The secret to fast startup growth isn’t early sales, top names in tech say

“The expectations for overall execution speed are absolutely tremendous,” Tunguz said.

But Tunguz said growth like Lovable’s is still the exception, though founders should still move fast. The pressure they feel is real, he said, because far more money flows through the startup ecosystem at every stage than when he began investing in 2008. Today, a seed deal brought in by one of his partners could just as easily be a $5 million raise, a $50 million raise, or a $500 million raise.

The winners all focus on one thing: understanding their customers well enough to know what will keep them around even after any hype subsides.

“Community building is very important and being close to customers is very important,” Broca said. He said founders can send emails and throw events, and he personally likes to talk to a lot of his customers: “The general rule is always to be talking to customers.”