Startup Madness (Be the Underdog!)
The glory of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament is the ability for any Division I team, no matter their record, to earn an automatic bid for the 68-team tournament by winning their conference tournament (except only for Ivy League where best record goes). Once in the tournament, every team has a chance to w
There Is No Formula (You Can’t Build Someone Else’s Startup)
At Promus Ventures, one of our favorite questions we ask founders is not “What are you building?” but “Why are you building?” As the saying goes, it all starts at the beginning. If your eyes don’t light up and your body leans in when asked why you are building what you are building, then it will be
Patience, Grasshopper (Some Things Can’t Be Hurried in a Startup)
There are some things when building a startup that just take time. Pushing too hard or too fast in certain areas may lead to future regret. At Promus Ventures, we see these mistakes all the time...
What Fantasy Football Teaches Us About Startup Hiring
Just like fantasy football, hiring in startups is never easy. The complexities of finding and integrating people that fit with your vision and culture are great. Who to put where, when to fill the position, changing personnel – you may find yourself feeling like a NFL head coach every week.
There’s a Hole in That Road (10 Common Pitfalls for Startups)
There’s a great saying that describes going down a path that will only yield bad results: “There’s a hole in that road.” So, please, for the love of startups all over the world, avoid doing these common things that we at Promus Ventures see all the time!
Hey Mr. Founder, You’re Not That Great
Cockiness and confidence brush up against each other but are two different species. Confidence holds back the power and unleashes it at appropriate moments. Cockiness runs amok, thinking its greatness spews from each pore, flinging superlatives all over the room.
Winners Find a Way
Great teams, no matter how poorly they played for the majority of the game, find ways to win. No more apparent than the (fantastic) 2014 FIFA World Cup, where games go deep into extra time only to have the favorites somehow find their way into the net.
Why Did We Let Them Invest? (5 Basics of Seed Round Construction)
The seed round (defined here as the larger round after friends and family and in MVP or beta stage) is debatably the most important round for your company.
You’re Not Any Prettier at a Cheaper Valuation
It’s not about the valuation. Shocking? Shouldn’t be. The best startups are expensive — as well they should be and will always be.
Navigating the Din of the Startup World
Having worked at a startup out of college and invested in startups as a vc since 2002, there has never been a better time to start a company than today. At the same time, there has never been a harder time to focus on what it takes to truly build a world-class team and product.