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Why You Need A Pitch Deck Even If You’re Not Raising Money
You may not realize it yet, but having a well thought out pitch deck is a critical tool for you to have as a startup CEO. Yes, you need a pitch deck to raise money, but a pitch deck is even important for you to have if you never intend to raise money. I’ll explain…
Read MoreHow Do You Plan So Mistakes Don’t Kill Your Startup?
Let’s be honest. You’re going to have mistakes happen in your business. It might be mistakes you and your team make. Or it might be mistakes your vendors make. But you’re going to have to deal with things not going to plan. I’ll walk you through how you can survive things not going to plan…
Read MoreWhat Are The Five Rules You Need To Determine Your Startup Salaries?
“Sounds a little rich to me,” one of my investors, “Raul”, said to me when he asked me what I was going to pay myself as CEO. We had just closed $12M in Series A funding, and the salary I suggested paying myself was the median for a Series A CEO with that level of…
Read MoreWhere Should You Raise Money For Your Startup?
Should you or shouldn’t you raise money for your startup? And where should you raise the money from? I’ll walk you through my simple thought process in this short video. Do You Want To Grow Your Business? Maybe I Can Help. Click Here.
Read MoreShould You Sell Your Company Or Take An Investment?
“I’m sorry Brett, but we’re not going forward with the investment,” “Robbie” said to me. The week before Robbie and the other members of the investment syndicate had signed the term sheet. And now they were pulling out of the deal. I spent the next hour on the phone convincing Robbie to stay in the…
Read MoreWhat Do You Do When A Founder Isn’t Working Out?
Did you know that over 50% of founder relationships end badly? It’s true. That’s why you need to have a strategy just in case your cofounder relationship(s) don’t work out. I’ll walk you through the steps you need to take if you end up in this situation in this short video. Do You Want…
Read MoreHow Do You Calculate The Value Of Your Startup?
And the damage from Shark Tank goes on… A few years ago a CEO of a pre-revenue startup reached out to me for guidance. The company was preparing to raise money. The CEO said to me during the initial consultation, “We’ve had a 409A valuation done on the company, and the valuation indicates the company…
Read MoreWhat’s The Most Difficult Position To Hire For Your Startup?
I was an EIR (Entrepreneur in Residence) at a VC firm in San Francisco when I started my company. I told the partners at the firm that the success or failure of my efforts would hinge on my finding a great VP Engineering. I had tons of contacts, and I had been in the industry…
Read MoreWhy You Need To Promote From Within
Hiring experienced people to help run your company is a very sound way to build your startup team. However, hiring experienced people from the outside instead of hiring from within can instantly stop your momentum. I’ll give you my take on why promoting from within should be your goto strategy in this short video. …
Read MoreHow Do You Ensure You Won’t Violate Your Competitors Patents?
We were the poster child for a company that was crying out to be sued. My goodness, our first products were exact replicas (called “second sources” in the industry) of Maxim’s. To make matters worse, Maxim was litigious. Very, very litigious. You can develop an alternative way to do things. I was having lunch with…
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