He fired almost everyone, kept 2 engineers—then grew 12x and raised a $30M Series A. | Rafael Broshi, Co-Founder of Notch

Rafael launched a crypto insurance product in 47 states, backed by a real carrier. Everyone told him it was genius. Nobody needed it. He shut it down with $2M left in the bank, fired almost everyone, and rebuilt with two engineers on $20K a month. Notch just raised $30M.

In this episode, Rafael breaks down how a POC he entered through the back door turned into a seven-figure contract, why "isn't everyone doing this?" is the feedback you actually want, and how to tell whether an enterprise deal makes you a real company or just their dev shop.

Why You Should Listen

• Why "that idea is genius" is a warning sign, not a compliment.
• How entering a POC last still made them the front runner.
• Why the enterprise deals that scale need zero customization.
• How to stop hiding your idea and go straight to your dream customers.

Keywords startup podcast, startup podcast for founders, product market fit, finding pmf, Notch, Rafael Broshi, AI agents, insurance technology, customer experience automation, regulated industries, enterprise sales, POC strategy, pivoting a startup, on-prem deployment

Chapters

• 00:00:00 Intro
• 00:02:00 The Moment of True Product Market Fit
• 00:10:07 One Enterprise Deal or Ten
• 00:15:24 A Genius Idea Nobody Needed
• 00:24:33 Picking the Right Wave to Ride
• 00:34:37 Down to $2M, Firing Almost Everyone
• 00:41:48 Getting Enterprise to Take Your Call
• 00:48:07 The POCs That Aren't Real POCs

Send me a message to let me know what you think!