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Here at Startups.co, we do our best to help Founders and other startup folks build better businesses. As part of our mission, we love sharing the experience and perspective from some of the most seasoned Founders in the Startup Scene, who drive change and have gained a unique perspective as a result of their experience.

In this interview, Craig Newmark, who founded craigslist.org, talks about how doing well by doing good can be an effective business model.

Wil Schroter: Founders worry all the time that there is some big, looming “Grim Reaper of their Business” that will come and get them if they don’t react accordingly. People have tried to be the Grim Reaper of craigslist since your inception. Of all the threats, what was the one that fe...

Whenever I sit down with a soon-to-be startup founder or a prospective employee at my startup, I always ask one fundamental question:

“Is your spouse cool with what you’re about to do?”

In my book, it’s all that matters. Having the support of your spouse can make or break an entrepreneur or anyone working in the startup world.

Or, said differently, not having their support is a recipe for disaster.

You Can’t Fight Two Wars

Working at a startup is a grind that takes every ounce of your energy to create something from nothing. If you come home with even an ounce of energy to spare, it’s a gift.

So, if you walk through the door at home, and you’re presented with an entirely new war to fight, it sucks.

No one has enough energy to fight one batt...

It was recently reported that the co-Founder of WeWork Adam Neumann took over $700 million off the table from investors long before the company had gone public.

How do these Founders go about getting cash out of their startups long before the startups ever cash out themselves?

Why would investors let me take money off the table?

Investors will often dangle the option of providing some Founder liquidity only when the deal they are trying to get into feels incredibly competitive.

This happens only rarely, and only amongst investors who are open to providing some Founder liquidity (some are very against it!).

Generally speaking, it only helps the investor by allowing them to get into the deal but provides very little upside to the company a...

Think money motivates your employees? Sure. But it’s not the biggest motivator.

Many entrepreneurs believe that digging into their pocketbooks will help drive employee engagement, but the reality is that 67% of workers say praise and commendation from a manager is what truly motivates [Tweet This] (vs. the 52% who say an increase in base pay does the trick).

Instead, consider making quality time with each employee a priority, pick up a personal tangible gift, offer a high five or fist bump, tell them they’re doing a great job or pitch in on a task. Connect with them. They’ll respect you more and work harder as a result.

This infographic takes a look at the truth behind employee motivation and how you can motivate your workforce without reac...

The first thing to realize as a founder is that many investors make quick judgements and bucket founders into basic groups: “promising” or “not promising.” Unfortunately, many judgements are influenced by widely held beliefs, and generalizations about someone’s age or gender that may or may not be relevant to the present situation. For instance, an investor may automatically perceive a young white male with a CS degree from Stanford as more qualified than a female founder of equal or greater status even if he has had significantly less experience. According to a recent Babson College Report, only 15% of VC-backed startups have a female founder, and just 2.7% of Venture Capital backed companies have female CEOs. Moreover, the report also co...

Are you in the startup or growth and establishment phase of your business? Odds are you’re already thinking about the importance of location.

Where you’re located might not be a huge concern when you’re the sole member of your “team”. However, once you grow the business past a critical point, you’ll need to attract additional talent and investment.

The temptation to set up shop in an inexpensive city is entirely understandable. On the face of it, it seems the most cost-effective option. After all, startup hubs such as New York, San Francisco, London, and Singapore regularly rank in the top 10 most expensive cities in the world, both for cost of living and cost of doing business. So why not go somewhere cheaper? Or even further afield: to a ...

How do business loans work?

A business loan is an amount of money a business borrowers from a financial institution, with set requirements for the amount of time it will take to pay back, as well as interest rates. Businesses get loans in order to help them start or to fund expansion. They’re one of a range of funding options for startups.

Here’s a look at how business loans work, starting with the types of business loans that are available to startups and right through to how to apply for a business loan.

Types of business loans for startups

There are five main types of business loans that are relevant for startups: SBA small business loans, business credit lines, short term loans, invoice financing, and merchant cash advances. Let’s take...

There are busy entrepreneurs, and then there are people who live, eat, breath, and sleep work. They’re driven by a passion for getting the job done, and they are most happy when they’re being productive. In fact, a study from the University of Warwick found that happiness can make people up to 12% more productive.

Are the most effective, successful, and productive entrepreneurs killing it with their daily schedule because they’re happy, or is there something else driving them?

I recently sat down with serial entrepreneur Neil Patel, someone I consider to be one of the busiest, hardest-working people I know.

With multiple successful startups under his belt, like Kissmetrics and Crazy Egg (and a constant stream of new content on NeilPatel.c...

Don’t miss out! Be sure to check out Chapter 1!

CHAPTER TWO: Create Tools To Prioritize, Deflect & Destroy

In This Chapter:

1. Create a priority contact list to sort email quickly
2. Buy more time to respond with time-delaying filters
3. Send unnecessary emails to purgatory

Take a few minutes and reflect on what you’ve accomplished this past week. We’ll wait.

Ready?

How much of your day was spent handling random, one-off things that either could have been handled by someone else, or took priority over what you really needed to get done?

Yeah, we thought so. Fortunately, we have got you covered. We can get through this together.

While we suggest joining forces with one of our stellar VA’s—You can take care of the enemy that is email by doing one...

One year. Did you know that’s the average tenure of an employee at giants like Google and Amazon?

When the average salary for a Google software engineer is $111,149, you can’t really argue that the tech giants underpay their employees. So why do good employees leave high-paying jobs so quickly, and what can companies do to combat it?

Motivation and “Progress”

Harvard professor Teresa Amabile conducted a study observing the daily activities and motivations of several hundred employees over the course of a few years and found external incentives, such as salary and perks, have little to do with employee tenure.

She notes, “the key to motivation…doesn’t depend on elaborate incentive systems” at all. In fact, Amabile’s study revealed the top mo...