Alexander Estner

I help early-stage SaaS founders build & execute their Go-to-market foundation to grow from €0 to €1 million ARR 🚀

3 WAYS I CAN HELP YOU 👇
1️⃣ GTM Advisory - Work 1-on-1 with me in bi-weekly GTM sprints
2️⃣ GTM Audit - Get a 360° assessment of your current GTM status quo + custom action plan
3️⃣ GTM Content - Bi-weekly newsletter +  Daily LinkedIn posts + Free GTM Library

P.S. You will find the links to all 3 in the featured section.

Among other things, I help you with:
👉 Creating your early/ideal customer profile (ICP)
👉 Working on positioning, messaging & value proposition 
👉 Choosing the right pricing for your business (pricing model, value metric & packaging)
👉 Implementing the right sales strategy (sales-led vs. product-led)
👉 Mastering 2-3 growth channels to continuously generate new deals/trials
👉 Setting up the right tech stack in sales, marketing & customer success
👉 Building your commercial teams.

Send me a DM on LinkedIn or book a free 15-minute intro call to learn more about my offering.

Startup Consultant for B2B SaaS

As a freelance startup consultant, I help early-stage B2B SaaS Startups quickly grow their business with a powerful Growth Strategy 🚀


I work on both, strategic and operational, levels and help you with the following topics.

► For Founders (Launch to Seed Stage):
- Clarify, validate and stress test your business idea
- Win first paying customers and kickstart growth for your SaaS
- Develop and implement a powerful B2B SaaS Growth strategy
- Find product-market fit and close your first funding (business angels & seed)

► For Startups (Seed to Series A Stage):
- Accelerate your growth to 5M€+ ARR
- Review or implement a powerful B2B SaaS growth strategy
- Optimization of direct & indirect growth channels
- Create a growth team mentality, track the right KPIs, and set OKRs

► For more information:
- check out my website (www.alexestner.com)
- subscribe to my FREE weekly newsletter for founders & early-stage startups (https://startupbusinesstips.substack.com/)

► Interested?
- Send me a DM on Linkedin

Fundraising still costs founders 15–20 hours every week.
I partnered with Notion to drop the AI Fundraising Kit - a free stack to help startup founders raise with clarity and confidence.

After working with 30+ founders over the last 3 years, I kept hearing the same questions:

→ Which investors should we actually talk to?
→ What does a “good” pitch deck really look like?
→ How do we structure a proper data room?
→ How do we track investor conversations without chaos?

All this is covered in the AI Fundraising Kit.

What's inside 👇

1️⃣ Investor Database (10k+ profiles)
--> including 2000+ early-stage VCs, incubators, and accelerators

2️⃣ 50 real pitch decks
--> From YC, a16z, and Sequoia-backed startups

3️⃣ AI agents for fundraising
--> Ready-to-use Notion agent prompts for:
- creating pitch docs
- logging investor emails
- building a data room

4️⃣ Notion Data room template
→ A clean, investor-ready setup you can use instantly

Plus a big Bonus 💰

$50K+ in free AI tools (Notion, v0, Supabase...):
▫️ 1 Year Framer
▫️ $60 in v0 by Vercel (frontend)
▫️ $300 from Supabase (backend)
▫️ Up to 6 months of Notion Business with AI (run your startup)

If you’re fundraising now, or planning to soon, this saves weeks of work.

👉 You can access your AI Fundraising Kit here: https://lnkd.in/e4zYDVCe

(It’s free — and yes, I’d grab it before that changes.)

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Newsletter

Join 4500+ SaaS Leaders and get actionable content in your inbox: https://www.mrrunlocked.com/p/saas-gtm-foundation

GTM Foundation

Build your GTM foundation: https://www.mrrunlocked.com/p/saas-gtm-foundation

Listen to Podcast

Listen to the podcast episode on the 3 stages to 1€ million ARR: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s6e18-the-3-step-gtm-playbook-to-grow-your-saas-from/id1670431932?i=1000713247114

Sales Deck

Build your sales deck with my free sales deck template: https://www.mrrunlocked.com/p/high-converting-sales-deck

Vetted Tools

Vetted Partners

SaaS GTM Guides

https://www.alexestner.com/#Best-SaaS-GTM-Guides

14 actionable CRM tactics

SaaS Homepage

https://www.mrrunlocked.com/p/saas-homepage-copywriting-guide

Founder Brand on LinkedIn

https://www.mrrunlocked.com/p/founder-led-linkedin-guide

Customer Success into Referrals

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/alexander-estner_how-moritz-weiss-turned-customer-success-activity-7327573567070420992-DkSk?

