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After working with dozens of startup founders, I’m still amazed that some seem to be able to do the job easily and effectively, always in control, while others always seem to be struggling, out-of-control, and fighting the latest crisis. I am more and more convinced that it is the right founder behavior that leads to success, rather than some exceptional intelligence or training. In that context, startup founders should carefully review the points made by Denny F. MORE
Since the inception of NextView, we’ve had a reasonably even distribution between backing first time founders and founders who had started a company with success in the past. Backing a repeat founder has some amazing positives. MORE
As a great example, we had a chance to interview, Jim Elliott, Founder and President of Diveheart. Jim Elliott, Founder and President, Diveheart.org. The post Founder Interview: Jim Elliott – Volunteer to NonProfit Entrepreneur appeared first on The Startup Magazine. MORE
To help teams answer this question I have collaborated with Steve Schlafman to create a product – an exercise, to be completed by those founders building a company. Today we are launching a way for co-founders and founding teams to understand themselves and each other better. MORE
I’ve been thinking why the ethical boundaries of todays founder/VC interactions feel so different then they did when I was an entrepreneur. I’ve written about the root causes in an HBR article here and an expanded version here. Worth a read. Stanford eCorner captured a few minutes of what I’ve been thinking in the video below. If you can’t see the video click here. Family/Career/Culture MORE
I recently heard a terrifying stat about founder suicides recently. The post Founder Suicides appeared first on Feld Thoughts. I know this post is going to be a downer but I think there is a lot more to be talked about regarding depression, mental health, and entrepreneurship. A friend told me that he’d heard of over a dozen suicides from entrepreneurs in the past few years. MORE
When an entrepreneur first incorporates a business, they may find themselves the proud owner of 10 million shares of common stock, commonly called founder’s shares. Key founder vesting should have no cliff. Facilitate an upgrade of founder’s common to founder’s preferred. MORE
Due to founder visibility, the team is so tuned in to the visionary and current direction that every turn to the right to pursue a new idea turns the whole team to the right. benefit co-founders gino wickmanIt seems like every entrepreneur I meet these days is quick to proclaim themselves a visionary, expecting that will give more credibility to their startup idea, and improve their odds with investors. MORE
” But my post yesterday about The Power of Passion When Starting Your Company was about “founder market fit.” ” And I’ve come to believe that – especially among first time entrepreneurs – founder market fit is much more important than product market fit at the inception of the company. Founders come in with something they are super excited about. We constantly hear about “product market fit.” MORE
We updated our investment thesis a few months ago…we invest in mission-driven founders at the earliest stages. Since that time, we’ve been asked how we define a mission-driven founder. Let’s start with why we’re focusing on mission-driven founders right now. MORE
by Manni Sidhu, Co-founder and CEO of Coleegs , and William Gilchrist , Founder and CEO of Konsyg. A new challenge has bloomed for founders and managers in the Covid-19 era –how do they set key performance indicators (KPIs) for the years ahead? Founders should focus on stability. MORE
by Richard Roth, Founder of Progressive Tech. Richard Roth is the Founder of Progressive Tech , Seattle’s highest-rated technical support company, famous for a distinctively human-centric approach to client care. MORE
A business’s founder is in a unique position. However, companies may outlive people, and when the founder decides it’s time to move on, they need to consider succession. It’s not something as simple as saying that founders need wills. MORE
Meet the startup co-founders that are simplifying and automating fundraising campaigns for nonprofits through their business, Kindest. David brought 2 of his co-founders, our CTO and Head of Design along with. Inspiration co-founders technology platform MORE
entrepreneur founders innovation myths Vijay GovindarajanMost people think innovation is all about ideas, when in fact it is more about delivery, people, and process. Entrepreneurs looking to innovate need to understand the execution challenge if they expect their startup to carve out a profitable niche in the marketplace, and keep innovating to build and maintain a sustainable competitive advantage. MORE
One of these norms is how founder vesting and employee vesting works. Here is a good summary post from Cooley GO on Founder Vesting. There are two main reasons for founder vesting: To ensure founders stick around and build the company. To protect the founders (and investors) when a member of the founding team separates from the company prematurely. IMHO the former — having a cliff, is better for founders than the latter — not having a cliff). MORE
