You may have a difficult choice to make – a lower valuation or more structure on your cap table. It’s critical that you understand two things.
4 Pitfalls of Raising Venture Capital and How to Avoid Them
There are four common pitfalls entrepreneurs fall into while raising venture capital. Here are a few tips on how to avoid them.
Don’t Let Selective Storytelling in the Media Warp Your Perspective
The startup press chases clicks on headlines. Be wary of stories about startups before we know how the story ends.
Finding Product-Market Fit: Desirable, Feasible, and Viable
Finding product-market fit before you run out of cash, patience or passion for the problem you are trying to solve is the race you are running when you launch your startup. But what is it? How do you set SMART Goals against this concept, and how do you know when you’ve found it? My favorite […]
If All We Have Is Opinions, Let’s Go With Mine
“If we have data, let’s look at the data. If all we have are opinions, let’s go with mine.” This is a famous quote by Jim Barksdale, the former CEO of Netscape. When I’m advising members of a leadership team that is struggling to break through with their founder, I pull out this quote. Founders […]
Valuation Makes The Headlines, But Liquidation Preferences Allocate The Cash
You’ve heard this story before. A startup raises a lot of cash from venture investors over several rounds of fundraising. The company attains the mythical Unicorn status. The billion-dollar valuation. You see pictures of the founders with big confident smiles as if victory is assured. Then the company stumbles, growth slows, valuations fall. And yet, […]
