There was a time in the late 1990’s when venture capitalists made a killing investing in semiconductor companies. The companies these VCs invested in were never meant to be companies built for the long term. Instead, these companies were meant to be flipped and sold quickly. The flipping of companies in the late 1990’s was…
Do you waste too much time in meetings? Do too many of your meetings end up with no actions items? Or do too many of your meetings end up with everyone walking out frustrated? This video walks you through in five easy to follow steps a simple methodology that will help make your meetings much…
Years ago, I was introduced to “William”, the CEO of newly formed startup. I think our first meeting was a lunch meeting, and William was trying to convince me to join him. I liked William on a personal level. However, I didn’t see him as a CEO, so I passed on the opportunity. That didn’t…
Contrary to popular opinion, your startup team is not going to work 18 hour days, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. You will burn your team out, and fast, if you push too hard. So what’s the right amount to push your team, so you’re getting an effort that your team can sustain?…
Our go to market strategy for starting our company was based on copying our competitors. Right down to the part number, the specifications, and the data sheets, that’s exactly what we intended to do. I told an interviewer when we came out of stealth mode and launched our first set of products that companies in…
The one thing I’ve seen too much of coaching CEOs is problems with cofounders. The most likely problem you are going to face is what do you do when your cofounder is lying to you? I’ll explain the only thing you can do when your cofounder lies to you. More importantly, I walk you through…
Your natural tendency when you’re raising money is hoping your potential investors will not find the weak points and problems in your company. The reality is that experienced investors are likely going to find your weaknesses. So what should you do? Should you hope that investors don’t find you weaknesses, or should you wait for…
“You want to do what?” The investor said to me. “It seems like financial engineering. Why don’t you just skip that phase and get right to the unique products?” The investor didn’t get it. We had a two part strategy that had proven to be successful previously. I didn’t need to wait for the rejection…
“Why did you connect to Franz on LinkedIn?” I emailed my cofounder, “Ken”. Franz was a Senior VP at one of the largest distributors in North America for Semiconductors. We had just signed an agreement with Franz’s company, and I didn’t want it to leak to our largest competitor, Maxim. Ken and I had tons…
Getting your sales organization motivated to sell can be one of the most challenging problems you will face building your company. It’s a true chicken and egg problem. To scale your company’s sales, you need a great sales organization. However, to build a great sales organization, you need to show you have a product or…