A point of gratitude, great deals and minding the time | November Wrap-up

As it is the season, I’ll start with a point of gratitude. Last month I was chatting on our internal podcast about how many teammates had contributed to various content campaigns through this year. Roughly adding them up it’s already nearly 50, even if I don’t count those who’ve joined our many videos!?

Over a quarter of our Paralect community has tried their hand at content creation in some form. From a purely marketing angle, it may seem like a meaningless metric to measure. But I think it’s invaluable to share not just information, but perspectives. Experiences that pair with insights.?

So, thank you all — it’s your ideas that bring this newsletter, our blog and other content to life!

Startup updates

goLance gets a new look + an interview with Founder Michael Brooks

We’ve been working with goLance for nearly 10 years to build a freelance platform that better meets the needs of both companies and creators in the world of digital remote work. Now it’s time for a refresh of the logo!

“The team didn’t stop at happy. They went above and beyond and created the outstanding! It’s a logo and branding we can all be proud to represent!” – Michael Brooks

Just a few weeks ago, Michael sat down to share his insights and experiences as a founder and entrepreneur on The Silicon Valley Podcast . Watch the show to learn more about his path to success.

Is AI in your toolkit?

Products based on generative AI tech are popping up seemingly everywhere — from friend’s avatars to design and copy. Copysmith is right there with the best in a recent market map from Base10’s latest report

Want to write more consistently but sometimes struggle to put words on a blank page? Have a look at their latest post about using generated copy to push through writer’s block ??

A creative hub to build better, in public

Starting anything new is tough, but all the guidance agrees that consistency and momentum are key to sticking with any new venture from exercise to launching a product. So creators and founders find support building in public. Get feedback, test ideas, find a community that’s excited about similar challenges.

That’s why our CTO Igor Krasnik is building Momentum — to make that regular progress and sharing process part of your everyday habit! It’s a new idea, but we can’t wait to see what founders and creators build with their momentum ??

Under the hood

Welcome to Kickstart?

Early reporting from Pitchbook indicates that startup investments in this quarter will be the lowest in years, but that shouldn’t stop founders. But it does mean early-stage startups have to build more with less money — and that’s where Kickstart can help!

Kickstart is a package of $100k in credits, deals and discounts on software, services and tools that startups use to reach their goals. Right now we’re happy to offer this package not only to our partners but to any startups. And you can get it for free with the code FREE100K

Here’s just one example of the deal from Mixpanel ??

Launch by 2023

Here’s another deal for just 5 startups. We’ll build your MVP in one month at zero cost in exchange for 10% equity. And if the product takes off, you can cut that equity down to 5% with a $15k payment within 3 months.?

Don’t hesitate on this one though — applications close on December 1st ?

Pitch perfect

Besides validating, building and launching a great MVP, founders who need to raise investments for their startup need a stellar pitch deck. Capture the problem, progress and critical advantages of your product to win over VCs and angel investors with just a few slides.?

Our design team collaborated with the folks at Pitch to design 3 amazing pitch decks in just one hour. Check out Elena Levkovich 's deck design for HealthTech startup Gather Labs ??

We’ll share the feedback from the Pitch team soon, keep an eye out for it!

Don’t miss?

Cracking the Reddit code

Just a few days ago, Igor Krasnik wrote a lovely list of tips for non-technical founders to build their MVP and submitted it to r/startups on Reddit. And it was a big hit — reached the top of the page overnight and sparked a lot of nuanced and useful discussion!?

Have a look and give him a follow if you love Reddit!

Advice on time

Over on Growing Products, Irina Demidova shares a smart framework for time management with clear steps to make the most of every day.

“There is also a common thought that you can solve all the problems first and then you'll relax and go for things that you didn’t have time for before. Well, the cruel life lesson is that you won’t have that time in the future … Find the way to manage your life that suits you best for you.” – Irina

R&D as a people-centered team

Enjoy this interview with Head of R&D Vladimir Panteleev where we dove into building with generative AI and machine learning. Vladimir also reflects on the first year of leading the team, helping bring new tech to founders and established product teams, and what he thinks the future of tech and teams holds.

"You ask for something, and you don't search for it in the existing world — you create it from scratch. It's like high-tech cyberpunk or something, because we're gonna live in this world where you ask for something and we don't bring it — we create it." – Vladimir

Upcoming

Before we wrap up the year, I look forward to interviewing 2 guests about the current situation in the startup investment market. We’ll get an inside view on the current market for founders who are raising, how the near-term future looks for Europe and the US market, and what founders can do to stand out despite the funding crunch.

And looking ahead to 2023, we’re excited to host another live webinar in January with CEO of Growthflags and Product Manager Evgeniy Sergeiev Sergeiv and a guest speaker. The theme will be Key Metrics that Matter Most to Investors. We’ll stream it on Youtube and Linkedin, so subscribe and don’t miss it!

Thanks for reading and so long till next time ?? – John McTavish