Founders and Fundraising
How Do You Gain Leverage When You’re Raising Money?
“Congratulations,” I said to “Ray,” I CEO I have been working with. “Getting funding in three weeks is quite an accomplishment.” “Thank you,” Ray responded. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. “Especially, after what you’d been through in your first two rounds of funding, you deserve a little…
Read MoreWhy You Can’t Use A Broker To Raise Money
Wouldn’t it be great if there was someone out there who could magically introduce you and your startup to every investor you want to meet? Wouldn’t that be great? And, yes indeed, there are people out there who will, for a fee of course, claim they will introduce you to investors. These people are called…
Read MoreWhat Type Of Return Do Your Investors Expect?
If you’ve never raised money before, working with angel investors and VCs can be a mystery. One of the big questions you need to understand is your company investable? At the heart of this question is the return expectations your investors will have. That’s what I’ll explore in this short video. I hope you like…
Read MoreHow You Can Run Multiple Startups 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 MoreYou Need To Fire Your Co-Founder
One of the most painful things you’ll have to do is deal with your co-founder or early stage employee that was doing good work early on, but now is no longer cutting it. What you do next may likely determine the future of your company. In this short video, I’ll give you my take on…
Read MoreHow Much Is Your Company Worth?
You’ll hear about a lot of ways to value your startup. Discounted cash flow. ,ROI, and 409A valuations are some of the methodologies you’ll find with some simple research. However, there’s one and only one way to determine the value of your startup. And if you guessed none of the above, then, you’re right. I’ll…
Read MoreWhy Your Revenue Doesn’t Impact Your Valuation
A couple of years ago I was advising an entrepreneur, “Jacques,” who had, what we call, a “roll up strategy.” In other words, he wanted to consolidate an industry by buying several small companies, reducing their overhead, and combining them with his company. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click…
Read MoreWhen Should Your Startup Emerge From Stealth Mode?
“That seems like a real waste of money,” I said to Adolfo. We had just closed our initial funding of $12 million, and my co-founder and VP Marketing had just suggested that we publicize it. In other words, Adolfo was suggesting we come out of stealth mode. “Why?” Adolfo asked. “It seems to me that…
Read MoreWhat Skills Are You Lacking As A Startup CEO?
“I know more about building a company than you do,” “John,” my co-founder and VP Engineering said to me. Those were the last words John ever said to me. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] John was, and probably still is, a brilliant engineer. When I successfully recruited…
Read MoreHow Hard Is It To Find Your Investors?
“Congratulations,” I said to “Ray,” I CEO I have been working with. “Getting funding in three weeks is quite an accomplishment.” “Thank you,” Ray responded. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] “Especially, after what you’d been through in your first two rounds of funding, you deserve a little bit…
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