GTM Audit

https://alexander-estner.webflow.io/services/gtm-advisory#Pricing-Table

ECP to ICP Guide

https://www.mrrunlocked.com/p/analyze-your-icp

SaaS Vetted Tools

👇GTM templates: https://www.alexestner.com/gtm-templates

360 GTM Audit

https://www.mrrunlocked.com/p/360-saas-gtm-audit

SaaS Pricing Page Guide

Ultimate SaaS Pricing Page Guide: https://www.mrrunlocked.com/p/saas-pricing-page

Nocodefounders Newsletter

Read the full article on: https://nocodefounders.beehiiv.com/p/how-to-build-a-strong-gtm-foundation-0-to-1m-arr

6 founders sharing insights

Hear all 6 founders sharing their tips & mistakes: https://www.mrrunlocked.com/p/6-founders-insights

Experts Tips

📌 From 0 to €1M ARR: 17 Expert Tips Every Founder Should Know: https://www.mrrunlocked.com/p/17-experts-best-tips

MRRUnlocked Signup

Sign up on mrrunlocked.com to get all tips delivered in your inbox (+ 50+ GTM infographics for free).

LinkedIn Playbook

📌 Get the Founder + Team LinkedIn Playbook for free: https://www.mrrunlocked.com/p/founder-linkedin-playbook

6 GTM problems

📌 Full breakdown of the 6 GTM problems that keep repeating: https://www.mrrunlocked.com/p/the-6-gtm-problems

Homepage Teardown

📌 Homepage Teardown of 6 Top SaaS/AI companies: https://www.mrrunlocked.com/p/homepage-teardowns-what-6-top-saas

Digital Nudging: User Experience positiv beeinflussen

Climate Change, Risks and Challenges

Digital Advertising

The Complete Digital Marketing Course

'Hands-on’ GTM Advisor || I help SaaS founders build & execute their Go-to-market and go from €0 to €1 million ARR with less trial & error || Join 4000+ SaaS leaders & get my free SaaS GTM tactics in your inbox👇

I help early-stage SaaS founders build & execute their Go-to-market and quickly go from €0 to €1 million ARR 🚀

3 WAYS I CAN HELP YOU
1️⃣ GTM advisory - Work with me 1-on-1 in weekly or bi-weekly deep-dive working sessions to build and execute your powerful GTM strategy.
2️⃣ List of 90+ actionable SaaS Growth Tactics and Free SaaS Growth Strategy Worksheet (Links are in the Highlight section).
3️⃣ Free actionable SaaS growth tips: Daily on LinkedIn and bi-weekly in my newsletter (read by 2300+ SaaS leaders)

Bonus: Sponsor my newsletter & reach 2300+ early-stage SaaS founders/leaders/decision makers.

Among other things, I help you with:
- Creating your ideal customer profile (ICP)
- Working on positioning, messaging & value proposition 
- Choosing the right pricing for your business (pricing model, value metric & packaging)
- Implementing the right sales strategy (sales-led vs. product-led)
- Mastering 2-3 growth channels to continuously generate new deals or/and trials
- Setting up the right tech stack in sales, marketing & customer success
- Building your commercial teams.

Send me a DM on Linkedin or book a free 15min virtual coffee to learn more about my offering.

------------
ABOUT ME:

Hi, I'm Alexander Estner - but please just call me Alex.

I'm based in Munich, Germany 🇩🇪 and I've spent my whole career in the startup environment with now more than 10 years of experience in SaaS and marketplaces from being the first commercial employee of a fast-growing SaaS-enabled-marketplace to being a Co-founder of a SaaS startup and now supporting other early-stage founders on their journey from pre-revenue to the first €1 million ARR.

Over the last 2 years, I've helped 25+ SaaS companies grow their business faster with a powerful GTM strategy - as a growth advisor, consultant, or interim manager.

What I care about: 

- Brainstorming new business ideas 💡
- Sustainability, healthy food, and barista coffee ☕.
- Traveling, well-being, and all kinds of sports like skiing, beach volleyball, yoga, and fitness 🧘‍♂️
- Books & podcasts about startups, leadership, personal development, & positive mindset 📚

------------
💡 Currently getting inspired for a new startup

Go-to-market in 2024 is tough.

My best SaaS GTM Guides help you master GTM in 2024.

1️⃣ The Ultimate Ideal Customer Profile Framework
2️⃣ The Ultimate SaaS Messaging Framework
3️⃣ High-converting SaaS Homepage template
4️⃣ The perfect Sales Deck template
5️⃣ The Ultimate SaaS Pricing Guide
6️⃣ The Best Outbound Tech Stack for SaaS
7️⃣ The Ultimate Content Marketing Guide for SaaS

The 7 Best SaaS GTM Guides 2024

The free Workbook helped 3000+ SaaS leaders build their SaaS GTM Strategy.

