How To Build And Multiply Your Company’s Momentum

Startups are all about momentum. Period. The best founders know how to take momentum and turn it into lightning in a bottle.

Over the last 18 months, we have done that at Bolt – our valuation has gone up by 1600%. Here are 10 practical tips on how to multiply your momentum

Tip 1: Turn money into more money

Fundraising is the ultimate game of momentum. If your round is full, that’s the time to double down and build even more momentum.

Bolt has raised a B, B1, C, C1, D, D1, etc. Much of this was from over-committed primary rounds. Find a way to say yes, and you can reap the momentum rewards from it.

Tip 2: Turn investors into more investors

When an investor is committed and has wired their money, ask them who else they recommend.

Sit down with them and go through specific names. Turn 1 investor into 3, those 3 into 9, and so on. This works great with SAFEs and Notes.

Tip 3: Turn investors into more customers

Investors are basically professional networkers. They know a lot of people. Chances are, no matter what industry you’re in, your investors will have connections to potential customers.

I like to do a Linkedin plunge with each one, discovering who they know and where we might find alignment.

Tip 4: Turn customers into more customers

Who is the best possible salesperson for your company? Your existing customers.

Chances are, they know others like them. Over-invest in your relationship with them, and turn them into your sales army!

Tip 5: Turn hires into more hires

Most companies dramatically underinvest in their team during onboarding. At Bolt, we over-invest.

We know that the better someone’s experience is when they join, the more likely they are to bring a few friends along.

Tip 6: Turn wins into internal rocket fuel

Ultimately, your team is everything. I was shocked at how poorly we were at celebrating wins internally. This is what we all live for. When you’ve achieved something big, make a BIG deal! That builds momentum for future wins unlike almost anything else you can do.

Tip 7: Turn a win into multiple wins internally

Let’s say you’re signing a big deal that has both a term sheet phase and a definitive agreement. You should celebrate the term sheet signing, and then definitive agreement signing, and then all the execution that follows!

Each one of those steps took a huge amount of work and sweat and effort, so you should celebrate it accordingly and compound the wins.

Tip 8: Turn a win into multiple wins externally

You can celebrate the same thing multiple times with press if it’s compelling enough. For example, Bolt launched a 4 day work week experiment.  We made mega buzz at the start. We’ll also make mega buzz if and when it ends or changes.

Tip 9: Take wins and spread them to multiple channels

A win shouldn’t just be celebrated internally. If applicable, share it with your customers.

Share with your investors. Share with press. Share on your social. Have your team share on social. Now you have 5X the reach, without having to earn another big win to create the multiplier.

Tip 10: Turn losses into wins

This one’s probably a bit cliche. But when you fail at something internally, own up to it. This builds trust with your team. Do a retrospective, which can help you learn from it. With these simple two steps, you can’t lose.