blog
How Do You Do Market Research For Your Startup?
Back in the day, long before the internet, I would drive over to Stanford University to do my market research. The business school had a really nice library where I could find just about everything I wanted. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. This would be my ritual…
Read MoreWhy Investors Can’t Fix Your Startup
“We help the daring build legendary companies!” One legendary Silicon Valley venture capital fund exclaims on their home page. “We are in the company building business.” exclaimed another well-known VC fund. I’m here to tell you that all these marketing claims from VCs are just that, marketing claims. VCs can’t help you build your startup.…
Read MoreWhat’s The Wrong Way To Think About Equity?
Years ago, I was introduced to the two co-founders of a fledgling semiconductor company. I have an affinity for companies in the space, so I agreed to talk with them. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. The two co-founders told me they had no funding, and they were…
Read MoreWhy You Can’t Raise Money For Your Startup
Don’t fool yourself. The odds are decidedly against you raising money for your startup. Only 1% of all startups get any outside funding. That’s it! But let’s say that you believe your startup is destined to be the one out of 100 startups that receive angel or VC funding, yet you’re still not breaking…
Read MoreHow Do You Have Meetings That Matter?
We’ve all been there before. Nobody likes going to meetings and wasting their time. It’s like this: You go to the meeting. There’s small talk, people are joking around, and people are wasting your precious time. This happens when you have a lot of people in the room together. Do you want to grow your…
Read MoreWhen Should You Let An Inexperienced Person Join?
Years ago, I was interviewing VP Sales candidates. One of the first candidates I interviewed was someone that I quickly realized was completely wrong for the job. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. I finished the interview, and I thanked him for his time. Then, as I usually…
Read MoreWhat Should Your Salary Be When You’re Just Starting?
“I need to make $60,000,” “Mary”, the CEO, said to me. “Is that too much for me to make?” Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. “Maybe. Maybe not,” I replied. “I can’t just give you a yes or no answer. You have to walk through some steps. “There’s…
Read MoreWhy Can’t You Turn Your Integrity On And Off?
My wife and I went for a run together last week, and, on our walk home, we started talking about Elizabeth Holmes. The new docudrama about her and Theranos, “Dropout”, just dropped on Showtime, so it was on the top of our minds. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click…
Read MoreThe Top Ten Mistakes First Time Entrepreneurs Make
“You’re a first time CEO. You’re going to make mistakes.” That’s what investors say about first time CEOs. And, you know what, investors are right, you’re going to make mistakes. However, why make business mistakes when you can avoid them. In today’s video, I’ll walk you through the top ten mistakes entrepreneurs make. Plus, I’ll…
Read MoreHow Fast Is Too Fast For Your Startup To Grow?
“We are going to grow our earnings by one penny per share per quarter,” Jack Gifford, Maxim Integrated Products founding CEO, regularly said to public market sell side analysts. And every quarter, like a clock, the company grew earnings at one penny per quarter or better. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I…
Read More