Founders and Fundraising
The One Key Strategy You Can’t Afford To Forget As An Entrepreneur?
“Sex sells,” I told Gill when we pitched him for the first time, “except in the Analog IC business.” Gill nodded his head in agreement. And four meetings later he gave us a term sheet for $11M. If only the rest of the investing community was as easy to convince as Gill… [Do you want…
Read MoreHow Do You Negotiate With Investors?
I was so excited when we got the term sheet from the investor. Then I looked at the numbers. The deal sucked. The investor was taking more than the normal percentage at this stage. But I was confident I could negotiate a better deal. The investor was flying to his home on Maui, so we…
Read MoreShould You Ask For Backpay When You Close Your Funding?
Welcome to the world of sweat equity. I’ve been in your shoes. I went over two years without collecting a salary while we started the company and raised our initial funding. I didn’t ask for backpay, nor do I think our investors would have given me backpay if I asked. The investors have invested their…
Read MoreHow Do You Handle Big Differences Between You And Your Cofounder?
“I know more about building a company than you do,” one my co-founders said to me over the phone. Those were the last words “John” ever said to me as he quit the company. John was a brilliant technologist. His fellow engineers called him a “guru”. There was no question that it was a coup…
Read MoreHow Do You Raise Funding After Creating Your MVP?
Great. You’ve developed a kick-ass MVP that your customers are buying. So what. That’s the question (or questions) you’re going to need to answer in order to raise money. Just because customers are buying your product doesn’t mean you are going to get funded. As I said, so what. Imagine you’re talking to an investor…
Read MoreWhat Is The Right Amount Of Equity A Late Joining Cofounder Should Get?
I had four co-founders, the last of whom joined 1.5 years after we started the company. Do you know who got the most equity amongst the co-founders? That’s right, the one that joined 1.5 years after we started. You want to make your equity decisions looking forward, not backwards. I had a pretty simple rule…
Read MoreShould You Build Your Core Team Or Your MVP First?
Why do you have to choose between building your core team first or building your first product? You’re likely going to need a team of some sort to build your first product, or where is the barrier to entry? Now, I’m not saying build a team of 50 people. I am saying that you are…
Read MoreWhat Are Some Signs You Should Give Up On Your Startup?
I drove home from Sand Hill Road. We had just been turned down. Again. This was the 63rd VC that decided not to invest in our company. And this rejection was particularly vicious. We had gone through weeks of diligence, and the last thing we needed to do was present to the full partnership. Then,…
Read MoreWhat’s The Hardest Thing About Starting A Business After You’re 40?
I was in my 40’s when I started my company, so I am somewhat of an expert on this topic. I can tell you what weren’t the hardest things for me: A. It wasn’t experience. When you’re in your 40’s you have plenty of experience. And you’re in great shape if you’ve been in the…
Read MoreWhat Shouldn’t Be In Your Investor Pitch?
You’ve worked really hard creating a really solid investor pitch about your company. You’ve rehearsed your investor pitch, and you feel ready to go. Then you start pitching investors, but something isn’t right. The investor pitch is still not working. Investors are not biting. And the problem is you don’t get a second chance when…
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