Apple Music introduces a monthly version of Replay, 1Password expands its endpoint security offerings with Kolide acquisition

Top News

Apple Music debuts a monthly version of its Replay experience, letting users see their monthly music habits and access listening insights. - Link

1Password, the AgileBits-owned password management software developer, acquires endpoint security platform Kolide for an undisclosed amount. - Link

Geospatial technology startup, Nuview, acquires Astraea to accelerate plans “years faster” than imagined. - Link

Tinder expands its identity verification program to users in the US, UK, Brazil, and Mexico, letting users confirm the authenticity of their profiles. - Link

Uber starts testing a feature that lets gig workers pick up prepaid items from local stores and deliver them to customers in India. - Link

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Advice of the Day

Building a World-Class Sales Organization

Jason Lemkin, founder of SaaStr, discusses strategies for building a successful sales organization. Key takeaways include:

1. Founders should hire their first salesperson after acquiring 10 customers and spending over 20% of their time on sales. Choose candidates based on their ability to sell the product instead of impressive resumes.

2. Delay hiring a VP of Sales until a repeatable sales process is established and initial sales reps consistently meet quotas.

3. The VP of Sales should be actively involved in selling, not just managing.

4. Support new sales reps by allowing them to retain 100% of their initial sales for the first three months, easing financial pressure and allowing for skill assessment.

5. High earnings of salespeople indicate the company's success and growing value for both reps and founders.

6. Involve sales in product development to align customer needs with the product roadmap.

7. Building a sales org is different from building a product team. Follow the "rule of eights" for scaling: each manager, director, and VP should have around eight direct reports.

8. In sales, focus on the long game rather than expecting immediate deal closure. Advance the conversation steadily, setting clear next steps after each meeting, and close the deal once in a strong position.

Read more here.

Startup Demo of the Day:

Locofy Lightning converts Figma designs to frontend code powered by LocoAI's Large Design Models (LDMs). Users use the tool to get responsive designs and reusable code components. This code can then be synced to GitHub or pulled into VS Code.

Founder University is a 12-week pre-accelerator program run by Jason/LAUNCH for builder founders. We're investing $25k in 20-30 companies from Cohort 7. Apply at founder.university/letsbuild.

This Week in Startups

E1900: Rahul Sidhu discusses the Aerodome drone system's role in responding to 911 calls, addressing privacy concerns, regulatory compliance, and its business model, as well as the challenges and opportunities of selling public safety technology to government sectors. - Watch

E1889: David Weisburd, Mark Suster, Samir Kaji, and Jason cover IVP's $1.3 billion fund, strategies in venture capital such as DPI and secondaries, and insights on the 2024 fintech sector and venture capital apprenticeship models. - Watch

E1898: Alex Edelson from Slipstream Investors discusses fund of funds, emphasizing their appeal due to diversification in selecting underlying funds. The conversation covers strategies for identifying promising venture funds and companies, the importance of fund size, and the nuances of investing at different stages. - Watch

E1897: Sunny Madra and Jason demo AI products, including AgentHub, Lucite, and Google’s Bard rebranded to Gemini, and debate the competitive landscape among tech giants like Microsoft, OpenAI, Apple, and Meta. They highlight the need for AI that can fact-check other AI and speculate on future industry leaders. - Watch

E1896: Brian Singerman of Founders Fund discusses strategic adaptation in venture capital, emphasizing the significance of founder dynamics and investment strategies while reflecting on personal and industry-wide challenges and insights. - Watch

This Week in Startups Paid Partnerships

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