Does you experience really matter when you’re building a startup? After all, Mark Zuckerberg had no experience, and look at Facebook. So, you should be able to start a company without any experience and replicate Zuckerberg’s success, right? Well, the reality is it might not be that simple. I’ll explain why in this short video.…
The one thing that can absolutely, positively kill your startup is a lack of alignment between you and your investors. So, it’s kind of important to know what your investors want. In this short video, I’ll explain two key parts of what investors need if they will invest in your company: a minimum percentage ownership,…
“Congratulations,” I said to “Ray,” I CEO I have been working with. “Getting funding in three weeks is quite an accomplishment.” “Thank you,” Ray responded. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. “Especially, after what you’d been through in your first two rounds of funding, you deserve a little…
Wouldn’t it be great if there was someone out there who could magically introduce you and your startup to every investor you want to meet? Wouldn’t that be great? And, yes indeed, there are people out there who will, for a fee of course, claim they will introduce you to investors. These people are called…
If you’ve never raised money before, working with angel investors and VCs can be a mystery. One of the big questions you need to understand is your company investable? At the heart of this question is the return expectations your investors will have. That’s what I’ll explore in this short video. I hope you like…
“I’m managing three companies,” “Jason” said to me. It was our first conversation, and warning lights started going off. “Tell me about the three companies?” I said. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. Jason said, “The first company is a software company which is doing about $5 million…
“How did you survive here?” I asked my friend Steve. We were having lunch about one month after I joined Micrel as general manager of the communications division of the company. If you are not sure what to do next and feel like you have no one to talk to, [click here to apply for…
One of the most painful things you’ll have to do is deal with your co-founder or early stage employee that was doing good work early on, but now is no longer cutting it. What you do next may likely determine the future of your company. In this short video, I’ll give you my take on…
You’ll hear about a lot of ways to value your startup. Discounted cash flow. ,ROI, and 409A valuations are some of the methodologies you’ll find with some simple research. However, there’s one and only one way to determine the value of your startup. And if you guessed none of the above, then, you’re right. I’ll…
A couple of years ago I was advising an entrepreneur, “Jacques,” who had, what we call, a “roll up strategy.” In other words, he wanted to consolidate an industry by buying several small companies, reducing their overhead, and combining them with his company. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click…