Colin Gardiner @ColinGardiner Twitter profile | Pikagi

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Colin Gardiner

@ColinGardiner

2,269

Followers

991

Following

794

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Marketplace geek. GP of @yonderventures Podcast: @wannabe_Angels Former @Outdoorsy @Tripping @ancestry @justanswer

Austin TX

https://t.co/TlK7H4fyh0

Joined January 2010

Don't wanna be here? Send us removal request.

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

2 years

Relaunching my personal website, it's going to be bigger and better. If you like startup and marketplace content and maybe a podcast, you should sign up. Launch post coming soon so get in now 👇

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Take Rate | Colin Gardiner | Substack

Startup and Marketplace Musings for Operators by Operators. Click to read Take Rate, by Colin Gardiner, a Substack publication with thousands of subscribers.

www.gardinercolin.com

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

5 months

I have three dad friends at school dropoff. We fist bump and banter. I have no idea what their names are. My wife is shocked. Its a guy thing to be friends and not know their name right?

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

1 year

Let's see how the @chatgpttrader from @JoinAutopilot_ does! Is mailbox money achievable?

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

1 year

VC: Who are your investors? Bootstrapped Founder: Visa, Amex...

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

7 months

First-Time Founder: I cant share my idea because someone will steal it. Please sign an NDA. Repeat Founder: I need to tell everyone about this idea to validate it and get them to help me. Execution is everything and its HARD! Best to do it with other people!

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

7 months

Where did all the angel investors go? Angel investor participation has apparently been dropping in venture deals for years. Data from @PitchBook /NVCA showing deal and dollar amounts declining. What do we think is driving it? h/t @jaydimonte for sharing

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

6 months

If you are asked by an investor what your revenue is, the answer typically should start with a number.

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

6 months

@nickgraynews Classic dude move. Forgets to text. 😂 Keep them coming!

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

1 year

Who is building a marketplace? I want to learn about it! Introduce yourself below or tag a friend!

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

6 months

Got on a call where I thought I was pitching an LP and then they started pitching me a startup.

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

5 months

@andrewglynch Bro 1, Bro 2 and Bro 3

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

1 year

@TaraViswanathan Hire them for a project with specific deliverables and tell him to shoot his shot.

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

2 years

Founders keep cold emailing 🫡

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

2 years

@kariLOU88 Warm cheese sticks are gross though. Speaking as a parent who has eaten A LOT of them.

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

7 months

@Jason If its outside of Texas they should pay you to eat it. 😜

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

1 year

Marketplace founders your GMV is not your “revenue.”

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

10 months

I think @mercury is magic. Took less than an hour to get setup and approved for multi-member LLC. Account already funded too. 👏 Great stuff @immad !

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

1 month

@brickywhat We moved to Austin at the beginning of 2018. The day before we left, our car window got smashed, and nothing was in the car. It felt apropos to leave.

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

5 months

@ScottSmithNY Totally just shake hands like its the first time you met

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

1 year

@anothercohen Put it on the business credit card

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

11 months

Startup Pitch Deck Drinking Game Drink when someone says or pitch deck says… - Disruptive - $0 CAC - 1% marketshare What else should we add? 🍻

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

2 years

Made it to 1k 🎉

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

2 years

Investor updates… Monthly until you raise a seed round. Quarterly after your seed round. What do you think?

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

2 years

What to Look for in an Angel Investor? If you're an founder/entrepreneur seeking funding, finding the right angel investor can be a game-changer. They can be a catalyst for your fundraising round. Here are some things to look for 👇

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

2 years

50% of pre-seed angel checks are <$25K As of March 2023, the median check size is $30K, according to @cartainc

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

2 years

Angel investing is so addicting. I just want to make more $ so I can invest more. 🤷‍♂️ .01% of founders is still a ton of people/companies!

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

2 years

I think the design of the @AngelList fund products is under appreciated. What once seemed so complicated is so accessible now. Software at its finest.

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

1 year

@HarryStebbings D2C is a channel it is not a business

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

2 years

@kariLOU88 Unfortunately also true

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

2 years

What if the biggest barrier to success for startups isn't a lack of funding or resources, but rather the inability to effectively navigate the complex and often contradictory advice given by mentors, founders, operators, investors, and industry experts?

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

6 months

Founders keep fundraising EVEN if you have any a term sheet, acquisition offer, etc. Just had a portco lose a lead at the 11th hour. Time kills deals and it's not done until then money hits the bank account.

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

5 months

@TheTruthfulSEO Bros 4 lyfe now but wouldn't ever know if it was there birthday.

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

1 year

@Jason Austin would be great

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

1 year

This never gets old at all!

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

2 years

@darrenmarble I don’t know look at those views. Feels like the universe is telling us something.

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

3 months

@WizLikeWizard And here I am thinking I need to get a real logo

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

2 years

Marketplaces in the 0 to 1 phase… I would rather see transactions and an excel sheet than a built product with no transactions. PMF is transactions and therefore liquidity begets traction. Customers don’t want a cool website with no or non-liquid inventory.

