And what you should do instead The biggest mistakes I’ve made as a startup CEO, without a doubt, were signing exclusive agreements. Every ...

What to do when VCs demand a clean cap table but angels want to make small investments Tax day is long past, the end of year is nearly here, ...

If your startup isn’t suitable for VC investment, it’s not suitable for angels either There’s a prevalent myth that while venture capitalists ...

Equity grants of 0.25% — 1.0% are the standard rate for compensating startup advisors As a mentor at a number of accelerators, I’m sometimes ...

Too much argument and occasional abuse makes responding to pitches perilous Hanging out with early-stage founders in the middle of a raise, ...

The venture world has its own language. You need to speak the lingo if you want to talk to investors. At a recent pitch session, a founder had ...

There’s only 1 correct answer to what matters most to investors What do investors care about most? Is it your vision? Your team? How you’ll ...

If you’re projecting more than 30% profits, you’re missing most of your costs When looking at financial projections of early-stage startups, ...

The only path to success for a startup is to become the leader in your market Most startup pitches I see have a similar story: the market for X ...

Keep your customers happy if you want to keep your customers A friend was complaining about how antiquated the apartment maintenance business ...