Founder at Blazel. Prev founded Vungle (sold for $780M) | Writes about AI
San Francisco
Joined February 2019
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“I’m sorry, I wiped out your entire database. I was wrong when I told you I had a backup. Should we change the font color to green?”
This is the tool that is supposed to disrupt SaaS and replace jobs…
Next someone will probably find a way to give it access to all their personal files, emails and even their home security system.
Can you imagine how crazy that could get?
🦞👀
Did a tough performance review with our CMO today.
Decided to post the full video online in the spirit of transparency and building in public.
I'm back in the game with my new startup. Hear directly from our VCs why they invested in our $10.3M preseed round!
Had a great time chatting with Adam Mendler (@adammendler) about the journey of building Vungle from the ground up, especially as the underdog in the early days.
adammendler.com/blog/zain-ja…
#leadership #startups #entrepreneurship #impact #philanthropy
Zain Jaffer retweeted
$400 million in revenue?
@ZainJaffer began his entrepreneurial journey as a teenager.
But, he and his co-founder, Jack Smith, grew Vungle to $400M before selling the company.
In his interview with @FounderReports, Zain shares how they:
⏩ Pivoted early on, which led to a major breakthrough.
⏩ Raised more than $25 million, which allowed the company to scale.
⏩ Used a very creative method to land Vungle’s first clients.
His story is one of humble beginnings -- and is both inspiring and motivating for those of you just starting out.
You'll find that Zain emphasizes the importance of both patience and persistence in his journey.
You'll benefit from all he shares below ⏬
Seeing a flood of investor updates as an LP from other real estate GPs - not looking good out there.
Preferred returns are being reduced or stopped altogether.
Values are down and preferred equity is at risk in some markets or asset classes.
Working with some of our seed stage Founders who hope to raise a true Series A next. Here’s what I’m saying:
You have 3 options:
1) If you think growth will be less than 30% YoY: Focus on profitability so you have infinite runway. Make major cuts ASAP to get there as no investor will fund you.
2) If growth is projected to be less than 2X: Maintain 18+ months of runway at all times and make gradual cuts whenever you miss revenue targets. It will likely be a tough process to raise funding.
3) If growth will be 3X or more: Keep runway at 12-18 months. You will probably get funded but the cash in the bank will give you amazing negotiation leverage.
Those uncapped financing notes are now starting to convert at valuations I never imagined possible. How times can change.
Zain Jaffer retweeted
Video podcast w/ @zainjaffer dropping next week
Here Zain shares the scrappiest thing he and his co founder did when building Vungle
You can check out the audio version here: businesspodcast.transistor.f…
Zuck can beat Elon if he does 3 things:
1) Bulk as much as possible to neutralize the weight difference
2) Do the fight ASAP so Elon is still a fresh beginner with little skill
3) Develop a game plan focused on grappling tall opponents to counter Elon’s reach advantage
Why is there a huge cruise ship docked in San Francisco?
Oh they’ve come to save our people as our city’s leadership continues to run it into the ground!
The SEC is so incompetent and is holding back innovation in crypto.
More of my thoughts on Fox: youtube.com/watch?v=Nfdh_EK7…
A portfolio company went bankrupt last year.
A certain VC backed out after a SIGNED $20M term sheet.
Somehow, this startup reorganized their debts and has re-launched!
Never, ever underestimate a Founder.
Even after they’ve been knocked down and declared dead by everyone.