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How Often Should You Follow Up With Investors?
“I haven’t heard back from ‘Robbie,’” I told one of our existing investors, Gill. “It’s been a few days, and I’m beginning to worry.” “Stay on him,” Gill said to me. “He (Robbie) tends to get really busy.” [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] “Okay, I will.” Robbie was…
Read MoreWhere Do You Learn The Most About Being A CEO?
‘If I knew you weren’t going home for Thanksgiving, I would have asked you to have Thanksgiving with my family,” One of my college roommates, Paul, said to me. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. “Thanks Paul,” I said. “I need to study. That’s why I didn’t go…
Read MoreHow Many Hours Should You Work As A Startup CEO?
“I must be doing something wrong,” I said to myself. “I’m not working 100 hours a week.” We had just received our initial funding the month before, and I was working maybe forty hours a week. Maybe. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] Now I was in the…
Read MoreWhat’s The One Trait All Successful Entrepreneurs Have?
We were literally down to our last dollar. In fact, truth be told, we didn’t even have a dollar. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. Times were so tough that every week I had to get down on my hands and knees and beg our investors for enough…
Read MoreHow Do You Build A Great Team?
“Brett, you look like you’re a million miles away,” my co-founder, “Randy”, said to me. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. Randy was right. I wasn’t focused at all on him. I was waiting for Tina, our Controller and HR Manager, to come into my office. “Where’s Tina?”…
Read MoreWhen Should You Stop Giving Equity To Your Team?
I was in a board of directors meeting for a company I am advising. The discussion moved to stock options. One of the investors, “Michael” said, “We should set the strike price as high as possible so employees that quit will not exercise their options.” [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe i can…
Read MoreWhat Are The Early Signs Your Startup Is In Trouble?
“There is no negotiation on this term sheet,” “Raul”, the Venture Capitalist, said to me. I was stunned. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. There’s always negotiation, isn’t there? Everyone negotiates, right? Not this VC. The terms we were given were horrible. I tried everything I could to…
Read MoreWhy Working Long Hours Is Not What You Want From Your Team
Years ago, I worked for this fellow I nicknamed, “The Michelin Man.” He earned his nickname because the Michelin Man had this annoying habit of sitting with his arms folded when you talked to him, and that made him look like the Michelin Man. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help.…
Read MoreWhen Do You Earn The Right To Call Yourself The CEO?
You know that scene in The Social Network. The one where Sean Parker tells Mark Zuckerberg to have business cards printed up saying, “I’m CEO, bitch.” Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. Well, that should be your attitude. You’re the CEO, bitch. There are no rules that…
Read MoreHow Do You Dethrone A Competitor With A Monopoly?
“Why in the hell are you selling your part for $20,” The VP at Vitesse angrily said to me. “You’re screwing it up for the rest of us. We’re selling our part for $100!” I smiled and said, “$100 is way too high a price. $20 seemed like a fair price for customers.” [Do you…
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