The right answer is to find a co-founder with complementary skills. Network to find co-founders just as you network to find investors. Co-founders are business partners for startups, so don’t be afraid to join and explore sites such as StartupWeekend, StartupAgents and CoFoundersLab. Finding a high-tech co-founder in the middle of Kansas may be a long search. Co-founder chemistry and interest matches are best explored outside the office. MORE
In recent posts, we’ve outlined our updated thesis around backing mission driven founders and explained why we’ve doubled down on searching for such entrepreneurs. There is no substitute, however, for letting these exceptional founders speak for themselves. MORE
Those in such tricky financial situations may be thinking of taking out a payday loan , however, while this is certainly tempting given the time of year, one startup founder urges consumers not to go down this path, as expensive forms of credit can end you up in more severe financial problems. MORE
The final event at Boulder Startup Week a few months ago was Founder Fights. A bunch of founders got in a boxing ring for a real, USA Boxing sanctioned event (three rounds, two minutes each). The post Founder Fights in Boulder appeared first on Feld Thoughts. Entrepreneurship boulder startup week boxing corner boxing founder fights MORE
Startup co-founder disputes are universal. Lead business partners co-founders communication leadershipIt’s just like any other close relationship–there are good moments, and there are times when you will disagree. MORE
My co-founder Andrew and I built Canny , a SaaS tool to help businesses collect and manage customer feedback and build their product roadmap, from the ground up. If you’re a first-time founder, here’s our advice for scaling your team effectively. MORE
co-founders entrepreneur inventor startup successIn my work with new startups, I often find people who believe that the terms “ entrepreneur ” and “ inventor ” are interchangeable. Yet I find a big difference between “starting a new business” and “creating a new product.” In my experience, most successful entrepreneurs have indeed created a new product, but most people who claim to be inventors have a hard time starting a business. MORE
Investors know this, hence the saying “Bet on the jockey (founder), not the horse (idea).” Typically this energizes new startup founders, but some struggle trying to live up to their own, as well as everyone else’s expectations. entrepreneur founder jockey role model startup superhuman In the beginning all businesses are just people playing out an idea. It’s never the other way around – there is no idea so big that it doesn’t need people to make it succeed. MORE
In my experience as an advisor to entrepreneurs, business startup founders most often point to a shortage of funds as the primary cause of their startup failure. Yet I often see evidence that points right back at the founder or business owner, attempting to maintain excessive power and influence over of the effort, leading to a wide range of problems and a dysfunctional team. Co-founder and advisors are picked from loyal associates. MORE
Every business owner wants to increase brand awareness. Here's a look at five common branding mistakes and how you can avoid them. Branding Grow brand awareness brand development branding MORE
—– In a recent workshop with a large company focused on the Innovation@50x process, I mentioned that founders and intraprenuers operate more like artists than accountants – on day one they see something no one else does. I always thought that when I used the “founders as artists” analogy, the “artists” I was describing were painters, writers, sculptors and composers. I wondered what lessons Pixar, an animation studio, could have for founders. Artists and Founders. MORE
Founders, who are already under immense pressure from many directions, now have to contend with that dynamic for themselves in an uncertain business environment, connected only by video conferencing and email to their teams, investors, and customers. Mental Health founders MORE
Here’s another from The Startup Magazine Female Founder Series. The post Female Founder Interview: Jeannette Collazo and IT Project Management appeared first on The Startup Magazine. We interviewed Ms. MORE
Here are the four secrets to battling insomnia as a startup founder. Many startup founders work right until bedtime. There is no doubt that startup founders battle an enormous amount of stress. Many startup founders will drink alcohol to reduce their stress levels. MORE
entrepreneur founder leadership startupMost entrepreneurs assume that success is dependent on their product expertise, coupled with some knowledge of how to run a business. In fact, I have found from personal experience and mentoring that both of these are necessary, but not sufficient, for building a business. Successful entrepreneurs today must practice human-centered leadership to compete and win. MORE
Here’s a compilation of the best leadership tips for any startup founder that will help you along your journey. Leadership Starting a Business founding a company how be a great leader leadership tips leadership tips for startup founders Starting a startup startup founder MORE