The Ultimate SaaS GTM Strategy Workbook [Free]

Grow faster from 0€ to 3€ million ARR with 100+ actionable & proven SaaS Growth Tactics (helped 200+ SaaS leaders)

100+ actionable SaaS growth tactics

Get weekly 3 actionable SaaS GTM strategies and tactics to grow your B2B SaaS business from €0 to €1 million ARR 🚀.

MRR Unlocked 🚀 | Alexander Estner | Substack

RevGenius is a group of revenue-generating sales and marketing professionals brought together to learn, share, support, and grow with each other. You can consider us your alt work family!

The Mentoring Club is a pro bono platform where mentors and mentees meet and can schedule mentoring sessions. You can schedule a free mentoring session with me here: https://www.mentoring-club.com/the-mentors/alexander-estner

Notion

Helping SaaS & AI founders build and execute their GTM foundation to grow from €0 to €1 million ARR with less trial and error | ‘Hands-on’ GTM Advisor👇

Tactics are great, but only if you have a strong GTM foundation.

When I work with founders on their way to 1€ million ARR,

we usually start building the foundation.

This includes:

Clarity...

1️⃣ on who you target (ICP)

Focus is key here. You can't afford having 2+ ICPs.

Every segment requires a different motion.

2️⃣ on what your product is and how it's different

This is your positioning anchor.

You can lead with a product category (e.g. CRM tool) or a usecase (sending SMS to clients).

This helps prospets to understand for what they need your product.

Once this is clear, you can add your differentiator (against the dominant status quo).

This might be: niche, unique feature, lite, premium...

3️⃣ on how to communicate this

This is your messaging. Your words need to resonate with your buyer.

Your website, demos, emails, sales decks, case studies all need to be aligned.

They become your core GTM assets that align your ICP, positioning & messaging.

4️⃣ on your GTM motion

Are you self-service / product-led or grow via demos (sales led).

You can't run both in parallel (too early). 

So your market, ICP and pricing defines your GTM motion. 

5️⃣ Pricing

In this phase, pricing is less about 'profit hacking' and more about willigness to pay.

You should treat pricing iterative. Key is to find the right value metric.

Build your pricing tiers (packaging).

The more clarity you have on these, the easier becomes the execution.

This includes choosing the right GTM channels.

👉 Which part needs most of your attention?

📌 P.S. Send me a DM if you want the full GTM foundation guide.

I’ve done 15+ GTM audits across:

different markets
different ACVs
different stages (0€–1M ARR)

The problems repeat.

The 6 repeating GTM problems I see.

1️⃣ ICP is defined, but not enforced

2️⃣ Positioning lacks a clear anchor

3️⃣ Sales demos are product tours

4️⃣ No clearly defined sales process

5️⃣ GTM assets are too generic

6️⃣ Content without strategy

Not because founders don’t work hard.
But because GTM is treated as disconnected tasks.

Not as a system.

👇 Which GTM area feels most fragmented for you right now? 

--- 
📌 Full breakdown of The 6 GTM Problems That Keep Repeating in the latest MRR Unlocked newsletter (link in comments).

I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as GTM Advisor!

I'm deeply impressed what Yanick Frehner Ingmar Feldhoff Ramon Vorich Otto Attila Jonathan V. and the team achieved within a few months.

In November, I did a GTM audit for them.

They were doing already quite good.

But I uncovered a few areas that need their attention.
Since then, they executed crazy fast 🔥 

And now we decided to work together for the next months.

Excited about what the next months will bring together.

Co-Founder & CEO @ Leto GmbH | AI-Powered Automation | Zukunft der Arbeit gestalten

Vertriebsleiter | Leto AI | KI-gestützte Automatisierung für mehr Produktivität & Wachstum

CMO @ Leto AI

AI driven - PHP & Laravel Developer | Fullstack

I believe every B2B SaaS company has its own 'sales process'
So it's not about copying THE one.

But what you need to do is define your 'sales process'.

If you don't know what your sales process looks like,
you can't guide your prospects from first touchpoint to closing.

No need to overengineer too early.

Define:

✅ What is your primary CTA

--> Do you want them to book a call? Or do a free trial?

✅ What happens in the first call?

--> Is is a short discovery call? or already a demo?

✅ What defines a qualified lead?

--> What are your criteria for a MQL and SQL.

✅ When do you open a deal in your CRM?

--> Clear entry criteria

✅ What are the next steps after the call?

--> Do you do a technical deep dive? or a trial phase?

✅ What happens after closed won?

--> How do you handle the onboarding?

✅ How do you work with existing customers?

--> Monitor churn alerts? Identify expansion potential? 

Write down the steps your ICP take. 

