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How Should You Finance Your Startup?
One of the investors in my company described equity as “fuel” for growth and debt as a “retardant” to growth. I don’t think I agree with him. I think the right answer is more about what’s right for you and your company. There is a better way to look at what’s right for you. I’ll…
Read MoreWhat’s The Right Way You Should Do Reference Checks?
“What am I likely to hear about you from the people I talk to about you?” That’s was the standard question I asked potential candidates BEFORE I would do front door and backdoor reference checks. Then I would listen to hear what came back from the candidate. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I…
Read MoreShould You Be Worried About The Economy Tanking As A Startup CEO?
The short answer is yes. Yes, you should be worried about the economy tanking. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. We’ve seen the stocks lose significant value over the past couple of days. Now, stock prices and the economy is not the same thing. The economy can keep…
Read MoreWhen Do You Decide To Fire An Underperforming Employee?
I have a perfect record when it comes to saving underperforming employees. That’s right, I am 100% successful in not turning an employees performance around. Except for this one time… The company I was working for had just acquired another company, and I was given the responsibility of running this new division. I was fortunate…
Read MoreHow Much Should You Share With Your Significant Other About The Craziness Of Being CEO?
Being an entrepreneur can suck. Being the significant other of an entrepreneur can really suck. As an entrepreneur, you are living the roller coaster every day. The swings from euphoria to sadness are there every day. Every day you, the entrepreneur, can emotionally prepare yourself for what’s coming. It’s a whole different story for the…
Read MoreHow Can You Make Sure You’re Hiring A Players, Not C Players?
You know, there’s the old saying that “A players hire other A players, and B players hire C players.” And if only it was that easy because most people think they are A players. The reality is that you should be looking at various data points to determine who is an A player. Here are…
Read MoreWhat Are The Two Traits You Need As A Successful Leader?
I’ve worked with really good leaders, and I’ve worked with really bad leaders. Good leaders and bad leaders can get people to follow them because of the proximity to power. What’s the point. The better question is what traits must great leaders possess? And there are many traits you need if you want to…
Read MoreWhat Should Your Sick Policy Be?
I had a pretty simple policy regarding being sick: If you’re healthy you should come to work. If you’re sick, you should stay home. And I followed my sick policy as CEO as best I could. There were days when, no matter how badly I felt, I had to be at work. Sometimes those days…
Read MoreWhy Your Non Technical CEO Should Be Involved In Engineering
I’m sorry, but I think you’re making a horrible mistake. Your CEO not only is justified in getting involved in the technical matters, your CEO, regardless of his technical background, should be getting involved in technical matters. More importantly, you should be welcoming your CEO’s involvement in technical matters, not trying to subvert it. Yes,…
Read MoreHow Do You Reach Customers Without Cold Calling?
There are so many different ways to reach customers that you don’t have to cold call. Yes, there are the obvious ones like advertising on Google, Facebook or even here on Quora. Here are some non-obvious marketing channels I’ve seen work to gain traction: A. Meetups. Someone I knew grew his business to over $1M/year…
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