As Founders, we tend to spend equity like it’s free — only to come to learn that equity is not only expensive now, it’s way more expensive later as the company grows. And we now hold less of it.
What’s the Cost of a Toxic Employee?
Nearly every startup deals with a “toxic employee.” And every minute we wait to address the issue, we create an even bigger organizational challenge that will be way too hard to tackle down the road.
Will Investors Let Me “Cash Out” on a Future Funding Round?
How do Founders go about getting cash out of their startups long before the startups ever cash out themselves?
When Should Someone Else Run my Company?
With such high stakes and low standards, it’s not hard to imagine many startup Founder/CEOs are sitting around wondering “Shouldn’t someone else more qualified be better at this job?” The answer is “Yes” — and yet you should probably be the one doing it anyway. “There has to be someone more qualified, right?” If we’re […]
My Startup is Worth Millions: Why am I Broke?
It’s not uncommon for Founders to have all of their net worth tied up in their company without a real dollar to show for it. Our startup might be worth millions on paper, but is there a way to turn it into real money?
What are the Most Important Skills a New Founder Needs?
What are the most important skills we need to know if we’re going to become a Founder — recognizing that we can only have so many skills with so little time?
Why Aren’t Investors Responding to Me?
Every time we send an email to an investor, ours is likely one of 100 emails from similarly ambitious Founders that drops into their inbox. We have to figure out what signals they’re looking for in order to get them to even open our email.
Should I Care About an Exit Plan?
We all know that there’s a possibility of selling our company, but how much planning can we really do to make that happen?
How Do We Tell Our Staff We’re About to Run out of Money?
The key to communicating with our staff about money is to do it early and to get everyone on the same page.
Feeling Like a Founder Fraud
At our core, startup Founders are all frauds. We’re forged from the fiery embers of uncertainty, guesswork and crippling self doubt. And the only way to beat the imposter syndrome that is being a “Founder Fraud” is to embrace the fraud.
Growth Isn’t Always Good
We’re so damn distracted by “growth” that we rarely ask ourselves what it is about growth that even matters. You know who cares about growth? Our investors. The media. Our sewing circles of other Founders. You know who cares about quality? Our team. Our customers. Our partners. You know, the people that we should be […]