“I thought I was doing the right thing by raising more and more money, but now I’m stuck with so little equity that my upside is super limited. On top of that, the probability that we’ll ever reach the exit we need to (in my lifetime) to make this worthwhile is a long shot. What are my options here?”
The Value of Many Tiny Financial Wins
March 18, 2022 by
Can I get rich without an exit? There’s a chance that my startup may never be the next Facebook or Google, but does that mean I’m resigned to being the salt mines of startup life always wishing I was them? I want that good life too — so what’s my option?
The No Man’s Land of Funding
January 12, 2022 by
It’s becoming pretty clear we’re not going to be able to raise our next round of funding. I feel like no one is giving any clear direction about what to do from here. Do we keep waiting? Shut it down? Why doesn’t anyone ever talk about this?
How to Find Minimum Viable Happiness
December 30, 2021 by
I know that someday my startup can achieve all of my life dreams and make me happy (right?). But right now everything is a mess and I feel like crap. What can I do to get my head around some goals that can get me fired up again to press on?
The Top 4 Things to Study When Hiring New Employees
November 30, 2021 by
t is clearly a job seekers market right now, which affords them the opportunity to take the best of competing offers, even if they have already accepted a previous offer, and “ghost” their new employer by never showing up on their first day, which is happening in record numbers and is not a cool move, at all So, to save you all the tedious effort of having to go back and restart your recruiting efforts after making bad offers or hires, it is important you get it right in the first place.
6 Ways to Expand Your Thinking to the Next Big Thing
November 29, 2021 by
Many of the startup investors I know are disappointed that so few of the startup ideas they see are really innovative or disruptive. Most of us are incremental or linear thinkers, and we miss the really big opportunities, like the next smartphone or space travel. That ability to “see around the next corner” seems to be […]
10 Disciplines Every Entrepreneur Needs To Practice
November 15, 2021 by
Innovation is the key to long-term business success, both in startups as well as established organizations. Yet every business and every entrepreneur I know struggles with this challenge, focused on hiring the right people and implementing the right process. Yet, in my experience, the key seems to be more a discipline of innovative thinking from […]
The Risk of Trading Vulnerability for Opportunity
November 11, 2021 by
I’m just getting started and thinking about giving away some equity for a Cofounder and some early investment. It sounds like a lot of startups do this, but is there something I should be considering before I hand out all of this equity I won’t get back?
7 Practices to Enhance Accountability in Your Startup
November 11, 2021 by
If you are frustrated by a lack of accountability in your workplace, you are not alone. The real question is what you can do to improve it, as a manager, or even as a concerned team member. Accountability is all about taking responsibility for getting things done as expected, without excuses. Low accountability leads to mistrust, low […]
Why Communication Skills are Key to Leading a Startup
November 9, 2021 by
Effective communication is an absolute requirement for successfully starting a business, but it doesn’t come naturally to many entrepreneurs. Communication is considered a social skill, and inventors and engineers, for example, are not known to be social butterflies. Founders have to communicate their ideas and products to investors, business partners, and the rest of the […]