Founders and Fundraising
The Simple Strategy For Reducing Your Founder Problems
One of the really sad things I’ve seen as a founder, and now working with other founders, is how often founders don’t take their responsibilities as founders seriously. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] You are literally putting your career and life in the hands of your fellow…
Read MoreWhat Are The 5 Rules You Need To Divide Founder Equity?
“How much equity do you think I should give “Frank?”” That was the question “Sam”, the co-founder of a company that I’m working with asked me last week. He was considering bringing Frank on as a late co-founder to the company. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] “I’ve…
Read MoreHow Do You Really Feel As A Startup CEO?
I’d love to sit here telling you that being a CEO was great, and it was great. Truly, truly great. However, I’d be lying if I told you there was only one feeling I had being CEO. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] There were times I felt…
Read MoreWhat Are The 11 Biggest Myths About Being A CEO?
Blossom, Avery, and I were at dinner at Nobu in Palo Alto. I looked over at the table next to us and who’s there but Marc Andreessen and his wife. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] No one was paying attention to them, and no one asked Marc for…
Read MoreWhy You Need Fanatical Cofounders
I’m in the middle of reading Phil Knight’s (the founder of Nike) great autobiography “Shoe Dog.” Actually I’m listening to the book on Audible, and I’m transfixed. [Do you want to grow your? business Maybe I can help. Click here.] I just can’t stop reading/listening. In fact, I’m going to go for a run once I’m done…
Read More7 Tips For Pitching Your Company To Anyone
I’ll never forget how nervous I was before my presenting to a VC for the first time. I was an EIR (Entrepreneur in Residence) at a VC fund based in San Francisco, and we were going to give a dry-run presentation to Dave and Alain, the two VC partners I was working with. [Do you…
Read MoreFive Reasons Why You Should Avoid Raising Venture Capital
Many entrepreneurs don’t understand the cruel reality of fundraising. Just because you want to raise venture capital doesn’t mean you will raise venture capital. Consider this ratio: 100:1. That’s one investment for every one hundred face to face meetings a typical VC will take. Raising money is unbelievably hard. [Do you want to grow your…
Read MoreWhat Do VCs Notice When You Pitch Them?
The CEO was wearing a polo shirt and he sat down in the middle of our big conference room. There were about ten of us from the venture capital fund in the room with him. The CEO didn’t stand up like the other CEOs I’d seen present did. Instead, he stayed rooted like a plant…
Read MoreWhat Are The 11 Painful Things You Need To Do As CEO?
I was talking to a Venture Capitalist early on about our company. Out of the blue the VC looked at me and said, “Well you’re the CEO, so you get to deal with investors like me. “And that’s why you get more stock than the others.” If you’re serious about raising your funding, join Zero…
Read MoreThe Nine Facts Of Fundraising You Need To Know
“Hey Brett, I’m going to be on vacation for the next couple of weeks. I’ll pick up the diligence when I get back,” Tucker said to me. Tucker was a potential new investor in our company. I could tell he was serious about investing in our company based on the work he was doing. If…
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