Like a lot of startups, it took longer than expected to find product/market fit.
While we can't say we're 100% there yet, we're finally feeling the type of momentum that tells us we're close, with a "connection request > demo scheduled" conversion rate of 25%+ on LinkedIn, and a clear (and big) pain we solve that's identified and validated.
This shift came when we pivoted from a "vertical" application solution, to being an AI/ML development tool.
The "problem" is that our main "persona" is now developers & data scientists (specifically those who work in conversational AI projects), and that no-one on our team has experience in B2D go-to market.
We have a lot of questions, but the main one we want to answer now is: "what are the metrics VCs look for when evaluating B2D deals in the series A stage".
Our analysis of the space seems to indicate that a few tools in similar spaces successfully raised series A on no revenue (indicating that developer adoption/traction seemed more important, at least back then); since the acquisition strategies for B2D feel closer to B2C than B2B, it would make sense that growth > revenue, however we lack good data.
We do plan on getting first-hand answer from VCs themselves and sharing these back, but thought the community might have interesting insights as well in the meantime!
Like a lot of startups, it took longer than expected to find product/market fit.
While we can't say we're 100% there yet, we're finally feeling the type of momentum that tells us we're close, with a "connection request > demo scheduled" conversion rate of 25%+ on LinkedIn, and a clear (and big) pain we solve that's identified and validated.
This shift came when we pivoted from a "vertical" application solution, to being an AI/ML development tool.
The "problem" is that our main "persona" is now developers & data scientists (specifically those who work in conversational AI projects), and that no-one on our team has experience in B2D go-to market.
We have a lot of questions, but the main one we want to answer now is: "what are the metrics VCs look for when evaluating B2D deals in the series A stage".
Our analysis of the space seems to indicate that a few tools in similar spaces successfully raised series A on no revenue (indicating that developer adoption/traction seemed more important, at least back then); since the acquisition strategies for B2D feel closer to B2C than B2B, it would make sense that growth > revenue, however we lack good data.
We do plan on getting first-hand answer from VCs themselves and sharing these back, but thought the community might have interesting insights as well in the meantime!