Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 28, 2012

As a VC I regularly meet with companies and listen to their plans. A significant number of the companies I meet with get some form of feedback from me that: “I’m a bit worried that you’re doing too many THINGS. I always tell teams I meet with, “The scarcest resource in your company is management bandwidth.

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Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 24, 2012

Email readers, continue here.] Professional investors love to see companies where the first round of financing came from the entrepreneur, showing “skin in the game” and more motivation to succeed because of money invested as well as time and creativity.

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Berkonomics

OCTOBER 26, 2023

Time bankruptcy results from the deliberate over-commitment of core resources. I created the term “time bankruptcy” almost thirty years ago when the computer software business was young, and I was a software developer building a young company based upon quality first. You’d know the symptoms, if not the name. Why use this term?

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Berkonomics

JULY 16, 2020

Growing companies usually require more working capital during their periods of rapid growth. In this insight, we need to speak of the sources of working capital and the implications to the future financial health of the choices made when selecting one financial resource. Catching up from past insights. It may not be equity.

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Berkonomics

JANUARY 25, 2024

Especially if they have sold their companies and live comfortably upon the proceeds, these people are often the most willing to help and the most patient through the process. Some charge by the hour, making themself available much as an attorney, keeping track of hours spent on phone calls and emails with you. and “working for food.”

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Berkonomics

JANUARY 11, 2018

And good board members can add real value to you and the company. Email readers, continue here…] Generative thinkers are relentless in asking questions that get to the core of an idea, often making the originator think more deeply about the effects over a longer period of time. A better company is the goal. Generative.

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Berkonomics

AUGUST 29, 2019

For weeks, we’ve highlighted both good and bad things about boards of directors for your company (or non-profit.) This week, let’s focus upon number one – aside from the requirements of boards to protect the company itself (not the shareholders.). Normal functions of boards. And now, that most important non-legal function.

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Berkonomics

SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

Each decision you make to commit resources – your money or your use of corporate or personal time – affects the future value of your business. But each commitment of resources of any substantial size for acquisition of new products, talent, even new companies, changes the value of your enterprise perhaps to a great degree.

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Company Companies Acquisition Resource 120

Berkonomics

AUGUST 24, 2023

Smart money at the table… I have served on the boards of several companies with just such VC talent at the table, partners in firms that made subsequent investments in companies where I either made early investments or led a group of fellow investors in early rounds of finance.

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Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 8, 2024

After friends and family… Once a company founder has tapped the funds available from his or her resources and from friends and family, if the company needs more cash for growth, the most obvious next step is to look for money from angel investors and venture capitalists, typically in the $300,000 TO $3,000,000 range.

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Berkonomics

JANUARY 19, 2023

So, let’s bend the meaning to help us focus on resources while preserving those words. and apply it to our management of corporate resources. Here is a way to think about resource management as we make critical decisions that obligate our personal and corporate assets for growth. Take, for instance , time.

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TechCrunch LA

MARCH 26, 2020

While some of the largest privately held technology companies, like SpaceX and Tesla , have shifted to manufacturing ventilators, smaller companies are also trying to pitch in and relieve scarcity locally. 3D-printing companies are working on new ways to manufacture personal protective equipment and swabs for COVID-19 testing.

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Berkonomics

JUNE 29, 2023

As a professional investor in early-stage companies, I have long discounted long, detailed business plans in favor of a concise “executive summary” followed by a believable spreadsheet-based financial forecast projecting three to five years into the future. It’s time to speak of some sort of business plan.

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Berkonomics

AUGUST 27, 2011

Each decision you make to commit resources affects the future value of the business to some degree. Minor decisions, such as replacing employees who have left the company or equipment needing updating, are usually considered operational in nature, and unless the business is changing direction, not relevant to this analysis.

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Berkonomics

APRIL 21, 2022

What resources do you already own? Owned media comes from the databases you own, such as your company’s web site, email newsletters, profiles in social media, or apps you have created requiring registration or download. One of “my” companies learned and grew to spectacular size.

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Berkonomics

OCTOBER 19, 2023

As my enterprise computer software company which produced innovative lodging systems for hotels and resorts grew quickly, we found ourselves straining to keep up with the hiring and training of good customer support representatives, a critical part of the equation then and still so today in the 24-hour environment of hotel front desk operations.

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Berkonomics

JUNE 16, 2022

For many early-stage companies with outside investors, the goal is to ultimately sell the company or even go public, always at a significant increase in valuation over time. Email readers, continue here…] More importantly, what if you as a leader haven’t a stated goal for your enterprise?

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Berkonomics

AUGUST 11, 2022

Think like a startup, with little resources, a limited window of time, and few dollars to spend on expensive experts. This insight comes from a fellow CEO who explains that he leverages his financial resources for growth by dividing his hiring decision into these two boxes. Divide the hiring decision into two boxes.

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Berkonomics

AUGUST 10, 2023

From the moment such an investor looks seriously at your company, the investor or VC partner is thinking of the end game, the ultimate sale of the company or even of an eventual initial public offering. There is no middle ground. Resetting your priorities Taking money from these sources involves resetting priorities over time.

