Hiring and Firing
What Are The Signs You’ve Chosen A Bad Co-Founder?
If there’s one thing I am an expert in, it’s bad co-founders. After all, the first two teams of co-founders I tried to start my company with didn’t work out. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. There were “Jim” and “John”, my first two co-founders. We worked together…
Read MoreWhat Are The 11 Steps You Can Take When A Cofounder Quits?
I started my company with two co-founders: “Jim” and “John”. I was the CEO, Jim was the marketing guy, and John was the engineering guy. My two co-founders and I had worked together previously. We understood the plan and direction we were going in. We started pitching VCs after working on the plan for about…
Read MoreWhat Do You Do When Your New Hire Gets A Counter Offer?
“How do you think Maxim (Integrated Products) will react when you resign?” I asked Jeroen. We had just signed a $12 million term sheet for our initial funding, and Jeroen and I had agreed that now was the time for him to resign and become our full time Vice President of Engineering. Do you want…
Read MoreCan You Succeed Hiring B & C Level Talent?
“The talent level here is really high,” I said to the engineering candidate I was interviewing. “So, if you want to work with the best of the best, you should join us.” Do you want to grow you business? Maybe I can help. Click here. I was the last person to interview Melind, the closer,…
Read MoreWho You Should Never Add As A Co-Founder?
“I just bought a unit in new The Millennium building, up in the City,” my co-founder, “Ken”, said to me. “You should check it out!” Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. “Really,” I said. “I thought you were going to buy a house on the peninsula, closer to…
Read MoreHow Do You Recruit The Very Best?
I was pumped beyond belief when I got the opportunity to become an Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) at a San Francisco based venture capital firm. I thought their backing me eliminated the concerns I had about raising money. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. However, I was still…
Read MoreHow Do You Convince People To Work For You?
There are some things you never forget, no matter how long you live. And the meeting “Peter” and I had years ago with Jack Gifford, the founding CEO of Maxim Integrated Products, was one of them. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. Peter had just been named Managing…
Read MoreHow Do You Convince Great Talent To Join Your Startup?
There are some things you never forget, no matter how long you live. And the meeting “Peter” and I had years ago with Jack Gifford, the founding CEO of Maxim Integrated Products, was one of them. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. Peter had just been named Managing…
Read MoreWhy Great People Quit Startups
In the over 20 years I’ve been involved in startups, I’ve never seen the competition for top talent as tough as it is now. It doesn’t matter where your startup team is located, your best employees are being poached. And, if you don’t take preemptive action now, your best employees will leave. I’ve worked with…
Read MoreThe Single Biggest Reason Early Stage Startups Succeed
I am really excited to share with you the reasons why early stage startups succeed. Over the past five years, I’ve worked directly with over one hundred early stage startups CEOs. There are lots of challenges you face as an early stage startup CEO. It’s become clear to me, based on my experience, why early…
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