6 hours agoMember-onlyWhat’s The Behavior You Can’t Have As A Founder?“I don’t know if I can do this anymore,” “Serge”, the CEO of a struggling startup, said to me. “I think I’m going to give up.” “What?” I responded. Serge’s capitulation said didn’t register on me. It was foreign to my way of thinking. Worse yet, Serge’s company wasn’t doomed…Venture Capital5 min readVenture Capital5 min read
May 23Member-onlyWhat Makes A Startup CTO Great?One of my biggest mistakes ever was adding “John” as my co-founder and VP Engineering/CTO. Now, I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking that John wasn’t that great of an engineer, and he failed as our CTO because his engineering skills weren’t that good. John’s engineering skills were as good…Startup3 min readStartup3 min read
May 16Member-onlyWhen Should A Startup CEO Get A Salary?There is a friend of mine, Mark, who started a company about four years ago. Mark raised angel funding to start his company. The company has grown at a nice clip, and the company has a real chance at long term success. …Startup3 min readStartup3 min read
May 9Member-onlyWho Should You Never Add As A Co-Founder?“I just bought a unit in new The Millennium building, up in the City,” my co-founder, “Ken”, said to me. “You should check it out!” “Really,” I said. “I thought you were going to buy a house on the peninsula, closer to where our future office will be?” “Nope,” Ken…Startup5 min readStartup5 min read
May 3Member-onlyHow Visible Should A Startup CEO Be To The Team?One of the smartest things I ever did as CEO was practice, “Management by walking around.” The idea is really simple. You, the CEO, walk around your office, facility, or manufacturing site and talk to anyone you come in contact with. I didn’t invent Management by walking around. Far from…Startup3 min readStartup3 min read
Apr 25Member-onlyHow To Hire Elite Talent When You Don’t Have Any Money?“He wants a salary of $200,000, but I can’t afford to pay him that,” “Stefan” said to me. “Then he doesn’t fit your company culture right now,” I said. “That’s okay…” “Why is it okay?” Stefan asked me. “And what does it have to do with our culture.” “If you…Startup4 min readStartup4 min read
Apr 19Member-onlyWhat’s The Right Way To Run Your Startup?I love the idea that something has changed in the world of startups. That somehow, today, you actually have to worry about arcane ideas like profitability, gross margins, and financial management. Oh, the horror! Even more to the point, I just don’t get why so many people are acting like…Entrepreneurship4 min readEntrepreneurship4 min read
Apr 11Member-onlyHow Do You Deal With Feeling Like A Fraud?I felt like the biggest fraud in the world. My co-founders, “Jim” and John”, had just quit three months after we started the company. John said, in his parting comment to me, “I know better how to build a analog IC company than you do.” …Venture Capital4 min readVenture Capital4 min read
Mar 28Member-onlyToday Is The Best Time Ever To Be A Startup CEOI love the idea that something has changed in the world of startups. That somehow, today, you actually have to worry about arcane ideas like profitability, gross margins, and financial management. Oh, the horror! Even more to the point, I just don’t get why so many people are acting like…Venture Capital4 min readVenture Capital4 min read
Mar 21Member-onlyWhat Do You Do When Your New Hire Gets A Counter Offer?“How do you think Maxim (Integrated Products) will react when you resign?” I asked Jeroen. …Startup5 min readStartup5 min read