👇 How is your sales process?

Over the last few months, I’ve done over 15 GTM audits across various B2B SaaS companies.

Different markets.
Different ACVs.
Different stages (all between 0€ and 1€ million ARR).

Yet the same GTM problems keep showing up.

Not because founders are sloppy.
Not because the product is bad.
Not because they don’t execute fast enough.

But because GTM is treated as a collection of independent activities, not a system.

Which is why many founders feel busy, ship constantly, and still struggle to create momentum.

Here are the 6 GTM mistakes I see over and over again.

👇 What GTM problem do you see?

---
📌 Yesterday, the first mrrunlocked.com newsletter episode went live, where we deep-dived into these 6 GTM problems. Link to the episode is in the comments.

One of those bittersweet solopreneur moments today.

After 12 months of working closely together, my content freelancer Himani Sheth decided to take a full-time role.

And honestly?
I’m very happy for her.
And also... a little sad.

Over the last year, she helped me with:

--> My LinkedIn content

--> The mrrunlocked newsletter episodes

--> Getting sponsors

--> And a lot of behind-the-scenes work that most people never see

What I loved most about our journey:

In September 2024, she just reached out.
No pitch deck. No fancy intro.

She said:

“I’ve learned a lot from your content and would love to work with you.”

I checked her grid.
It impressed me.

We jumped on a few calls, aligned on expectations, and decided it was a good fit.

The rest is history.

This is also a reminder:
👉 Sometimes the best collaborations don’t come from job posts
👉 They come from people who already care about your work

Now, I’m looking for someone who can replace her.

Which, of course, is not really possible 🙂

But if you:

--> Love writing (LinkedIn + long form guides)

--> Care deeply about quality

--> And enjoy working closely with a solopreneur

Feel free to reach out (or tag someone great).

And to Himani:
Thank you for everything and good luck in your next chapter. 
You’ve earned it ❤️

Content marketing for B2B founders and solopreneurs | Influencer Marketing | Ex- VC

I teamed up with web-design expert Maximilian Fleitmann for a teardown of  6 fast-growing SaaS and AI companies.

We reviewed Attio, Clay, Jimo, Fin AI, Sastrify, and introw.io.

We broke down
✅ what works
⛔ what doesn’t, 
🔥 and what we’d change immediately, 

turning all insights into a practical Figma file with concrete comments you can directly apply to your own homepage.

Comment 'teardown' to get the homepage teardown.

If you're SaaS/AI founder planning to launch new product pages on your website, we have something for you 👇

Quick reminder.

Your homepage is

❌ NOT a detailed page about how your product works.

❌ NOT a page purely on 1 specific use case or 1 specific feature.

Instead,

✅ That’s the job of product pages

Compared to your homepage, they come with a few benefits:

1️⃣ Homepage visitors find information that matches their specific needs quickly

2️⃣ Sales and support teams share more information about a specific feature in a snackable format

3️⃣ Search engines and LLMs understand the core capabilities of your product and recommend your tool in their answers.

You can have 3 different types of product pages:

1️⃣ Feature pages

2️⃣ Use-case pages

3️⃣ Customer segment pages (Persona/Teams, Company type, Industry pages)

Each of these pages has a slightly different focus.

✅ Feature pages and Use-case pages focus on ‘how it works’.

✅ Persona/Teams, company type, and industry pages focus on ‘Who it’s for and how this type of audience benefits from using the product’.

What are the best product pages you know?

---
P.S. If you want the 'Perfect Product Pages Guide', send me DM.

Everyone says you can't run a sales-led motion with <10k€ ACV

Unless you...

If you're a founder on the way from 0€ to your first 1-3€ million ARR, it can be fine to be sales-led. 

Because ACV alone is not an indicator if your motion is healthy or not.

At the end, you need to look at:

1️⃣ CAC payback period (fully loaded)

How long does it take you to make money (and recover your CACs).

At the early stage, I would say
🟠 Everything below 12 months is acceptable
🟢 Below 6 months is great.

This might look a bit different if you're bootstrapped.

2️⃣ ARR signed per AE

If you set healthy quotas (e.g. 4-6x on OTE), it can be fine to scale with 'more humans' - at least for the first 2-3 reps.

All this, of course, requires an efficient sales motion.

Win rates over 20%.
Sales cycles < 90 days
Mostly inbound-driven demos.

I'm not saying that PLG or sales-assisted PLG is wrong.

I just say that sales-led can still be okay if you're early.

What do you think?

If your GTM isn’t working, this might be why:

You never made a real positioning decision.

No clear:
• ICP
• category
• competitor set

And without that:
→ your content lacks edge
→ your LinkedIn profile is vague
→ your outreach doesn’t convert

Founders often say:
“I don’t want to be boxed in.”

