What happens when an AI startup founder meets a seasoned venture capitalist?

In this episode, Tiago Costa Alves, the founder of Librarian, sits down with Vinny Lauria from Golden Gate Ventures to explore the critical steps necessary for startups when developing and launching new products. They delve into the importance of truly understanding customer needs and how to effectively validate product ideas through smart, resourceful strategies like using AdWords.

Discover the challenges and successes faced by startups through real-world examples, and learn about the essential feedback loops that help fine-tune product-market fit. Tune in now!

IN THIS EPISODE

(00:00) What are the first steps to take when launching a startup product?

(02:37) How do you identify and validate customer needs effectively?

(07:11) Can initial user feedback shape the success of your product?

(10:20) What does a successful go-to-market strategy look like?

(15:50) How do you adapt when your product doesn't meet market expectations?

(20:26) What role does market size play in attracting venture capital?

(23:20) How do you ensure your startup’s early growth is on the right track?

(25:50) What unconventional strategies can startups use to gain their first users?

(30:35) When is the right time to pivot, and how do you manage it?

(38:25) Wrapping up

Vinnie Lauria | Founding Partner of Golden Gate Ventures

Vinnie is an entrepreneur turned venture capitalist. He is a founding partner of Golden Gate Ventures, an early-stage VC firm in Southeast Asia with US$250M AUM and 70+ investments to date. He is a Kauffman Fellow and a guest lecturer at the National University of Singapore. He was rated by the Founder Institute as the highest startup mentor in Asia from a pool of 2,500 mentors. Prior to setting up Golden Gate Ventures, Vinnie built two startups in Silicon Valley: Meetro, a location-based chat service that was dissolved with many lessons learned in 2007, and Lefora, a forum hosting platform that grew to over 100,000 communities and was acquired by CrowdGather in 2010. He founded the Silicon Valley NewTech meetup, featuring hundreds of startups to a monthly audience with more than 10,000 members.

Tiago Costa Alves | Co-Founder & CEO of Librarian Inc

Tiago is an award-winning Fulbright Scholar with 20+ years of tech and startup experience (mobile, blockchain, payments, marketplaces, AI, fundraising) across three continents (North America, Europe, and Asia). As VP APAC for Aptoide, Tiago secured two investment rounds ($4M Series-A & $15M Series-B) and grew the business from 10M to 100M+ users via partnerships with top smartphone brands (e.g. Xiaomi, VIVO, OPPO, Huawei). He was the first-ever Entrepreneur In Residence for Golden Gate Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm investing across Southeast Asia since 2011, and recently focused on Librarian - his Stealth Mode startup that is leveraging the power of AI to easily find your work information.

Connect with him at: Tiago Costa Alves - Librarian Inc | LinkedIn

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