He lost all 5 of his first deals—then built the next Looker and raised $250M. | Colin Zima, Co-Founder of Omni

He lost all 5 of his first deals—then built the next Looker and raised $250M. | Colin Zima, Co-Founder of Omni

Author: Mistral.vc August 10, 2026 Duration: 52:38
Colin spent eight years building Looker into a $2.7B Google acquisition. Then he left to compete with his own product. He thought traction would take a month—it took nine. A hundred demos got him five verbally-committed customers, and he lost all five. So he spent two months killing bugs, went on one podcast, and won every single trial that came out of it. Omni just raised over $250M. In this episode, Colin breaks down how to tell the difference between a product that's genuinely better and o...

Behind every great company is a moment where everything clicked-when a product finally met its market. A Product Market Fit Show | Startup Podcast for Founders is dedicated entirely to unpacking that elusive, critical phase. Hosted by Mistral.vc, conversations here aren't about broad business advice; they focus intensely on the raw, formative stages from zero to one. You'll hear founders from companies like Reddit, Gusto, and Cohere recount the real decisions, stumbles, and insights that led to their breakthrough, offering a level of detail you can actually apply. This podcast operates on a simple belief: by examining enough of these specific journeys, patterns emerge that demystify product-market fit more effectively than any theoretical framework. It’s a resource built for founders who prefer learning through concrete examples and candid stories from those who’ve navigated the same path. Tune in for deep, practical dialogues with entrepreneurs and investors, all aimed at providing tangible lessons for your own venture.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 50

A Product Market Fit Show | Startup Podcast for Founders
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