"The entrepreneurship journey is about value creation. The simplest way to create value is solve a problem. When you fall in love with the problem, the problem becomes your North Star."
Problem-first mindset increases likelihood of success
Solution-second approach creates compelling stories customers care about
North Star problem keeps you on course, reducing deviation
When customers care about your problem, they help you win
Find & Validate
How to Discover Your Problem
Start with personal frustration: Traffic jams, leaving money on the table, broken workflows
Speak with 100 people (or at least 20 strangers) to validate it's real
Listen for the pivot: When someone says "No, the real problem is..." — that's signal
Ask: Who has this problem? If only you, see a therapist. If many, continue.
100
conversations to validate
3
dimensions of the journey
50M
Waze funding total
Oversee pivot example
Started as B2C (people comparing flight prices), realized they won't take action. Pivoted to B2B (corporates save 10% of travel budget) and found product-market fit.
The Journey
The Three Dimensions of Building a Startup
1. Roller Coaster (High Frequency)
Ups and downs happen constantly. Ben Horowitz: "I slept like a baby — woke up every two hours and cried."
2. Failure Journey (Iterate Fast)
You'll fail repeatedly. Fail fast so you have time for more attempts. Michael Jordan: "I've failed over and over — this is what made me successful."
3. Long Path (Product-Market Fit)
The longest phase is finding PMF. Once achieved, you don't change the core (Google, Waze, Uber have stayed fundamentally the same).
The PMF realization
Once you achieve product-market fit, companies stop changing. Google search, Waze navigation, WhatsApp messaging — same since day one. If you don't hit PMF, you die.
The biggest enemy
Perfect is the enemy of good enough. You don't need perfect to win the market. Start not-good-enough, iterate until good-enough.
Hiring
The 30-Day Hire Test
"Every time you hire someone, mark your calendar for 30 days and ask: knowing what I know today, would I hire this person? If the answer is no, fire them immediately."
The first month reveals true fit
Don't wait for probation to end
Quick correction is cheaper than 6 months of wrong hire
Speed of decision matters as much as the decision itself
Uri's hiring philosophyDon't hire slowly and fire fast. Make the decision faster in both directions. The 30-day mark is your canary in the coal mine.
Fundraising
The Investor Psychology Playbook
✗Take time to build your pitch deckINSTEAD →✓ Investors decide if they like YOU before you sit down. First impression is everything. Start with strongest point immediately.
✗Bring your whole team to pitchINSTEAD →✓ CEO goes alone. Investors like the CEO and the story. Distractions dilute the message. You are the headlight.
✗Focus your story on business model and market sizeINSTEAD →✓ Start with the problem. Investors are users too. If they don't feel the problem, market doesn't exist to them. Emotional engagement matters.
✗Expect investors to understand your visionINSTEAD →✓ You'll hear 100 nos for every yes. 1% conversion. Dance of 100 nos. This is not personal — it's the game. Keep going.
The fundraising formula
Most important slide: first (strongest point). Second most important: last (finish with strength). Middle: tell a story that makes investors want to be part of your journey. Talk problem → solution → you can build it.