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Berkonomics

AUGUST 17, 2023

Preparing for the game… If you have been following our recent insights, you’ll be up to speed knowing that professional investors negotiate tough terms, from provisions of control over asset acquisition, eventual sale of the company, future investments, forced co-sale when others attempt to sell their shares and more.

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Berkonomics

OCTOBER 5, 2023

Fixed overhead for salaries, rent, equipment leases and more make up the majority of the “burn rate” (monthly expenses) for most companies. How about young or pre-revenue companies? We often accept that development schedules for young companies are almost always too optimistic. The art of good management.

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Berkonomics

JUNE 17, 2021

These qualities are applicable whether you are leading your company, a board, or a group of people – and certainly are aspiration targets for you if you are measuring yourself against the best. Every organization has limited resources, especially money and time. The first quality in a great leader is to have laser focus. .

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Berkonomics

OCTOBER 27, 2022

He stated, “Too often it seemed our internal staff was more focused on getting the ‘work’ (daily tasks) done and not enough on the ‘job’ (supporting subordinates with resources and encouragement.)”. Email readers, continue here…] Even the most menial of jobs fit into the grand scheme of customer support. Had I been guilty?

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Berkonomics

JANUARY 12, 2023

Some types of businesses generate more and more recurring revenues over time, often growing to a size where recurring revenues pay all of the overhead of the company – an enviable position. There is a phenomenon I have observed time after time with mature companies receiving over 75% of their revenues from recurring sources.

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Berkonomics

DECEMBER 8, 2022

She claims that, by reducing the number of issues to three, her team is better able to devote mental and physical resources to a solution than if she allowed her meetings to address a laundry list of issues faced by each of its members. This works for live meetings or those using video team meetings. It’s all about focus.

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Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 24, 2022

In one industry I know well, the dominant player with 22% market share was acquired by one of the largest companies in the technology world. Everyone, including those connected with the newly acquired dominant player, wondered what changes would affect their company and their personal lives and fortunes.

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Berkonomics

JULY 13, 2023

Here are several examples of tactics from my recent experience with companies where I serve as board member. Example tactics for one strategy: [Email readers, continue here…] Strategy Three: Expand into at least three new continents through new distribution channels. Tactics direct each department in very specific ways.

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Berkonomics

MARCH 18, 2021

And entering the fight without the proper resources usually assures defeat. Resources such as money, experience, statistics about your target, experienced marketing and sales talent, and especially a compelling need and attractive product are all important to the ultimate success of an enterprise. first appeared on BERKONOMICS.

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Berkonomics

JULY 6, 2023

It is a medium range process involving senior management and departmental management as well, directing resources in ways that, as accomplished, lead the company toward the goal. Email readers, continue here…] Here are some example strategies from some of my companies over the recent years.

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Berkonomics

SEPTEMBER 7, 2023

Few early-stage companies have the resources to do both. Even with a perfect product, is the market ready for this? Will you have to be both the evangelist for the product and for its marketplace as well?

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Product Marketing Resource Email 156

Berkonomics

JANUARY 18, 2024

One of the most obvious observations I make with growing company CEO’s is that planning for a new office is done with an optimistic view of the future, incorporating planned space that compromises only slightly the measured needs for the next three or more years as outlined in the financial forecast.

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Berkonomics

SEPTEMBER 13, 2011

Next, return to the list on the board and have the group do its best to divine what it is about your company that would most attract the buyer if it had perfect knowledge of your business and its resources. Next, have the group focus upon column three, ignoring the obvious gain our company would make in liquidity to shareholders.

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Berkonomics

OCTOBER 12, 2023

On a larger scale, there are epoch stories of giant companies eating massive losses in a recall of product, often based upon limited testing before release. Perhaps that balance can be measured in estimating what a company could endure in lost overhead and hits to reputation before becoming crippled and unable to recover.

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Software Review Examples Competition News 156

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 3, 2010

This insight follows closely the conclusions from the previous declaration, that professional investors negotiate tough terms, from provisions of control over asset acquisition, eventual sale of the company, future investments, forced co-sale when others attempt to sell their shares and more.

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Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 4, 2021

We hold all-company meetings where possible, and departmental meetings to roll out the new plan. This is the description of a well-managed process within what should be a well-managed company. Email readers, continue here…]. We set individual objectives and rewards to match these goals. Make the plan simple to understand.

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Berkonomics

MAY 20, 2021

Enterprise time, as opposed to personal time management, is the sum total of resources available to a company expressed in terms of time – time to develop, to debug, to produce, to deploy, to respond to issues, and to make changes in plans that are not working. But first, identify what those critical resources are in your company.

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Berkonomics

MAY 13, 2021

Several years ago, I wrote a book entitled, Extending the Runway , using parallels to piloting a plane to equate to the process of creating and building a small company, making maximum use of resources to get to and beyond breakeven. The five resources boards and investors can add to a company.

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