ABF: Always Be Fundraising. Should you really always be fundraising? Here are some tips on how to evaluate if this is right for you.

This week I’m covering startup maxims—tthose little phrases we all repeat to each other as common wisdom but may or may not be true, helpful, or relevant.

Today’s maxim: “Ask for money, get advice. Ask for advice, get money.”

Just as the purpose of the deck is not to get a check, it’s to get the first meeting. The purpose of the first meeting is…

A VC’s job is to say “no.” Now knowing that, how do you adjust your approach?

If you aren’t getting positive feedback from the market, don’t start adding things. Strip the product down to its core basic value prop.

Founders are efficiency-seeking missiles, which is what compels them to start businesses, but it’s a double-edged sword.

The CEO is responsible for three things: communicate the vision, hire great people, and don’t run out of money. But it all boils down to just one thing.

“This will not be your last startup.”

My friend Eric is a very successful startup founder who has been a CEO coach for the last decade. When founders come to him to ask if they should shut down their startup, he runs this process with them.

There are ways to shut down: The Ghost, The Bonfire, The Refund. But there’s also a great way to sell your startup. That advice is not mine to share, so go read this presentation by Geoff Lewis: The Terminal Plan