You’ll get a lot of advice when you start your company. Some people will tell you to focus on building your team. Others will tell you to focus on getting your go to market strategy right. There’s nothing wrong with that advice. But there’s one thing you should focus on, above everything else, that will…
Oh, the giddy early days. I remember them well. The air is full of hope and promise. You and your cofounders are going to get along great. You’ll execute your vision effortlessly. And they’ll be so many customers that you will have trouble keeping up. Think again. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe…
Years ago, when I was an Entrepreneur in Residence at a San Francisco based venture capital fund, Dave, the partner I worked with, and I met with the CEO of a semiconductor company looking for Series B funding. I knew the CEO and I knew the space really well which was why I was in…
One of the CEOs I am working with sent me a panicked email. The company that he was in an acquisition discussion asked him to present his product roadmap. Fortunately, presenting your product roadmap to investors isn’t as scary as it seems. I’ll show you the steps you need to follow in this short video.…
You’ve got a great idea for a new startup, and you want to get some feedback. You’re expecting to hear great things, but, instead, the people you share your idea with tell you it will not work, so you give up. Then one year later, you read about someone else that implemented your idea and…
“Do you want to give up?” My cofounder, “Randy” asked me. I had just completed my Sunday morning run, and we were talking about what to do after a very well known Sand Hill Road Venture Capital fund had just passed on us at the last minute. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe…
“Let’s meet for coffee,” I said to person I was recruiting. I’d done this a million times before. If I drank any more coffee, I might overdose on caffeine. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] Let’s meet for coffee. Let’s meet for lunch. Let’s meet for tea. Let’s…
There’s a myth that you shouldn’t pay yourself anything when you’re just starting out as a startup CEO. I’m going to break that myth in this video. In fact, not only is it bad policy not to pay yourself first, it’s dangerous. I’ll explain why in this short video. Read The Video Transcript Below:…
“Brett, I wanted to let you know I am going to retire,” Dave said to me. “What? Why!” I said getting my bearings. “You can’t retire! You’re too young to retire.” “I don’t want to retire,” Dave said. “But I’m being pushed out by ‘Ted’.” Dave was a cofounder of Maxim. Our revenue was at…
I’ll never forget my cofounder and VP Engineering, “John”, telling me (and I’m paraphrasing here), “I don’t see what value you bring to the company.” I was focused on the marketing, strategy, and building the company. None of that mattered to John because he saw me as someone that wasn’t technical. But where is it…