Founders and Fundraising
What Titles Should You Give Your Technical Team?
I was fortunate to be involved with one of the most successful companies ever formed in the chip industry, Maxim Integrated Products. Maxim grew to over $2 billion/year in revenue, with net margins approaching 40%. It was a cash machine. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] The company…
Read MoreWhat Should Your Salary Be When You’re Just Starting?
“I need to make $60,000,” “Mary”, the CEO, said to me. “Is that too much for me to make?” Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. “Maybe. Maybe not,” I replied. “I can’t just give you a yes or no answer. You have to walk through some steps. “There’s…
Read MoreAdding Your Co-Founders To Your Board Is A Bad Idea
The doorbell rang. It was my co-founder, “Jim”. He was a few minutes early for our planning meeting with my other co-founder, “John.” [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] I opened up the door to my house, and I smiled and said, “Hi Jim”. Jim looked like he…
Read MoreWhat Do You Do When You Get A Term Sheet?
“I believe this term sheet explodes like a pumpkin at 5PM. Here’s my number. Call me before then if you’re interested in accepting my terms,” “Raul”, our potential new investor, said to me. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. I had just spent the last thirty minutes trying…
Read More5 Fatal Decisions You Don’t Want To Make
I walked into the office space, and there was no one there. It was just a bunch of empty cubicles. The space was dimly lit, and the ceilings were low. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. “My god, this space is depressing,” I said to my co-founder, “Randy”.…
Read MoreHow Does A Lack Of Funding Affect Your Company?
“Brett, we’re going to need to shutdown our advertising,” Tina, our controller, said to me. “We need to preserve our cash until we get more funding. Look at the cash flow (statement).” [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] Tina and I were reviewing what we needed to do…
Read MoreCan I Pitch My Startup To Investors Without A Product?
Let me ask you a question. Do you want me to tell you what you want to hear, or do you want me to tell you reality? I am sure hoping you want to hear reality, especially when it comes to pitching investors. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click…
Read MoreHow Should You Manage Your Startup’s Spending?
“Don’t worry, Brett. We’ll support you,” “Raul”, one of our investors, said to me in our board of directors meeting. Raul wanted us to go faster than I had originally planned for. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. And Raul meant what he said. He was, in that…
Read MoreWhen Should You Give Up On Raising Money?
“Do you want to give up?” My co-founder, “Randy” asked me. I had just completed my Sunday morning run, and we were talking about what to do after a very well known Sand Hill Road Venture Capital fund had just passed on us at the last minute. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe…
Read MoreWhy Should You Send Your Unsolicited Pitch Deck To Investors
“Do you know ‘George’ from Maxim (Integrated Products)?” Mike, the managing partner at Crosslink, the San Francisco based VC Fund where I was an Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR), asked me. “Yes, I know George,” I said. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. “He just sent his pitch deck…
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