Founders and Fundraising
How Do You Get Top Talent To Join Your Unfunded Startup?
It’s an age old problem. You just started your company and you don’t have any money to pay the top talent you want to hire. I don’t have any magic tricks to sell you in this short video, but I do have reality. I’ll share with you the approach we took to bring on top…
Read MoreHow Do You Tell Investors What Your Company Is Worth?
Years ago, when I was an Entrepreneur in Residence at a San Francisco based venture capital fund, Dave, the partner I worked with, and I met with the CEO of a semiconductor company looking for Series B funding. I knew the CEO and I knew the space really well which was why I was in…
Read MoreWhat’s The Best Way To Present Your Product Roadmap?
One of the CEOs I am working with sent me a panicked email. The company that he was in an acquisition discussion asked him to present his product roadmap. Fortunately, presenting your product roadmap to investors isn’t as scary as it seems. I’ll show you the steps you need to follow in this short video.…
Read MoreWhen Should You Share Your Great Startup Ideas With Others?
You’ve got a great idea for a new startup, and you want to get some feedback. You’re expecting to hear great things, but, instead, the people you share your idea with tell you it will not work, so you give up. Then one year later, you read about someone else that implemented your idea and…
Read MoreWhen Should You Give Up On Raising Money?
“Do you want to give up?” My cofounder, “Randy” asked me. I had just completed my Sunday morning run, and we were talking about what to do after a very well known Sand Hill Road Venture Capital fund had just passed on us at the last minute. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe…
Read MoreHow Do You Get Great Talent To Join Your Unfunded Startup?
“Let’s meet for coffee,” I said to person I was recruiting. I’d done this a million times before. If I drank any more coffee, I might overdose on caffeine. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] Let’s meet for coffee. Let’s meet for lunch. Let’s meet for tea. Let’s…
Read MoreWhy You Should Pay Yourself First As A Startup CEO
There’s a myth that you shouldn’t pay yourself anything when you’re just starting out as a startup CEO. I’m going to break that myth in this video. In fact, not only is it bad policy not to pay yourself first, it’s dangerous. I’ll explain why in this short video. Read The Video Transcript Below:…
Read MoreHow Technical Do You Need To Be As A Startup CEO?
I’ll never forget my cofounder and VP Engineering, “John”, telling me (and I’m paraphrasing here), “I don’t see what value you bring to the company.” I was focused on the marketing, strategy, and building the company. None of that mattered to John because he saw me as someone that wasn’t technical. But where is it…
Read MoreWhat Are The 6 Reasons You Shouldn’t Be An Entrepreneur?
“Hi Brett, it’s Steve. I know it’s been a while since we spoke, but I’d love to catch up with you to bring you up to speed on what we’re doing.” Then the voice message ended. “Well, Steve is persistent,” I said to myself, shaking my head. Steve was an entrepreneur I’d been introduced to…
Read MoreWhat Makes Your Startup Worth $100M?
“Can you believe they just got bought for $300M!” Jeroen, my cofounder and VP Engineering said to me. Jeroen, who was usually pretty mild mannered, was a little pissed off. Before I could answer, Jeroen continued with his rant. “They haven’t even announced a product yet, and they have no revenue! It makes no sense.”…
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