2 min read What do investors look for? It’s About Execution and Momentum. It’s About Execution Some startups think their business will succeed based on the idea, the technology, the market, or something else. They think their technology will win the day, or their ideas are so great, or the…

3 min read How to Get the Most from Your Board Meetings Board meetings are essential Board meetings are essential for gaining input and advice on how to run the business. To get the most out of your board meeting, start with an objective for the meeting, a set agenda…

As a startup it’s good to know where you stand in terms of funding. Did you know there are several key factors that come into play? Investors will look at a number of things when considering if they’d like to move further. Key Factors Include: -Product -Monetization -Revenue Model -Competitive Advantage -Market Size -Team -Growth Rate -Customer…

Investors look for the metrics in your business so it’s important to know them. There are three levels of metrics you can use. Activity metrics show the basic activity of the business Unit economic metrics show the unit economic model including cost of customer acquisition and revenue. Growth metrics show…

When you’re a startup and want to expand, it can be a daunting task to figure out which products to develop. Before you dive in and spend, it’s a good idea to ask yourself “who will pay for this?” It’s important to ask yourself these questions to make sure that…

When talking to potential investors for your startup, the first questions you get will invariably involve product validation and market validation. In other words, investors want to know if your product works and if someone will buy it. Investors will need to see evidence of validation before they move into…

When founding your startup, it is important to have a growth story. While investors may invest in teams and technology, they’ll still need to see your operating cost model, how you are finding customers and how much they pay for your products and services. If you’re bringing in a lot…

Should you raise funding and if so, how much should you seek? Funding helps accelerate what you already have going into your business. You should have a core process for acquiring customers and providing a service. If you don’t have it then funding at this stage will only hurt your…

In raising funding you hear no most of the time. It reminds me of a saying, “A good salesman never takes ‘no’ for an answer.” I worked as a salesman for several years and saw how others used this statement. It played out in several different ways. The rookie salesman…