CTGT’s lessons from Character Labs to YC and a $7M seed
Earlier this year, at one of our Foundation Sprint Workshops, CTGT founder Cyril Gorlla joined us to share his journey — from Character Labs to YC, to a $7M seed round and working with some of the largest companies in the world.
A few things that stood out:
1️⃣ Get Started, Not Perfect
Cyril and Trevor Tuttle were still grad students when they joined us in Character Labs. If they had waited until everything was perfect to make the perfect plan before starting their company at the perfect moment, they might still be waiting.
2️⃣ Take Action to Generate Information
Cyril and Trevor had been focused on research and technical development. They were confident in their technical approach, but they needed to generate information from the market. They did this in Labs by testing prototypes with real customers every week.
3️⃣ Story Matters
CTGT spent most of Character Labs working on their sales deck. Seriously!! Isn't that wild?
Actually, it's not so wild. They had a differentiated technical approach based on unique insights and experiences, but they didn't quite know (yet) how to talk to customers about it.
4️⃣ Tap Into Your Conviction
The team came into the Labs with incredible passion for their solution. It was one of the things that stood out from their application and our interview with them.
And as Cyril shared last week, it's essential to tap into your conviction - it's the heart of your differentiation and the motivation that'll help you keep going when things get tough.
5️⃣ But Make Sure You Test It
Ultimately, conviction doesn't matter if your approach doesn't click with customers. The world's best founders balance deep conviction and enthusiasm for their approach with humble and honest validation that comes from repeatedly and pointedly testing with customers.
These lessons from CTGT’s journey aren’t just inspiring, they’re instructive. They remind us that momentum matters more than perfection, and that great startups are built through continuous learning, not one big bet.
That's what Character Labs is all about.