Sep 20, 2023 · 27m · founders-journal
Why Coffee Chats Have Energized My Ideas
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In this reflective, journal-style episode of Founder's Journal, Alex Lieberman candidly shares what is working and what is not in his business and daily routines, exploring the strategic growth of StoryArb, founder psychology, and valuable macroeconomic and leadership lessons.
Statements from this episode (12)
Startup Success Is Measured by Product Evolution, Not Revenue Growth
“And that means that my view is, is in the early days of a business, until you've hit true product market fit, you should be measuring success in your business by the speed of your product or service evolving versus the speed of your revenue growth.”
Lieberman: StoryArb Generates Approximately $1M in Annualized Revenue
“Story are, we have, you know, about a million dollars in annualized revenue, which is like 83,000 dollars a month in monthly revenue.”
Lieberman: US Mental Health Funding Is at Record Highs While Outcomes Worsen
“We've had more mental health startups created than ever before, more venture funding for the space than ever before, yet mental health in the United States has never been this bad.”
Lieberman: 65% of India's population is under the age of 30
“65% of India's population is under the age of 30, and that is nine hundred ten million people, and the U.S. Has three hundred forty million people. So there are two and a half times the entire population of the U.S. Of people in India who are under 30 years ol…”
Lieberman: Many founders get trapped building companies for non-values-based reasons
“What this experience again calls out to me is I just think a lot of people get sucked into the winless game of building companies for non values based reasons.”
FDA Approved 3 COVID Tests vs Germany's 96, Keeping Prices High
“In Germany, there are 96 approved COVID tests. So if you want to, in Germany, get tests for COVID, there are 96 different products you can buy. Therefore, the average cost of a COVID test in Germany is like one to two dollars. In the US, there are only three a…”
Lieberman: Comcast Lobbied for Years to Block Free Public Wi-Fi in Philadelphia
“Another example is Comcast, who basically has lobbied for years to have citywide Wi-Fi blocked in Philadelphia. So there can't just be general public free citywide Wi-Fi, because of course that would hurt Comcast business.”
Lieberman: Finding Real Industry Problems Requires Gritty, Unsexy Immersion
“And I just like love these stories about just like gritty, unsexy tactics that need to be used in order to find problems in any industry.”
Lieberman: B2B creators are a better opportunity than B2C creators
“I am more bullish on B to B creators versus B to C one, because I think business to consumer companies are way harder to build than business to business.”
Lieberman: 99% of creator businesses will fail without product focus
“I also think that 99% of creator businesses will fail, not because I'm bearish on the creator economy or creators. I'm actually hyper bullish on them, but I just think a lot of creators are going to launch businesses as a short term cash grab. They're not goin…”
Lieberman: Successful creator businesses must be viable without the creator
“So the one percent of creator businesses that work are going to be businesses that creators launch But the business has a good enough product where the business could have succeeded on its own without a creator. And the creator was simply rocket fuel on top of…”