SAFE Notes – Excel Worksheet Attached

Fred Wilson has written about Un-SAFE notes. In a nutshell: they're not less expensive, and they hide some dilution problems when stacked. Because that's not always obvious, here is an Excel Worksheet to play around with. >> Download the Excel Worksheet. << The worksheet uses some circular references, so go to File > Options > … Continue reading SAFE Notes – Excel Worksheet Attached

Sales — Five fast ways to get rid of unwanted sales calls.

Don't pick up. "I think you have the wrong number. We are a commercial waste processor for pig and cow cadavers." "I'm just an end user. I don't know who made the buying decision, or why. It's what we were told to use." "I am just an end user. I don't know what our budget … Continue reading Sales — Five fast ways to get rid of unwanted sales calls.

Post-Funding: Trigger Spend on Milestones, not Timeline.

Dave Kellogg is an outstanding leader and thinker -- go and follow his blog posts if you're not already doing so. He has a lot of good advice on planning and spending after getting funding ("post-funding"). Two of my portfolio companies went through the pleasure of raising a new round of financing last month.  There … Continue reading Post-Funding: Trigger Spend on Milestones, not Timeline.

Sales: “I’m so glad I could help.”

Selling is a service. You are solving a real problem. You are addressing a valuable need -- doing nothing or doing the wrong thing could have catastrophic consequences for your customers . But if you are just selling to make your quota you are neither helping yourself nor are you helping your startup and executive … Continue reading Sales: “I’m so glad I could help.”