Is Starting Your Own Company Worth it?
“It’s a mug’s game, then?” Dave, one of the hosts of the podcast Jeroen, my co-founder and VP Engineering, and I were being interviewed on, said to us. I had just finished telling him that the odds of raising funding for a startup are around one in one hundred. So, Dave was rightfully asking me…
How Do You Do Market Research For Your Startup?
Back in the day, long before the internet, I would drive over to Stanford University to do my market research. The business school had a really nice library where I could find just about everything I wanted. This would be my ritual every time we entered a new market. And, if I was lucky, I’d…
Why Investors Can’t Fix Your Startup
“We help the daring build legendary companies!” One legendary Silicon Valley venture capital fund exclaims on their home page. “We are in the company building business.” exclaimed another well-known VC fund. I’m here to tell you that all these marketing claims from VCs are just that, marketing claims. VCs can’t help you build your startup.…
What’s The Wrong Way To Think About Equity?
Years ago, I was introduced to the two co-founders of a fledgling semiconductor company. I have an affinity for companies in the space, so I agreed to talk with them. The two co-founders told me they had no funding, and they were looking to hire a VP of Engineering. They found a good candidate for…
Why You Can’t Raise Money For Your Startup
Don’t fool yourself. The odds are decidedly against you raising money for your startup. Only 1% of all startups get any outside funding. That’s it! But let’s say that you believe your startup is destined to be the one out of 100 startups that receive angel or VC funding, yet you’re still not breaking…
How Do You Have Meetings That Matter?
We’ve all been there before. Nobody likes going to meetings and wasting their time. It’s like this: You go to the meeting. There’s small talk, people are joking around, and people are wasting your precious time. This happens when you have a lot of people in the room together. You can count up the dollars…
When Should You Let An Inexperienced Person Join?
Years ago, I was interviewing VP Sales candidates. One of the first candidates I interviewed was someone that I quickly realized was completely wrong for the job. I finished the interview, and I thanked him for his time. Then, as I usually did when there was no hope of the person progressing to the next…
What 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?” “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 a very simple rule to figuring out your salary after you’ve just raised…
Why Can’t You Turn Your Integrity On And Off?
My wife and I went for a run together last week, and, on our walk home, we started talking about Elizabeth Holmes. The new docudrama about her and Theranos, “Dropout”, just dropped on Showtime, so it was on the top of our minds. “I think we should watch it (Dropout),” Blossom said to me. “What…
The Top Ten Mistakes First Time Entrepreneurs Make
“You’re a first time CEO. You’re going to make mistakes.” That’s what investors say about first time CEOs. And, you know what, investors are right, you’re going to make mistakes. However, why make business mistakes when you can avoid them. In today’s video, I’ll walk you through the top ten mistakes entrepreneurs make. Plus, I’ll…