Successful companies usually have a way of doing things. We certainly did when I was at Maxim Integrated Products. Jack Gifford, our CEO, called it “The Maxim way.”

And our way was unbelievably successful. Every year, like a clock, revenue and profits grew at 40 percent per year. The company grew to $2 billion/year in revenue with close to 40% net margins. It was literally a cash machine.

But, and this is a big but, as we grew, our thinking became more entrenched too.

It’s natural and normal for a big, successful company to take less risk as it grows. Your startup can take advantage of this.

For example, we had a product evaluation process at Maxim that we called RODT (Return on…

I worked at two public companies in the same industry that had very different views on how to treat their employees.

The average time employees spent at the first company, Maxim Integrated Products, was over 10 years. The average time employees spent at the second company, Micrel, was around four years.

These were two companies that were direct competitors but had very different employee retention rates. What caused the difference? I believe there were three key reasons Maxim employees stuck around longer than Micrel employees:

1. Great talent wants to be compensated properly

Maxim had a policy of refreshing its employees’ stock options. Every year, Maxim would add…

“It’s amazing what we’ve accomplished considering we started with $80,000,” “Jason,” the founding CEO of a company I’m working with, said. “Now, we’re preparing to sell the company for a lot of money.”

“Most people don’t get to the level you’ve gotten to,” I said. “Most startups fail. And to think you bootstrapped yourself to a sale for likely over $300 million.”

Then, I paused and said, “That’s unbelievably impressive. As I said, very few companies get to your level, even with VC funding.”

You can accomplish just about anything starting with a small amount of money.

Jason’s company has, after a slow start, been on a meteoric rise these past few years…

“We’re upping our plan for the year,” “James,” the CEO of a very successful startup I’m working with said to me. It was the second time he’d increased his plan in the past six months.

“Cool,” I said. “You’ve finally entered what I call ‘turn the crank’ mode. The flywheel is turning at a really good pace, so your revenue growth will get easier and easier.”

“Yes, it is,” he said. “I think revenue is going to double to over $20 million this year.”

“That’s fantastic,” I said. “How’s the team feeling?”

“They’re really pumped up,” James said.

“I’ll bet…

“How much money are you going to try and raise?” I asked “Sarah.”

“I’m thinking we should raise $1.5 million this round,” Sarah said to me.

“How long will the money last?” I asked.

“I’m not sure,” Sarah said. “I’m waiting on my fractional CFO to give me the data.”

You need to know how long your funding will last before you raise money.

I sighed. “Okay,” I said. “Let’s see if we can come up with a reasonable guess. How much money do you think you’re going to burn, after you calculate your revenue and your expenses, each month?”

“I think it will be around $150K per month,” Sarah said.

“All right. Then…

“This is the first time we’ve ever disagreed,” I said to Gill, one of the investors in my company. I had just told him that I wanted to get a loan for my company, and Gill, much to my surprise, was against the idea.

“I know, Brett. I know,” Gill said. “My feeling is that Venture Capital is like jet fuel for a startup.

“A loan is like the exact opposite of jet fuel.

“Besides,” Gill said ominously, “Loans always come due at exactly the wrong time.”

Loans are great for extending your runway.

Two weeks prior to meeting with Gill, I was meeting with Tina, our…

“With this next round of funding, we’re going to valued at $1.5 billion,” “Ray,” a CEO I’m working with, said to me the other day.

“That’s awesome!” I said. “Congratulations. I remember how hard it was at the beginning. You’ve come a long way.”

“I know,” Ray said.

You have to start with a game changing idea.

Working with Ray has been a wild ride.

I met Ray through a mutual friend, Aric. Aric asked me, as a favor to him, to help Ray start his company.

From our first meeting together, it was clear Ray had a game-changing idea. …