Founders and Fundraising
How You Can Win A Deal In Seven Seconds Or Less
“You didn’t have me at hello,” the investor said to us. “But I like what you’re doing. Let me think about this and get back to you.” We had just finished presenting to a well known VC in our space. The VC was telegraphing that he was going to pass on investing in our company.…
Read MoreHow You Should Tell Potential Investors About Your Problems?
Your natural tendency when you’re raising money is hoping your potential investors will not find the weak points and problems in your company. The reality is that experienced investors are likely going to find your weaknesses. So what should you do? Should you hope that investors don’t find you weaknesses, or should you wait for…
Read MoreHow Do You Know You’ve Got A Great Startup Idea?
“You want to do what?” The investor said to me. “It seems like financial engineering. Why don’t you just skip that phase and get right to the unique products?” The investor didn’t get it. We had a two part strategy that had proven to be successful previously. I didn’t need to wait for the rejection…
Read MoreWhy You Shouldn’t Take A Payout From Your Series A Funding?
Imagine this scene. It’s your first board meeting after closing your $10M Series A round. You update the board comprised of you, your cofounder, your attorney, and your two investors on your progress. Then you excuse your cofounder for the closed session of the board meeting where you review your financials. You go through your…
Read MoreWhat Is The Most Difficult Part About Building Your Startup?
“The hardest part of building our company will be raising the initial funding,” I naively said to my fellow cofounders. Every one of them nodded their heads in agreement. I continued on with my pep talk. “We’ll be home free once the funding closes. We’ve built businesses like this before. We know what we’re doing,…
Read MoreWhat Do You Need To Do Before Meeting With Investors?
You’re about to start raising money for the first time, but you’re unsure about exactly what you need to do in advance. And with the odds being about 300:1 against you receiving money from any given investor, you need to get it right the first time. I’ll clear up the confusion for you, and I’ll…
Read MoreHow Do You Divide Equity When You & Your Cofounders Are Investing?
It’s great that you and your cofounder are both investing more money in your company. That’s a sign of true commitment. Let me ask you a question? Why is your money worth more than your cofounder’s money? The answer is obvious. Your money and your cofounder’s money is worth the same amount because…
Read MoreHow Many Hours Should You Work Weekly As The CEO?
It was around 5PM on a Thursday. I was in my office, and I looked down at my to do list. Every item was checked off. I literally had nothing to do. “This just can’t be right,” I said to myself. “There has to be something for me to do.” So I walked over to…
Read MoreWhat Are The Two Killer Fundraising Mistakes You Have To Avoid?
I’ve worked with a lot of startup CEO’s, and I see the same two killer fundraising mistakes made over and over again. One of them will kill you before you get started, and the mistake will kill you when you’re raising money. What are these killer mistakes, and, more importantly, how can you avoid them?…
Read MoreWhat You Learn From How Non Technical CEOs Succeed
“Don’t try and be something that you’re not,” that was the advice I gave to myself when I started my company. Even though I have a BSEE and a few patents, I’d been on the “dark side”, as my wife calls the business side of a technology company, for years. I wasn’t going to be…
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