Follow up (or shut up)

True story: I recently spent about two weeks with ten companies on a ship, traveling from Morocco to Spain whilst working with these companies on their businesses. Four weeks after the voyage only one of the entrepreneurs we worked with has followed up. And with follow up I don’t even…

What to look for in an Incubator/Accelerator

Recently I’ve spent time deconstructing the value-add a startup should get from an incubator/accelerator (note that I say should — all too often incubators are simple dog and pony shows aimed solely at getting a startup to their next round of funding).

Don’t compare yourself to others

You are not Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg or any other poster child entrepreneur. And that’s okay.

We all start out in different places, and everyone’s journey is unique. Drawing comparison is a complete waste of time.

Just be yourself. You’re doing great.

The “Less than 5 Minutes” Rule

I consider myself a “giver” — I find it deeply gratifying to help other people. A lot of my friends are givers. Being a giver not only feels good, it also creates room for serendipity.

Cultivate your Culture

As your organization grows from the original set of founders to a handful of people and beyond I believe one of the most important things you have to do as a founder is to create, define and cultivate your culture. Too many startups are founded on a very strong internal culture —…

Advisor Compensation

Here’s some practical advice: From time to time I get asked how you properly compensate advisors and/or board members. Usually the preconceived notion when it comes to equity compensation is way, way of the chart: I regularly hear people throw out numbers in the 1% to 5% range.

What’s your Passion?

One of the more interesting (and somewhat heated) debates ensued lately over the question if someone who is building a company merely based on the commercial opportunity and without much passion for the actual product is a “real” entrepreneur.

Stay Stupid

Here are the three dumbest people I can think of: Steve Jobs, Elon Musk and Richard Branson.

Why?

Because any smart person understands that what they set out to do is impossible. And yet.