Forums Search

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...

Update (12/7/17): The previous video lesson is no longer available and we’ve since removed it. However, you can still see more from Morgan Brown including his lesson on Growth From User 0.

If you’re serious about growing your startup, you know that early user acquisition is a crucial moment and going from 0 to 10,000 customers is the hardest part. Morgan Brown, head growth expert at GrowthHackers.com, shares his insider tricks on how to get the early traction you need.

In this video, Brown discusses why growth is absolutely a team sport and must be something that everyone in your company is involved with—it must be fundamentally built into the product.

(Video removed – no longer available)

If you want to learn more about early user acquisi...

You’ve probably heard of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, right? Just in case you’ve been living under a rock — here is a quick recap:

In 1943, a psychologist named Abraham Maslow proposed that humans have a five “levels” of needs, usually drawn in the shape of a pyramid.

The needs at the bottom of the pyramid are physiological needs that are necessary for survival: food, water, warmth, rest.

The next level up is “safety,” followed by “belongingness and love,” then “esteem,” and, at the very top of the pyramid, “self-actualization.” The basic idea is that humans need to meet those basic needs first, before they can be concerned about the needs further up the pyramid.

Makes sense, right? You can’t really think about transcendence when your stom...

Last week I had a great conversation with a Startups.com employee who was leaving to join another company. During the conversation I repeated the same thing I've told hundreds of departed employees, "This isn't the last time we'll work together, so while I'm sad to see you leave, I'm pumped to team up again later."

Why would we tell someone that's leaving how excited we are to be working together in the future? Because if we've been in this game long enough, we realize how many of those relationships do in fact come around again... and again... and again.

As Founders, especially veteran ones, we begin to learn that every single person we work with is part of a larger "workforce" of future hires that becomes some of our most reliable talent...

Nancy Duarte is a pro when it comes to presentations. Not just giving presentations, but starting them, finishing them, and every step in between. Author and co-founder of Duarte Designs, Nancy Duarte is a seasoned veteran when it comes to incorporating storytelling into speaking and creating connections with an audience.

Learn How To Present Your Pitch

The below video is the final part in a series of 10 in which Nancy shares the key components to making a successful startup pitch using creativity and critical thinking. Find out what she has to say:

Learnings from Nancy’s TED Talk

If you’ve ever watched a TED Talk, you know that they’re packed with enough inspiration, wisdom, and advice to make you go out and save the world before the nigh...

Continuing in Phase Three of a four-part Funding Series:

Phase One - Structuring a Fundraise

Phase Two - Investor Selection

Phase Three - The Pitch

• Part 1 - Anatomy of a Pitch

• Part 2 - Market Size (←YOU ARE HERE 😀)

• Part 3 - Revenue Model

• Part 4 - Operating Model

• Part 5 - Customer Definition

• Part 6 - Customer Acquisition

• Part 7 - Funding

• Part 8 - Key Pitch Assets

• Part 9 - Traction

Phase Four - Investor Outreach

This is Part 2 of “The Pitch” — where we look at market size, how to go about estimating market size, and presenting potential market size.

Let’s dive in!

Market Sizing

Solving the Problem beautifully is nice and all, but if the Market Size of the Problem isn't big enough, you're not likely to get investors very excited.

The Market Size explai...

Creating culture doesn’t just seem easier at a startup — it is easier.

When you’re a four-person team, you’re family. Collaboration comes naturally, and with everyone in every meeting, miscommunication is all but impossible. Scheduling a happy hour? It’s as simple as sending a text.

Then, you grow. You’re grateful to have help, of course, but that familial feeling fades a bit. No longer can everyone fit around the same restaurant table. Spontaneous outings happen less and less often. Communication starts to seem more like a chore than texting friends.

To a degree, cultural shift is natural as your team expands. No 50-person company will be as close as a five-person one. Still, with careful cultivation, your startup culture can be preserved....

What if our current startup success can't be repeated?

As Founders, we're ridiculous optimists, and for all of our "vision" we're pretty damned short-sighted. In our minds, if things are going this good now, it stands to reason that they will go even better in the future. It has to, right? We'll be better connected, more experienced, and way more prepared than we were for our current startups!

But that's not how startups work. The startup game isn't chess, where the conditions are similar and we're just more experienced. It's more like blackjack, where we know a little bit more, but the variability changes on every hand.

Don't Know What You Got, Til It's Gone

(If you sang this last headline in a Cinderella power-ballad, you are my people). ...

Building a new product is one of the most exciting ventures for entrepreneurs. You know you’ve got a great idea, and you’re certain consumers will agree. So you put everything into its development — even though as many as 95 percent of new products fail. That means 19 out of 20 products won’t last the year.

When a startup is blinded by a big idea, it closes its eyes to the bigger picture.

The reasons vary, but the biggest culprit appears to be need. About 42 percent of startup founders say their companies failed because consumers didn’t want what they were selling.

When a startup is blinded by a big idea, it closes its eyes to the bigger picture. Companies waste time getting their product to market by adding features a consumer won’t need. ...

Continuing in Phase Three of a four-part Funding Series:

Phase One - Structuring a Fundraise

Phase Two - Investor Selection

Phase Three - The Pitch

• Part 1 - Anatomy of a Pitch

• Part 2 - Market Size

• Part 3 - Revenue Model ( ←YOU ARE HERE 😀)

• Part 4 - Operating Model

• Part 5 - Customer Definition

• Part 6 - Customer Acquisition

• Part 7 - Funding

• Part 8 - Key Pitch Assets

• Part 9 - Traction

Phase Four - Investor Outreach

Let’s dive in!

What is a revenue model?

Your Revenue Model is simple — how are you going to make money? More importantly, how are you going to be profitable someday? Don’t let the Silicon Valley myth of “valuable companies don’t need a revenue model” become part of your pitch. All companies need a real revenue model that can be reasonably ex...