As part of The Startup Magazine’s Female Founder Interview series , we interviewed Nicole Price of the Chicago-based International Center for Breathwork. TSM: What is the most important thing you tell other startup founders? MORE
Image via Flickr by Phil Gyford Starting a new venture still costs real money, even though the entry price has come down dramatically in last few decades. For example, I come from a software background, and back in the early PC days, it could easily cost half a million dollars for a team of professionals to produce a commercial product. Now, with powerful high-level tools and open source software, winning smartphone apps can be built by a good hacker for a few thousand dollars. MORE
Kauffman just launched Founders School - a new education series to help entrepreneurs develop their businesses during the startup stage by highlighting how startups are different from big companies. After weeks honing the script and days of filming, I’m honored to present the “ Startups ” section of Founders School. These videos are not only great tutorials for founders but also provide educators another source of well produced and curated resources. MORE
As part of The Startup Magazine Female Founder series , we sat down with award-winning entrepreneur Elizabeth Colón. The post Female Founder Interview: Latina Leader Elizabeth Colón appeared first on The Startup Magazine. MORE
Two heads are better than one, so the first task in many startups is finding a co-founder or two. Giving a co-founder a salary won’t get you the “fire in the belly” you want. Each co-founder should get equity for value, based on these key variables: Lived a key role in a previous startup. In many cases, one of the co-founders may bring some work in progress that can be patented, trademarked or copyrighted. The CTO of many technical startups was the original founder. MORE
Original research on gender diversity and fundraising amongst HBS founders. Historically, there has been a general bias against MBA founders — a skepticism around their grit and hustle. The taboo has largely faded, though, as many MBA-founded startups have bubbled to the top, and we at NextView even validated that there is no conflict between attending business school and founding a company with a previous blog post about Harvard MBA founders. MORE
As an angel investor and a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, I’m always disappointed to see founders who seem stressed out most of the time, and more annoyed than energized by the abundance of challenges they see in building their startup. MORE
In almost every single investment I’ve ever made, I can think of a singular moment in my relationship with a founder that, no matter what came before or what might come after, defined our relationship. Often times, it came in a very vulnerable and down moment for the founder—perhaps they just lost out on a big opportunity, had someone from the team leave, or they’re running low on capital before sales have come around. MORE
Grow Human Capital business partners co-founders partnership strategic partnershipsAfter signing paperwork to form our business, we soon learned that starting a business together was much like entering into a marriage. MORE
One of the biggest challenges in changing your lifestyle from an employee to starting your own business, is focusing on the right ownership elements, versus having a boss who sets the business goals, and provides performance feedback. MORE
As part of The Startup Magazine founders interviews, we sat down with Lee Thompson and Radha Vyas, the co-founders of Flash Pack , a lifestyle travel company specialising in adventure trips for solo travelers in their 30’s – 40’s. . Flash Pack’s co-founders and husband and wife team, Radha Vyas & Lee Thompson. Flash Pack co-founders Radha Vyas & Lee Thompson. The post Founders Interview: Flash Pack appeared first on The Startup Magazine. MORE
Here’s another from The Startup Magazine Founder Interview Series. The post Founder Interview: Abraham Gin on Entrepreneurs and Leadership appeared first on The Startup Magazine. MORE
Founder Related Topics 
Startup Professionals Musings
JANUARY 15, 2021
When an entrepreneur first incorporates a business, they may find themselves the proud owner of 10 million shares of common stock, commonly called founder’s shares. Key founder vesting should have no cliff. Facilitate an upgrade of founder’s common to founder’s preferred.
View from Seed
OCTOBER 22, 2020
Since the inception of NextView, we’ve had a reasonably even distribution between backing first time founders and founders who had started a company with success in the past. Backing a repeat founder has some amazing positives.
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Eric Friedman
FEBRUARY 3, 2021
To help teams answer this question I have collaborated with Steve Schlafman to create a product – an exercise, to be completed by those founders building a company. Today we are launching a way for co-founders and founding teams to understand themselves and each other better.
YoungUpstarts
JANUARY 11, 2021
Here are the four secrets to battling insomnia as a startup founder. Many startup founders work right until bedtime. There is no doubt that startup founders battle an enormous amount of stress. Many startup founders will drink alcohol to reduce their stress levels.
