“I have a dilemma,” “Oscar”, the CEO of a startup that I’m working with said to me Friday. “Right now, my percentage ownership is around 70% of the company. I’d like to take some money off the table, so my family is financially set. “The problem is that I will likely drop below 50% ownership…
Anyone that starts a company and says they don’t have an ego is lying. You have to have an ego to start a company because what makes you think you will be the one company that makes it? However, is there a point where you can have too much ego as a startup CEO? And…
“I never invest in act two of a startup,” Gill’s partner Carl said to me. The meeting was going well. We had really signed our term sheet, so this was more of a get to know you meeting. Then Carl continued talking, “I’m heartened that you have experience doing act one already. That makes me…
I remember having breakfast with the Chairman of the Board of a startup. The Chairman was trying to convince me to join the company as CEO. I’m not sure how we got on the subject, but we started talking about compensation. Mike proudly told me about when he was CEO of a well known public…
The world of fundraising has changed from what it once was. Gone are the days when you could raise money based only on an idea. In this short video, I’ll tell you the one thing absolutely, positively have to do before you raise any money. Do You Want To Grow Your Business? Maybe I…
“We need to show them (potential investors) how everything functions at the transistor level,” our VP Engineering, “John”, said to me. “I don’t know,” I said. “From what I’ve seen as an EIR, that will go over the heads of investors.” Then, I continued, “But, if you want to do it that way, then go…
“You need to meet your revenue numbers,” I said to our VP Sales, “Tommy”. Tommy had been on the job for about one month and already things were going sideways. “Well, okay,” Tommy responded. That’s not exactly the awe-inspiring response you want from your sales lead. Tommy didn’t seem to care. It was as if…
You may not realize it yet, but having a well thought out pitch deck is a critical tool for you to have as a startup CEO. Yes, you need a pitch deck to raise money, but a pitch deck is even important for you to have if you never intend to raise money. I’ll explain…
Let’s be honest. You’re going to have mistakes happen in your business. It might be mistakes you and your team make. Or it might be mistakes your vendors make. But you’re going to have to deal with things not going to plan. I’ll walk you through how you can survive things not going to plan…
“The engine that makes an Analog IC company go is a great VP Engineering or CTO,” I said to Dave, the VC partner I was working with when I was incubating my startup as an EIR (Entrepreneur in Residence) at a VC fund in San Francisco. Then I continued, “Without a great VP Engineering we…