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What Are Some Good Questions To Ask A Potential Cofounder?
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 all my co-founders had in common was they all came through trusted sources.…
Read MoreLearn How Using Empathy Gets The Ultimate From Your Team
“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…
Read MoreWhat Do VCs Look For In A Pitch?
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 overload your presentation with text. B. Grab your audience in the…
Read MoreDoes It Mean My Pitch Is Bad If I’ve Lost Several Pitching Contests?
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 investment for VCs is somewhere around 100:1, you realize that you (as an entrepreneur) have to…
Read MoreHow Do You Build A Large Company When Your Top Employees Are Leaving?
Have you ever heard the story of “The Traitorous Eight?” You can read about The Traitorous Eight here. I’ll give you a quick overview to save you some time. Back in the mid 1950’s, a brilliant scientist and Nobel Prize winner named William Shockley started a company called Shockley Semiconductor Laboratories. The company was based…
Read MoreAre Business Plans Useless In Tech Startups?
I started working with a CEO a while ago. The CEO had an interesting business model, traction and customers. I asked the CEO, “How much money are you spending each month?” “I don’t know,” he answered. I asked the CEO, “What is your break even revenue?” “I don’t know,” he answered. I asked the CEO,…
Read MoreHow Do CEOs Fire Someone Without Any Consequences?
There are always consequences when fire someone. Even in California, where employment is “at will.” Years ago, I was running a division of a company. Every Friday the company had an operations meeting that included senior management. The meeting always started at 1PM sharp with the CEO usually starting the meeting by giving a speech.…
Read MoreWhat Are A CEO’s Top Priorities?
The first CEO job I ever interviewed for, the recruiter said to me, “As CEO you recruit, recruit, recruit, and you sell, sell, sell.” I didn’t get the job. Then, I started my own company and became CEO. And what did I do? Recruit, recruit, recruit, and sell, sell, sell. Recruiting and selling were always…
Read MoreWhat Is It Like To Be The Non-Technical CEO Of A Tech Startup?
I was the non-technical founder you are talking about. I have a BSEE, but I hadn’t designed the products we were developing (Integrated Circuits) in years. I needed to find what you need to find: A great VP Engineering/CTO. You should put all your energy into finding this person before you do anything else. It…
Read MoreHow Much Money Do I Need To Start A Business?
I’ve seen the same mistake repeated over and over again by CEOs and business owners. The mistake blows me away each time I see it. What is that mistake? The CEO doesn’t have a plan for the business. And, if you’re going to succeed in business, you’ve gotta have a plan. The crazy thing is…
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