What if we're all competing in a game we can't actually win?
That's not because our startups aren't good enough or that some evil competitor will ruin us. It's because before we even get out of bed in the morning, we've already set ourselves up to fail by tirelessly running a gauntlet where we're guaranteed to lose every time.
Our mistake was setting ourselves up to compete with aspects of our Founder life that we can't actually win at in the first place. Our perception of ourselves is supposed to be our greatest asset, but in fact, it tends to be our greatest weakness because we are constantly moving the goalposts on ourselves.
It's easy to use our own peers as a benchmark for our own success. When I get into a room full of Found...
Welcome to Phase Three of a four-part Splitting Equity Series. If you missed it, start your journey here: Introduction - Early Startup Equity — Getting it Right before continuing on if you haven’t already, and go in order from there.
Phase One - Startup Equity - Avoiding Early Mistakes
Phase Two - How Startup Equity Works
Phase Three - Part 1 - How to Split Equity ( ←YOU ARE HERE 😀)
Part 2 - Splitting Equity Today
Part 3 - Splitting Equity in the Future
Phase Four - Equity Management
Let's continue!
By default, most startup founders just split their equity once and live with it. They may decide on an equal split or they may devise some reasons why the split favors one partner more than another. But ...
Founders — at what point is the problem our ability to manage versus the capability of the talent we manage?
Our entire startup is fundamentally limited by the quality of our talent and the quality of our management. So how do we know when we're tapped out on either? If we don't have a firm understanding of where our team is limited, we can't address fundamental issues that prevent us from growing.
Yet it's easy for managers to blame talent and for talent to blame managers. How do we as Founders assess both to determine who needs attention? First, we need to understand what the limiting factors are.
At some point, no matter how good of a manager we are, we cap on the quality of our talent. For example, if LeBron Jame...
Positive employee morale in the office is the key ingredient to a successful company. If morale is low, employees will often be disengaged and less productive on the job. Startups are known for being great places to work and fostering a positive company culture.
How do they do this? Let’s find out!
Companies are built from honest feedback. Listen to what your employees want, and follow up. Encourage an honest and open environment to find out what employees are looking to get out of their job. Whether it’s more flexibility or a snack bar in the office, genuinely listen and do your best to make it happen!
Many companies offer additional benefits to their employees such as health insurance, snacks, stock optio...
Very few entrepreneurs have been are able to successfully create a viral, cult-like following around something as random as workplace collaboration software. But, if anyone could — it would be Stewart Butterfield, a two-time failed gaming entrepreneur.
When headlines circulated that Amazon was looking to spend some $9 billion to purchase Slack, it was another sign that this hot app wasn’t some overblown unicorn flash in the pan.
While Slack has a high valuation, it stands out from the current startup landscape. In a world of 24/7, party all night brogrammers, Butterfield says his offices are empty at 6:30 every night, and people work ~45 hours a week. He’s designed the company for people who have already lived the insanity of a boom and bus...
There is one category of consumer tech that’s being built largely outside Silicon Valley: E-commerce. Fab, NastyGal, ShoeDazzle, Birchbox, Bonobos, Honest, Dollar Shave Club, JustFab, Warby Parker and so many other once-hyped (and in a few cases, still-hyped) “e-commerce 2.0” companies were centered in fashion and celebrity hubs of LA and New York.
This interview with Warby Parker co-founder Neil Blumenthal shows that the geographic distinction isn’t just about the weather. It’s about how the company is built. I’ve never before spoken with a Web founder who put more thought into his PR hire than his…. developers.
Warby may wind up out surviving other ecommerce roadkill because they got what they were early: A fashion and lifestyle brand, no...
Lack of diversity has long been the elephant in the room for the tech industry and everybody is painfully aware the industry is too pale, too male, and very young. Yet few companies are actually tackling the issue head on.
Companies need to know diversity goes beyond the moral issue of equality. If a CEO was told software could make their enterprise 45% more likely to grow share and 70% more likely to capture new markets and boost innovation, throwing time and money at it would be a no-brainer. Yet despite the fact that hard data shows that diverse teams — in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, background — are more effective, innovative, and productive, the majority of companies continue to ignore it.
Many leaders see the value in making tea...
Recently I published “The Ultimate Cheat Sheet for Your Startup’s Investor Pitch Deck” and the response has been overwhelming! Thanks to all the readers and people who have reached out!
One of the main requests was “Can you please do a cheat sheet for a sales deck as well?” Yes! With pleasure.
Similar to an investor pitch deck — there is a specific “narrative,” a framework that just works! It’s because of the psychology of the human brain. You’ll find that the 2 frameworks are very similar, with some tweaks. So here we go:
Think of a time that you went shopping and ended up buying way more than you intended to. What happened there? Most likely you encountered a salesperson that was REALLY good. The ...
If our startup sinks, everyone else gets a life raft — but Founders go down with the ship.
There are a million stories about how other entrepreneurs were able to scale successfully, but what we rarely hear about is what happens when things aren't so rosy, which is ironic since most startups don't have that picturesque outcome AND this is a great learning opportunity.
The reality is most Founders find themselves inextricably tied to their startup baby at a very personal financial level.
This means when things go sideways, it's not just the startup that's in jeopardy — it's our personal lives that get pulled into the mucky-muck. And if this is your first startup — this may not be apparent at all.
"I want to put $50 million in the bank by the time I'm so I can retire early and never have to work again!"
Ah, the common refrain and justification of every startup dreamer, from the Founder across to the earliest employee. If only we could put that magic pot of gold into our coffers, then we could do what we really want to do.
Except it begs the questions:
Time and time again when I query Founders, beyond the surface level stuff, about how hard they have thought through this lifetime goal that they are sacrificing everything for...