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
An essential part of the hiring process for any company are reference checks. They are a great way to get some context on a potential employee and hear from people they have worked for, with, and around over an extended period of time. The typical process is to ask for 3 references that can speak …
Tags: Reference Checks
Yesterday I received a note from a founder that I advise that they are shutting down their company, returning what remains of funds, and winding down the service. It is an unfortunate but common outcome amongst startups of all types – in this case a venture backed team that was onto something in a big …
Tags: Founders
I decided to leave my recent role and get back to doing what I love – advising founders. My goal is to help entrepreneurs build the machine within their startup to help their companies grow and scale and keep them running smoothly. For now, this means advising early stage teams and offering myself as a …
Tags: Building The Machine, COO In A Box, Eric Friedman
Tuesday night I attended the kickoff for mentors and got to hear from the companies that have joined the Alchemist Blockchain Techstars Accelerator in New York – it was a lot of fun and well executed by the managing director of the program Yossi Hasson. He has put together an incredible team it seems with …
Tags: Advising, Alchemist, TechStars
A friend recently asked for an introduction to a senior executive at a large organization in the hopes of partnering with them. His company has some new products and services that he believes make sense, and the LargeCo. executive seems like a good audience to meet with. As with many topics I cover, when I …
Tags: Business development, email outreach, Sales
Scheduling a meeting with someone can be difficult. People are busy, its hard to find time, and its usually a volley of back and forth emails to get something setup. My strong recommendation is to always use a simple formula that has served me well for over a decade; always put forth 3 days and …
Tags: meetings, scheduling
Inspired by this tweet, and the rabbit hole of conversations surrounding it, I was motivated to share some thoughts on the similar look and feel of B2B startups. As Brianne mentions, many companies are starting to invest in their brands. Having a story that resonates and a look and feel to go with it …
Tags: b2b, Design