What Is It Like Raising Money From A Corporate Investor?
Let me give the perspective of someone that’s taken money from a corporate VC and pitched many more. In our particular case, the introduction to the strategic (corporate) came through one of our existing investors. He knew someone on the board of the company. That led to a meeting at our facility with the CEO.…
How Much Equity Should You Give A Cofounder You Are Paying?
There was a fellow we worked with early on as a consultant. We had worked together in the past, and I knew anything we got from Martin would be upside. He was consulting at the beginning. So I paid him as a consultant. Straight cash with no equity. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe…
How Can Making Mistakes Make You A Better CEO?
How Can Making Mistakes Make You A Better CEO? By Brett Fox There’s an old saying that goes like this, “If you’re not failing, you’re not trying as hard as you should be.” It sounds like really sage advice, doesn’t it? But should you really be measuring success by your screw ups? In today’s short…
How Much Publicity Should You Seek For You And Your Company?
I was talking with Connor yesterday (an entrepreneur I am working with), and he was wondering if your job as a successful CEO is just to do public speaking. Specifically, he was using Box’s CEO, Aaron Levie, as an example of someone who seems to do a lot of public speaking. [Do you want to…
Why You Shouldn’t Figure Out How Much Money You Need To Raise
Why You Shouldn’t Figure Out How Much Money You Need To Raise By Brett Fox Many entrepreneurs try to figure out how much money they need to start their business. But it’s the wrong question for you to be asking. In today’s short video, I’ll explain what is the right question you should be asking…
How Transparent Should You Be With Your Information?
Years ago, I was being interviewed to be CEO of a company by the Chairman. The Chairman previously had been CEO of a well-known public company in my space. The Chairman told me a story of how he posted the salary information of everyone in the company because there were employees questioning what other employees…
What Are The Warning Signs You Have A Bad Investor?
“You truly have the Yin and Yang of investors,” Regis McKenna said to me. Regis was introduced to me by Gill, the “Yang” (bright side) of our investors. But Regis also had worked with “Raul”, the “Yin” (dark side) of our investors. In fact Regis shared story after story, many of them truly hilarious, about…
How Can Standup Comedy Improve Your Pitch?
How Can Standup Comedy Improve Your Pitch? By Brett Fox Do you want to become a better communicator? Watch some standup comedy and you’ll see a master communicator at work. There’s one thing all great comedians do that you need to if you’re going to be successful pitching your business. Watch this short 3 minute…
How Does Your Role As CEO Change As Your Company Grows?
150. Remember this number because 150 turns out to be a pretty important number for organizational development. 150 is called Dunbar’s Number (read Malcom Gladwell’s Tipping Point for more). 150 is considered the maximum number of people that can work together with personal relationships. So when your organization grows beyond 150, the theory is you…
What Is Refreshing And How Can You Use It As A Startup CEO?
What Is Refreshing And How Can You Use It As A Startup CEO? By Brett Fox One of the toughest things to do is to make sure your earliest employees are rewarded for the risk they took. In today’s short video, I’m going to explain a fair way to make sure your employees equity is…