In this episode of Seed to Success, Alastair sits down with Sebastian Trif, former CEO and co-founder of Aurelia, who shares his valuable insights on navigating the complexities of start-up growth, and the difference between searching for product-market fit and executing it.

In this candid chat, Sebastian discusses the dynamics between technical and non-technical co-founders, the importance of paying yourself today (not tomorrow), and the balance of vision with practicality in the founder journey.

Tune in to hear about the critical difference between idea and execution and learn from Sebastian’s own experience navigating the complexities of the early-stage start-up landscape.

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Show notes:

00:00:00 - Intro

00:00:59 - Introduction to Aurelia

00:03:16 - Origin story and vision

00:05:04 - Meeting my co-founder

00:08:11 - Technical founder advantage

00:13:04 - Securing funding in a tight market

00:16:37 - Investor process and quick deal closure

00:18:24 - Cash burn and revenue generation

00:21:23 - Team composition

00:24:04 - Importance of mentorship

00:26:58 - Underpaying yourself as a founder

00:29:51 - Recognising lack of product-market fit

00:35:30 - Early Adopters Hub

00:36:46 - Realising the need to pivot

00:38:36 - Emotions and decision making as a founder

00:40:31 - Intuition and team culture

00:43:49 - Involving investors in the decision

00:49:09 - Key metrics

00:51:08 - Learning from mistakes

00:52:29 - Vanity benchmarks

00:54:10 - Advice for early-stage founders

00:55:42 - Conclusion