Taeho Kim
Menu
HomeWritingNotesReadingAbout
KOEN
YouTube AMA Summary: Startup Q&A on Investment, Team Building, Pitch Decks, Market Strategy, and Real-World Advice preview image

1. Opening

  • The host opens the session, welcoming questions from Zoom and YouTube chat.

2. Off-Topic Questions

  • Political and tax questions are declined: "Focus on business execution, not tax tricks."

3. Non-Dilutive Grants in Pitch Decks

  • Grants should be placed in the investment/financials section as a simple table.

4. Incorporation Location

  • "You can incorporate in Delaware and operate in California. Don't get clever with tax tricks -- focus on executing your business."

5. Identifying Predatory Investors

  • Liquidation preference: "Anything above 1x is a red flag. 2x, 3x or more is predatory."
  • Tranches: "Split funding always has escape clauses. Get it all at once."
  • Board seats: "If a VC says they don't want a board seat, that's actually a red flag -- board members have fiduciary duty."

6. Market Sizing (TAM, SAM, SOM)

  • "TAM is tied to your vision. At 100% market share, revenue should match TAM."
  • "SAM is your addressable market right now. SOM is unnecessary -- it just confuses people."

7. International vs. Local Market Strategy

  • "Start with your local market. Succeed there first before expanding."

8. MVP and Early Funding Reality

  • "Investors want proof of life. Without MVP and revenue, fundraising is hard."
  • Funding order: Self/family/friends -> Angels -> VCs (VCs are least likely).

9. CTO/CEO Capabilities

  • "CTOs must have business sense. CEOs don't need to be technical, but they need to ask good questions until they understand."

10. Co-Founder Selection

  • "Don't hire a fractional CEO. Be the CEO yourself."
  • "If a friend lacks passion and urgency, politely decline the partnership."

11. Angel Investors and SAFE

  • "SAFE is still equity investment. Study it on YC's website."
  • "Meet 100 investors -- maybe 1 will invest."

12. Business Plans and Pitch Decks

  • "Nobody reads 30-40 page business plans anymore. Your pitch deck IS your business plan."

13. Market Entry Strategy

  • "Don't compete head-on with big companies. Attack peripheral markets first."
  • "Read Clayton Christensen's 'The Innovator's Dilemma.'"

Key Takeaways

  • Investor relationships / Predatory term sheet red flags
  • TAM/SAM calculation / Local market first
  • MVP, early funding order / CEO/CTO capabilities
  • Co-founder selection criteria / SAFE basics
  • Pitch deck as business plan / Market entry strategy

"The investor relationship is like dating. If they're rude from the start, it's a red flag." "Don't play tricks -- focus on execution." "I don't make the rules. I just follow them."

Related writing

Related writing

Harvest•Engineering Leadership•English

Searching for the Next Zeitgeist of Startups: Beyond Product Summary

This article explores what moat startups must build next, now that 'good products' alone can no longer maintain competitive advantage in the AI era. The author defines this as Beyond Product—the way you reach customers, the depth of understanding them, and the ability to accumulate this as an organizational system.

Mar 17, 2026Read more
Harvest•Engineering Leadership•English

Mitchell Hashimoto's New Way of Writing Code: Software Engineering in the AI Era

HashiCorp co-founder Mitchell Hashimoto shares his journey from self-taught teen coder to building Terraform and Vault, the painful pivot to open-core, and how AI agents have revolutionized his daily coding workflow.

Feb 25, 2026Read more
Harvest•Startup · Engineering Leadership•English

Granola's Secret to Success: Standing Out in the Crowded AI Notes Market and Pulling Off a Bold Rebrand

Granola co-founder Sam Stevenson shares how the AI notepad for meetings differentiated itself through product-led UX design, raised funding without a technical co-founder, and executed a bold rebrand during rapid growth.

Feb 16, 2026Read more