Reality:
You’re already boxed in by indecision.

Positioning is a bet.
Execution is how you validate it.

Take the bet.
Then improve it.

P.S. I'm launching soon my new ICP & Positioning Framework. Want early access? Drop me a DM.

We all know competitor comparison pages, but CloudTalk is the only one I saw doing this on their homepage.

In crowded markets, Buyers evaluate different vendors.
You will NOT be the only one they check out.

So this is your chance to add your POV.

If you don't, someone else will do it.

And a very common way to do so is to have dedicated landing pages for competitor comparisons.

Either visible on the website footer.
Or completely hidden.

But I think if you know that buyers anyway compare you against your biggest competitors.

You can add them to your homepage.

I've seen Cloudtalk doing this.

And I think it's smart.

👇 What's your take?

P.S. If you want to learn how to position yourself against your competitors, send me a DM and I'll give you access to my new positioning&messaging framework.

CloudTalk

If you already know how to reach your first 1€ million ARR, these slides are NOT for you ⛔

GTM Foundation Infographics

Sometimes the best planning happens away from the laptop.
I unplugged for 2 weeks.
And it gave me absolute clarity on 2026.

I spent unplugged,
in nature, hiking, slowing down, and being fully present with my wife.

No notifications.
No endless tabs.
Just long walks and clear thoughts.

And while I disconnected from work...
I reconnected with direction.

I used that time to plan my 2026.

And one thing became very clear:

I don't want to add more.

But rather less. More focus.

👉 I’m doubling down on GTM Foundations for AI & SaaS founders.

Not hacks.
Not shiny growth tactics.
But the fundamentals that actually compound.

This means a stronger focus on:

--> Defining who your product is really for

--> Sharpening positioning & messaging that cuts through noise

--> Designing a GTM motion that fits your stage

A few things that are coming soon:

--> ICP Framework V2
--> Sales Demo Blueprint
--> Positioning Framework

More on this soon.

👇 What topics should I cover in 2026?

If you're doing product demos for your SaaS/AI, this one is for you.

Most B2B demos fail not because of the product,
but because the structure is weak.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been building something to fix exactly that:

👉 The B2B SaaS Sales Demo Toolbox

It includes:

1️⃣ Demo Structure (1-pager)
A clear, repeatable flow for strong demos:
Intro → Time Check → Agenda → Discovery → Buy-In Summary → Tailored Demo → Recap → Next Steps

2️⃣ Sales Demo Script
Ready-to-use blurbs for every step of the demo
(no more “uhm... so yeah” moments)

3️⃣ Demo Coaching Feedback Template
A simple way to give (or receive) structured, actionable feedback

4️⃣ 2-Minute Demo Video Script
Perfect if you want a short sales/demo video without overthinking it

I’ve already tested this with 10 SaaS & AI founders over the last weeks.

Right now, I’m opening early access:
✅ Free
🔒 In exchange for qualified feedback

Heads-up:
I plan to turn this into a €50+ product soon once it’s polished.

So this is likely the only time it’ll be available for free.

👉 Want early access?
Comment “Demo Toolbox” and I’ll send it over.
,

One of the biggest GTM mistakes I see founders make:

They wait for perfect data before positioning.

But positioning creates the data.

The moment you decide:
• “We help X”
• “With problem Y”
• “Instead of solution Z”

Suddenly:
→ lead lists get easier
→ your website writes itself
→ content ideas appear
→ competitor research makes sense

Yes, it’s a bet.
Yes, it might be wrong.

If your GTM feels stuck, ask yourself:
👉 “Where am I avoiding a clear bet?”

P.S. Drop me a DM if you want my new Positioning Framework.

Me: "We're working in 2-week GTM sprints"
Founder: "Okay, but what does that look like practically?"

Below you see a real example of a GTM sprint board with one of my clients (Thomas Moussafer  Andy M. ).

We usually use Notion for sprint planning.

And a very simple Kanban board.

To keep things organized, we use:
--> Backlog
--> Ideas for next sprint
--> This sprint planned
(here we add all the initiatives that we want to focus on in the next 2 weeks)
--> In progress
--> Done this sprint

Each Initiative comes with an owner, deadline and related topic cluster.

Within a card, we share:
- templates & best practices
- updates & drafts
- reviews

It's 100% not the most sophisticated project management ever.

But I am 100% convinced.
Keep things simple.
Clarity wins.

👇Let me know. Do you like more 'behind the scenes' content?

---
P.S. Want to improve your user onboarding? Check out Jimo

I’ve asked GTM advisor Björn W. Schäfer what founders misunderstand about ICP. Let’s hear his advice 👇

ICP clarity is not a workshop. It’s a discipline.

