Every successful endeavor requires a good team. The bigger the endeavor, the bigger the requirement for a high-performing team. Startups flourish (or perish) on the performance of their founders and first hires. Corporations out-perform competitors because employees are their biggest assets. Sports teams become national champions because of the performance of their players. Non-profits and …
Admit It, You Don’t Have a Clue What You’re Doing
Okay, okay, simmer down. I’m not calling you out. I am simply suggesting that admitting you don’t have a clue is a good first step. Let’s face it, none of us have any clue when venturing something new. And the younger we are – just starting our careers – the truer that is. We learn …
How Not to Kill Your Startup: 7 Self-Inflicted Wounds that can be Fatal
A lot has been written about why startups fail. Most of the causes cited are external forces. Things like no market, competitive pressures, supply chain challenges, and lack of investor interest. Less has been written about how startups kill themselves. Internal missteps and self-inflicted wounds can be just as fatal as external forces. Since a startup has …
Would I Ride Into Startup Battle With You?
I am a veteran of the startup wars. I was on the front lines of the PC revolution in the 1980’s, fought in the multimedia skirmishes in the 1990’s, and commanded fearless troops in the first Internet invasion. I have been in more startup battles than I can count, some on the losing side. Every …
Framework for Paying Startup Team Contributors in Stock
One of the questions I get most from startup founders is, “How do I pay people in stock?” In most of these situations the founder has met someone willing to work for all stock or part stock. The hard part is figuring out how to value the person’s contribution, how to value the stock, and how to …
When Your Startup is Fundable but You Aren’t
You may have heard that the most important criteria of investors is the founder and team. They bet on the jockey, not on the horse. Startup success is more about execution, less about great new products and untapped markets. What happens when investors like your venture but are leery about investing in YOU? I’ve been there. …
Most Common Follies of First-Time Founders
So much has to go right for a startup to survive and thrive, it’s wise to know the most common, avoidable mistakes, made by first-time founders. Many first-time founders don’t know what they don’t know. Others are told, but they just don’t want to hear it and fumble. They lack the good sense needed to …
Anticipating the Dreaded Three D’s that Derail Startup Founders and Business Owners
Everything was going great, we were crushing it. After three years of hard work and sacrifice, our product took off like a rocket ship. Orders were pouring in. Retailers lined up to stock the product. OEM’s wanted to bundle it. And VC’s were knocking. A publicly-traded software company invited us to their headquarters in Silicon …
What to Look for in Job Candidates When Hiring for Your Startup
It’s no secret that your startup will only be as good as the people you hire to help grow and run it. The secret is knowing what to look for in candidates so you hire the right ones. Chances are, your startup will not be able to hire the best people unless it has millions …
Startup Waze: Peer Groups for Smart Entrepreneurs
Last week I was blazing across Alligator Alley, the long stretch that connects the east coast of Florida with the west coast of Florida. I was cruising at the speed of traffic – about 20 miles an hour over the limit. All of a sudden, as if a switch had been turned on, most of …
What Every Startup Founder Can Learn from The Music Legend Prince
“Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called life.” ~Prince Today we mourn the passing of Prince Rogers Nelson – Prince…the Artist Formerly known as Prince…the one and only Prince. He was only 57 years old. He was one of a kind. I came to age as a startup founder …
The Problem of Founder / Owner Replication
What happens if the founder gets hit by a bus? This is a question prospective investors and board members sometimes ask themselves behind closed doors. The problem of founder/owner replication is often the gating issue to making an investment, or performing one’s fiduciary responsibilities to shareholders if serving as a director or advisor to a …
Navigating Conflicting Advice from Startup Mentors & Business Advisors
I recently had coffee with an aspiring entrepreneur with a novel product who wanted some advice on his launch strategy. He wasn’t the type of guy who simply wanted me to tell him what he wanted to hear, which is usually the case with many first-time entrepreneurs. He was in an accelerator program and getting …
Increase the Value of Your Professional Network by 10X
Your professional network is one of your most valuable assets. Those in your network provide you with ideas, knowledge, skills, feedback, referrals and new business. Your network puts YOU on steroids — allows you to perform faster and better. Your professional reputation, effectiveness and ultimate worth, are directly proportionate to the value of your network. …
How to Tell an Entrepreneur from a Wannapreneur
There are a lot of people running around these days calling themselves entrepreneurs. They introduce themselves as such at networking events. They include the title in their social media profiles. Some even put it on their business card and email signature line. Many of these people are not actual entrepreneurs, they are wannapreneurs. How can …
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