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How Much Legal Knowledge Do You Need As CEO?
Years ago, I worked with this fellow named Bill. Bill and I worked on a lot of mergers together. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] I learned from Bill the value of being really detail oriented when you reviewed a deal. And this thought process went all the…
Read MoreHow Much Information Should You Include In A Pitch Deck You Email?
I hated, I mean, I really hated giving a pitch deck by email to an investor. I thought the odds of getting in front of an investor went way down if I gave them the pitch deck. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] “It’s like seeing a movie…
Read MoreHow Many Startups Can You Run At Once?
“I’m managing three companies,” “Jason” said to me. It was our first conversation, and warning lights started going off. “Tell me about the three companies?” I said. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] Jason said, “The first company is a software company which is doing about $5 million…
Read MoreHow Many Hours Should You Work Weekly As The CEO?
It was around 5 PM on a Thursday. I was in my office, and I looked down at my to do list. Every item was checked off. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. I literally had nothing to do. “This just can’t be right,” I said to myself.…
Read MoreHow Many Hours Per Week Should Your Team Work?
Every year, one of my VC investors would hold a “CEO Summit.” All the of the portfolio company CEOs would gather to network and listen to presentations from various people. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] The final speaker on the final day was always Jack Dorsey of…
Read MoreHow 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. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] 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…
Read MoreHow Do You Win Against A Dominant Competitor?
Successful companies usually have a way of doing things. We certainly did when I was at Maxim Integrated Products. Jack Gifford, our CEO, called it “The Maxim way.” Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. And our way was successful. The company grew to $2 billion/year in revenue with…
Read MoreHow Do You Tell Investors Why You Will Beat Your Competitors?
“They brought up companies we didn’t even know existed,” Mike, the managing partner of the venture capital firm where I was an Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR), said in our debrief after a startup pitched us. Everyone was impressed with the CEO, the company, and we decided to continue forward with the investment. Do you want…
Read MoreHow Do You Turnaround And Rebuild Your Company?
“Bring us up to your level,” Ray, the CEO of Micrel, said to me in his office. Ray was pitching me on becoming general manager of one of the company’s three business units. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. I smiled, we shook hands, and I left his…
Read MoreHow Do You Start A Business With No Money?
“How am I going to raise $2 million,” “Casey” asked me. “I don’t know anyone who can give me that money.” [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] “You know more people than you think,” I said. “I’ve been down this road a few times, and the other entrepreneurs…
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