What Percentage Of Silicon Valley Startups Ever Make A Profit?

By Brett Fox | April 23, 2017

I was talking to a friend of mine who had recently sold his company for $300M. He said to me, “Brett, I’ve never been involved in a company that made a profit.” And I would bet over 95% of all startups, including the ones that have gone public, are never profitable. Just look at this…

How Can I Get A Fortune 500 Executive To Be An Advisor?

By Brett Fox | April 16, 2017

How Can I Get A Fortune 500 Executive To Be An Advisor? By Brett Fox A person is not great just because they are a COO or a CEO.  They are no better or smarter than you are.  That being said, treat this person (and all people) with respect. Let me give you two simple…

What Moral Obligations Do CEOs Have To Their Employees?

By Brett Fox | April 16, 2017

What Moral Obligations Do CEOs Have To Their Employees? By Brett Fox Thank you again, ideal employee, on everything you continue doing. We could not achieve what we want without you. I asked you to be loyal, be a positive force, do your best always, recruit your friends, have the company’s best interest always in…

Should I Work With My Best Friend As A Cofounder?

By Brett Fox | April 9, 2017

Should I Work With My Best Friend As Cofounder? By Brett Fox I had a very close friend who was a co-founder of my company.  Here’s what happened: “You have an EQ of zero!” Ken yelled at me. “What the hell is an EQ?” I asked. “Perfect!” Ken screamed back. Then he hung up the…

When Should I Hire A COO?

By Brett Fox | April 9, 2017

When Should I Hire A COO? By Brett Fox I added a COO as a cofounder to my company. He was talented, had tons of experience and knowledge, and he helped me secure funding. There was just one little problem with having a Chief Operations Officer in a startup, especially an early stage startup. And…

Is It Good To Approach Multiple Investors At The Same Time?

By Brett Fox | April 3, 2017

Is It Good To Approach Multiple Investors At The Same Time? By Brett Fox YES! Absolutely go to multiple VCs in parallel. I was fortunate to be an Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) at a leading Bay Area VC. I learned something very important: A VC will invest in one company for every 100 face-to-face meetings…

What Are Some Good Questions To Ask A Potential Cofounder?

By Brett Fox | April 3, 2017

What Are Some Good Questions To Ask A Potential Cofounder? By Brett Fox I had known and worked with one of my co-founders for over twenty years. Two of my co-founders came through recommendations of other co-founders. Another co-founder and I worked together and had known each other for about nine years. The one thing…

Learn How Using Empathy Gets The Ultimate From Your Team

By Brett Fox | March 29, 2017

“There are a lot of negotiators that really will give in on a deal because being understood is more important than getting what they want.” Chris Voss, the FBI’s former lead hostage negotiator said. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] In fact, the first thing master-negotiator Voss teaches…

What Do VCs Look For In A Pitch?

By Brett Fox | March 26, 2017

What Do VCs Look For In A Pitch? By Brett Fox Reid Hoffman, founder of LinkedIn and VC at Greylock, has a great post on pitching What I Wish I Knew Before Pitching LinkedIn to VCs. My own two cents based on my experience is: A.  Think visually. VC’s like graphics, not text, so don’t…

Does It Mean My Pitch Is Bad If I’ve Lost Several Pitching Contests?

By Brett Fox | March 26, 2017

Does It Mean My Pitch Is Bad If I’ve Lost Several Pitching Contests? By Brett Fox I had to meet with 64 VCs before we were able to raise our Series A funding of $12M. The number of VC meetings was well over 100. But, when you realize that the ratio of face-to-face meetings to…