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In a world of billion dollar exits and absurd funding rounds, startup Founders have lost sight of what financial success really is.

Don’t get me wrong… Having billions of dollars is amazing. But, you know what else is cool? Making a million flipping dollars. Especially when you don’t have a million flipping dollars!

Let’s take the time to recalibrate how we think about startup success — and more specifically — Founder success. When we get to the point where we can only think of “success” as some astronomical, arbitrary outcome, we’re headed down a very dangerous path that affects our startup, our finances and — if we’re being honest — our health.

“But a $1 million business isn’t very big.”

No, a million dollar business isn’t very big. ...

What if I told you that selling a company for $40 million could net you more money than if you sold it for $200 million?

On its face, it sounds ludicrous, I know! But what's missing in that formula isn't the exit price, but how much of that exit we get to put in our pocket as we raise more rounds of capital.

More importantly, our opportunities to sell for $40m are dramatically more abundant than selling for $200m (or more!). That means every time we raise capital, while it sounds like we're improving our chances of an outcome, we're also reducing our options to find an exit at all.

Real Founder Dilution Numbers

CapShare released a study of 5,000 startup cap tables to determine how much equity Founders have at each stage of a funding round. ...

We often think about this concept of our startup "making it" through a sale or some other outcome and then we get to be truly happy.

But that's not how it works.

Our "success" actually comes gradually, day by day, at a glacial pace so that we never actually notice it. Until one day, we wake up, and things don't suck anymore.

So we can't think of our startups driving happiness as being a definitive moment in time. We have to think about it as little pieces and parts that gradually — but noticeably — get better.

When we can say "No"

If we think really hard, we can probably remember a time when we actually got to use the word "No" to things.

You know, like working all weekend, draining our bank account to keep the company afloat, or simply ...

Big brands know the value of teaming up. Starbucks and Spotify, Lucasfilm and Covergirl, and IKEA and Dreamworks have all forged lucrative partnerships.

Nearly every company can benefit from a good partner. My own company, bluemedia, fabricates and installs experiential activations for some of the biggest brands, events, and venues across America.

We’ve had plenty of success, but our partnership with a variety of key vendors in our space has helped us forge meaningful relationships to fuel our growth.

This teamwork helps us reach our clients’ goals faster and more efficiently. On top of that, the clients are happy because they’re getting two steps of the process done at the same time.

How partnerships help business

With a successful partne...

Startup Equity: What Should You Ask For?

If you’re already in the startup world, there’s a strong likelihood that you Founder equity (we’d be surprised if you didn’t!), but if you’re new to the industry, understanding how much to ask for in any given opportunity might be somewhat of a mystery to you. We are here with the help of fellow entrepreneurs in our community to share insights, guidelines, and other resources for anyone in the position to ask for (and receive) equity compensation from a company.

What is Equity Compensation?

Equity is the value of a company's stock, which you earn as a percentage of the company’s profits (or losses). Equity compensation can be thought of as an investment: when you own equity in a company, you're putting...

Founders, when we look in the mirror what do we see?

I don't mean that haggard shell of a complexion that looks like a time lapse video of decaying fruit. I mean do we look in the mirror, squint really hard through bloodshot eyes and say:

"Welp, that's it. Today's the day everyone is going to find out how big of a Founder fraud I really am!"

That's right.

Today's the day our investors find out we have no clue how we'd ever grow this company to an exit. Today's the day our customer calls us and says "There's no way I should have put my faith in you!" It's the day we finally admit to our staff that we were never 100% certain we should have told them to join this company.

Yep, today is the day that everyone reveals us for the fraud that we tr...

Confession: I dream of becoming a startup consultant. Get paid mad money to tell people the things I know and to help them move their company along?

Yes please.

But, the very things that appeal to me about startup consulting — high pay, low risk (for me) — are the reasons why startup consultant might not always be a great idea for startups.

Which isn’t to say they’re never a great idea.

But, before we get into that, let’s talk about what a startup consultant actually does.

What is a startup consultant?

This is one of those terms that’s more slippery than it looks, mainly because there seems to be some confusion between a consultant, a freelance contractor, a startup coach, and a mentor. If you’re talking generally, all of those categories ...

In order to keep their sanity, investors have to look for signals to determine which emails to even open — much less respond to. This is where the art of contacting investors gets interesting.

How important are personal connections?

The most important, by far.

If we had to compare an email sent through a trusted connection with a crappy company versus a cold email with a great company, chances are the crappy company would get a response. That's because investors put so much weight on whether the introduction is being vetted through a trusted friend.

But my deal is so sweet, won't that help?

Not if the e-mail never gets opened or read.

The first goal in contacting investors is to get them to even look at you. The second goal is to get the...

As is the case with most big projects, crafting a business plan is one of those things that takes an incredible amount of diligence and no shortage of courage. After all, your business idea is probably more than just some passionless money-making ploy — it’s your dream that you’re getting ready to lay bare for the world to scrutinize!

Never fear!

We have 4 sample business plans here to make it all less scary.

If you approach this with a firm understanding of what key information to include in each section of your business plan and know how each section works together to form a cohesive, compelling, and — above all — persuasive whole, it will make the writing process a whole lot less daunting.

We’re about to help you do exactly that by deconstru...

I consider myself a highly productive guy, despite many, many challenges to the contrary.

I’ve got crazy ADHD. I run a company with over 150 people who need my attention all day long. I am responsible for being the CEO of the company, writing copy, managing our financials, new product strategy, acquisitions, and about 90 other things. I also have 2 little kids and my family lives in 2 cities that we travel back and forth from constantly. It’s nuts.

My life is defined by distraction. Yet the reason I can constantly stay on top of so many things isn’t because I’m always getting lots of stuff done simultaneously – it’s because I focus on getting just one thing done every day.

One thing. Every day. That’s it.

You and I are probably looking at t...