How Much Help Should You Expect From Your Investors?
If you go on just about any investor website, you’ll likely see the investor touting how they will help you recruit and build your team. The reality is buyer beware. In other words, your investor’s ability to help you may not be what you think it is. I’ll explain why in this short video. …
The Simple Strategy To Get Your Team’s Buy In To Your Culture
I have a simple rule I like using, and I’ll share it with you. It’s always a red flag when something (with the exception being the technology) is supposedly complex. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] The same holds true for getting your team to buy into your company culture.…
You Should Always Promote From Within. Here’s Why.
When I was just starting my career, I was blessed to work at a really successful company for a really good CEO. I learned a lot working for Jack Gifford at Maxim that I could use when I started my own company. One of the most important lessons I learned was the power of promoting…
What’s The Best Advice You Can Get About Fundraising?
I remember talking with my Dad about the absolute necessity of having Tier 1 investors for my company. I was an EIR (Entrepreneur in Residence ) at a San Francisco based VC fund at the time, and I had just formed my company. In fact, we hadn’t even started raising money. Yet here I was,…
What’s The Best Way To Determine Your Team’s Salaries?
“I want to pay half market rate,” the CEO, “Richard”, said to me. Richard had just raised his first round of funding. I asked Richard why? Richard said, “I want them (the employees) to share in my risk.” Richard’s feelings are not unique. You might feel the same way. “But 50% of the market rate…
What Should You Do With Your Flawed Employees?
When you’re just starting out, you may have some members of your team that have serious issues. Ideally, you’d let the person go and find a replacement. But you may not have that option when you’re just starting out because the perfect fit for a given role may not want to join your startup yet.…
Why Your Startup Doesn’t Need A Board Of Directors
“How many people do I need on my the board?” I asked our attorney Marcia when I was incorporating our company. “You need to have a board of directors, but it doesn’t have to be large. In fact, you can be the only member of your board when you’re starting out.” “Really,” I answered. “The…
Is It Cool For You And Your Startup Team To Take Vacations?
I once heard a CEO of a company that recently IPO’d say, “Work life balance? You’re running a startup. You can’t have work life balance. Just forget taking vacations.” I believe the thought process that you can’t take vacations and have a successful startup is wrong. You can take vacations and have a successful startup.…
How Profitable Does Your Startup Need To Be?
Of all the crazy, stupid, ridiculous things I’ve ever heard, I’d have to say this doozy from “Donald”, a very well known billionaire VC, has to be the craziest, stupidest thing ever: “I hate high margin businesses!” It just goes to show you how much things have changed when it comes to building companies. I’ll…
How Do You Determine What Your Company Is Worth?
A few years ago a CEO of a pre-revenue startup reached out to me for guidance. The company was preparing to raise money. The CEO said to me during the initial consultation, “We’ve had a 409A valuation done on the company, and the valuation indicates the company is worth $20M. “We’re trying to raise $2M,…