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How Do You Tell Investors Why You Will Beat Your Competitors?
“They brought up companies we didn’t even know existed,” Mike, the managing partner of the venture capital firm where I was an Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR), said in our debrief after a startup pitched us. Everyone was impressed with the CEO, the company, and we decided to continue forward with the investment. Do you want…
Read MoreHow Can You Stand Out To Potential Investors?
“Did you notice the depth of his answer?” My friend and mentor Dave said to me. “The good CEOs stand out, don’t they.” Do you want to grow your business from >$1M ARR to >$10M ARR or >$100M ARR? Watch this video to see how ready you are.(opens in new tab) I’d been an Entrepreneur…
Read MoreWhy Trying To Limit Your Investors Ownership Doesn’t Matter
One of the greatest lines in movie history was said in the classic, All The President’s Men. The line is, “Follow the money.” Do you want to scale your business? Watch this video to how ready you are.(opens in new tab) The idea was that if you traced the trail of money, you would find out who…
Read MoreHow Do You Gain Leverage When You’re Raising Money?
“Congratulations,” I said to “Ray,” I CEO I have been working with. “Getting funding in three weeks is quite an accomplishment.” “Thank you,” Ray responded. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. “Especially, after what you’d been through in your first two rounds of funding, you deserve a little…
Read MoreWhat Are The Keys To Successful Minimum Viable Products?
There’s a lot of misinformation out there about Minimum Viable Products (MVPs). There’s a belief that it’s the right way to go if you develop an MVP because people are naturally going to buy your product. I want to debunk this idea right now. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help.…
Read MoreHow Do You Position Your Product Versus The Competition?
I’ve been watching a lot of Steve Jobs product launches for a project I’m working on. Jobs communication skills are beyond good. They are also utterly simple to copy. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] In every single product launch, Jobs follows a predictable script. It’s the same…
Read MoreBuilding Trust Is Your Most Important Trait
“Whatever you do, never, ever lie,” I said to the large group of startup CEOs I was talking to. Then, I continued and said, “It’s much better to say, ‘I don’t know the answer. I’ll get back to you,’ then to lie.” [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.]…
Read MoreWhat You Need To Know About Reference Checks
I curled up on my bed in a fetal ball, sobbing. I kept repeating to myself: “What have I done?” “What have I done?” “What have I done?” Why was I crying? [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] We had been raising money for over eighteen months at…
Read MoreShould You Set Up A Fast Exit Strategy For Your Startup?
“So, how long do think it will be before we can exit?” The engineer said to me during his job interview. “Two years? three years?” [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] As politely as I could, I said, “I hate to burst your bubble, but it’s going to…
Read MoreAre You Being Appropriately Frugal And Why It’s So Important?
“I’ve founded three startups, and I’ve never had one that was profitable,” a friend of mine was telling me. You’d think he was a failure based on that statement. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] Not exactly. He sold his last company for $300 million. But my friend…
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