Tag: business strategy
25 Nov, 2019
Focus – Power of a Fresnel Lens
Today I want to talk about focus. Specifically the importance of focus for growth stage companies. The reality is that you have limited resources- this is a constraint. You may have several, a dozen, or even more competing priorities. These represent opportunities, but they also represent distractions. The TL;DR...
02 Oct, 2019
How to Suck Less Every Day
or 4 Things You Should Always Be Doing I recently sat on a panel discussion on the topic of preparing a business for “economic change”, which I believe is a euphemism for recession. One of the questions the moderator asked us panelists was to elaborate (in 1 minute or...
30 Aug, 2016
Investor Presentations, Part 1: Building Your Winning Pitch
High quality investment funds see hundreds of business plans a year and even more executive summaries; however, they fund maybe three to five companies per year. Most companies that submit plans never get a first meeting. Those that do still face incredibly long odds. Here’s the math – both...
21 Apr, 2016
Knowing When It’s Time to Give Up the Ghost
Thankfully, entrepreneurs are optimistic creatures. Most launch their companies on a wing and a prayer and then work with their radically under resourced teams to create their first product and gain initial customers. Sometimes, things go smoothly. Funding comes in, customers sign up, and product reviews come back positive. ...
17 Mar, 2016
Don’t Build Your Company to be a One Trick Pony
There’s an excellent Paul Simon song circa 1980 called “One Trick Pony.” It is the title song from a movie about the life of a rock musician (played by Simon), who scores a big hit with his anti-war anthem, “Parachutes,” but can’t replicate his previous success even though he...