There's a simple thesis at play in this investment. UntitledStartup is a great example of the following investment thesis:
i) People First
ii) Market Second
iii) Product Third
Oh and above all -- while you're doing all the above -- has a sense of lightness and fun. I've spent the last 60+ days co-officing, contributing and collaborating with Damon Cortesi and Aviel Ginzburg (the "gentlemen" and I use the term loosely depicted in the photo below) as they've figured out what their startup was going to do. The funny thing is -- I made the decision to invest and have invested and I still don't know exactly what it is they're going to do -- and neither do they. Now that may sound crazy -- stupid even. I don't think so.
Damon and Aviel currently embody the new way to build a startup. They are working hard to invite their early adopters into every aspect of the business -- in a kind of continuous collaborative innovation. When you go to their site -- be sure to go to the backstage tab. Why is this important? Well -- hopefully, it's going to accomplish the following:
i) Product Market Fit -- Getting feedback and dialogue from the marketplace in every aspect of the product development process increases the likelihood that what they build will serve people's needs
ii) Ensure early customer enthusiasm -- the first 10 and the first hundred customers of any product are always the hardest to attract and engage. The manner in which Untitled is conducting business, hopefully brings UntitledStartup these first early critical customers. Moreover,The customers of the US will view the product development as a process and thus will roll through the necessary bugs etc that inevitably occur in the release of a new product. Well that's the theory anyway.
iii) PR and Buzz -- rising above the noise of all the other startups out there is HARD. Having a story and an angle and a sense of fun make accomplishing buzz a little bit easier. It doesn't guarantee it -- but it certainly doesn't hurt.
I'm super excited to have made this investment and look forward to the unfolding story that all of you help write at UntitledStatup!
