How We Got Fred Wilson, Benchmark and Index to Invest $94M | Why Robinhood's Strategy is Wrong
Paul Erlang, co-founder and CEO of FOMO, discusses their unconventional approach to building a trading app, from giving non-founders significant equity to a data-driven content strategy. He shares insights into their fundraising journey with top-tier VCs, critiques the 'super app' model, and explains how AI is revolutionizing engineering and team structures at FOMO.
- AI tools like Cloud Code and Codeax aren't just incremental improvements; they dramatically accelerate engineering output, letting teams build complex products in weeks, not months. Read →
- FOMO gave key early non-founder employees equity percentages typically reserved for founders, rather than standard option grants. Read →
- Forget transient marketing; Harry Stebbings urges founders to invest in "immortal assets" like perpetual podcast sponsorships or football shirt endorsements that generate value for years, even decades, like old Manu shirts with Vodafone logos. Read →
- Clubhouse's fatal error wasn't traffic, it was identity. Paul Erlang, co-founder of FOMO, says bringing on established celebrities "overshadowed the core user base" who truly loved the product, attracting people who didn't actually care. Read →
- Prioritize trust and a genuine partnership with your VCs over chasing the highest valuation or a 'tier one' name. Paul Erlang, CEO of FOMO, chose partners like Benchmark, USV, and Index based on who he believed would help scale the business best. Read →