Xanthomonas axonopodis: a disease affecting citrus trees that can affect the vitality of the entire citrus grove, also known as citrus canker. Have you ever picked up an orange and noticed some discoloration on the peel but decided to eat it anyways? So you eat this orange, but you know you looked at the piece of fruit beforehand and questioned it, even if it was ever so … [Read more...]
7 Tips On How To Manage A Startup Board
MVP, bootstrapping, honing the product, now we’re raising money, hiring a team, managing the accounts, marketing, customer interaction, shit I forgot about the cleaning the office and what, now I have to manage a board of directors? If you decide to take the fundraising route then sooner or later you will have to assume the task of managing a motley crew of board members who … [Read more...]
Make Your Startup Go Viral: The Secrets Behind Viral Loops Revealed
I want to make my startup go viral. I beg it of you; please shower me with your dark magic secrets to customer acquisition. What is it that makes startups such as Quizup grow from zero to 3 million users in less than 3 weeks? What kind of skullduggery is this? Are you Gandalf? Sound familiar? Maybe not in that fashion but you get my point. With fierce competition and … [Read more...]
5 Questions You Must Ask Yourself Before Joining A Startup
Being able to build something you love that has the potential to change the world (whether for good or evil) coupled with the potential to amass some serious wealth is why we are seeing an increasing amount of the workforce jump ship and paddle off to startup land. Corporates are facing the realization that their jobs that were once so safe and secure are actually not. And … [Read more...]
Software Developers: Hire Local or Outsource Abroad?
In an ideal world, your initial founding team would consist of a highly experienced full stack engineer, a product visionary and someone with business acumen. As life doesn’t always hand out the perfect situation on a silver platter, we sometimes have to take alternative routes to achieve our wildest goals. That’s why sometimes we outsource. Yeah you heard me. I said it. I … [Read more...]
Why Startup Job Titles Mean Diddly-Squat
Supreme leader, Chief of staff, President, believe me I’ve met them all. I’m not referring to my previous life as an international figurehead, but rather to the many and oh so varied startup job titles I’ve come across. Although these commanding titles are better suited for the military/political world, I’m seeing them adopted by startup teams, ever so slightly distorting the … [Read more...]
How Much Do I Pay Myself? An Entrepreneur’s Dilemma
Although not a prime driver in Maslow’s hierarchy or in other motivational theories, we all like making money. If not for the buzz of being able to launch dollar bills at girls in bikinis like a wannabe rap star, then at least for preventing an explosive stress disorder when you can no longer pay any of your bills. As a founder of any company, determining what to pay … [Read more...]
Tips On How To Value A Startup
You’ve probably heard, read or asked the question “How do I value a startup?” more times than you've promised yourself that Monday will be the start to a new healthy regime. It’s one of the most frequently asked questions and regrettably it has no definitive answer. The art of valuing an early stage company is just that, it’s art. A blended contextual montage of science, … [Read more...]
A Startup’s Financial Projections: What Investors SHOULD Be Looking For
The world of startups is fast-paced, unpredictable and constantly evolving. The same goes for my choice in breakfast cereal. This is not the case for large corporations where dramatic and unpredictable shifts are much less frequent. So why enforce and advocate the use of institutional financial modeling to startups? It makes no sense I tell you. A large corporation that … [Read more...]
7 Startup Tips To Supercharge Your Productivity
How do you do everything at once and get it all done on time without neglecting family, work or your newly founded addiction to hand gliding? Even with the feast of theories and solutions on how to be more productive, time management is still one of the top challenges for most entrepreneurs. I’m looking at you! Just as a one-stop shop for startups doesn’t exist, neither does … [Read more...]