In our new book, Entrepreneur's Guide to The Lean Brand, Jeremiah Gardner and I tackle how relationships build passionate customers. In our view, products should fulfill a utility promise -- this functionality solves a that specific problem. But fulfilling the promise can only create 'satisfactio...
The answer to your question will depend on many factors that are not clear in your question: what is your nationality? do you hold an EU passport? What is your budget range? What is your risk profile like? Expected/desired ROI? What is your present age and retirement timeline? What is your prefer...
What of the following things does your startup have? > Founders who have graduated from prestigious universities / previously exited companies to known acquirers / worked for a known companies (with known being a brand-name company such as Google, Amazon, Facebook etc) > Three or more months of ...
What's your end goal? Do you want to be a great employee? Or a business owner? What kind of a business owner--hands on, or Olympian? Big differences. Specialized skills are what's necessary for being a great employee or hands-on business owner. If you want to be a leading, delegating, deal-mak...
1. Make sure you have a great list. By "great" I mean targeted to the specific demographic and psychographic profile of your market. 2. Make sure you have a great message and offer. 3. If you aren't a skilled copywriter - hire one. Consider your cost of client acquisition (and if you haven't calc...
As in most investing questions, it depends. I have seen many, many variations, but the basic designs are made up of debt instruments and equity instruments, usually with a combination. The decision on how to construct the "deal" is all around risk and yield. The higher the risk, the higher the y...
The most powerful element of your brand in the early-stage of your startup is your reputation. Every interaction you have can positively build (or negatively impact) your brand. This can't be bought, but can be easily lost. Common ways I've seen start-ups lose their reputation early: 1) Not l...
I have built spec houses, built tract houses against contracts, renovated houses and flipped houses. One way to fund projects like this is a rich partner or partners who puts up collateral (like an LC) so that you can borrow to complete your projects. If the first one is successful, you would be ...
I have had a lot of experience of being mentored and mentoring. I think you should separate the search for a mentor from the search for an investor. A mentor should be a disinterested guide to life and business. An investor is going to look at you and your business as a way of buying a retirem...
Hi, Before giving you the practical tips, it is important to first point out 3 things: A) You should be 100% sure that you really need a co-founder (versus using a freelancer or employee which may be sufficient). B) Investors usually take a deep look into the team and prefer founders that have w...