Neal O’Grady

@nealogrady
AC Q U I S I T IO N 01
Channel-first
Design
Decide how you acquire customers—
design your biz model around that.
Content: problem known, seeking solution
Ads: ↑ margin, short sales cycle
Viral: utility ↑ with each new user
Sales: long sales cycle, custom pricing
Fundraising 02
Ladder of Proof
Investors are looking for two things:
01 To reduce their risks
02 To maximize their upside

Prove you can do both by moving up the

ladder.
Let’s take a look -->
 The ladder of proof
defensible
scalable acquisition
Good unit economics
paying customers
good Retention
active users
Great team
big Market
clear Need
Neal O’Grady

@nealogrady
Hiring 03
The First 5
Identify the first 5 people you’d want to hire.

Speak with them. 


Tell them your plan. 

Ask them to join.

If you can’t convince them to join, your story

isn’t compelling enough yet.
Remove all technical language from your
pitch. Make it easy to understand.
product-market 04

40% Threshold
Survey your existing customers. Ask how
they'd feel if your product were no longer
available:

“ V E RY D I S A P P O I N T E D ”

On track to PMF
Add more value to
>40%
existing customers

<40%
I d e a va l i dat io n 05
Seek Dollars,
Not Feedback
The fastest way to validate your startup is to
close a sale.



The exchange of dollars for the value you

provide confirms a real pain-point.

Only accept feedback from paying

customers.
P r o d u c t d e v. 06

Design Thinking
01 Observe: Market, needs, problems

02 Ideate: Based on insights from step 1

Visualize: Imagine customers using the

03
product. Make it simple and intuitive

04 Prototype: Quickly, cheaply

05 Feedback: From your target audience

06 Implement: Refine & implement changes

D e s ig n 07
50-50
THE DESIGN
The actual design
50%

The story behind it

50%

Draw people in through your story. 



Then overdeliver on the experience.

Brand 08
5 Personalities
Build a brand voice similar to the personality
of your target customer.
Excitement: Carefree, youthful
Sincerity: Kind, family value
Ruggedness: Athletic, tough
Competence: Successful, influential
Sophistication: Elegant, prestigious
V i s io n 09
Sell a Movement
Don't sell saddles... sell horseback riding.
Selling a movement allows you to grow
your market while positioning your
product as a path to achieve it.
Lululemon sells a lifestyle.
Slack sells productivity.
Airbnb sells adventure.
Communicating 10
AIDA
When writing, focus on these elements (in
order):
Attention: Open with a hook.
Interest: Draw the reader deeper.
Desire: Agitate something your reader
strives for.
Action: Present the next step.
This works for short and long-form copy.
AB/Testing 11

VICE
Use VICE to prioritize which tests to run.

Velocity: How quickly can you achieve

statistical significance?

Impact: How will your test affect

conversion rates?

Confidence: Will the test work?

Ease: How much effort will setting up

the test take?

G row t h 12
Five Fits
Growth occurs when you’re aligned on:
Market: Who you choose to serve.
Product: What you sell.
Brand: How you present yourself.
Business Model: How you make money.
Channel: How you get new customers.
Let’s take a look -->
 5 Fits Framework

Brand Product

Market

Channel Model

Neal O’Grady

@nealogrady
Unit Economics 13

LTV:CAC
The ratio between your customer’s
lifetime value (LTV) and the cost of
acquiring them (CAC).

Your business model’s scalability

depends on this factor:

Not scalable Scale profitably

0 1 2

Increase your price and acquire using

cheaper channels.
Network effects 14

Metcalfe’s Law
When building a network, optimize two
things:

Friction: Ease of adding another node

to the network.

Benefit: Value of network increases

with each new node.

People share when friction is low and

benefit is high.

Let’s take a look -->

 Metcalfe’s Law
Connections = n(n-1)/2

2 p h o n e s

1 connections

4 p h o n e

6 connections

8 p h o n e s

28 connections

Neal O’Grady

@nealogrady
R E CA P 01

01 Channel-first Design
02 The Ladder of Proof
03 The First 5
04 The 40% Threshold
05 Seek Dollars, Not Feedback
06 Design Thinking
07 50-50

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R E CA P 02

08 The 5 Personalities
09 Sell a Movement, Not a Product
10 AIDA
11 VICE
12 Five Fits
13 LTV:CAC
14 Metcalfe’s Law

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