Forums Search

We recently hired someone in our finance department that lasted about a week. He happened to be in his 50’s. During his exit interview he said “I wasn’t prepared to work for a company ran by Millennials”.

Until that moment I have never actually considered myself a “Millennial”. I talked about them as “they”, but never thought I was part of the “them” group. I Googled it — turns out “Millennials” apply to anyone born between 1982 and 2004. I was born in 1984….. I guess I AM a Millennial.

Okay, I’ll own it. If that is the case, what makes working for Millennials “different”?

1. I’ll call you out.

The Baby Boomer generation grew up on Dale Carnegie leadership principles. Don’t get me wrong — I’ve read “How to win friends and influence people”...

When we talk about building startups, we talk about lots of costs: Staffing costs, the cost of capital, cost per acquisition, and opportunity cost.

But we never talk about the biggest cost – the emotional cost.

Imagine if we could put a numeric value on how much “emotional capital” we have in the bank. The amount of stamina, the amount of positivity, the amount of physical wellness we have left. Startup Founders don’t just run out of financial capital – we run out of emotional capital.

Running out of emotional capital isn’t something we talk about, and that’s a problem. That’s because the cost of capital in this case is our well-being, our relationships, and ultimately the startups we sacrificed it all to build.

This needs to be a more...

Imagine sitting in a room where every person across from you is dealing with the same crazy startup shit that you are.

Everyone is worried about making not only payroll but their mortgage payment. Everyone is wondering how to deal with annoying investors. Everyone feels like a total fraud, not just you. And most importantly — everyone is willing to talk about it — honestly.

Welcome to Founder Therapy.

There's a growing trend among Founders to begin talking openly and honestly about the issues we face, beyond online rants and in private spaces where we can get back to being real people.

I've been hosting these sessions for over 20 years all around the country, mostly in my home, and have sat with over 1,000 Founders in that time. What I'...

Positive employee morale in the office is the key ingredient to a successful company. If morale is low, employees will often be disengaged and less productive on the job. Startups are known for being great places to work and fostering a positive company culture.

How do they do this? Let’s find out!

Tip #1 — Get Feedback and Use It

Companies are built from honest feedback. Listen to what your employees want, and follow up. Encourage an honest and open environment to find out what employees are looking to get out of their job. Whether it’s more flexibility or a snack bar in the office, genuinely listen and do your best to make it happen!

Many companies offer additional benefits to their employees such as health insurance, snacks, stock optio...

You don’t have to have an original idea for a startup. Original ideas are difficult. And unproven. What if you find a business model that you like, and improve upon it?

I’ve heard it a couple times since, but once I was listening to some podcast and someone said to do “R&D… rip off and duplicate.” Oh the hilarity, right? Usually R&D means research and development, but instead, this guy was talking about copying someone else’s work.

It’s fine to do that. And it happens all the time.

Don’t let the business model already existing out there stop you from creating a similar business of your own.

If the business model already exists:

1. There’s probably a market for it
2. People probably buy the service
3. You can probably improve upon it

I say “probab...

Would you rather make $200K with a shitty quality of life or $100K with an awesome quality of life?

In the startup world we all seem to understand that $200K is better than $100K, but we do a really lousy job of qualifying that difference based on what actually matters — our quality of life.

When we step back for a second, we may come to find out that "compensation" in strictly monetary terms, is a broken metric. We're all really trying to translate those dollar signs into how it will impact our quality of life.

So why don't we just start with what improves our quality of life and then figure out where money comes in?

What we really want is time.

Years ago at Startups.com, we instituted a work from home policy. At the time we were all sti...

The conventional wisdom in the startup community these days is that to create a successful startup, you need to move at breakneck speed in everything you do.

And, to facilitate this, you should consume as much money as you can get your hands on along the way to make sure you’re removing all obstacles from getting to market. The perception is that if you move too slowly at the beginning, you’ll miss the market and, even worse, you won’t get funding.

But, is this correct?

While we completely support the idea that getting a great product to market as quickly as possible is a cornerstone of startup success, we just don’t buy that frenetic speed is the best way to do it. It’s not what has worked for us, nor for any of the successful startups we’...

The new mark of a standout Founder is no longer how big they can make their staff — it's how small they can keep it.

Oh, how times have changed, my friends. For hundreds of years, we graded the value and success of a company based on how "big" it had become, and headcount was always the leading indicator. "We've scaled to 1,000 people!" would have been the badge of honor up until the past year, and now it begs the most obvious question, "Why?"

We're entering the Age of Efficiency, where we are rewarded not for a bloated headcount but for a tiny headcount that can produce even greater output. And I've got to say — I couldn't be happier about it because, as startups, this is the dream we've all been waiting for.

AI Changed the Game

Let's star...

After graduating college I was working as a social worker running a foster care program for children with developmental disabilities when I found an ad online for someone selling a business — Amigos Spanish Program. It was a business that contracted with daycare centers to provide Spanish language classes to young children. I contacted them, reviewed a few spreadsheets and bought the business for $8k. I put it all on credit cards and started my quest towards millions… It was going to be great! I was going to own the biggest Spanish Language Class Business in the World…..or so I hoped.

I lost 20k over the year I owned it before I shut it down and closed the company operations for good. I was 22 years old with 22k in credit card debt with not...

Starting a business or becoming a professional athlete requires a unique combination of motivation, drive, and determination. Founders and professional athletes must be highly motivated and driven in order to achieve their goals and make a lasting impact in their respective fields.

In addition to being motivated and driven, both groups must also be able to handle high levels of competition and pressure, adapt and pivot in the face of change, have the resilience to bounce back from setbacks and failures, work well as part of a team, and continuously learn and improve in order to stay competitive.

The 6 Similarities that allow Founders and Athletes to Achieve Success

1. Founders and professional athletes must be highly motivated and driven to succ...