Pankaj (pjain)

Stop visiting the U.S. market. Start living in it. If you're building for America from abroad, two-week trips won't cut it. Here's what actually works 🧵

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I invested in a startup in 2013 that kept one founder in the US at all times. They rotated. Spent money on relationships. Built trust. Most of their customers and investors never knew the team was based in India.

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The insight you need doesn't live in census data or Zoom calls. It lives in the grocery store. The commute. The neighborhood. The mall. The town square, etc.

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Most India founders lose 12–18 months or more on a bad plan: ‘we’ll win India first, then go to the US.’ If your real market is the US, build for it on day 1. 1) Pick one painful wedge use-case and go hard. 2) Close design partners before your pre-seed round. 3) One founder in the US continuously - close to the market & customers. Everything else is noise.

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