Talk to me about building companies and you might as well block out half of the day! How about building teams that are like constellations of stars? Move over – I will show you! It is a subject I spend a lot of time on, since my own personal experience and countless research has shown that…
Category Archives: Startups
Building Compensation Package Series (part 1): Startup Equity Compensation Framework 2.0
Let me start by saying that building a total compensation package is HARD! This is an extremely important component of business planning, but many executives end up “winging” it. Instead of taking time to do the math and some modeling, we just slap something together and pray our compensation structure won’t crumble. For me personally,…
Stars vs. Constellations – 3 Steps to Building Solid High-performing Teams
Anyone who has spent considerable time in early stage startups and fast growing scalable businesses will tell you that sustainable growth companies are built by teams of shining constellations rather than just several bright stars. A team of people that is able to feed off each other and grow together will beat any company comprised…
Beware of “Normal” People in Startups and High-growth Companies
I needed a little hiatus from my blog, but lately too many people have been asking when the heck I am going to get back to it. Point taken – time to reorganize my priority list. Since I usually recruit talent for my teams, I often hear from acquaintances how they know someone “just so…
How to Avoid Turning Your Startup into a Dysfunctional Family
A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by a journalist from Wall Street Journal. We had a great conversation about the current labor market, hiring challenges, and how to build the right company culture. He ended up taking the article in another direction, but now I’m happy to be able to finally share what…
How to Get It All Done with 2 People in Your company
EditMe is a two person startup. We consider ourselves a startup, because we’re still searching for the product/market fit that can result in scalable growth. But, we’re a bit different from your typical startup in that EditMe has bootstrapped every stage of growth by providing real value to customers who have validated (or not validated)…
What To Look For In a Chief Right Hand Person (COO, VP of Operations)
Last week a founder of a software development company asked what to look for in a COO on answers.onstartups.com. Since this is a fairly common question to me, I decided to expand upon the answer I posted and further describe what attributes a great business operations leader/professional should possess. Bit of background: I have been…
Perfecting Your Way to Irrelevance – Six Sigma in the Startup
In the late 90’s, the Six Sigma quality improvement process swept through the corporate world, led by early and vocal adapters such as Motorola and GE. For those who are not familiar with Six Sigma, it is a process for making significant quality improvements through a rigorous five-step data- and statistical-based approach (Define, Measure, Analyze,…
How a Foosball Table Can Kill Your Startup – part 2
Since an article I wrote in June of 2009 called “How a foosball table can kill your startup” is still sparking attention and conversation, I think the time is ripe for me to expand on the topic. Yes, I still believe that tchotchke “benefits” do nothing but waste money. Instead, use your resources to attract…
How To Be an Entrepreneur/Intrapreneur and Not Ruin Your Marriage
The associated risks of starting a company are hard enough when you are young and unattached (though lack of experience and naïveté keeps you brave and motivated). But being in a long-term relationship, married, or a parent adds a whole new level of complications, risks, and motivations. It is not surprising that VCs like investing…