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Praying to the God of Valuation

Both Sides of the Table

Something happened in the past 7 years in the startup and venture capital world that I hadn’t experienced since the late 90’s — we all began praying to the God of Valuation. How might our next phase of the journey seem brighter, even with more uncertain days for startups and capital markets? What happened? It was 1991.

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Why Misunderstanding Startup Metrics Can Cost You Your Business

Both Sides of the Table

There has been a lot of public debate over the past several weeks about whether it’s a good thing to be “gross margin positive” or not and commentary always reminds me that some people at startups don’t quite understand financial metrics or even how to think about which ones are healthy. This is how much you spend to get a new customer.

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Choose Your VC Investor Carefully

Both Sides of the Table

Beware of VC Seagulls, who shit on you and then fly away (or worse yet leave you with Red Herrings). I write this post as a warning to pick your VC’s carefully. I like to say to first-time entrepreneurs, picking a VC is more permanent than marriage. I guarantee this is a bad VC. Let me explain.

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Nowadays puts its spin on plant-based nuggets

TechCrunch LA

The alternative protein space is hot, hot, hot as evidenced by both the number of companies developing products and the venture capital going into the space. The latest company to attract venture capital is Nowadays , a company founded in San Francisco in 2020 as a Public Benefit Corporation by Max Elder and Dominik Grabinski.

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6 Key Rules To Stay Competitive In The Digital World

Startup Professionals Musings

As a business advisor, I have to recommend even to established companies that they review and revamp their competitive strategy now, even if it appears to be working today. Simple metrics and your personal knowledge of the industry can’t keep up with all the relevant competitive forces. You need to be part of a larger ecosystem.

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It’s Morning in Venture Capital

Both Sides of the Table

Many observers of the venture capital industry have questioned whether its best days are behind it. I can’t help feel a bit of rear-view mirror analysis in all of “VC model is broken” bears in our industry. They are, in fact, great news for traditional venture capitalists. This article originally ran on PEHub.

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Be Honest About Whether Your Product Really Makes a Difference

Both Sides of the Table

Or app companies that went viral due to spammy friend requests to download in an app store only to have a community backlash and subsequent crash. And of course it’s true in personal productivity apps, SMB apps, B2B software and so forth. Not vanity metrics. Push yourself hard to be honest with yourself.

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