I’ve long ago lost count of the number of times entrepreneurs have told me they don’t want to look for outside capital and risk losing control. The whole school of lean startups reinforces that way of thinking. But, you may recall my previous writings …
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46 articles in category Essays
I hope you missed me last week. I was at the GA Tech Foundation summer board meeting at the beach, enjoying friends, great news, and a wealth of interesting content, not to mention a bit of sunny recreation. I’ve been going to this gathering …
Read more →In a week of dreadful news about celebrity suicides, another obit caught my attention. I invite you to read the NYT story about Charlotte Fox, 61, a highly accomplished mountain climber. Among her many achievements, she was the first American woman to scale three summits …
Read more →That is the most dreaded question one can get from an investor immediately after you have made your pitch. I am in possession this week of a stack of pitches and executive summaries that leave that very question unanswered. If Jim Hackett, CEO of Ford …
Read more →As my regular readers know, I am a student of military history for lessons on leadership and decision making. This week I read Steve Coll’s Directorate S, a lengthy book on the US involvement in the Afghan wars since 9/11. With multiple viewpoints in the …
Read more →This spring has taken me from very large gatherings like those at SXSW to a variety of board meetings and seminars with a couple of dozen in attendance. At any scale, it’s important to get those right. As a startup founder, you can find …
Read more →A new Wells Fargo Bank television advertisement acknowledges their many recent transgressions and says they’re starting anew in 2018. That’s a pretty gutsy move in trying to recoup customer trust. One must wonder how many people watching TV actually know much about Wells Fargo’s …
Read more →As mentioned in my most recent essay, I have seen too many plans this year where there’s a multi-billion dollar revenue projection accompanied by an initial ask for only $500K. You don’t want to give the impression you are raising just enough money to …
Read more →A day-long series of mentoring sessions this past week on the subject of startup funding brought to top of mind some of the basics. “Safe” financings, which have the mathematical effects of convertible notes but are legally more like warrants, are in vogue on …
Read more →Apologies for skipping a week. I have been rather preoccupied as the father of the bride at an elegant Austin wedding. However, that suggested a useful topic for this essay. There has been much in the news this year about alleged misbehaviors from long …
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