Picked the Wrong Investors for Your Startup? You Probably Forgot to Do This
Just as investors fire a long list of questions at startup teams (do they ever stop asking questions), founders can and should do the same with doting investors.
Serious Questions Every Startup Should Ask Now
I believe every startup should dream big, be tenacious, iterate always, and change the world. But whether in plenty or in want, RIGHT NOW every startup on planet earth should take their entire core team to the mirror and ask themselves these questions:
Loose Lips Sink Ships
I recently sat on a plane coming back from SFO and was forced to listen (for three hours plus) to a vc and startup founder in back of me loudly wax poetic about a wide range of opinions about other VCs and startups. These people should have known better, and knowing some of these companies and investors, some o
Stacking Building Blocks (The Software Way)
In computer science jargon, the “software stack” is software that sits on top of a system’s core kernel (or operating system). The stack gives a feature set to the operating system, expands it function and makes it sing. The more layers a developer adds to the stack, the more enriching the experience and
Equity is Not Candy
Equity can get doled out in early days like candy thrown from a parade to anyone and everyone because that’s the only currency that founders can afford to pay. We see the following situations occur more than we like...
Wait, What Do You Do? (Your Startup Value Prop Better Be Simple)
Put simply, one’s “value proposition” is the reason why your product works. When an enterprise or consumer initially encounters your product, their immediate reaction will tell you if you have something that is special or just another interesting idea.
Founders Are Not Deals To Be Done
The venture capital vernacular has been around for decades. Round sizes morph (“old” versus “new” Series A) and new classes emerge (“super angels” and “micro-VCs”) but I continue to hear some investors talk like this...
Exploding Term Sheets (Sign or We’re Done!)
I’ve heard some recent stories of short-fused expiration dates on term sheets for competitive rounds. No, this doesn’t mean we’re in a bubble but it does signal a lot about these investors.
How to Not Raise Capital (Ridiculous But True Founder Statements)
I’ve riffed on silly VC comments before, but here are some actual founder statements in various emails/decks I’ve recently received (oh come on, let's have some fun).
Stop Complaining About “High” Seed Valuations (No One Said You Had to Invest)
Every six months around a certain prestigious accelerator’s demo day event, my Twitter feed lights up about how high seed valuations are in today’s market.