Why Money Isn’t The Key To Your Startup’s Success
“The whole problem with chip investments is no one wants to fund them,” Mike, a VC I knew, said to me. “But we’ve solved that with our investment in Smooth-Stone.” “How?” I asked. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] “Easy. We have the whole syndicate lined up for…
What Is The Most Common Trait Of Successful Startups?
“I’m worried about keeping the culture,” “Omar,” a CEO that I’m working with, said to me yesterday. Omar’s company is at that classic transition point between being a 7 figure company and an 8 figure company. I smiled back at Omar over our Zoom link. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can…
How Do You Get Funding Before You Have Paying Customers?
What comes first, your funding or paying customers? Well, it depends on the type of funding you’re trying to get. I’ll explain, in this short video, what’s your best bet for raising your early funding. I hope you like it. Read The Video Transcript Below: Is it possible to raise funding when all you…
What Traits Do You Want Your Angel Investors To Have?
“I think I can get Dobkin to invest in us,” “Randy,” one of my co-founders, said to at lunch. Randy had just officially joined our company, and we were talking about fundraising. “Bob Dobkin?” I said to Randy, trying to hide my excitement. Dobkin was the co-founder and CTO of Linear Technology, one of the…
How Does Adding Investors Change Your Exit?
Everything changes when angel investors or venture capitalists invest in your company. And, one of the most important changes is what price can you sell your company for. In this short video, I’ll explain how investors think about your exit, and why you can’t just sell your company for any price you want. I…
How Can You Get Investors Without Having A Network
“My network really isn’t that strong,” “Peter,” said to me Tuesday. “Can you help me meet investors?” I probably get a version of this question just about every week. And, my answer is always the same, “No, helping with investor introductions is not something I usually do.” [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe…
How You Can Be Ruthless Without Being A Jerk
“I intend to be ruthless as CEO,” I said to my friend and mentor, Dave. We were having coffee at Peets in Palo Alto. It was early March, and we had, finally, gotten our Series A funding. After two years, and lots of painful misses, I was rearing to get started. [Do you want to…
What Are 3 Things You Can Do To Be A Better CEO?
I’ve got a ton of tips I could give you to be a better startup CEO, but there are three things that will help more than all the rest. I’ll explain why these three things are so important in this short video. Read The Video Transcript Below: Okay. So what are three things…
The 7 Things You Don’t Know About Working With VCs
“Brett, I’m going to be leaving the VC fund,” Dave, the partner I had been working with as Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR), said to me. I nodded my head, and then said, “Okay, I understand.” Then Dave continued, “I wasn’t supposed to tell you, but I thought you should know. That means they’re (the VC…
What Are The 5 Rules You Need For A Successful Startup?
My Mom sold houses in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles. She started out by selling condominiums, then eventually graduated to selling estates. I’ll say, from watching my Mom, that selling real estate is a seven day a week, 365 day a year, grind. It looks easy from the outside, but the successful…