Like a lot of startups, we looked at our banking situation with the news that Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank in the United States went belly up. The failures highlight our complicated relationship with banks and bankers but provide valuable lessons for tech startups and business leaders. There is now concern about more bank failures and the overall … Read More
March 15 is the ides of March. It’s the day in 44 BCE that Julius Cesar met an unceremonious end at the pointy part of Roman senators’ sharp daggers. Around 60 to 70 senators are thought to have been in on the plot. William Shakespeare made the whole thing famous, along with the quote, E tu Brute, which you are … Read More
Existing companies and B2B tech startups have a similar problem. How to know that the person you are tapping to expand the business, lead a team into a new market, and otherwise help blaze new trails has the right set of deep skills to be successful? A recent survey by a trade group for universities in the United States shows … Read More
If one thing the COVID pandemic taught the knowledge worker, they didn’t need to be in their office to do their job—no matter what their bosses said. Some employers and employees are now engaged in a battle to see who will win the power struggle to determine if, when, and how often people will have to gather in person. Can … Read More
Dating sucks. Okay, let’s refine that one. Dating sucks, except for the genetic freaks that would qualify to be on Love Island. They are not bereft of choice. Still, even for them, the odds may be good, but the goods may be odd. For B2B tech startups or any business looking into new markets, the behavior of potential clients is … Read More
To crib from the Bard, Beware the Black Swan. In the West, people were convinced that swans were only, and could only be, white. In 1697 black swans were first seen by Europeans in Western Australia. Minds blown. For modern use, the term “Black Swan” was popularized by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. It’s a framework to help us understand our own … Read More
“I wish my neuroses were more productive.” That’s a joke I share with my friends. To be honest, It isn’t always a joke. I listen to podcasts, read the Harvard Business Review, and see the latest books about how to improve productivity, create new habits, and do the things that will really make me a better human being—or at least … Read More
If you have played with Chat GPT, an artificial intelligence writing tool, one thing immediately comes to mind: you wouldn’t want to be a copywriter right now. ChatGPT is a large language model that can generate human-like text based on the input it receives. It is unique in its ability to complete a wide variety of language-based tasks, from answering … Read More
In our last post we touched on the 3 most common mistakes bootstrapped founders make when trying to transition out of founder-led sales and make their first sales hire [when they’re not necessarily quite ready to do so]. As mitigation against those common mistakes, we put forward the concept of finding a “diamond in the rough” – someone not necessarily … Read More
Make it rain, make it rain, make it rain. That’s the dream of B2B tech founders for their first sales hire. They will bring in the sales that will bring you stability and breathing room. Based on our years of experience, research, and conversations with tech leaders—this is rarely the case. And, it might not be the right mindset for … Read More
