Leadership and Management
7 Survival Tips For Startup CEOs
“Hey Brett. Congrats on getting your company funded. I’ve heard the horror stories, and I was just wondering how many hours you’re working?” Kent asked me in an email. The horror stories of founders working 100 hours week on end are commonplace. The reality, or at least my reality, was different. [Do you want to…
Read MoreThe Three Largest Mistakes You’ll Make
“I run out of money in April,” “Steve” said to me. “I think we’re going to add three new customers this month and I can get to ten new customers with my contacts…” Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. “So you’ve got four months of runway left,” I…
Read MoreWhat’s The Best Way To Manage Your Cash?
“We have to ask ourselves the question, Are we going to be a company that spends freely, or are we going to be a company that manages its money well?” I said to the executive staff in our weekly staff meeting. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. We…
Read MoreHow Visible To Your Team Should You Be?
One of the smartest things I ever did as CEO was practice, “Management by walking around.” The idea is really simple. You, the CEO, walk around your office, facility, or manufacturing site and talk to anyone you come in contact with. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. I…
Read MoreWhat Are The 17 Biggest Surprises When You Founded Your Company?
I remember talking with Jeroen, my fellow co-founder and VP of Engineering. Jeroen smiled at me and said, “I’m in line at the market and I just want everyone to start moving faster! “That used to never happen to me.” Then we both laughed. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can…
Read More9 Hard Lessons You Need To Learn For Startup Success
“It’s the suckiest thing about being a startup CEO,” I said to “Bill”. I could see the sadness written all over his face. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. “I can totally relate because I went through the same thing,” I said. “The people you start (your company)…
Read MoreHow Much Responsibility Should You Take?
“You screwed up,” “Bob”, the CEO, said to his executive team during our weekly operations meeting. “How am I going to explain this to ‘the street’?” Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. Bob was upset because the company had missed its promised numbers to Wall Street, again. And…
Read MoreWhen Should You Start Planning Your Exit Strategy?
If there’s one thing I hate, it’s when I meet an early stage startup CEO who’s focused on selling their company. Inevitably, I’ll ask the CEO, “Why are you focused on a sale now?” Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. Inevitably, the answer, more times than not, comes…
Read MoreWho’s The Right Person To Be CEO?
“I’d like you to be the CEO of the company,” “Ray” said to me. We were meeting for the first time outside of a Starbucks in Los Altos. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. Ray had spent the previous thirty minutes explaining what his company was going to…
Read MoreThe Five Advantages You Have As An Older Entrepreneur
“Nothing seems to faze you,” “Raul”, one of my investors said to me during our 1:1 meeting in his office. He’d been an investor in our company for one year. Raul was pretty crusty, so I considered what he said to be a compliment. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help.…
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