Most founders think they know their ICP once they hit early traction. They don’t. They just have a few happy customers.

Segment by outcome:
Who gets the fastest and most measurable ROI?

Look where deals close fastest, with the lowest discount and fastest time-to-value. That’s your real ICP.

Build an Anti-ICP list. Knowing who not to sell to saves massive effort.

👉 Want to hear 15 more expert tips. Read the latest MRR Unlocked episode. Link is in the comments.

One sprint item last week:

Launching evergreen signal-based outbound for my client Jimo

In 2026, I want to share more content about the actual work I do with the founders in my GTM advisory.

The core concept:
--> 2 week GTM sprints
--> Each sprint comes with 3-5 initiatives 

So one sprint item last week was to launch signal-based outreach campaigns.

Step 1 was to decide on the relevant signals.

In our case, we decided on 4 key signals:

--> Negative reviews on competitor tools
(they operate in a highly crowded red ocean)

--> Lookalike of happy customers
(reaching out to companies very similar to their happy customers)

--> Champion getting hired
(We know if they are hiring 'the champion role' the topic the tool helps fix is hot)

--> Website visitors
(proactively reaching out to ICP contacts that are visiting their website)

Step 2

Setting up the tracking of these signals. And pushing relevant leads to the outreach tool (this time GetSales.io - most of the time I recommend lemlist)

--> Snitcher for website visitor

--> manual g2, capterra research for negative reviews (any good tips to track these signals?)

--> LinkedIn job search for hiring (and using Cargo 🧱 to automate this)

--> Ocean.io for lookalike

Step 3 

Building a LinkedIn DM campaign with (2-4 DM) for each signal.

---
Evergreen signal-based outbound is one of 4 key initiatives that we bet on in Q1. 

👇What are your best signal-based outreach campaigns?

I like being a solopreneur.
I really do.

But liking it doesn’t mean it’s easy.

Content, client work, sales calls, finance, launching new products...

Most days, it’s all on my plate.
You switch contexts constantly.
You make decisions alone.

And sometimes you just want to talk to someone who gets it.
That’s why I’m genuinely excited about the solopreneur event on May 8th.

A room full of people wearing the same hats,
dealing with similar challenges.

It's the first time this year. And I'm sure Stephanie Sgura and Christiana Kunzner-Brand will host a master event 🥳 

I’ll be there and share a lot of my learnings.

Who's joining me?

Wife & Mother of 7 | Venture Capital | Scientist | TOP 30 Patent Drafters | United States Patent Examiner | Violinist | Polyglot | STEM Children's Author | #1 LinkedIn Global Influencer in Innovation/IP Law

Kathryn Vatt is a scientist, former USPTO Examiner, and devoted wife and mother of seven, with over 25 years shaping the future of innovation. Recognized as one of the Top 30 Patent Drafters and Prosecutors and the #1 LinkedIn Global Influencer in Innovation/IP Law, Kathryn has built a career at the intersection of science, law, and business—helping inventors, startups, and global companies turn creativity into competitive advantage.

A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania (B.S. Biology) and Johns Hopkins University (M.S. Biotechnology), Kathryn is currently pursuing her Juris Doctor in Patent Law at the Franklin Pierce School of Law, one of the world’s leading IP programs. Her rare cross-disciplinary background gives her both the scientific insight and the legal strategy to protect ideas at the highest level.

At the USPTO, Kathryn examined thousands of patent applications, conducted exhaustive prior art searches, and made determinations that shaped industries and influenced global innovation. After leaving the Patent Office, she founded Vatt IP Management, where she develops bulletproof IP strategies, drafts airtight applications, and supports litigation teams in defending patents. She also mentors engineering and life science students through Arizona State University’s Edson Entrepreneurship + Innovation Institute and judges international startup competitions, nurturing the next generation of innovators.

Her entrepreneurial vision extends to her ventures:

My Startup Shield™, a founder-focused program that helps startups secure their innovations before they pitch. It protects ideas at the earliest, most vulnerable stage and positions founders to raise capital with confidence

My AI Examiner™, the world’s first proprietary patent search platform that combines examiner-trained AI Patent Examiners with Kathryn’s own human review. Unlike conventional tools, it doesn’t just search faster—it “thinks like an examiner,” offering inventors and startups clarity, precision, and strategy.

MyKidVentors™, a STEM-inspired children’s book series born from her seven children’s real “What if?” questions. Through these imaginative stories, she nurtures curiosity in the next generation, showing that every big invention begins with a single question.

For Kathryn, the same motherly instinct that guides her family fuels her professional mission: to protect, guide, and nurture startups with care, strategy, foresight, and integrity. She believes innovation doesn’t just start in labs or boardrooms—it starts in the curious minds of those brave enough to ask, “What if?”

