I remember talking to my Dad years ago when he was running his company. My Dad used to talk about being “knocked around.” I would say to my Dad, “It doesn’t sound like much fun. Why would you want to do this?” [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.]…
How Do You Protect Yourself From VCs Stealing Your Ideas? By Brett Fox “We can stop right there,” the VC said to my cofounder “John”. John, to my surprise, had just asked the VC to sign an NDA. “I’m not signing an NDA,” the VC continued. It was the first sign of paranoia from John…
How Do You Stop Employees From Going To Competitors? By Brett Fox I was recently asked the question, “What should I do to keep an employee that has quit from leaving.” I was happy to answer the question because I have a perfect batting average as CEO of keeping employees from quitting. That’s right. 0.00%.…
Your business is growing nicely. Revenue keeps going up month after month, quarter after quarter. Soon, you’re going to need to new office space because of the all the people you think you need to hire. But, you’re worried deep down inside. [Do you want to grow your business. Maybe I can help. Click here.]…
When Should You Become An Entrepreneur? By Brett Fox “I built a spreadsheet to determine the value of my stock options if I join your company,” the candidate said to me. “I adjusted the returns for risk, and I think I will make more money staying at my large (corporate) company.” I’d seen it before.…
What’s The Best Pitch Deck You’ve Ever Seen? By Brett Fox The best pitch deck I’ve seen that’s been publicly released is LinkedIn’s. What I love about it is maybe not so much the content, but Reid Hoffman’s commentary about what he was trying to do and what he would do different. But, you really…
How Do You Estimate How Much Money You’re Going To Spend? By Brett Fox I like using the simple formula of $200K/Head/Year to figure out how far your funding will take you. Let’s say you raise $10M, and you want the money to last two years. That means you can have around 25 employees: 25…
How Do You Predict Revenue For A Startup? By Brett Fox “Most startups are horrible at forecasting their revenue, and you’ll find us to be no different,” Barry, our chairman of the board said to a prospective investor. Everyone laughed because there was a lot of truth in what Barry was saying. Startups are usually…
How Important Is Your Location When You’re Raising Money? By Brett Fox I think this Marc Andreessen quote says it all about the importance of a startup’s location regarding fundraising: Location risk — where is the startup located? Can it hire the right talent in that location? And will I as the VC need to…
How Do You Manage Your Costs Early On? By Brett Fox “Are you personally signing every check?” Bill asked me at dinner. I had worked for Bill years ago. Bill was seriously old school in his approach. “Yes, I am,” I replied. “That’s good,” he said. “That’s an important tool for you to keep control…