Growth
You’re trying to boil the ocean. You had a simple idea for a startup. One problem to solve. A solution to a common pain point that would attract customers and keep them coming back. You were targeting a small market at first. But that’s ok. You had a
Funding
2023 is in the books. Your 2024 budget is sitting in front of you. The start of a new year is the perfect time to reassess whether your startup is still on the venture path. Here is a simple question: Is your revenue growth strong enough to attract a round
Leadership
The Scooter company Bird filed for bankruptcy yesterday. Another high-flying unicorn falls to earth. This is an important reminder that you can’t believe the hype in the startup press.
Why do some startups, despite raising over $100 million and achieving unicorn status, end up with little to show for it? The startup press and many founders are obsessed with valuation. But that can be a trap. During a liquidation event, the most important factor is how the cash is
Fear. Uncertainty. Doubt. As a founder, it’s easy to believe these feelings are weaknesses. They lay the foundation of imposter syndrome. But when properly channeled, fear, uncertainty, and doubt are founder superpowers. They help you find the path to profitable, scalable growth. They allow you to stay in control
You’re trying to boil the ocean. You had a simple idea for a startup. One problem to solve. A solution to a common pain point that would attract customers and keep them coming back. You were targeting a small market at first. But that’s ok. You had a
The Scooter company Bird filed for bankruptcy yesterday. Another high-flying unicorn falls to earth. This is an important reminder that you can’t believe the hype in the startup press.
Welcome to part one of our series on down rounds and recaps: * Part 1: A Guide to Down Rounds and Recaps <- You are here * Part 2: Managing Your Key Stakeholders * Part 3: A Deep Dive Into Down Rounds * Part 4: Navigating the Startup Recap Let’s get into
The dog on the left is a Bavarian Mountain Scent Hound. As you can see, it’s a very serious-looking dog. Hounds are notoriously difficult to train to be off-leash. When a hound dog catches a scent, it puts its head down and starts running. They lose focus on everything
Take Charge of Your Startup's Destiny
This chart tells an important story for early-stage founders. Only 10% of startups that raised a Series A in 2022 have raised a Series B two years later. That drop of nearly 2/3 from 2018 represents a brutal cliff for founders.
This chart is a perfect illustration of the pain still to come in venture. The explosion of ‘unicorns’ in 2021 and 2022 is the venture bubble in action. It will take years to unwind, and venture returns will continue to suffer along the way.
Most businesses aren't a good fit for venture capital. Picking the right sources of funding is one of the most important decisions you'll make. When you're pitching your mushroom farming startup as a tech company, you're on a path that's
In the coming wave of AI-related disruption, we can enable entrepreneurship and unleash the job-creating forces behind it. We need to learn from the past to set the right policies for the future.
Why do some startups, despite raising over $100 million and achieving unicorn status, end up with little to show for it? The startup press and many founders are obsessed with valuation. But that can be a trap. During a liquidation event, the most important factor is how the cash is
Jim Collins, the author of Good to Great, stated that the key to building great companies is getting the right people on the bus. This is a critical concept for successful founders. You need the right people on your bus to find and scale product-market fit. The wrong people slow
SAFEs are fast and inexpensive to use. That’s a feature and a bug. Too many founders overuse SAFEs and end up in a dilution trap. * Carta recently released its Q1 2024 State of Pre-seed report. It's the perfect opportunity to review the current state of SAFE notes
Are your current venture investors acting strange? Did they seem more nervous and jumpy at your last board meeting? Are you concerned that you’re suddenly not all on the same page? Venture funds are under a lot of pressure right now. This has implications for your startup as you
Fear. Uncertainty. Doubt. As a founder, it’s easy to believe these feelings are weaknesses. They lay the foundation of imposter syndrome. But when properly channeled, fear, uncertainty, and doubt are founder superpowers. They help you find the path to profitable, scalable growth. They allow you to stay in control
You’re trying to boil the ocean. You had a simple idea for a startup. One problem to solve. A solution to a common pain point that would attract customers and keep them coming back. You were targeting a small market at first. But that’s ok. You had a
2023 is in the books. Your 2024 budget is sitting in front of you. The start of a new year is the perfect time to reassess whether your startup is still on the venture path. Here is a simple question: Is your revenue growth strong enough to attract a round
The Scooter company Bird filed for bankruptcy yesterday. Another high-flying unicorn falls to earth. This is an important reminder that you can’t believe the hype in the startup press.