How Do You Compensate A Part Time Co-Founder?
“You should stay at your job until we get funded,” I said to Jeroen. It was September 2008 and Jeroen had just agreed to be our co-founder and VP Engineering. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] The economy was sinking like a stone and venture capital funding appeared…
Why You Should Offer Your Team Unlimited Time Off
One of the smartest things we ever did was offer our employees unlimited vacation. I know it sounds crazy for startups to tell their employees they can take as much time off as they want, but it’s really not crazy at all. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.…
How Do You Really Feel As A Startup CEO?
I’d love to sit here telling you that being a CEO was great, and it was great. Truly, truly great. However, I’d be lying if I told you there was only one feeling I had being CEO. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] There were times I felt…
What Are The 11 Biggest Myths About Being A CEO?
Blossom, Avery, and I were at dinner at Nobu in Palo Alto. I looked over at the table next to us and who’s there but Marc Andreessen and his wife. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] No one was paying attention to them, and no one asked Marc for…
Why You Need Fanatical Cofounders
I’m in the middle of reading Phil Knight’s (the founder of Nike) great autobiography “Shoe Dog.” Actually I’m listening to the book on Audible, and I’m transfixed. [Do you want to grow your? business Maybe I can help. Click here.] I just can’t stop reading/listening. In fact, I’m going to go for a run once I’m done…
7 Tips For Pitching Your Company To Anyone
I’ll never forget how nervous I was before my presenting to a VC for the first time. I was an EIR (Entrepreneur in Residence) at a VC fund based in San Francisco, and we were going to give a dry-run presentation to Dave and Alain, the two VC partners I was working with. [Do you…
Five Reasons Why You Should Avoid Raising Venture Capital
Many entrepreneurs don’t understand the cruel reality of fundraising. Just because you want to raise venture capital doesn’t mean you will raise venture capital. Consider this ratio: 100:1. That’s one investment for every one hundred face to face meetings a typical VC will take. Raising money is unbelievably hard. [Do you want to grow your…
What Do VCs Notice When You Pitch Them?
The CEO was wearing a polo shirt and he sat down in the middle of our big conference room. There were about ten of us from the venture capital fund in the room with him. The CEO didn’t stand up like the other CEOs I’d seen present did. Instead, he stayed rooted like a plant…
How To Negotiate Like Your Life Depends On it
It was a rainy Sunday afternoon in October. I had done my research. I had waited patiently for a day like this for a couple of weeks. If you’re serious about raising your funding, join Zero to Pitch Gold now and get expert feedback on your pitch this week. “Thank you,” I said to myself.…
7 Survival Tips For Startup CEOs
“Hey Brett. Congrats on getting your company funded. I’ve heard the horror stories, and I was just wondering how many hours you’re working?” Kent asked me in an email. The horror stories of founders working 100 hours week on end are commonplace. The reality, or at least my reality, was different. If you’re serious about…