YoungUpstarts
NOVEMBER 28, 2020
A business’s founder is in a unique position. However, companies may outlive people, and when the founder decides it’s time to move on, they need to consider succession. It’s not something as simple as saying that founders need wills.
Startup Professionals Musings
JANUARY 31, 2020
co-founders entrepreneur inventor startup successIn my work with new startups, I often find people who believe that the terms “ entrepreneur ” and “ inventor ” are interchangeable. Yet I find a big difference between “starting a new business” and “creating a new product.” In my experience, most successful entrepreneurs have indeed created a new product, but most people who claim to be inventors have a hard time starting a business.
Feld Thoughts
SEPTEMBER 3, 2020
Founders, who are already under immense pressure from many directions, now have to contend with that dynamic for themselves in an uncertain business environment, connected only by video conferencing and email to their teams, investors, and customers. Mental Health founders
Startup Professionals Musings
JUNE 17, 2020
Due to founder visibility, the team is so tuned in to the visionary and current direction that every turn to the right to pursue a new idea turns the whole team to the right. benefit co-founders gino wickmanIt seems like every entrepreneur I meet these days is quick to proclaim themselves a visionary, expecting that will give more credibility to their startup idea, and improve their odds with investors.
Startup Professionals Musings
NOVEMBER 9, 2020
One of the biggest challenges in changing your lifestyle from an employee to starting your own business, is focusing on the right ownership elements, versus having a boss who sets the business goals, and provides performance feedback.
The Startup Magazine
AUGUST 18, 2020
As part of The Startup Magazine Female Founder series , we sat down with award-winning entrepreneur Elizabeth Colón. The post Female Founder Interview: Latina Leader Elizabeth Colón appeared first on The Startup Magazine.
Startup Professionals Musings
SEPTEMBER 11, 2019
In my experience as an advisor to entrepreneurs, business startup founders most often point to a shortage of funds as the primary cause of their startup failure. Yet I often see evidence that points right back at the founder or business owner, attempting to maintain excessive power and influence over of the effort, leading to a wide range of problems and a dysfunctional team. Co-founder and advisors are picked from loyal associates.
Steve Blank
OCTOBER 26, 2018
I’ve been thinking why the ethical boundaries of todays founder/VC interactions feel so different then they did when I was an entrepreneur. I’ve written about the root causes in an HBR article here and an expanded version here. Worth a read. Stanford eCorner captured a few minutes of what I’ve been thinking in the video below. If you can’t see the video click here. Family/Career/Culture
The Startup Magazine
AUGUST 9, 2020
Here’s another from The Startup Magazine Female Founder Series. The post Female Founder Interview: Jeannette Collazo and IT Project Management appeared first on The Startup Magazine. We interviewed Ms.
Hearpreneur
FEBRUARY 3, 2021
Meet the startup co-founders that are simplifying and automating fundraising campaigns for nonprofits through their business, Kindest. David brought 2 of his co-founders, our CTO and Head of Design along with. Inspiration co-founders technology platform
Version One Ventures
OCTOBER 27, 2020
We updated our investment thesis a few months ago…we invest in mission-driven founders at the earliest stages. Since that time, we’ve been asked how we define a mission-driven founder. Let’s start with why we’re focusing on mission-driven founders right now.
Startup Professionals Musings
JULY 14, 2019
entrepreneur founders innovation myths Vijay GovindarajanMost people think innovation is all about ideas, when in fact it is more about delivery, people, and process. Entrepreneurs looking to innovate need to understand the execution challenge if they expect their startup to carve out a profitable niche in the marketplace, and keep innovating to build and maintain a sustainable competitive advantage.
Version One Ventures
NOVEMBER 12, 2020
In recent posts, we’ve outlined our updated thesis around backing mission driven founders and explained why we’ve doubled down on searching for such entrepreneurs. There is no substitute, however, for letting these exceptional founders speak for themselves.
This is going to be BIG.
OCTOBER 22, 2018
In almost every single investment I’ve ever made, I can think of a singular moment in my relationship with a founder that, no matter what came before or what might come after, defined our relationship. Often times, it came in a very vulnerable and down moment for the founder—perhaps they just lost out on a big opportunity, had someone from the team leave, or they’re running low on capital before sales have come around.