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

2 years

The wait is finally over. We have teased it enough... 🥁 @TheRideshareGuy and I are excited to share a podcast we have been working on called...

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

2 years

This table is the Holy Grail for marketplace fundraising. I share it with founders all the time to help set expectations. @fabricegrinda and @FjLabs put this table together in 2021, but it is still highly relevant though discounting the valuations a smidge.

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

6 months

First angel check written for the year. Fun to do things totally outside of the scope of the fund. Don't expect to do many of them.

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

1 year

I keep seeing startups say “we are profitable” and then a second later say they have x months runway. Big difference in being unit economic profitable and being cash flow profitable.

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

8 months

Announcement #1 for 2024 I’m happy to share the public launch of Longtail! We have been in a not so secret beta with a select group of stellar customers. I am even more excited to be partnering with longtime colleague @c1if_ on this venture who is the real SEO 🧠 behind

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

2 years

Episode 7 is live! 🔥 “The people who write the $1k, $2k check are the most helpful at supporting the founder[s]” - Brian Nichols ( @b_nicks11 ) on how smaller angel checks can be the most impactful for founders.

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

2 years

The startup community is full of brilliant, driven, and inspiring people. But it's also full of egos, hype, and BS. Learn to tell the difference.

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

1 year

Marketplace founders! All that matters early stage is getting liquidity and therefore transactions. Beautiful product is cool and all but show me the GMV. Marketplaces enable distribution (supply) and discovery (demand) if the marketplace isn't feeling pulled by either of

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

1 year

If you want to be on my Austin Startup List please like this Tweet. Also please retweet to increase visibility 🙏

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

2 years

Question @agazdecki have you ever thought about putting @microacquire for sale on your own marketplace?

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

2 years

@MartinGTobias 👋 Investing through as a syndicate typically $25-100k with heavy focus on marketplaces, platforms and vertical SaaS.

Yonder VC - Marketplace Investors

Yonder VC is a first check and pre-seed investor in marketplaces and network effect business.

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

1 year

Seems like a lot of marketplaces I am meeting are based in Austin None in Miami...

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

1 year

Rebrand coffee shops as the next WeWork charge low subscription fee for sitting at specific tables.

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

2 years

Startup life: where you work 80 hours a week to avoid working a 9-5 job

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

2 years

Automatically adding sales people to my newsletter that cold email me. You spam me I spam you 🫡 Unintended positive is that they seem to comment and share the content presumably to get in my good graces.

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

2 years

The first deal is complete for Yonder Ventures! We snuck this in right before the end of the year and couldn't be more excited. Whether you are selling a product or service or syndicating investments in promising startups, the first one is always special!

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

1 year

Excited to be one of the early LPs!

@Yoroomie

Yoroomie

1 year

I’m excited to share some big news. Today we’re announcing Marketplace Capital ( @marketplacevc ), which is our new $10M venture fund for backing early stage marketplaces. Here’s more about it & why I’m so excited:

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

5 months

@PGEgan And you likely never hangout outside of that setting. It is pretty wild.

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

2 years

How to build a 200+ person syndicate in less than 6 months. 👇

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

2 months

@sweatystartup But where do you dump it…

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

6 months

I don't get why founders keep flocking to a vertical and think they are going to make a better mouse trap than the other 20-30 companies trying to do the same thing. I would feel most comfortable finding something that is overlooked.

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

2 months

In case anyone was worried we are still in the early days of software adoption. This is Costco.

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

6 months

Turns out you get a lot more deal flow when you write checks.

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

5 months

While my fellow dad bros are here you should look at buying one of these for your kids. 👇 Invente by my wife and hopefully puts the kids through college.

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The original SunnyStik! Designed with children's tiny faces in mind. SunnyStik can be used to easily apply your favorite mineral sunscreen. Simply squirt, swipe and go. Our patent pending tulip...

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

1 year

@anothercohen “Always Half Full” over here

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

1 year

@gokulr My experience is typically the opposite. I am a bigger fan of fractional talent if can't get FTE.

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

1 year

🚨Marketplace valuation and fundraising table! I get asked daily by marketplaces about which valuations they should raise at.

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

5 months

I never thought I'd call myself a VC… but then I learned about @sydecario . When I started investing in startups, I did so to invest in friends' companies and to learn about how other early-stage companies were building (and hopefully take some tips for the companies I was

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

2 years

@justingordon212 Already active! Mostly investing in marketplaces, platforms, fintechs, and insurtechs through . Syndicate focused on mostly companies I advise.

Yonder VC - Marketplace Investors

Yonder VC is a first check and pre-seed investor in marketplaces and network effect business.

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

5 months

@LpWhisperer These are my best friends

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

11 months

Nothing feels better than making great investor <> founder matches. @AmberIllig getting lots of great callouts today in my DMs! 👏 If you want to hear more about her and @TheCouncilCap checkout the @wannabe_Angels Angels episode link. cc: @brickywhat

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

13 days

@alexiskold I personally don’t see how that is a good indicator. The order of the slide doesn’t change the team composition/background at all. I understand the point about “why should I listen to you” though and it makes sense.

