I realized recently that while many are searching for the startup playbook to execute on or the recipe for success, the harsh reality is they don’t exist. While you can glean great steps to repeat that have worked, and avoid pitfalls that plagued others – there is no perfect model for building a successful company. …
Tags: Operating Manual
In the book Trillion Dollar Coach about Bill Campbell, there is an important section on Aberrant Geniuses. I like this term because he is using it in place of divas (or assholes). I have a low tolerance for this kind, but this shows them in a new light which I can appreciate. The book describes …
Tags: Trillion Dollar Coach
After reading the recent Chris Hughes Op-Ed in the NYTimes about Facebook I have been thinking about social networks. Having used just about every service out there, tried my hand in helping build one, and being immersed in social feeds for the last decade, I wanted to weigh in on where things might be going. …
Tags: Networks, Social Media
(I originally drafted this post years ago while at Foursquare an in an effort to share more thoughts I edited for 2019 and bringing this to the surface – enjoy!) [2019 addition] When I first made the switch from BD to sales at Foursquare I learned a very valuable lesson that has stayed true throughout …
Tags: Revenue, Sales
I have been working with early stage founders on sharing their narrative and story with others. One thing that stands out more than anything else is the ability to share their story arc in the context of a metric that they own. A few examples will help bring this to life. Back in 2013 Wunderlist …
Tags: Metrics, Narrative
The first 10 people of a new company can be responsible for making or breaking an organization. Put another way, its all about the team. People can matter more than things like the funding you have, traction and usage, product market fit, and many other things that seem to be at the top of everyones …
Tags: Building The Machine, Hiring
The end of every investor meeting always seems to end with the same thing; “Let me know how I can be helpful” Or “Let me know if there is anything I can do to help.” This is the common phrase, which is most times genuine, because everyone is always after being that added value investor. …
Tags: Have An Ask
I was thinking about early teams recently that are out to change the world, conquer multiple areas, and dominate multiple business lines – all from day one. The reality is usually quite different. I have found that focusing in on what matters most, your core competencies, executing in one area serve the the company, investors, …
Tags: Focus
In branching out to consult for founders and venture firms, I have found myself hearing from many folks similar to myself. These are people that have domain expertise within a certain area/category that are consulting – but many are also looking for what is next. I call this the try before you buy economy because …
Tags: Try Before You Buy Economy
I have been continuously hearing the same defensive pushback from founders when hearing critical feedback for about a decade. When a user/investor/stranger says “hey what about X” they are met with the same retort: “It’s fixed in the next build – here let me show you” Founder response to feedback I called this the TestFlight …
Tags: Founder Reality, TestFlight