Break Down Complex Problems with First Principle Thinking

An instrument for decomposing complex problems into simplified solutions, is the strategy of first principles thinking, often otherwise known as reasoning from first principles, and is often leveraged by self-made geniuses such as Elon Musk. In other words, a form of mental reverse engineering. Techtello best puts it as realigning your mindset to demarcate from […]

Co-Founder Conflict is the #1 Startup Killer. How Can You Protect Your Startup

Conflict Resolution Management is a skill that many trained project managers learn, when working with stakeholders, but something that young entrepreneurs never learn, until it really happens. In fact 62% of startups fail because of co-founder conflicts, and it’s something that really scares venture capitalists. In fact, there’s a saying in Silicon Valley that it’s better […]

Startup 101 – Composing your board of advisors

We have just talked about how to compose your board of directors, last post, but what about composing your board advisors? Broadly speaking, board of advisors serve to counsel you on matters based on their experience, whilst not being financially invested the same way your board of directors are.  An advisory board is a body that provides […]

Startup 101 – Composing your Board of Directors

As a founder, one of the critical yet often overlooked tasks is forming your board of directors. Picking the right composition of your board is the difference between having a functional company that is productive and competitive, and those that are deadlocked and hampered by greedy, self-interested individuals that make the process of decision-making near-impossible. […]

Capture the Attention of Venture Capitalists with the 10|20|30 Rule

A man I respect a lot, @guykawasaki, who has worked with Apple, Google and has been behind a lot of great venture projects under Garage Technology Ventures, evangelizes a great approach towards capturing the interested investor or investors, without over-burdening them with unnecessary crap. It’s called the 10|20|30 rule. Simply put, it means: 10 Slides in your presentation […]

Startup Lingo: What are Convertible Notes?

Continuing on from my first article on what is Common Stock, we now move on to understanding what are Convertible Notes, in our quest towards understanding the lingo you will need when dealing with Venture Capitalists. What is a convertible note? As a founder in the early stages of your startup looking to get some cash to […]

Listen to your competitor’s customers

An interesting article on the merits of not just listening to your own customers, but your competitors’ customers as well, thanks to medium.com Much has been written about wether or not you should worry about your competitors or completely ignore them. A quick Google search brings ups many opinions one way or the other. Every […]

What I Learned Negotiating With Steve Jobs

An interesting article I stumbled upon that provides a bit of an insight into negotiations.  Enjoy Heidi Roizen’s piece in her dealings with Steve, below; (source: http://heidiroizen.tumblr.com/post/80368150370/what-i-learned-negotiating-with-steve-jobs) Fresh out of Stanford Business School, I started a software company, T/Maker, with my brother Peter. He was the software architect and I was, well, everything else. Our […]