PinnedPublished inDataDrivenInvestorHow to Show Validation When You Have NoneOne of the most challenging skills to develop as a first-time entrepreneur is storytelling. Most startups I’m lucky enough to advise face…Mar 18, 20212Mar 18, 20212
PinnedHow to Create and Communicate Strategy to Your StartupWhen our company grew from 30 to 60 people, I reached out to 10 CEOs of startups that grew their companies to around 500 people. I had one…Jan 28, 2021Jan 28, 2021
How to Calculate an Independent Board Member’s Compensation?As your company approaches its series B, it’s not uncommon for a lead investor to reach out and ask you to add an independent director to…Jun 12, 20231Jun 12, 20231
Peter Drucker was WrongThis week I had the pleasure of sharing more about BenchSci’s unique culture at Collision hosted in Toronto. I’ve often written about our…Jun 23, 20223Jun 23, 20223
Expect Tours of Duty at Startups, Not Lifelong CareersEmployee churn has been a hot topic in the employment market for over the past 18 months. With record-breaking statistics like 4.5 million…Mar 28, 20222Mar 28, 20222
What to Expect When Joining a StartupDo you know that meme about what my friends think I do versus what I actually do? In 2018, I had that meme moment. We had just raised our…Mar 10, 2022Mar 10, 2022
Let Your Team Sell Shares Before Going PublicSecondary rounds for founders are very common. Usually, founders sell a small portion of their shares when their company reaches its B or C…Feb 28, 20222Feb 28, 20222
The Right and Wrong Way to Do a Preemptive RoundIf you’re a startup CEO, you have probably heard the term “preemptive round” in the past. While the concept — getting investment offers…Jan 26, 2022Jan 26, 2022
The More Time Investors Spend with You, the Less Likely They Are to InvestWhen it was time for our A round, I made a list of the top investors I wanted to raise from. You can imagine how happy I was when a meeting…Nov 23, 20211Nov 23, 20211
Untold Stories of Early-stage Employees (Part 3)A few weeks ago we published part 2 of the untold stories of early-stage employees. Today we are posting the third and last part.Nov 16, 2021Nov 16, 2021