Kathryn V.

FALL IN LOVE...

with the process.

If you’re building something right now,
here’s the shift that changes everything:
Fall in love with the process, not the results.

Results are unpredictable.
They’re delayed.
They show up on their own timeline.

The process is what you live in every day.
Consistency isn’t about intensity.
It’s about showing up when it’s boring.
When it’s quiet.
When no one is watching or applauding.

Founders don’t burn out because they’re doing too much.
They burn out when all their hope is tied to an outcome
instead of the work itself.

When you love the process,
progress stops feeling fragile.
Missing a day doesn’t feel like failure...
it feels like life.
And you simply come back the next day.

Consistency compounds.
Small steps add up.
And over time, the work begins to shape you
as much as you shape it.

So if today feels slow,
if momentum feels distant,
if the results aren’t there yet...
stay.

Keep building.
Keep learning.
Keep becoming.

Fall in love with the process.
The results will meet you there. 💛

Founder Friday 💫

Some founders build with brilliance.
Some build with courage.
And every once in a while, you meet someone who builds with both brilliance and heart.

Rachel Buchanan is one of those people.

Rachel has been working in blockchain since 2017...long before trust, verification, and integrity became buzzwords or regulatory requirements. 

She didn’t wait for permission. She didn’t chase what was fashionable. She stayed true to what she knew mattered.

That clarity is why she’s now building IntegraLayer, focused on certificate integrity, verification, and trust. Not because it’s trendy. But because it’s necessary.

But here’s what I want people to really know about Rachel.
She is not just thoughtful and brilliant...she is kind.
She is steady.
She leads with integrity in how she builds and how she shows up for others.

That’s why it meant so much that she entrusted the protection of her intellectual property to me. That kind of trust is never taken lightly. 

I’m truly honored and so happy to welcome her as part of the moatly Crew™ 😊 .

And this moment is also a reminder of how meaningful real connections are.
Thank you to my beautiful friend, Bettina Briz, for introducing us, and to founders Kevin Jurovich and Timo Gehrke of Hubble, for introducing Bettina to me in the first place. 

The ripple effect Hubble creates through authentic human connection is genuinely life-changing. One introduction can change the entire trajectory of a founder’s journey.

Rachel, I’m cheering you on!! Not just as a founder, but as a human.
The world needs more builders like you.

#founderfriday #womenfounders #kindnessinleadership #trustbydesign #moatlycrew™ #moatly™ #hubble #buildingwithheart

One of the things I respect most about thoughtful investors
is when they’re honest about what they’re really looking for.
David Y.’s post is spot on.

At the very earliest stages, investors aren’t betting on a polished product.
They’re not betting on traction, revenue, or perfect data.
They’re betting on the person.

Because at pre-seed, almost everything is unfinished.
The product will change.
The strategy will evolve.
The plan will break...more than once.

What doesn’t change as easily is the founder’s ability to keep going
when nothing is guaranteed.

And here’s the part I love most:
The kind of “swagger” that actually matters isn’t loud.
It isn’t hype.
It isn’t performative confidence.

It’s quieter than that.
It’s the steadiness of someone who is aligned with a purpose bigger than their pitch deck.

Someone who, “treats the company as a vehicle, not an identity.”
Someone who keeps building when no one is clapping yet.

As a former patent examiner and now someone who works closely with founders, I see this same pattern over and over again.

The founders who endure aren’t the ones chasing validation.
They’re the ones making progress in silence.
Learning.
Adapting.
Following up with substance.
Showing up again after the fifth setback.

So if you’re a founder feeling discouraged by a slow response, a long diligence cycle, or a quiet room...
this may not be rejection.
It may be observation.

And sometimes, the most important thing you can do
is exactly what you’re already doing:
keep going.

That kind of inevitability?
It can’t be faked.
And the right people notice.

I’m a VC who hates most VCs. I live to help people identify and scale their gifts.

A pre-seed truth most founders miss:
Investors aren’t betting on your product or idea.

Our firm spoke with 10,000+ founders over the last 3 years.
We invested in 25 of them.

That’s <0.2%.

We’re not unique.
That ratio is normal at the pre-seed stage.

At pre-seed:
- The product is usually incomplete
- Revenue is often $0
- Data is thin or non-existent

So what are investors actually evaluating?
The founder.

More specifically?
Swagger.

Not pitch polish.
Not hype.
Not “founder energy.”

Pre-seed swagger is quieter.

It’s the strength that shows up when a founder is aligned with something bigger than the company...and treats the company as a vehicle, not an identity. 

At pre-seed, investors aren’t really asking:
- “Is this the best idea?”

They’re asking:
- “Is this person inevitable?”

