I was advising the two founders of a technology company. They had no funding, and they were looking to hire a VP of Engineering. They found a good candidate for the position, and they only wanted to give him 1% equity vesting over four years. I told them the candidate wasn’t going to take the…
I’ve got a lot of experience with investor rejection emails since we had 63 investors pass on investing when we raised our Series A funding and a whole bunch more when we raised our Series B funding. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. Many investors just never responded…
When you’re raising money, having investors tell you no, we will not invest in your startup is a good thing. Yes, you heard me right, hearing an investor say no is a good thing. In today’s video I’ll explain: What you don’t want to hear an investor say to you? How do you know if…
When you’re raising money, you’re going to get lots of advice on your pitch and pitch deck. Some of the advice will sound really, really good. However, the problem is it’s really tough to tell what advice will help and what advice will hurt you. In today’s video, I’ll explain how you can tell the…
“I’d like to be Chief Operating Officer,” “Randy”. We had already agreed on Randy’s ownership in the company and his salary, so all that was left was the title. Randy had over thirty years experience, and he was a true heavyweight. “I think that makes sense,” I said. [Do you want to grow your business?…
Congratulations on getting two competing term sheets. You’re one of the few entrepreneurs that is in such an enviable position. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. Most entrepreneurs are fortunate just to get one term sheet. Now you have two to choose from! Now you get to choose…
The most important indicator of whether your startup will succeed is your ability to build a high performance team. The performance of your team influences everything from your company culture, to your products, to your ability to sell and market your product. Try and do anything with a bad to mediocre team, and you’ll know…
“The co-founders were fighting all the time,” Abdenour, an engineering candidate said to me about the previous startup he worked at. “It made the work environment really bad. I think that’s why we failed.” [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] Abdenour’s right. When you and your co-founders are…
One of my favorite books is James Clavell’s masterpiece, “King Rat.” King Rat is set in a Japanese POW camp during WWII. The story centers around one prisoner, nicknamed “King,” who controls much of the illegal commerce in the camp. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] The King imagines his…
Most first time startup CEOs don’t really understand what a true go to market strategy is. Then, they screw up their chances of getting an investment because their Go To Market Strategy slide doesn’t explain their Go To Market Strategy. I don’t want this problem to happen to you.. And that’s what today’s video is…