Blog
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Entrepreneurs and Imposter Syndrome
The Easiest Way to Spot an Entrepreneur with Imposter Syndrome: They Don’t Have Revenue Some founders will drone on and on telling you how “innovative” they are. They highlight their patents, their clever ideas, their…
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AI Startups: Protect Everything EXCEPT the Patent
Short version: For most AI companies, patents on “using AI for X” don’t protect you. They backfire by revealing your method while remaining practically unenforceable. The competitive advantage is in your data, processes, distribution, and…
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Strategic Partnerships are often Neither
Strategic Partnerships are a polite way of saying “we don’t own the most important parts of our business.” Every founder loves to brag about their “strategic partnerships.” The name sounds impressive, but hides a glaring…
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The Company as the Product
Building a company that can be sold is building a different product for a different customer. Serving two masters – but they are compatible. The first master is the customer who buys your product, and…
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Nobody Buys Technology – They Buy Solutions
Nobody cares about your technology. 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…
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Build Your Company Backwards: How to Align With Angel and VC Expectations
If you can’t explain why someone will pay 10x to buy your company, you’re not ready to raise a dime. When you’re raising outside capital — especially from angels or venture funds — you’re not…
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When Your Capital Strategy Kills Your Commercial Value
How “licensing-only” businesses can get caught in the angel/venture minefield. Let’s walk through the math that every angel investor does. This company is raising money at a 15 million dollar post-money valuation. For us as…
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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.…
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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…
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Bad Advice – Non-publication Requests for Patents
How incompetent patent attorneys hide their work product from public view. Occasionally, I run into patents where the patent attorney talks the client into a non-publication request. This is always a bad thing. Non-publication requests…