Скачать или смотреть (Part 2) How Stanford Professor Raised $13M Seed Round for His 3rd Startup | Ram Rajagopal

What if I told you a Stanford professor cracked the code to turn ANY research into millions? In this explosive episode, Ram Rajagopal reveals the exact playbook he used to build 3 successful companies - including Gridcare, which went from idea to $13M funding and 10+ customers in just 8 months.

🔥 This isn't theory - it's a battle-tested system that works
Ram interviewed 50-80 customers before writing a single line of code. His secret? Treating your startup like a customer success mission, not a tech project. After watching this, you'll never approach entrepreneurship the same way.

💡 What You'll Discover (No Fluff):
✅ The $13M Formula: Exact steps Ram used to land customers BEFORE building the product
✅ PhD Trap: Why 90% of academic founders fail (and the ONE thing that saves them)
✅ Network Hack: How to build your "unfair advantage" while still in school
✅ Co-founder Reality: The disagreement algorithm that prevents startup death
✅ Customer Interview Scripts: The questions that led to explosive early growth
✅ Passion Myth Busted: Why following your passion is startup suicide

Timestamps:
0:00 - Opening highlights and key insights
1:01 - Introduction to Ram Rajagopal
2:15 - Early entrepreneurial inspiration from mother's businesses
3:05 - First startup: commercializing PhD research
5:20 - Joining Stanford and focusing on tenure first
8:02 - Key advice: finish your PhD first
10:02 - Why being first doesn't matter - customer problems do
11:16 - The three hardest things in startups (money isn't one)
14:15 - The startup iceberg: support networks matter most
17:00 - The "disagree but commit" principle for co-founders
20:21 - Scaling beyond 100 employees: hiring principles
24:41 - Starting GridCare: the data center connection problem
27:09 - 50-80 customer interviews that shaped the business
29:00 - Landing first customers without having a product
32:13 - Building products based on customer needs
36:58 - Building unfair advantages through personal networks
41:24 - The $13 million seed round announcement
44:36 - Advice for the next generation of founders
46:28 - Focus on customer problems, not technical perfection
49:06 - The $500 milestone vs unicorn dreams
51:04 - Startup success = customer success
54:06 - Book recommendations and closing thoughts

🎯 Perfect For:
PhD students eyeing entrepreneurship
Technical founders struggling with customer discovery
Anyone who's failed at their first startup
Researchers wanting real-world impact

Ram's Linkedin:   / ram-rajagopal-2b3374  
Jing(host)'s Linkedin:   / jingconan  

🔔 SUBSCRIBE if you want more founder stories that actually move the needle. This isn't motivation porn - it's real strategies from people printing money.
👇 DROP A COMMENT: What's your biggest challenge in going from idea to first customer?

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