From Zero to Launch
The critical first steps of building a company:
- Validating ideas before building
- Finding product-market fit
- Building MVPs that teach you
- Early customer development
- Bootstrapping vs raising capital
Entrepreneurship & Business Building
Building Companies
Lessons learned from building multiple companies, practical advice on running startups, and insights on what actually works in entrepreneurship.
Stages and learnings
These are the stages and learnings from 35 years building companies. I have been through each stage more than once, and these are the lessons that stuck.
Operating Excellence
Day-to-day realities of running a business:
- Financial management and unit economics
- Building high-performing teams
- Sales and customer acquisition
- Managing cash flow
- Creating company culture
Scaling Strategies
Growing from startup to scale-up:
- When and how to scale
- Hiring for growth stages
- Sales and marketing automation
- Process and systems thinking
- Managing hypergrowth chaos
Fundraising & Investment
How funding works:
- Pitch deck essentials
- Valuation and term sheets
- Investor relations
- Alternative funding sources
- When NOT to raise money
Founder Leadership
Leading as a founder-CEO:
- Transitioning from builder to leader
- Difficult conversations and decisions
- Managing founder psychology
- Building advisory boards
- Knowing when to pivot or persevere
Hard-Won Lessons
What they don't teach you in business school:
- Surviving near-death experiences
- Managing co-founder relationships
- Learning from failed ventures
- Balancing work and life
- Building sustainable businesses
Portfolio Entrepreneurship
Building and managing multiple ventures:
- Serial vs parallel entrepreneurship
- Synergies between companies
- Time and attention management
- Building operational leverage
- Exit strategies and transitions
Going through one of these stages?
Tell me about your needsTeam Building
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