Forums Search

Being a startup shouldn't be a goal, it should be a milestone we're doing everything to get beyond.

As it happens, a "startup" is just the formative years of our existence. And while the term itself is rife with excitement, it really masks our true ambition which is to become a plain ol' "company" without the "startup" in front of it.

It's perfectly fine for us to revel in our startup years, but in the back of our minds, as Founders, we should be thinking "How quickly can I stop being a startup?" and work our tails off to drop that title as soon as possible.

Startups are Sexy - at First

To be fair, being labeled a "startup" is sexy as hell at first. We're associated with wildly important terms like "growth," "opportunity," and "big outcomes...

We all understand the "startup struggle" part of the process, but how does that other part, where we make a bunch of money work?

Doesn't it seem to be the case that there's endless lore about the early startup days and then the end where the company gets big, but not much clarity about what happens in between?

It's kind of like one of those "comeuppance" montage scenes (Wall Street's Bud Fox come-up is my personal favorite) that shows the time-lapse of the Founder struggling, and then all of a sudden on top with all the fancy things.

No One Sees it Coming

I've interviewed countless Founders of every possible industry who have "made it" and I always ask them the same question: "When did you realize you were about to be successful?"

They alwa...

When Amazon released Alexa, a speech recognition interface, many saw a great potential in this revolutionary technology. What is even greater about Alexa is that it is changing every single day, in better, as new features and new abilities are added to it. Due to this, new technologies are emerging and people around the world enjoy different exciting experiences. The idea of having intelligent personal assistance under the shape of revolutionary technologies is very attractive to more and more people. One of the most recent updates that concern the range of tasks Alexa can perform is to allow its users to check their finances and even manage money by just using voice commands. This skill was developed and released by Welto.IO, a financial ...

A little more than a year ago I read Brian Halligan’s great post about his scale-up leadership lessons over 9 years as HubSpot’s CEO. It’s an awesome read and I recommend everyone to go check it out. In it I was introduced to The Bus Analogy (which assumably originates from Jim Collins’ Good to Great). And as Brian writes, it goes something like this:

I have used the 🚌 analogy ever since to sta...

Don’t miss out! Check out the previous editions here:

–Getting Your Idea Going: There is no perfect idea
–Getting Your Idea Going: Popular Excuses for Not Starting
–Getting Your Idea Going: When to Jump Ship
–Getting Your Idea Going: Don’t Quit your Day Job
–Getting Your Idea Going: Share your Idea with Everyone
–Getting Your Idea Going: How to Validate your Idea

The inception of your startup is by far the most overwhelming because every task is due immediately and all of them have to come together in order to get anywhere at all.

You need to incorporate (what the heck is a ‘Subchapter S-Corporation?’), you need to design a logo, you need to figure out how social media works.

It’s bananas.

If you keep thinking in terms of doing so many thi...

Startups run on money but survive by optimism.

The greatest currency in our startup is our wildly insane, totally manufactured optimism that things might actually work out, even in the face of everything taking a giant crap on us. That of course sounds inspiring, but when we're actually living in that position when everywhere we turn things are falling apart, it's hard to pretend we can just put on a happy face and make everything a resounding positive.

This isn't a pep talk though — it's a game plan. The difference between letting our startups implode and bringing them from the brink of destruction is how we plan through this mess. As a 9-time startup Founder myself, I can tell you it sucks every. single. time. There's nothing cool about ...

Founder: The person who started the company. It is someone who has an idea and creates a business around that idea. They are the “Founding Father” or "Founding Mother" of the company, as the company would have never existed without them creating it. They are often focused on vision and big picture of the start up. They are generally the business owner, or at least one of them.

CEO: The head of the company, responsible for overseeing all aspects of it and making sure everything runs smoothly. The Chief Executive Officer runs it as a business, sets the long term plans and drives towards success. They also communicate directly to the board of directors. A Professional CEO will have the distinction of having risen through the ranks, and brings ...

Cybersecurity has become a priority for policymakers at every level of government and a major point of emphasis for businesses in nearly every sector. Not surprisingly, some think it will be the biggest issue companies will face in 2017.

So, Why is Cybersecurity important?

While major security breaches at large corporations like Yahoo receive the most attention, small business owners should be just as concerned with implementing appropriate cybersecurity measures as their more established counterparts.

Young businesses have a lot at stake — you’re just starting to build trust with new customers and establish relationships in your network — and the financial costs and damage to your reputation caused by a data breach can often turn into a se...

A Founder that doesn't understand startup finance is a liability to the company.

The very survival of a startup comes down to whether we have enough cash to survive. If the Founder can't answer that question, it'd be like hopping on a jet with a pilot that doesn't understand how to read the altimeter, compass, or fuel gauge. They might be a great pilot, but without knowing the fundamentals, that trip is going to end poorly.

Fortunately, Founders don't need an MBA in finance to be competent, we just need to understand a few basic principles very well. While I'm the Founder + CEO of Startups.com, I'm also our CFO. That's because I learned long ago that with a solid understanding of just a few key principles, we can make (and avoid!) really cr...

All salespeople — even top stars who seem to have innate abilities to close deals — can benefit when they have reliable selling tactics; so can their employers. Yet far too many startups are filled with starry-eyed salespeople operating like lone wolves. As each goes his own way, the sales experience becomes fragmented and less attractive to prospects and clients.

Don’t think it’s just a small business problem, though. The issue faces even longstanding behemoths like Sears Holdings: It’s big, but it’s not immune to problems associated with crumbling, chaotic, and undependable sales strategies. According to CNN Monday, by the final quarter of 2017, Sears Holdings reported a $558 million loss, cementing annual consecutive losses since 2010. I...