“Do you want to give up?” My co-founder, “Randy” asked me. I had just completed my Sunday morning run, and we were talking about what to do after a very well known Sand Hill Road Venture Capital fund had just passed on us at the last minute. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe…
“How do you plan on managing the design team?” I asked my prospective co-founder and soon to be VP Engineering, Jeroen. “The same as I have at Maxim (Integrated Products),” Jeroen said. I smiled, and then I said, “I’m sorry, but I have to ask, the design review process will be the same as Maxim’s?”…
I love the idea of obsoleting myself. In fact, the idea of obsoleting myself has been my goal ever since I started managing people years ago. Because only when you obsolete yourself can you effectively delegate. Huh? Now why would you want to make yourself not needed anymore? And what does this have to do…
“Do you know ‘George’ from Maxim (Integrated Products)?” Mike, the managing partner at Crosslink, the San Francisco based VC Fund where I was an Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR), asked me. “Yes, I know George,” I said. “He just sent his pitch deck to us through our website,” Mike said. “Since you worked there (at Maxim),…
“How much money are you going to try and raise?” I asked “Sarah.” Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. “I’m thinking we should raise $1.5 million this round,” Sarah said to me. “How long will the money last?” I asked. “I’m not sure,” Sarah said. “I’m waiting on…
James Carville, Bill Clinton’s chief strategist when Clinton ran for president in 1992 famously described their pitch to voters in one simple phrase, “It’s the economy, stupid.” Clinton and Carville’s relentless focus on the economy. Clinton’s opponent, President George Bush, didn’t focus on the economy and he paid the price, losing to Clinton. [Do you…
“I’d like you to be the CEO of the company,” “Ray” said to me. We were meeting for the first time outside of a Starbucks in Los Altos, CA. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. Ray had spent the previous thirty minutes explaining what his company was going…
“You made things a lot easier for me,” Jim said to me, shaking my hand. My co-founder and VP Engineering, Jeroen, and I had flown to Boston to pitch Jim and his partners, and Jim’s reaction indicated the meeting went well. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. “That’s…
Years ago, I was introduced to the two co-founders of a fledgling semiconductor company. I have an affinity for companies in the space, so I agreed to talk with them. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. The two co-founders told me they had no funding, and they were…
The most successful startup I’m currently involved with is now worth well over $2 billion. They’re raising another $300 million as we speak, and they’ll likely be worth around $4 billion when the round closes. The company had one founder, “Ray.” [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] The…