“It’s the same as having the proper form with lifting weights; if you don’t have the right form, you’re going to hurt yourself.”
–Joshua Davidson, Six Customer Service Principles To Abide By
Taking care of people. It’s a calling, an art. It’s a service. It can also be a way of life, company culture, and doing business. Joshua Davidson is somewhat of an evangelist on the topic of customer service, preaching the principles of outstanding customer service with the conviction of a man who has religion.
And his principles, the quality and clarity of his thinking – are all of the highest level. The same can be said for the questions posed to him during this Startup Live chat, as well as this discussion on customer service as a whole. Given the u...
Angel investors are typically high net worth individuals who make investments very early into the formation of a new startup company, usually in exchange for convertible debt or equity. The role of angel investors serves as a critical bridge between the early stage startup financing needs of a company and their larger capital needs later on from venture capitalists, corporate investors, all the way to becoming a publicly traded company.
In order to be an angel investor, a person does not have to be an accredited investor. However, a lot of angel investors are accredited investors.
In order to be an accredited investor, according to the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), a person must:
Hav...
Looking for a business grant for veterans? Here’s the thing: Grants are usually open for a set period of time, after which that money is no longer accessible.
As a result, it wouldn’t actually be possible to list out business grants for veterans, because by the time you read this, they may or may not still be available. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t some great financing options out there for vets, like a VA small business loan!
First, we’re going to take a look at the federal government’s database for all small business grants. Then, we’re going to look at some government and private loans for veterans and other small business owners, as well as some veteran-specific training programs and resources.
Remember: Just because you don’t se...
There we are, once again, sitting at yet another Founder get-together while everyone tells us how great their startups are doing. Oh shit, that woman just said that they raised a massive round of funding. That guy just said he just surpassed 100 employees. The other person (I'm losing count) just claimed they are growing 50% per month.
"WTF? I thought I was doing great and now listening to everyone else I feel like a total loser."
And there it is. The age-old startup-sizing "competition" where we indeliberately one-up each other with how amazing our startups are doing. In the process, we all make each other feel miserable about ourselves.
What's that? You don't do that at get-togethers? Well, if you're like most, you're doing it anyway in s...
There is a never-ending supply of questions when starting a business. Who is your target consumer? How does your product improve lives? What is the best way to showcase your value to buyers? While the questions are many, your core values should never be floating around with these unknowns.
After all, your mission or philosophy is the reason you took the financial and emotional risks of putting yourself and your new venture out there. And, no matter how difficult things get, your core values are akin to the North Star, guiding you in running and growing your business.
Retaining these core values is easier said than done, though. Temptation to let moral priorities slide can come up when you’re under pressure — either from investors or a deple...
Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: a Founder and a VC walk into an elevator…
In all seriousness, if you’ve spent any time swimming in the startup waters, you’re probably familiar with the idea of the elevator pitch. But in case you missed that day in Founder School, the scenario is this:
Say you got in an elevator, and standing in that elevator was the one person that could make or break your business. You have the length of that elevator ride to convince this person to get on board. And no, the electricity can’t suddenly cut out and leave you with a couple of hours to fill instead of a handful of seconds.
Well — What the @#*! do you say?
There’s a reason the elevator pitch has become such an icon of entrepreneurship. And it’s not be...
In the context of startups, term sheet is the first formal — but non-binding — document between a startup founder and an investor. A term sheet lays out the terms and conditions for investment. It’s used to negotiate the final terms, which are then written up in a contract.
A good term sheet aligns the interests of the investors and the founders, because that’s better for everyone involved (and the company) in the long run. A bad term sheet pits investors and founders against each other.
Let’s take a look at the elements of a good term sheet — and some elements every founder should be sure to avoid.
While each term sheet is going to be different, depending on the specifics of the star...
Celebrating adding staff is like celebrating the cost of a wedding — it's the liability, not the achievement.
It seems like everyone loves to champion the importance of "scaling our staff," whether it's the media or our local government talking about job creation (when is the last time a startup was successful because it met a job creation metric?) Of course, we proudly announce we're hiring because it implies that our business is doing well, right?
While that may be true, the reality is adding staff still falls under the cost bucket of our income statement, and while those important hires may help us grow revenue, the important distinction is that they are not, in fact, revenue.
They are actually a massive cost, and in most startups, by fa...
The words “successful startup” seem pretty straightforward at first glance. But, what do you picture when you hear them? A unicorn? A world-famous company, like Twitter or Facebook? A small company bootstrapping and grinding through the night, with steady growth? A lifestyle business? A thriving brick-and-mortar shop? A string of failures, followed by the perfect product/market fit?
Like so many things in the startup world, the definition of what a successful startup truly is can be elusive — and frustratingly subjective. While some founders might strive for that billion dollar valuation, others measure their success by how happy their customers are or the biggest impact they’ve made on the world. When we dig past the visions of unicorns da...
At Startups.com, we built an 8-figure business by saying "no" — a lot.
We knew going in that if we’re going to have 100% control of our destiny now and in the future, that would only work if we could constantly say "no" in a disciplined manner.
But you know what? Saying "no" sucks. Just like saying "no" to delicious glazed donuts sucks. We know that we want them, but we also know the cost of saying "yes"! Now I'm hungry for a glazed donut. See what I mean? We knew that controlling our destiny would mean an insane amount of discipline, across the entire organization. In order to prepare ourselves for this discipline, like any good regimen, there were a few things that we'd have to stay incredibly focused on.