Dear hustlers, founders, operators and visionaries,

The year is drawing to a close, holidays are in full swing and it’s the time of the year to lay back, reflect and rewind. When we started out earlier in spring, we would’ve never thought to come this far and build such an amazing community - thank you to all of you for supporting us, this is only the beginning!

This year we’ve written 45.4k words, have sent 39 emails newsletters, recorded 12 podcast episodes and had an endless amount of fun with the most important people in this adventure - YOU. Today, we draw on the most popular content you guys looked for in 2024. We hope you enjoy and have a great start into the new year. Also in 2025: Follow the Gradient and stay tuned.

🫶🏼 Melanie & Christian

Your favourite podcast episodes

The show numbers were so close, we couldn’t just tell you the top three.

Amy Lewin - Mastering Media: How Startups Can Get Noticed

🎧 Tune in on Spotify or Apple Podcast 🔗 The exclusive insights from Amy, only shared with our subscribers 👀

Noa Perry-Reifer - Maintaining Entrepreneurial Culture in Hypergrowth

🎧 Tune in on Spotify or Apple Podcast 🔗 The exclusive insights from Noa, only shared with our subscribers 👀

Ruth Barnett - Mastering Communication: Key Strategies for Startup Founders

🎧 Tune in on Spotify or Apple Podcast 🔗 The exclusive insights from Ruth, only shared with our subscribers 👀

Rob Snyder - How to Find Real PMF: Playbook for B2B Startups

🎧 Tune in on Spotify or Apple Podcast 🔗 The exclusive insights from Rob, only shared with our subscribers 👀

Paddy Lambros - Startup Hiring Masterclass: Building Exceptional Teams with Paddy Lambros

🎧 Tune in on Spotify or Apple Podcast 🔗 The exclusive insights from Paddy, only shared with our subscribers 👀

Your favourite memes

Oh and we didn’t want to withhold your favourites video memes with you:

🦜 What it’s actually like to build a startup aka your pitch deck vs your startup 

🤭 Tell me you’re an entrepreneur without telling me you’re an entrepreneur.

🤷🏼‍♀️ When the product is not ready but the client wants a demo

The Food for thought that really stuck with you

Teams and team sizes

How big should my team be?

How to go to market

Stop overcomplicating your Go-to-Marked strategy

Venture firms and their sought-after KPIs

What KPIs do venture firms care about across stages

Alright, last call – we promise! This is the very last time we’ll bug you about our survey. Can we steal just one minute of your time to share your thoughts about Follow the Gradient? Your feedback = our superpower = you get more value out of FTG!

Smart hacks that moved the needle for you

B2B Product-Market Fit

B2B Product-Market Fit: The Playbook for $0-$1M+ ARR - This viral 91-slide deck was initially created for Harvard Innovation Labs, offering a detailed guide on B2B PMF. Our podcast guest Rob also walks through the slides in this webinar recording, a resource we highly recommend.

How to run reference calls

Early hires can make or break a company (more about this in the podcast episode with Paddy Lambros). After a long search and interviews, reference calls can feel like a formality, but asking the right questions - despite potential discomfort or legal concerns - can yield specific feedback to evaluate fit and address potential issues. Former Stripe COO put together eight questions that help you get the information you really need to hear:

CTA’s that boost your conversion

Most CTAs are too generic and hurt conversion. To change this, design expert Joumana Eloumar advices these simple tricks:
✅ Add in social proof to create FOMO: Join 70,000+ creators instead of Get started
✅ Address objections to reduce friction: Try X in 5mins instead of Sign-up
✅ Give something away to reduce friction: Get first chapter free instead of Buy it now
✅ Make the value clear in each action: Get a free 15mins consult instead of Contact us
✅ Make it clear what happens: Take a 2min tour instead of Explore

Your favourite good reads

Global mental health crisis hits workplaces

Every White-Collar Role Will Have An AI Copilot. Then An AI Agent. 

Do things that don’t scale

Your favourite social media posts

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