the solution didn’t work well enough, or maybe it automated only a small portion of the work, but the fact remains: after talking to a significant number of funds, it remained unused. I understand that it introduced automation into the process, yet it still wasn’t in demand. Over the years, I have also seen many AI-driven solutions designed to score startups. I’ve tested some of them, but the price/performance ratio didn’t satisfy me. Paradoxically, VC is still one of the most underdeveloped industries in terms of digitalization and AI adoption. Another unusual fact is that VCs are actually terrible customers for various services. Most funds don’t have sufficient IT budgets. Keep this in mind if you’re thinking about launching yet another investment process optimization tool, a social network for startups and investors, a VC reporting solution, and so on. Inspired by this post: https://lnkd.in/dE_6ZvJi

Unlock Web3 Sales: The Founder’s Guide to Revenue Growth Join Ask VC for a webinar with Pedro Cerdeira on March 13, 2025, at 7 PM UTC, where we’ll dive into building Web3 sales for startups. Finding product-market fit and driving sales in a nascent space like Web3 is challenging. Learn how to align a real pain point, an ideal customer persona, and a scalable business model to unlock revenue growth. For more details, visit: https://lu.ma/ufzlwiqm Looking forward to seeing you there! ??

Yesterday, during my regular call with a group of startup founders, we discussed the topic of founder-market fit—how to choose the right startup idea for your team. This issue is something I care deeply about because I often come across great teams working on rather odd ideas. Many times, they pick an idea randomly, and not always the most optimal one. A few years ago, I decided to change this and started running small groups for aspiring entrepreneurs searching for startup and business ideas. I decided to write an article and share the insights with you. I hope you will find it useful. If you need my help in finding the perfect idea for your startup, feel free to message me on LinkedIn Denis Kalyshkin. Good luck with your future endeavors! https://lnkd.in/dk_sW23X

Perhaps, you've heard the term 'superfluous man.' Typical examples include?Don Quixote or heroes of Russian literature like?Onegin, Chatsky, Pechorin, and Bazarov. Sometimes they were born too late for their time, but more often, too early. In the classical sense, the 'superfluous man' is a person of great ability who cannot realize their talents in the official domain. Lacking the prospects for practical implementation, they tend to engage in pointless philosophizing, fruitless reflection, and fill their time with idle amusement. It sounds rather unappealing, doesn't it? Once, I heard this term used in a positive context. The 'superfluous people' are those who do not fit into the current order, the status quo, or the economy. But they don't always accept things as they are. They can change them. Superfluous people include travelers of all sorts, explorers and conquerors of new lands, entrepreneurs, inventors, sailors, immigrants, astronauts, and more. In short, they are the ones who can’t sit still. If you’ve watched the movie Pirates of the Caribbean, all the main characters are 'superfluous people.' One particularly vivid character is Elizabeth, the governor’s daughter. At the beginning of the movie, her father wants to marry her off. Then, she gets captured by pirates and embarks on an adventure. In some scenes, you can see the sparkle in her eyes. She’s exactly where she needs to be. By the way, I really love this movie :) Another characteristic of the superfluous people’s lives is that they are not understood by those around them, who can’t comprehend why they can’t just live peacefully like everyone else. If such people do not find their tribe, they may feel out of place, like outcasts. They might suffer throughout their lives. In the past, superfluous people didn’t have many options. Some became pirates or became?soldiers. Others were scientists and inventors, who were often viewed oddly by those around them. Some had very sad fates. But most of them simply lived ordinary lives, without the opportunity to express themselves. Fortunately, humanity is gradually learning to appreciate this small group of people. Founders and employees?of startups, as well as other?participants in the startup ecosystem, are also 'superfluous people.' We are lucky to have been born and to live in this era. I wish you all to find your tribe, realize your potential, be happy, and never forget that 99% of people don’t understand us. And that’s how it should be. Don’t get upset. Remember our ancestors, who, though their lives were more difficult than ours, still managed to find their unique path. Good luck!

How to Create a pitch deck: A Step-by-Step Guide Founders often come to me for advice on improving their pitch deck. However, it usually turns out that the real issue lies in the business itself, not just the slides. For example, an entrepreneur once approached me after already raising $2M and was preparing for the next round. His pitch to investors framed his company as one among many competitors, including unicorns. We took a step back to analyze who his real customers were and what problem he was solving. In the process, we discovered that he should focus on a highly promising niche aligned with market trends—one that truly differentiated him from competitors. It also turned out that he already had a significant number of customers in this niche; he just hadn’t been looking at his business from that perspective. After revising their presentation based on these insights, investor interest increased. I expect them to secure a Series A round in the coming months. Creating a pitch deck is necessary, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. I always recommend using the Sequoia template. There are many examples and guidelines available online, and today I’d like to share a couple of step-by-step resources that might help you. But before you start working on your pitch deck, ask yourself: ? Is my business actually investable? ? Do I really need external funding? ? If so, what do I need to change in my business first? If you’d like an investor’s perspective, feel free to reach out to me for a consultation in LinkedIn via Denis Kalyshkin . I’d be happy to help. Wishing you success in growing your business! Useful links: ? My 1.5-hour video tutorial with slide examples: https://lnkd.in/dRt2Nb_y ? A detailed written guide on creating an investor pitch deck: https://lnkd.in/gZxk2FPw