Welcome to this new episode of Explore! 😎 For those of you that have been here since the beginning, 1000 thanks, and welcome to the newcomers who have joined us in recent weeks. I receive a lot of encouragement on LinkedIn, the best way to send me some love is to follow this podcast and give it 5 stars. It will allow others to discover it. 🙏 In this episode I sat down with Ana Pricop, the co-founder and COO of Outdid.io, a startup that provides zero knowledge identification solutions to improve online safety. We discussed Ana’s unique journey from dropping out of a top school, to surviving in London with little to no money and raising $2.5M in 3 days after struggling for 2 years. Ana shares the challenges of fundraising, the strategic pivot from Web3 to targeting broader industries, the importance of the people around you, the necessity to maintain a balance between work and personal life and much more! 🚀 Early-stage founders and young entrepreneurs, this episode is for you. Have a great episode!  Listen on Spotify. Listen on Apple Podcast. *****  Thanks to our sponsor ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠OpenVC.app⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! 🔥 Use the code "EXPLORE" to get a lifetime 20% discount on their premium membership. Learn more about Explore on: ⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Newsletter⁠⁠.  Learn more about ⁠⁠⁠Ana ⁠⁠and ⁠⁠⁠Outdid.io⁠⁠⁠. ***** Timestamps:  00:00 Introduction and Background 01:00 Ana Maria's Love for School 06:20 Starting Outdid.io 10:08 Technical Challenges 12:01 UC London Innovation and Enterprise Startup Program 22:27 Seed Round Fundraising 29:38 Explaining the Solution 31:08 Fast Term Sheets 32:13 Growing the Team 36:48 Differentiation from Competitors 42:23 Managing Relationships with Investors 44:58 Finding Your Role in the Company 46:10 Current State and Future Vision 49:37 Sigma Squared Society 53:21 Advice to Past Self This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit explorepodcast.substack.com