What Traits Do You Want Your Angel Investors To Have?

By Brett Fox | June 23, 2020

“I think I can get Dobkin to invest in us,” “Randy,” one of my co-founders, said to at lunch. Randy had just officially joined our company, and we were talking about fundraising. “Bob Dobkin?” I said to Randy, trying to hide my excitement. Dobkin was the co-founder and CTO of Linear Technology, one of the…

How Does Adding Investors Change Your Exit?

By Brett Fox | June 17, 2020

  Everything changes when angel investors or venture capitalists invest in your company. And, one of the most important changes is what price can you sell your company for. In this short video, I’ll explain how investors think about your exit, and why you can’t just sell your company for any price you want. I…

How Can You Get Investors Without Having A Network

By Brett Fox | June 16, 2020

“My network really isn’t that strong,” “Peter,” said to me Tuesday. “Can you help me meet investors?” I probably get a version of this question just about every week. And, my answer is always the same, “No, helping with investor introductions is not something I usually do.” [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe…

How You Can Be Ruthless Without Being A Jerk

By Brett Fox | June 15, 2020

“I intend to be ruthless as CEO,” I said to my friend and mentor, Dave. We were having coffee at Peets in Palo Alto. It was early March, and we had, finally, gotten our Series A funding. After two years, and lots of painful misses, I was rearing to get started. [Do you want to…

What Are 3 Things You Can Do To Be A Better CEO?

By Brett Fox | June 10, 2020

I’ve got a ton of tips I could give you to be a better startup CEO, but there are three things that will help more than all the rest. I’ll explain why these three things are so important in this short video.   Read The Video Transcript Below:   Okay. So what are three things…

The 7 Things You Don’t Know About Working With VCs

By Brett Fox | June 9, 2020

“Brett, I’m going to be leaving the VC fund,” Dave, the partner I had been working with as Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR), said to me. I nodded my head, and then said, “Okay, I understand.” Then Dave continued, “I wasn’t supposed to tell you, but I thought you should know. That means they’re (the VC…

Are You Better Off With An Older Team or A Younger Team?

By Brett Fox | June 8, 2020

“So, you’re thinking of going the young route,” Bruce Wooley, who was the dean of the electrical engineering department at Stanford, said to me. One of Bruce’s past students had introduced us, and we were having coffee. I told Bruce I was considering a recent PhD of his to be VP Engineering of my company,…

What Are The 5 Rules You Need For A Successful Startup?

By Brett Fox | June 2, 2020

My Mom sold houses in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles. She started out by selling condominiums, then eventually graduated to selling estates. I’ll say, from watching my Mom, that selling real estate is a seven day a week, 365 day a year, grind. It looks easy from the outside, but the successful…

How Do You Manage Someone With More Experience?

By Brett Fox | June 1, 2020

“Let me tell you about the team you’re inheriting,” Bill said to me. “The one you have to worry about is Jack. He was running the division before we acquired it, and I don’t know if he’s salvageable.” I nodded my head. If there ever was a death sentence put around someone, Jack had it.…

What Do You Think Will Change Because Of COVID-19?

By Brett Fox | May 27, 2020

COVID-19 has been around long enough to see some trends emerging.  Depending upon the business you’re in, you could be crushing it right now due to COVID-19, or your business could be deep trouble due to COVID-19. In this short video, I’ll explain what the trends are that are leading to these results. And, I’ll…