3 Lessons from Jiake Liu, Co-Founder & CEO of Outer
Jiake Liu, Co-Founder & CEO of Outer, recently came on our Demo Day podcast for CoEfficient Labs to talk about his journey as an entrepreneur.
Outer, one of the fastest-growing DTC brands, is a venture-backed startup based in Santa Monica on a mission to inspire happier, healthier, and more fulfilling lives through innovative outdoor furniture and lifestyle products.
Below I’ll share a few of my takeaways from our interview with Jiake.
Accelerator Programs
As Jiake mentioned in our interview, startup accelerators are a great way to build your first company. You’re able to build a network, have a new credential, and utilize a systematic program to grow your business.
Furthermore, being in an accelerator program forces you to focus for a certain period of time. This is time you can use to jumpstart your business, taking it to the next level.
I couldn’t agree more with Jiake about the value of an accelerator and, learning from the dozens of founders I’ve talked to, having that network of other smart, driven, people is invaluable.
Get in Front of the Investor
If you want to get in front of a particular investor, your best bet is to try and get a warm introduction to them. According to Jiake, the two best options include:
- A founder who has previously made their investor money
- Another portfolio founder of the investor
If you find one of those two people, you have a good shot at getting an intro to the investor you’re targeting.
Then, your success just depends on your pitch and your business itself.
Believing in Globalization
Jiake is a big believer in globalization and a global supply chain. In our interview, he mentioned how countries and societies should unite, instead of having a “you vs. me” mentality. At the end of the day, we’re all in this together.
Jiake went on to discuss how commerce can be something for good and peace, instead of war. Commerce can bring nations together, uniting our world through globalization.
While the potential is there for an increasingly global society, we’re still not there quite yet. People are becoming more nationalistic and closed. However, as Jiake mentioned, there has always been retraction before globalization in the past — we may be experiencing the same thing now.
Want to Learn More?
You can watch Jiake’s full video interview on our Demo Day website, or listen to his full episode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Tune in next week as I share more learnings from Demo Day. Sending love from the entire CoEfficient Labs Team!
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