“How many crappy startups are there?” I asked Dave and Alain, two partners at the VC fund where I was an EIR. We had just sat through another pitch from a hopelessly lost CEO. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] “Too many,” Dave said and we all laughed.…
“So, what do you think?” the investor asked me. “I’m really impressed with the technology,” I said. “I think I might invest.” [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] The investor smiled and we shook hands. Then I left. I went home, and I thought about the company some…
There’s an old adage that, “You should never hire someone without experience” for your startup. The problem with this adage, like many adages, is its wrong! I’ll explain how hiring inexperienced people for your team can be a force multiplier in this short video. Read The Transcript Below: Okay, so why should you…
…Regardless Of How Profitable Your Company Is There it was in my in basket. A memo from Jack Gifford, the CEO of Maxim Integrated Products, with the title, “Use of office supplies.” [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] The memo went something like this: “To: All Maxim Employees…
“Never surprise your board,” my friend and mentor, Dave, said to me. We were meeting for coffee at Peets in Palo Alto four weeks before my first board meeting as a startup CEO. I nodded my head because Dave’s advice sounded sage. Then, I asked Dave, “What do you mean?” [Do you want to grow…
Raising your next round of funding is not a given. Each round of funding presents its own set of challenges. In today’s short video, I’ll share with you my tips for raising your next round of funding. Make sure to watch all the way till the end for my last tip; It was the difference…
“You’re a mushroom manager,” Peter, one of my peers, said to me years ago. “What’s a mushroom manager?” “You feed people shit and you expect something to grow,” Peter said. Then he stormed out of my office. I had to hold in my laughter. But Peter was right. Back in my younger days I was…
I know. It’s oh so tempting to tell potential investors that your company is the next Uber because, after all, who wouldn’t want to be an investor in Uber. It feels good rolling of your tongue, doesn’t it? The only problem is telling an investor your company is the next Uber or the next Facebook…
“Let’s look this guy up,” I said to Jeroen, my cofounder and VP Engineering, about the expert the VC firm was using to do technical diligence on us. I then did a search on LinkedIn and found “Peter’s” resume. “Well, there’s good news and bad news,” I said to Jeroen. “What’s the good news?” Jeroen…
“How am I going to raise $2M,” “Casey” asked me. “I don’t know anyone who can give me that money.” “You know more people than you think,” I said. “I’ve been down this road a few times, and the other entrepreneurs I worked with who said the same thing you did found a way. And…