Gilad Uziely, CEO of Sequence, shares the incredible story of how they got 100 customers to pay $200 upfront for a fintech product they hadn't even built yet. In the past five years Gilad has been focused on consumer-fintech and most recently, before starting Sequence, he co-founded Lance. Sequence provides a financial router that helps consumers and small business owners bring together all their accounts into one place, and create automations to boost savings, and optimize finances* Gilad dives deep into the strategies they used to validate their idea and build conviction, including running targeted ads, using high friction to filter for intent, and focusing on learning over growth. 00:00 Introduction to Sequence and Pre-Build Sales 00:35 Early Ventures and Background of Gilad Uziely 01:43 Origin Story of Sequence 03:14 From Lance to Sequence: Pivoting the Business Model 05:26 Ideation and Pivot to a New Business Concept 08:39 Concept Validation and Market Reaction 10:13 High-Friction Validation: Charging for Unbuilt Product 13:26 Operational Playbook for Startup Validation 16:37 From Conviction to Learning: Growing the Business 20:34 Building a Vibrant Community Around Sequence 24:18 Marketing Challenges and Strategies for Growth 28:44 Adjusting Product and Community Engagement for Scale 32:25 Advice for Founders on Acquiring First Customers and Pivoting