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

2 years

For my SEOs out there enjoying the end of the year

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

7 months

One of the best parts about pre-seed investing is getting a text like this from a founder. Huge milestone in my book. Even more sweet when the team does it with minimal funding and a super lean team. World is their oyster.

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

1 year

Marketplace investor sentiment chart

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

7 months

Questions I would ask investors before getting a term sheet: - What is your ownership targets? - Do you reserve for follow-on and if so how much is typically reserved? - What % of your term sheets are accepted and completed? - What is avg valuation for signed term sheets? - What

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

9 months

When I see a marketplace with great unit economics, organic growth loops and strong network effects.

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

1 year

Reminder to support your friends’ business ventures because one day you will need them to do the same.

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

1 year

Marketplaces... Q: Chicken or the Egg? A: Who cares fake one of them

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

4 months

11 amazing calls on @useintro already! All five-star reviews as well. Today, I had the privilege of helping a marketplace founder trying to plan their Pre-Seed round by offering a structured way to go about doing it. My 3 takeaways from this call: 1) Not everyone knows what

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

2 years

33.3333333% of my syndicated deals came from inbound Twitter DM. Turns out amazing deal flow is right here and you just need compelling content. What are you waiting for?

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

1 year

Angel investing: where you pretend to be a millionaire and invest in startups that are probably going to fail, but hey, at least you get to call yourself an 'Angel' on your X profile. 💸

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

2 years

The CEO of a big company just subscribed to my newsletter LFG!

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

7 months

Hot Take: Most people who want to angel invest shouldn't and should just allocate to funds. At least to start. Access to quality and breadth of deal flow is low, check sizes aren't big enough and portfolio size is a challenge. Get some exposure from LPing in funds and then

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

1 year

Founders your next round should give you at least 18 months if not 24 months of runway. Need to be close to default alive unless stellar metrics allow for different strategy.

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

2 years

I was so impressed with the @AngelList syndicate product I had to launch my own. If you want to invest in great early stage marketplaces. Come join the fun!

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Invest with Yonder's Syndicate

Modern Investing for the rest of us. Investing in great marketplaces, web3 and the intersection of tech and everyday life.

venture.angellist.com

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

2 years

(🧵 on fundraising for a startup) Fundraising is a crucial step for startups. Here are four core principles to remember that can help you succeed.👇

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

2 years

Having worked at the Fed I learned intimately that everything is about trust hence FDIC. Fundamentals are a meme. Words are cheap. Not passing judgment but need a notable figure to step in and backstop.

@msuster

Mark Suster

2 years

1/ More in the VC community need to speak out publicly to quell the panic about @SVB_Financial ... I believe their CEO when he says they are solvent and not in violation of any banking ratios & goal was to raise & strengthen balance sheet

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

2 years

I love helping startups but also humbling to get this recognition! Thank you @Techstars ! Specifically @iamamoslee @CarolineTosbath

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

1 year

First customer signed for new product. Feels real good.

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

1 year

Who are the startup founders to know/follow in Austin?

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

7 months

I don’t see why this is such a wildly unpopular opinion. If you don’t wanna do a model don’t do a model. I do think the exercise of building even a basic one is valuable and can save a lot of heartache. You wouldn't build a product without talking to customers and I don't

@jefielding

Jenny Fielding

7 months

Financial models are back! For years founders rolled their eyes when I asked them to take me thru the model…. ‘I mean we have one, but we are pre-seed so it doesn’t mean anything’ Yikes noooo.

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

1 year

Its been a busy week with @yonderventures and @sydecario

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

1 year

This never gets old at all!

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

2 years

Why do marketplaces have super big gross revenue numbers but make so little net revenue? Something seems fishy… Love or hate them, marketplaces differ from other businesses because they facilitate transactions.

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

1 year

Start with a niche! For marketplaces, it is essential to constrain to stay ruthlessly focused and to build liquidity for a specific use case. This is point #1 in my latest post, "Building Liquidity in Your Labor Marketplace."

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

2 years

Weekend starting off right.

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

10 months

Marketplaces are harder than SaaS. There I said it! Agree or disagree 👇

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

2 years

It’s not much but thank you to my 800 followers. Next stop 1k. 🫡

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

1 year

Early-stage marketplace valuations 👇 If I had to break down valuations for marketplaces in the pre-seed/seed market, here is what I see pre-money:

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

1 year

You know what doesn't get old? Helping a startup and being there when the customers finally start paying. Love it every single time. It gets me going.

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

9 months

@shl If you are a marketplace like @gumroad then @yonderventures is also writing checks!

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

2 years

Rough morning… My son lost his Pokémon card binder. Turns out he left it on the playground on Friday afternoon. My wife ran over and checked to see if it was there. It was gone… My son was heartbroken. I said all the normal conciliatory phrases but also told him have

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@ColinGardiner

Colin Gardiner

1 year

Angel investor/advisor dopamine hit Living for those shout outs!

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