Domi's favourite Things - Issue #8

Read time: 4.30 Minutes

Servus Friends,

hope you had fun with the soaked "Smartcuts" from Finland, last Issue.I am currently writing from cool Estonia 🇪🇪 and will run soon a special baltic Issue. So stay tuned for next week, it’s really amazing stuff going on here. 🫡

This episode, we dive into the Secrets of expanding in Europe & Why size not really always matters. Have fun and read on...

The Things we are digging in Today:

1. 🥼 Why you can't visit a Doctor anymore without this french App... 🇫🇷

2. 🔫 The Bruce-Willis-Way to build big Tech 👮‍♂️

3. #Twitter-Box: Just One "Val" to build Value 💪

4. #Domi's favourite 5 - Traction like a Tractor Edition 🚜

# 1 - 👩‍🏫 A french Lesson in Expansion 🇫🇷

"How to expand into new Markets?" is especially for European Growth-Startups the most asked question of all time. Because compared to the US, building in Europe is on the long run 44x times harder.

But why 44x times harder?

Because Europe has 44 different Countries. In addition nearly as many different languages & 44 different Justice-Systems vs the US with only one language & one Justice-System.

The Startup with currently maybe the best Answer to the entry Question, is European's Doctolib. The Paris based Company is bringing together Patients and Care Teams to make managing the doctoral Visit easier for everyone.

In their Road to Success, Doctolib showcased the best Expansion-Strategy I saw in years and is with a current Value of around 50 Billion €, one of the best Unicorns we have.

In this Talk the Chief People Officer of Doctolib Matthieu Birach explains, how they started and execute the Expansion to Germany.

It's really worth listing to learn more about how to approach Europe at all...

Link

Doctolib is maybe the hottest Startup in Europe and you should learn from their growth strategy. I will tell more stories about them in the future and maybe some inside's too, so stay curious. (Three of my Friends are working there... but pssst)

# 2 - 🔫 Blockbuster: Die Hard (Startup Version) - It's hard ether way! 👮‍♂️

There are hard startups and there are less hard one's. It's not always easy to decide which direction you should follow.

At least, talk of the Town "OpenAI” CEO Sam Altman has a straight forward Opinion about it. Businesses of any size will be hard at some point, so why not choosing the hard big idea first, instead of building the next "Späti". (Convenience Store)

A great Story of how you can start in an early & rough Space is Coinbase. Making Crypto accessible for everyone with a tough SEC behind you, is far from easy.

Founder Brain Armstrong is a great Showcase how to handle multiple Problems at once and succeed even when the circumstances are not in your favour, in terms of regulations. 

If you have Amazon Prime you you can watch Brain's founding Story in full here...

Link

The good thing about this Story is, that it is still an ongoing one. I am very excited to see how Coinbase and Crypto at all, will looks like in retro-perspective after the next Decade.

# Twitter-Box: Just One Val to build Value 💪

"Why an Army if you just need automated Leverage?" (I changed that Quote from Aristoteles a bit)

Every time I talk to Entrepreneurs and some private Business School Lads during a Network-Event, they often bragging about their company's size or how many people they manage.

Sometimes this feels like being 11 to 12 Years old again and playing a quartet card game, but instead of throwing stats from your favourite Car, you attack with your Employee-Growth-Rate or Overall-Head-Count.

My personal Opinion?    ... I don't f*cking care about the Size and nether should you!

The best Example I know to proof this, is Val Katayev and his amazing Style of building real strong Businesses just being on his own.

I usually starting to get impressed by someone who can build effectively with a small team and is using well thought-out simple processes to win users, instead of hiring 200 People in three months with VC-Money. (of course funding can be good though)

So give Val a follow and enjoy his Thread...

Link

When Instagram was sold to Facebook, they just employed 40 People. WhatsApp had just 35 Employees, but 450 Million Users during their Facebook-Sale. It's not the Size of your Workforces, it's about the Quality.

# Domi's favourite 5 - Traction like a Tractor Edition 🚜

My 5 best Reads for Growth & Retention, because of last Issues "Traction"-Focus. 

• Lenny's Newsletter: What is good Traction? Part 1

• Casey Accidental: What is good Traction? Part 2

• Aytekin Tank: Seven ways to get traction for your early-stage product or startup

• Y Combinator: How to Set KPIs and Goals

• Paul Graham: Startup = Growth

Feedback please! Help me to improve for more fun Stuff.

Click on a link to vote:

• 👊 Yes Domi! Will tell my friends.

• 😐 Meh - average Pizza...

• 👎 Fuck you Domi, wasted my time.

Meme of the Week

Current State of Finance...  Squid Game as last resort!

🤣😂 Thanks for reading the 8th Issue.

Please share with your Friends and have an epic Week. 👊