How to Negotiate Your Salary

Recently a couple of my friends switched jobs. It’s an interesting dance: You want to find a role which allows you to apply your skills in the best possible way, but also challenges and stretches you a bit, so that it doesn’t become boring. You want to find a company you like…

Want Great Employees? Write Better Job Descriptions!

Over the last couple of weeks I have received a series of questions about hiring. How to find talent, how to engage with them, how to evaluate candidates…

The Heretic Book is Here

Eighteen months ago, having just finished my 600th Heretic post, I decided to pick the top 100 dispatches, edit and put them into a little coffee table book. The idea being that the book serves as a little pick-me-up — every time you are looking for some inspiration or an insight, you…

Never Build A Company For The Exit

I am constantly surprised by how many entrepreneurs believe that it’s a good idea to build a company with the sole goal of an exit.

First of all — the odds that your company survives the first few years of its existence are already darn slim…

Share Your Ideas Openly

Maybe one of the best things about my chosen home Silicon Valley is that people generally openly share their ideas to receive and give feedback. Compare this to other markets where entrepreneurs still mostly think that sharing your idea will expose you to the risk of stealing; and…

What Do You Truly Want To Do?

Over the last few weeks I found myself in quite a few impromptu coaching sessions with our amazing Singularity University Global Solutions Program (GSP) participants. As part of the GSP, participants form teams to build companies — focussed on leveraging exponential…

Want to Be Successful? Surround Yourself with Good People.

By now you have heard this a gazillion times: The lore of the lone founder is not only exaggerated but plain wrong. Companies are built by groups of dedicated people, sharing the same vision, believing in the same future and…