Inevitable doesn’t mean certain.
It means disciplined enough to survive uncertainty.

BUT swagger doesn’t replace execution.
It signals who will still be executing after the first five failures.

And that's why good pre-seed investors take their time.

The delay isn’t always disinterest.
It’s often a test.

At pre-seed, we’re watching:
- Do you keep building without validation?
- Do you follow up with substance, not pressure?
- Do you show progress when no one is watching?
- Do you adapt… or just re-pitch?

What founders experience as “foot-dragging” is often pre-seed diligence in motion.

Early investing isn’t about moving fast.
It’s about identifying who keeps moving when nothing is guaranteed.

That’s who gets funded at pre-seed.
And that’s where real swagger comes from. 

---

If this resonates, Founder Chapel is where we unpack this kind of founder formation.

Link in the comments.

SKATEBOARDING THE WEEKEND AWAY

I hope you’re finding a little time this weekend to do something you love…
something that makes you smile, laugh, or feel a bit more you.

This video made me smile. 
Pure joy. Zero fear. Just going for it. 

And today, I’m dedicating it to Bettina Briz,
who has officially started learning how to skateboard.
New wheels. New courage. New joy.
And the most stylish fits, thanks to her personal stylist and amazing husband, Peter Himes.

There’s something really beautiful about trying something new...
not to be perfect at it,
not to impress anyone,
but simply because it feels fun and alive.

May this weekend bring you that same energy:
a little play, a little courage,
and the freedom to roll forward just because it makes your heart happy.

Happy Saturday, friends. Enjoy every moment. 💛

31-27 🐻 

"Good, better, best!
Never let it rest!
Till your good gets better,
And your better gets best!"

Not as pressure.
Not as perfection.
But as a reminder.

This isn’t just a post-game locker room chant. 
It’s something all of us can carry…whether we’re riding a wave of success or sitting quietly in a lull.

Because becoming doesn’t stop when things are going well.
And it doesn’t end when momentum slows.

Good means you’re here.
Better means you’re willing to grow.
Best isn’t a finish line…it’s a direction.

Some seasons are loud with wins.
Others are quiet with reflection.
Both matter.

And in both, the invitation is the same:
keep becoming.

Not by rushing.
Not by burning yourself out.
But by staying open.
By learning.
By choosing to show up again, exactly as you are…still caring, still trying.

Wherever you are right now…
celebrating or recalibrating…
this motto holds true.

Good. Better. Best.
A reminder that growth is ongoing,
and that we are never done becoming. 💛

DON'T WALK THE DESERT ALONE

I am resharing my friend Kevin Jurovich’s post because what he is building is truly invaluable for founders.

What he shares about those early days, learning on the go and wondering whether the struggle meant failure or growth, is a season so many founders live through quietly. It takes courage to speak about that part of the journey with honesty.

What stands out most to me is how he turned that experience into something generous. Instead of keeping those lessons to himself, he is creating space for founders to hear the truth behind building a company. The uncertainty. The doubt. The moments where continuing feels hard.

Founders Uncovered feels like an offering to the people still in it. A reminder that difficulty does not mean you are doing it wrong. Often it means you are doing something that matters.

By sharing real stories from people who have built before us, Kevin is helping founders feel less alone and more capable of staying in the work. That kind of encouragement can change everything.

So proud of you, Kevin. This is going to help a lot of people. Cannot wait for Season 1.

👉 Join the list for Episode 1. https://lnkd.in/gi2NaDMf

Co-founder, CEO at Hubble | Lifelong optimist

Back in 2019, I used to walk around SoMa in San Francisco listening to founder podcasts, trying to figure out if what I was feeling was failure…or just the process.

How I Built This, Masters of Scale, then later Lenny’s Podcast and My First Million. That was my founder education.

I was obsessed with learning from people who came before me.

Because when you’re in the desert as a founder...trying everything, hitting dead end after dead end, it helps to hear that the people you admire went through the exact same thing.

Behind every “overnight success” are years of doubt, false starts, and almost quitting.

That’s why I’m excited to announce the launch of Founders Uncovered.

I’ve teamed up with Drew Glover and Nick Madrid, CFA at Uncovered Media to host a podcast focused on the real stories behind building companies...the good, the bad, and the uncomfortable parts we usually skip.

There are so many incredible founders out there quietly changing the world. Their stories deserve to be told.

Season 1 drops next month. Our hope is that you walk away feeling educated, inspired, and a little more optimistic that you can get it done too.

One conversation can change everything.

👉 Join the list for Episode 1. I’ll send it the moment it drops.
https://lnkd.in/gi2NaDMf

Can’t wait to see more founders win. 🚀

#startups #entrepreneurship

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