The rise of AI has reshaped how quickly new companies can expand, allowing some to reach impressive annual recurring revenue (ARR) figures only to falter months later. At this year’s TechCrunch Disrupt, Luke Arno, head of go‑to‑market at Lovable, Ben Broca of AI platform Polsia, and Theory Ventures partner Tomasz Tunguz shared advice for founders navigating the first 90 days after launch.
Broca, whose company Polsia relies on AI agents to create and run businesses with virtually no human staff—he describes himself as its sole employee—said that finding product‑market fit is increasingly difficult, especially when competitors can replicate products with ease. Arno responded that sustainable go‑to‑market strategies are those that can be reliably repeated. “The most critical thing for founders or earlier‑stage companies to do is develop learning density or pattern recognition for where your customers are,” he explained. “Don’t rush to build out a top‑down go‑to‑market motion if you’re not there yet.”
Arno warned that early, fast revenue should not be taken as a sign that a startup is ready to scale. In the first three months after a commercial product becomes sellable, founders should focus on identifying repeatable use cases before expanding a sales team. He noted that if every new customer requires a unique approach, true product‑market fit has not been achieved. “If I bring on 10 new customers in 10 different ways to solve 10 different problems, sure, I brought revenue in, but I don’t have a way to go scale a go‑to‑market,” he said. “If I bring three customers in with a similar motion to solve a similar problem, now I have high confidence that I can go scale.”
Lovable, the AI‑driven app‑building startup, has set high benchmarks for early growth. Valued at more than $13 billion, the company reports ARR exceeding $600 million and has raised over $700 million to date. “The expectations for overall execution speed are absolutely tremendous,” Tunguz observed. He added that while Lovable’s trajectory remains an outlier, founders should still move quickly because capital flows through the startup ecosystem at unprecedented levels. Since he began investing in 2008, seed‑stage deals have expanded from modest sums to rounds that can range from $5 million to $500 million.
According to Tunguz, the winners are those who deeply understand their customers and can retain them after the initial hype fades. Broca emphasized the importance of community building and staying close to users. He suggested regular emails, events, and personal conversations, noting, “The general rule is always to be talking to customers.”