Culture
How You Can Be Ruthless Without Being A Jerk
“I intend to be ruthless as CEO,” I said to my friend and mentor, Dave. We were having coffee at Peets in Palo Alto. It was early March, and we had, finally, gotten our Series A funding. After two years, and lots of painful misses, I was rearing to get started. [Do you want to…
Read MoreWhat Are The 5 Rules You Need For A Successful Startup?
My Mom sold houses in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles. She started out by selling condominiums, then eventually graduated to selling estates. I’ll say, from watching my Mom, that selling real estate is a seven day a week, 365 day a year, grind. It looks easy from the outside, but the successful…
Read MoreHow You Can Keep Your Family And Be A Success
Supposedly, in order to be a successful startup CEO, “they” tell you that you have to give up everything, including your family, and be 100% devoted to your startup. I am here to tell you that “they” are wrong. And who are “they” anyways? But that’s a different story. Yes, you do need to make…
Read MoreWhy Your Team’s Salaries Should Be Higher Than Your’s
“Here’s the offer we’re giving you,” the CEO said to me. Then he told me what the equity and salary would be. “What do you think?” The CEO asked me. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] “I’ll give it some thought,” I said. “But my initial response is…
Read MoreThe Simple Strategy To Get Your Team’s Buy In To Your Culture
I have a simple rule I like using, and I’ll share it with you. It’s always a red flag when something (with the exception being the technology) is supposedly complex. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] The same holds true for getting your team to buy into your company culture.…
Read MoreWhat’s The Best Way To Determine Your Team’s Salaries?
“I want to pay half market rate,” the CEO, “Richard”, said to me. Richard had just raised his first round of funding. I asked Richard why? Richard said, “I want them (the employees) to share in my risk.” Richard’s feelings are not unique. You might feel the same way. “But 50% of the market rate…
Read MoreIs It Cool For You And Your Startup Team To Take Vacations?
I once heard a CEO of a company that recently IPO’d say, “Work life balance? You’re running a startup. You can’t have work life balance. Just forget taking vacations.” I believe the thought process that you can’t take vacations and have a successful startup is wrong. You can take vacations and have a successful startup.…
Read MoreWhat Should You Know When You Design Your Employee Compensation Plan
I remember having breakfast with the Chairman of the Board of a startup. The Chairman was trying to convince me to join the company as CEO. I’m not sure how we got on the subject, but we started talking about compensation. Mike proudly told me about when he was CEO of a well known public…
Read MoreWhy You Need To Promote From Within
Hiring experienced people to help run your company is a very sound way to build your startup team. However, hiring experienced people from the outside instead of hiring from within can instantly stop your momentum. I’ll give you my take on why promoting from within should be your goto strategy in this short video. …
Read MoreWhat Are The Top Three Values You Need In Business?
Just like in real estate, where location, location, location is all that matters, there really is one value you need in business? What is that value? Watch this one minute video to find out. Read The Video Transcript Below: So what are your top three values when you start your business? When you…
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