Category: Startup Mechanics

The new startup I am spending time on is getting a first rate advisory board pulled together from a wide cross section of industry experts. Thus far, we have: the COO of the Digital Media Group of one of the largest global advertisers (its all about revenue) The former chairman of the Interior Design Department […]

The line between these two is blurring very fast. VC’s are realizing that if they are not in early or late, they will not do well. Call it the barbell strategy. Given how successful many angel-backed companies have become, VC’s are agreeing to look much earlier than the traditional Series A round to engage. This […]

I had the chance to hear Millard speak here in Boston to a small group of CEO entrepreneurs and it was riveting. I had last heard Millard 7 years ago at a conference tell his story about the founding and building of Habitat. Today, I heard him tell the story of the re-birth of the […]

The announcement by Charles River Ventures will no doubt spur other VC’s to recognize a critical gap and trend in the financing of startups. VC’s have gone to much later stage investing as a whole Startups need less capital to get to product stage Angels were wiped out in the post-bubble market and but have […]

One of the cardinal tenets of running a good board meeting is to pre-meet with the board members on all basic facts and figures and avoid any surprises in the board meeting (unless they are very good, positive ones). If you provide the financials with enough advance notice before the board meeting and meet with […]

A number of posts have tried to figure out how much Sequoia is taking down in the Google/Youtube deal. The figure is pegged at $450 million or so based on the thinking that Sequoia has 1/3 of the company, having invested a total of $11.5 million in two rounds, the first coming in November of […]

Much has been written about the mechanics to grow a successful company. But one thing that has been noticeably absent is the interpersonal dynamic around aligning expectations. We all live life seeking something. Rarely do we agree on the quality or quantity. When a potential hire says he or she wants to have fun at […]

This blog begins a new chapter in my evolution as a CEO. I started my first software company in 1984 without the support of any of the infrastructure and wisdom that is now available on the web. Capital was scarce but time was plentiful. While the processes of starting and growing a technology business remain […]