Save the big announcements for big deals — If you want to give your new business a decent shot at success, you need to build traction — clear, measurable evidence that people are interested in what your company is offering. And that won’t happen on Day One. So why do startups make big, splashy announcements the day they…

The more revenue you have coming in, the better the chances you can raise (and not waste) investor funds — At startups, the difference between survival and running out of runway always comes down to taking our eyes off revenue. We don’t want to do this, and we certainly don’t do it on purpose. But when we’re in the middle of the startup run, it’s pretty easy to fall into…

I think I figured out the next billion-dollar opportunity — A ton of ink and money is being dropped on figuring out what Generative AI can do to generate even more ink and more money. But while that hype tornado continues to swirl, I wonder if there’s a contrarian bet to be made on being uniquely human. Here’s my theory…

Low-tech solutions make it easy to go fast and break stuff, and that’s a problem — If you’re going to use low-tech solutions within your business, in any capacity, whether it’s building an app from scratch on a no-code platform or integrating a pre-built credit card form into your order flow, there’s one golden rule you need to stick to: Just because you can do something…

Predicting outcomes is a much more valuable proposition than creating content — There are a lot of reasons why the current hype around artificial intelligence is overblown. Don’t get me wrong, the recent advancements in generative A.I. are impressive, game-changing, almost magical. But those advancements are advancements only in a specific niche of A.I., and they’re most definitely not magical. You can…

Fake talent can sink your company. Here’s how to sniff it out. — Hiring talent that doesn’t live up to the claims made on a resume and in an interview can be a company killer. This has happened to me, several times over. It has happened to friends and colleagues. It could happen to anyone. In fact, it recently happened to a founder…

I get tired of hearing this — I’ve been told that my startup isn’t really a startup several times over 25 years. Founders who come to me for help hear the same thing a lot. They’re told that their business, regardless of the innovation they’re fostering or even the money it’s making, isn’t really a startup. I…

But Creative People Make Awesome Entrepreneurs — One of my investor friends has a habit of introducing me as a “rock star.” He means it affectionately, so it’s flattering. It’s just not true. I’m not a startup rock star. I know this because I used to be an actual rock star. For like five minutes. I’ll get…

Words mean things. Maybe not this one. — What’s the most important thing you look for in a new hire? If you say “fit,” then you’ll probably get a lot of people nodding their heads in agreement with you. But what are you really saying? Look, there’s nothing wrong with the concept of fit on its own. In…