Advice

Many venture funds believe they can predict what is going to happen next and where. They invest based on that certainty, focusing in specific regions, or on specific types of tech, or, commonly, both. At our funds, we know it’s impossible to predict exactly what is going to happen next or where. Instead, we study […]

For most people, the face of your business is your customer experience. Customer experience is how people get their problems solved and how your company connects with its clients. Making that relationship as healthy as possible is key to ensuring that consumers trust and value your business, both during this crisis and beyond. 

The common reason given for operating a startup in stealth mode is that this prevents any competitor from stealing their idea and beating them to market. This paranoid approach costs them much more than the risk of being open.

It looks like we’re going to have scale down operations. Does this mean we’ve failed? Is this really just the start of our downward spiral? How should I be thinking about contraction?

Now may be the time to start or transform your business into a recurring revenue engine with subscriptions, or just add an option to get some extra sales growth. But be aware, these models bring with them a whole new psychology of selling, supporting, and measuring your success with customers. Do your homework before jumping in with both feet.

The last thing a new entrepreneur wants to think about for a new startup is how it will end. Yet one of the first things a potential equity investor asks about is your exit strategy. The answer you give can make or break your ability to get an investment, so you need to have the […]

Leaders must know how to navigate change and put the processes in place for successful change and employee development. But where should one begin?

I’m watching all of the world implode right now — surely there has to be some good that can come of all this madness, right? What happens when the dust settles? Is there some opportunity for me to grow while everything else is shrinking?

Every entrepreneur I know has their favorite excuse for a previous failure – an investor backed out, the economy took a downturn, or a supplier delivered bad quality. These things outside your control do happen, but based on my years of experience as a startup advisor and angel investor, I still see too many strategies […]

I have previously written about how elementary school-aged kids are capable of learning and grasping complex business skills if instructed on such topics, and that the core K-12 curriculum is broken—too much about rocks, state capitols, and cotton gins, and not enough about entrepreneurship, technology coding and other useful skills they may need to succeed in life—especially […]