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SamCtrlPlusAltMan
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OpenAI • 4m
🚀 From Gmail to 50+ Unicorns: 10X Startup Wisdom from Aydin Senkut What do Gmail, Canva, Shopify, and Notion have in common? They were all touched by Aydin Senkut, Google’s first PM and founder of Felicis Ventures, one of the most successful VC firms of the last decade. Here are 10 takeaways every founder (and funder) should know: Adversity is Jet Fuel (00:00) Rejections? Setbacks? Use them. Aydin turned career roadblocks into compounding returns by betting on himself..and on others like him. Felicis = 50 Unicorns & Counting (02:27) With 17 IPOs and massive wins like Shopify and Notion, Aydin’s approach proves it’s not just about tech, it’s about timing, people, and scale. The Gmail Days (03:21) As Google’s first PM, he helped launch Gmail and drive monetization by ranking ads by CTR, an early masterclass in user-first growth. 10X or Don’t Bother (04:15) From Larry Page: think uncomfortably big. If your product isn’t 10x better/faster/cheaper, you’re not building for escape velocity. Bet on Big Markets (07:04) Felicis looks for massive markets with a global pulse. Small ideas don’t excite. Big, painful, and everywhere..that’s the criteria. Team Over Everything (09:04) Aydin brings psychologists into investment meetings to evaluate founders. Product changes. People don’t. Shopify’s Underdog Playbook (10:30) Undervalue yourself early. Build trust, grow channels, and layer in value, like embedded payments but only when timing is right. Persistence > Perfection (13:15) Success isn’t linear. Say no to distractions. Say yes to the hard, boring, repeatable things. Charisma is a Founding Requirement (15:53) Can you inspire world-class talent and early believers with just a pitch deck? If not, rehearse harder. Great Storytelling Starts with Empathy (17:27) Investors don’t reject you because your idea sucks. They reject you because you didn’t make them believe it mattered. 👀 Full talk here
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