Supposedly, in order to be a successful startup CEO, “they” tell you that you have to give up everything, including your family, and be 100% devoted to your startup. I am here to tell you that “they” are wrong. And who are “they” anyways? But that’s a different story. Yes, you do need to make…
“If you give a startup $1M, they’ll find a way to spend it,” my friend and VC, Dave said to me early on. Then he delivered the punch line. “If you give a startup $10M, they’ll find a way to spend that too!” [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click…
“Brett, you should fly to the UK in Business Class,” Tina, our Controller, urged me. “You need to be fresh when you get there.” “Man, it’s tempting, but that’s not something I think I should do…” [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] “Brett, you’re the CEO,” Tina said.…
There’s a lot of well-meaning information out there about how to craft a great pitch deck. A lot of the information is good, and some of the information falls short. But there’s one thing I haven’t seen addressed. Yet, this one piece of advice could be the difference between success and failure when you’re pitching.…
I have a lot of pet peeves regarding pitch decks. For example, it drives me crazy when I see founders waste money hiring designers to help them pretty up their decks. What a waste of money. All you need is white background, your company name and logo in the footer of the deck and you’re…
Contrary to popular opinion, a recession isn’t something to fear as a startup CEO. In fact, a recession can be a startup CEO’s best friend. I’ll explain what you can do to take advantage of bad economic conditions like a recession in this short video. Read The Video Transcript Below: Is starting your company…
I’m going to let you in on a secret. The key to developing accurate financial models has nothing to do with your ability to understand financial planning or business plans. The key to accurate financial models rests on your ability to launch your products on schedule. I’ll explain why later. [Do you want to grow…
“I want you to be on the board,” “Ray” said to me. “That way you can help me deal with the two crazies I have (on the board).” [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] I really would have preferred staying behind the scenes advising Ray. I believed in what…
How many times have you heard someone say, “I have great instincts.” And yet, from your experience, the person makes bad decision after bad decision. The challenge is you have to rely a huge amount on your instincts when you’re building your startup. In this short video, I’ll teach you the right way to use…
“Here’s the offer we’re giving you,” the CEO said to me. Then he told me what the equity and salary would be. “What do you think?” The CEO asked me. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] “I’ll give it some thought,” I said. “But my initial response is…