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Contempt from Crowdfunded Equity
Entrepreneurs are stuck between two polar opposites. On one hand, they are encouraged – endlessly – to hype, hype, hype. The accelerators and incubators want to see astronomical projections, Total Addressable Markets in the trillions, and hockey stick growth. Entrepreneurs need to attract attention, and the more they hype and over promise, the more attention…
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Entrepreneurs and Imposter Syndrome
Some founders will drone on and on telling you how “innovative” they are. They highlight their patents, their clever ideas, their alma mater from decades ago. But without customers and cash flow, that’s just posturing. Real innovation is not what you dream up in the lab—it’s what you prove in the market.
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AI Startups: Protect Everything EXCEPT the Patent
Short version: One dividing line decides the patent question for artificial intelligence (“AI”) companies. The same feature “done with AI” is not worth patenting—keep it a trade secret. A feature that was never before possible—the detectable, tangible result the customer buys—is the patent worth owning, and it carries more weight as software gets cheaper to…
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Strategic Partnerships are often Neither
Every founder loves to brag about their “strategic partnerships.” The name sounds impressive, but hides a glaring truth:
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The Company as the Product
Serving two masters – but they are compatible. The first master is the customer who buys your product, and the second master is the one who buys your company.
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Nobody Buys Technology – They Buy Solutions
Entrepreneurs love to talk about their technology. Endlessly. Ad nauseam. And when it’s time to raise money or sell the company[1], they make the same mistake: they lead with the tech.
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Build Your Company Backwards: How to Align With Angel and VC Expectations
When you’re raising outside capital — especially from angels or venture funds — you’re not just pitching your company. You’re implicitly making a promise: that their investment will turn into a significant return, typically a 10x outcome over five to seven years.
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When Your Capital Strategy Kills Your Commercial Value
Let’s walk through the math that every angel investor does.
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A License is NOT Selling Your Technology – It is Selling Exclusivity
I recently heard a pitch from a startup with remarkable technology – a genetically modified seed that signaled when it’s under stress. Instead of waiting for crops to wilt, farmers could respond early, boosting yields. The data was strong. The science worked.
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What Angel Investors Want to Hear vs What is Best for the Startup?
We looked at a company who had been more or less steady-state for several years but wanted an infusion of cash. They were operating in two smaller markets without fully capturing either of the two smaller, midwest cities, but were coming to investors asking for additional funds.