What I Learned About Startups by Collecting 30,000 Data Points

I spent four years conducting one of the largest data-driven studies on startups, and here’s what it reveals about the difference between billion-dollar startups and startups that raised VC funding but failed to become one.

The results from the study were shocking and revealed many counter-intuitive insights. So I decided to write a book based on the findings. This is probably the first book that was born on medium!

Myths Debunked

1) “You need to be a technical founder to succeed”

2) “You need to solve a personal problem and have experience in that industry”

3) “Competition is bad”

Confirmed Truisms

1) Billion-dollar startups were more likely to save their customers time or money

2) Going after a large market does matter

3) Painkillers are more likely to succeed (but vitamin pills work too!)

  • Founder’s backgrounds, career (title, company history, etc.), and education history (degree, universities)
  • Previous entrepreneurial endeavors and their outcomes
  • Origin of the idea, type of pain, competition when it was founded, defensibility factors
  • Fundraising amounts, cadence, and brand of investors

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Partner at DCVC ($4Bn VC firm) and author of “Super Founders”. #1 bestseller new release VC book on Amazon. https://getbook.at/superfounders

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Ali Tamaseb

Partner at DCVC ($4Bn VC firm) and author of “Super Founders”. #1 bestseller new release VC book on Amazon. https://getbook.at/superfounders