Some businesses just can’t fit within the angel capital or friends and family model for raising funds. Sooner or later you may need to seek venture capital and accommodate the needs of the venture community in negotiating the terms of an investment. What VC’s can and cannot do First, VC’s in general cannot invest in ‘S’ […]
Startups
10 Good Reasons Not to Seek Investors for Your Startup
Before you buy into the myths about startup investors, first consider whether you actually want startup investors for your new business at all. No, I’m not bitter … I had VC money in Palo Alto Software for a few years and they were helpful, collaborative, and good people. I’m not a bitter victim. And I’ve […]
Are You Willing to Bootstrap Your New Business Venture?
You have this great idea you are convinced will make for a very profitable business. You set out to convince a few angel investors to help you get started only to be told “no” by every one of them. Now you are questioning whether or not you can even secure a round of start-up business […]
Your Passion Can Breed Biases That Kill New Ventures
I’m sure we have all seen entrepreneurs with high levels of passion and confidence touting an idea that seems to make very little sense to us. Of course, we never see ourselves in this mode, yet we need to recognize that all humans see reality differently through a built-in set of “cognitive biases,” based on […]
The Average Startup Overnight Success Takes Six Years
Every startup founder knows implicitly that startup success is a long hard road. Yet we always dream that we are the exception to the rule. So once in a while it’s good to look at some facts to temper our imagination. I was reading an old article written by marketing guru Seth Godin a while back where […]
The Average Startup Overnight Success Takes Six Years
Every startup founder knows implicitly that startup success is a long hard road. Yet we always dream that we are the exception to the rule. So once in a while it’s good to look at some facts to temper our imagination. I was reading an old article written by marketing guru Seth Godin a while back where […]
Franchise vs. Startup: What’s Your Entrepreneurial Journey?
Owning your own business can be an exciting, liberating and lucrative experience. But it’s a big change to go from corporate employee to head-honcho, so it’s important to know what you’re getting into before you get started. And it all depends on the kind of business you want to own. Do you want to launch […]
Risk, Insanity, and the 50% Startup Rule
Fifty percent of all businesses formed fail within the first two years. There are many variations of this number since there are a number of ways to measure failure. But the number is a startling reminder that creating a business is not easy, nor is it any assurance of success. How to define “success” for […]
6 Ways to Promote Transparency in a Startup (and Why You Should)
Transparency in the workplace is both a mantra and a model. While it’s true that transparency has become a bit of a buzzword, when actually put into practice it can have a real impact on your business’s bottom line. Namely better communication, ideation, engagement, and loyalty. We’re talking about real transparency here—not just being open […]
Startups: From the Basement to a Shared Office Space
One of the first indications a startup is growing is when the business moves from the basement into an office. What we call startups today were some of the earliest businesses to explore “shared office space” because often they could not stay in the home but also couldn’t afford traditional office space, so often they […]
