Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 3, 2009

In an era of “launch and learn&# is there a need for a business plan? I have seen really great product people espouse the death of the business plan. So, definition: when I talk about a business plan I’m not talking about a 40-page Word document outlining your market approach.

Business Plan 334

Business Plan AJAX Venture Capital Technical Review 334

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 13, 2011

It’s interesting that the question is pitch deck’s being obsolete versus business plans being obsolete. So very few investors want Business Plans any more. And what happens is you have a lot of people that are either engineering or non-engineering that end up in PM roles that can’t think across the whole thing… “.

Technical Review 288

Technical Review Venture Capital Silicon Valley Software Review 288

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 13, 2013

You know, the weird thing, Derek, and I should probably let you speak some time, but I was deeply technical when I went into Andersen consulting, and I got paid much less than engineers who graduated, because I had a degree in economics. They paid engineers $4,000 more entry-point. Engineering vs. non-engineering. [00:10:32]

Cofounder 337

Cofounder Technical Cofounder San Diego Startup 337

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 10, 2014

What they do with the money is add more engineers and maybe hiring a marketing person. Another obvious hire is thus a financial controller or finance director – preferably somebody with business planning experiences and not just an accountant. B round companies need to also look for scaling opportunities.

Startup 381

Startup PR Finance Hiring 381

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 16, 2011

Are you looking for great engineers? Yet most of us resist the coffee meetings seeing them as a distraction from: shipping our release, refining our business plan, working on our new website, etc. There’s a direct correlation to your future success. 5 / week = 250 / year. Here’s why it’s critical: 1.

Dividend 410

Dividend Deal Flow Hiring Advertising 410

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 1, 2015

Let me give you some examples I see of fauxmentum: In the SaaS world I see many business plans where companies have achieved 100-300% year-over-year growth and this is truly impressive. I’m not saying you shouldn’t grow engineering or do PR. But can sensible management team even do anything about it?

Balance Sheet 150

Balance Sheet eCommerce Venture Capital Acquisition 150