Steve Blank
JANUARY 28, 2014
Kauffman just launched Founders School - a new education series to help entrepreneurs develop their businesses during the startup stage by highlighting how startups are different from big companies. After weeks honing the script and days of filming, I’m honored to present the “ Startups ” section of Founders School. These videos are not only great tutorials for founders but also provide educators another source of well produced and curated resources.
View from Seed
APRIL 3, 2019
Original research on gender diversity and fundraising amongst HBS founders. Historically, there has been a general bias against MBA founders — a skepticism around their grit and hustle. The taboo has largely faded, though, as many MBA-founded startups have bubbled to the top, and we at NextView even validated that there is no conflict between attending business school and founding a company with a previous blog post about Harvard MBA founders.
YoungUpstarts
OCTOBER 13, 2020
by Manni Sidhu, Co-founder and CEO of Coleegs , and William Gilchrist , Founder and CEO of Konsyg. A new challenge has bloomed for founders and managers in the Covid-19 era –how do they set key performance indicators (KPIs) for the years ahead? Founders should focus on stability.
Feld Thoughts
OCTOBER 2, 2014
I recently heard a terrifying stat about founder suicides recently. The post Founder Suicides appeared first on Feld Thoughts. I know this post is going to be a downer but I think there is a lot more to be talked about regarding depression, mental health, and entrepreneurship. A friend told me that he’d heard of over a dozen suicides from entrepreneurs in the past few years.
Startup Professionals Musings
APRIL 12, 2019
Image via Flickr by Phil Gyford Starting a new venture still costs real money, even though the entry price has come down dramatically in last few decades. For example, I come from a software background, and back in the early PC days, it could easily cost half a million dollars for a team of professionals to produce a commercial product. Now, with powerful high-level tools and open source software, winning smartphone apps can be built by a good hacker for a few thousand dollars.
Startup Professionals Musings
AUGUST 15, 2015
entrepreneur founder leadership startupMost entrepreneurs assume that success is dependent on their product expertise, coupled with some knowledge of how to run a business. In fact, I have found from personal experience and mentoring that both of these are necessary, but not sufficient, for building a business. Successful entrepreneurs today must practice human-centered leadership to compete and win.
Startup Professionals Musings
JULY 20, 2013
After working with dozens of startup founders, I’m still amazed that some seem to be able to do the job easily and effectively, always in control, while others always seem to be struggling, out-of-control, and fighting the latest crisis. I am more and more convinced that it is the right founder behavior that leads to success, rather than some exceptional intelligence or training. In that context, startup founders should carefully review the points made by Denny F.
YoungUpstarts
DECEMBER 21, 2020
Those in such tricky financial situations may be thinking of taking out a payday loan , however, while this is certainly tempting given the time of year, one startup founder urges consumers not to go down this path, as expensive forms of credit can end you up in more severe financial problems.
K9 Ventures
OCTOBER 27, 2016
One of these norms is how founder vesting and employee vesting works. Here is a good summary post from Cooley GO on Founder Vesting. There are two main reasons for founder vesting: To ensure founders stick around and build the company. To protect the founders (and investors) when a member of the founding team separates from the company prematurely. IMHO the former — having a cliff, is better for founders than the latter — not having a cliff).
The Startup Magazine
JANUARY 19, 2021
As part of The Startup Magazine’s Female Founder Interview series , we interviewed Nicole Price of the Chicago-based International Center for Breathwork. TSM: What is the most important thing you tell other startup founders?
Our Own Start-up
JULY 23, 2020
Here’s a compilation of the best leadership tips for any startup founder that will help you along your journey. Leadership Starting a Business founding a company how be a great leader leadership tips leadership tips for startup founders Starting a startup startup founder
Feld Thoughts
AUGUST 22, 2012
” But my post yesterday about The Power of Passion When Starting Your Company was about “founder market fit.” ” And I’ve come to believe that – especially among first time entrepreneurs – founder market fit is much more important than product market fit at the inception of the company. Founders come in with something they are super excited about. We constantly hear about “product market fit.”
