In this episode of Seed to Success, Alastair sits down with Sebastian Trif, former CEO and co-founder of Aurelia, who shares his valuable insights on navigating the complexities of start-up growth, and the difference between searching for product-market fit and executing it.   In this candid chat, Sebastian discusses the dynamics between technical and non-technical co-founders, the importance of paying yourself today (not tomorrow), and the balance of vision with practicality in the founder journey.   Tune in to hear about the critical difference between idea and execution and learn from Sebastian’s own experience navigating the complexities of the early-stage start-up landscape. _   Show notes:   00:00:00 - Intro 00:00:59 - Introduction to Aurelia 00:03:16 - Origin story and vision 00:05:04 - Meeting my co-founder 00:08:11 - Technical founder advantage 00:13:04 - Securing funding in a tight market 00:16:37 - Investor process and quick deal closure 00:18:24 - Cash burn and revenue generation 00:21:23 - Team composition 00:24:04 - Importance of mentorship 00:26:58 - Underpaying yourself as a founder 00:29:51 - Recognising lack of product-market fit 00:35:30 - Early Adopters Hub 00:36:46 - Realising the need to pivot 00:38:36 - Emotions and decision making as a founder 00:40:31 - Intuition and team culture 00:43:49 - Involving investors in the decision 00:49:09 - Key metrics 00:51:08 - Learning from mistakes 00:52:29 - Vanity benchmarks 00:54:10 - Advice for early-stage founders 00:55:42 - Conclusion