Where’s the Beef? – 4 Ways to Succeed When it Looks Like You Shouldn’t
I love a good mystery. I’m the guy who usually figures out the plot to the movie halfway through. Honestly, it’s fun but also a little disappointing to solve the plot too early in the film. That’s why I love a plot that stumps me right up to the end. Today I’d like us to have […]
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5 Core Principles of Agile Company Growth and Funding – Life Hacks for Vision Masters #5
The other day I was observing a group of ants efficiently pursuing their objectives on a foraging mission in my new garden. When a barrier emerged, such as a small pool of water, they’d explore its edges, quickly huddle, seek a path around the water, communicate to the foraging troops, then move on toward the […]
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The Key to Successful Relationships with Investors
One evening recently I received an urgent call from a client. “We need your help, Rob,” the client’s anxious voice said. I asked what the problem was. “We have two investors, each offering a different type of deal and we can’t decide which to go with.” Now, I realize that this qualifies as one of […]
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Fundraising is No “Bull” or is it? – The Science of Funding Part II
In my last post, I introduced you to the concept of a science for fundraising. By analogy, I described briefly some of the work in trial science as illustrated in the CBS television show “Bull,” which is based on the early career of Dr. Phil McGraw. In trial science, the goal is to select a […]
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Raising Capital Is No “Bull”, Or Is It?
Raising capital is no bull Have you ever tried to solve Rubik’s Cube? How did you do? How long did it take? Did you get some outside assistance? It’s a deceptively difficult puzzle, isn’t it? A simple cube, six sides, each side bearing nine smaller sections of the same color. You mix them all up […]
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Raising Capital – aka “Meet the Parents”
I’m sure you’re familiar with the old saying “you never get a second chance to make a first impression.” Probably you can recall a time in your life when you tried hard to make a great first impression, but the more you tried the worse things went. Perhaps you’ve seen “Meet the Parents,” starring Robert […]
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Jedi Mind Tricks to Win Investors
We’ve devoted plenty of time on this blog to look carefully at the idea of developing and deepening investor trust. I encourage you to continue to review these posts and to apply the principles I’ve shared because they work. For those who haven’t spent much time reading my posts on trust, please do yourself a […]
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The Master Funding Equation – Power Recap
The Master Funding Equation – Power Recap You’ll recall from high school algebra that solving an equation generally amounts to balancing both sides. The Master Funding Equation (MFE) is similarly an equation that, when balanced, provides the solution of a maximization of your chances for funding. So, what are we attempting to balance? Expectations. Yours […]
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Master Funding Formula – Do A "Vulcan Mindmeld" with Investors – #1
I hope you found the recent foray into the mind of Elon Musk to be valuable to you in developing your company’s senior team. I can’t emphasize enough how important team composition is to your future growth — not to mention specifically for gaining investor capital. Today, I want to return to our Master Funding […]
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The Fine Line Between Scaling Up . . .or Not (Part 3)
Have you seen the movie Grand Canyon, starring Danny Glover, Kevin Kline, Steve Martin plus a host of great supporting cast members? It is a movie with a clear message: there is a fine line between rich/poor, love/hate, marriage/divorce, success/failure. I thought about the movie as I wrote this final post about scaling up, because […]
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