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Can You Succeed Hiring B & C Level Talent?
“The talent level here is really high,” I said to the engineering candidate I was interviewing. “So, if you want to work with the best of the best, you should join us.” Do you want to grow you business? Maybe I can help. Click here. I was the last person to interview Melind, the closer,…
Read MoreThe Five Advantages You Have As An Older Entrepreneur
“Nothing seems to faze you,” “Raul”, one of my investors said to me during our 1:1 meeting in his office. He’d been an investor in our company for one year. Raul was pretty crusty, so I considered what he said to be a compliment. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help.…
Read MoreWho You Should Never Add As A Co-Founder?
“I just bought a unit in new The Millennium building, up in the City,” my co-founder, “Ken”, said to me. “You should check it out!” Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. “Really,” I said. “I thought you were going to buy a house on the peninsula, closer to…
Read MoreHow You Shouldn’t Write A Pitch Deck
There’s a huge difference between the question of “How long did it take you build your pitch deck?” and the question of “How long did it take you to build a successful pitch deck?” Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. Our original pitch deck took, I don’t know,…
Read MoreWhen Should You Start Paying Yourself?
There is a friend of mine, Mark, who started a company about four years ago. Mark raised angel funding to start his company. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. The company has grown at a nice clip, and the company has a real chance at long term success.…
Read MoreWhat Makes A Great CTO Great?
One of my biggest mistakes ever was adding “John” as my co-founder and VP Engineering/CTO. Now, I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking that John wasn’t that great of an engineer, and he failed as our CTO because his engineering skills weren’t that good. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help.…
Read MoreWhat’s The Behavior You Can’t Have As A Founder?
“I don’t know if I can do this anymore,” “Serge”, the CEO of a struggling startup, said to me. “I think I’m going to give up.” “What?” I responded. Serge’s capitulation said didn’t register on me. It was foreign to my way of thinking. Worse yet, Serge’s company wasn’t doomed to fail. There was a…
Read MoreHow Do You Recruit The Very Best?
I was pumped beyond belief when I got the opportunity to become an Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) at a San Francisco based venture capital firm. I thought their backing me eliminated the concerns I had about raising money. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. However, I was still…
Read MoreHow Do You Determine Which Investor To Contact?
Years ago,I decided I the way to achieve my career goals was working at a Venture Capital backed startup. The problem was I didn’t know any venture capitalists. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. I went on the internet and built a spreadsheet of all the VC firms…
Read MoreYou’ll Fail If You’re In It Only For The Money
“I’m focusing on learning, not the grades,” Avery said to me the other day. She’s just starting her journey in college, so I couldn’t be happier to hear my daughter say that. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. “You got it!” I exclaimed. “The knowledge will stay with…
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