The Startup Magazine
AUGUST 19, 2020
As a great example, we had a chance to interview, Jim Elliott, Founder and President of Diveheart. Jim Elliott, Founder and President, Diveheart.org. The post Founder Interview: Jim Elliott – Volunteer to NonProfit Entrepreneur appeared first on The Startup Magazine.
YFS Magazine
JULY 21, 2017
Startup co-founder disputes are universal. Lead business partners co-founders communication leadershipIt’s just like any other close relationship–there are good moments, and there are times when you will disagree.
Up and Running
AUGUST 27, 2020
My co-founder Andrew and I built Canny , a SaaS tool to help businesses collect and manage customer feedback and build their product roadmap, from the ground up. If you’re a first-time founder, here’s our advice for scaling your team effectively.
YFS Magazine
FEBRUARY 1, 2021
Every business owner wants to increase brand awareness. Here's a look at five common branding mistakes and how you can avoid them. Branding Grow brand awareness brand development branding
The Startup Magazine
OCTOBER 5, 2018
As part of The Startup Magazine founders interviews, we sat down with Lee Thompson and Radha Vyas, the co-founders of Flash Pack , a lifestyle travel company specialising in adventure trips for solo travelers in their 30’s – 40’s. . Flash Pack’s co-founders and husband and wife team, Radha Vyas & Lee Thompson. Flash Pack co-founders Radha Vyas & Lee Thompson. The post Founders Interview: Flash Pack appeared first on The Startup Magazine.
Steve Blank
OCTOBER 27, 2015
—– In a recent workshop with a large company focused on the Innovation@50x process, I mentioned that founders and intraprenuers operate more like artists than accountants – on day one they see something no one else does. I always thought that when I used the “founders as artists” analogy, the “artists” I was describing were painters, writers, sculptors and composers. I wondered what lessons Pixar, an animation studio, could have for founders. Artists and Founders.
YoungUpstarts
JANUARY 12, 2021
by Richard Roth, Founder of Progressive Tech. Richard Roth is the Founder of Progressive Tech , Seattle’s highest-rated technical support company, famous for a distinctively human-centric approach to client care.
Feld Thoughts
JULY 22, 2016
The final event at Boulder Startup Week a few months ago was Founder Fights. A bunch of founders got in a boxing ring for a real, USA Boxing sanctioned event (three rounds, two minutes each). The post Founder Fights in Boulder appeared first on Feld Thoughts. Entrepreneurship boulder startup week boxing corner boxing founder fights
Startup Professionals Musings
APRIL 6, 2015
The right answer is to find a co-founder with complementary skills. Network to find co-founders just as you network to find investors. Co-founders are business partners for startups, so don’t be afraid to join and explore sites such as StartupWeekend, StartupAgents and CoFoundersLab. Finding a high-tech co-founder in the middle of Kansas may be a long search. Co-founder chemistry and interest matches are best explored outside the office.
Startup Professionals Musings
AUGUST 4, 2014
Two heads are better than one, so the first task in many startups is finding a co-founder or two. Giving a co-founder a salary won’t get you the “fire in the belly” you want. Each co-founder should get equity for value, based on these key variables: Lived a key role in a previous startup. In many cases, one of the co-founders may bring some work in progress that can be patented, trademarked or copyrighted. The CTO of many technical startups was the original founder.
YFS Magazine
FEBRUARY 7, 2018
Grow Human Capital business partners co-founders partnership strategic partnershipsAfter signing paperwork to form our business, we soon learned that starting a business together was much like entering into a marriage.
The Startup Magazine
SEPTEMBER 21, 2020
Here’s another from The Startup Magazine Founder Interview Series. The post Founder Interview: Abraham Gin on Entrepreneurs and Leadership appeared first on The Startup Magazine.
Startup Professionals Musings
JANUARY 26, 2015
Investors know this, hence the saying “Bet on the jockey (founder), not the horse (idea).” Typically this energizes new startup founders, but some struggle trying to live up to their own, as well as everyone else’s expectations. entrepreneur founder jockey role model startup superhuman In the beginning all businesses are just people playing out an idea. It’s never the other way around – there is no idea so big that it doesn’t need people to make it succeed.
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