Do You Need Patience To Run Your Company?

“You have the patience of Job,” Tucker, a potential investor in my company, said to me. Tucker and I were strategizing on how to close our funding, and I was walking him through my strategy. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] We had multiple problems to solve in…

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Why 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…

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What 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.” Do you want to become a better startup CEO?…

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How Often Should You Follow Up With Investors?

“I haven’t heard back from ‘Robbie,’” I told one of our existing investors, Gill. “It’s been a few days, and I’m beginning to worry.” “Stay on him,” Gill said to me. “He (Robbie) tends to get really busy.” [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I  can help. Click here.] “Okay, I will.” Robbie was…

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Where Do You Learn The Most About Being A CEO?

‘If I knew you weren’t going home for Thanksgiving, I would have asked you to have Thanksgiving with my family,” One of my college roommates, Paul, said to me. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. “Thanks Paul,” I said. “I need to study. That’s why I didn’t go…

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When Should You Stop Giving Equity To Your Team?

I was in a board of directors meeting for a company I am advising. The discussion moved to stock options. One of the investors, “Michael” said, “We should set the strike price as high as possible so employees that quit will not exercise their options.” [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe i can…

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What Are The Early Signs Your Startup Is In Trouble?

“There is no negotiation on this term sheet,” “Raul”, the Venture Capitalist, said to me. I was stunned. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. There’s always negotiation, isn’t there? Everyone negotiates, right? Not this VC. The terms we were given were horrible. I tried everything I could to…

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What Do You Need Besides Talent To Start A Company?

One of the most technically talented people I ever worked with was “Doogie.” Doogie was, and probably still is, a brilliant engineer. He was creative, and he was always coming up with novel ideas for how things should get done. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. And energy?…

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How To Successfully Pitch Your Business In One Slide

Imagine this scenario. You’re in a meeting with a major potential customer. And this one customer can make or break your business. You have to win this deal or your business is going to fail. Or imagine this scenario. You’re raising money. Do you want to nail your investor pitch? Then download the free, Startup…

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