What I Learned About Raising A Seed Round, From Cutting My First Check

Over the last 10 years, there has been a ton of information out there about what it takes to raise a seed round, or money in general. I’m not here to rehash the great advice that’s already out there - check out: Mark Suster, Jason Lemkin, Brad Feld, et al. I’ve read tons of it and used that information to pitch investors, as well as advise founders on how to pitch investors and it’s truly applicable, sage advice. However, recently, I made my first angel investment and I wanted to share with you my thought process from the other side of the table (*tip of the hat to Mark Suster*).

*Get a warm introduction from a high-quality contact in the investor’s network* 

In this case, the introduction came from Jamie Hurewitz. Jamie has deep startup experience as a head of legal at high-growth, venture-backed startups, advises many startups and she’s my wife. This past summer, Jamie was advising a cohort of startups through an industry-themed incubator. Out of curiosity, I looked at the startups and soft circled the ones I liked. 

• Would I invest in the market / space? Check

• Do I believe in the problem & solutions? Check

• Is the intro coming from a credible, highly-qualified source in my network? Double Check

*Build Momentum*

Periodically, Jamie would provide me updates on the startups. I became excited to hear the progress and began making some introductions within my own network. It’s during this phase that I began asking if any of the startups were raising money and if I could attend the demo day.

• Is the team making progress / hitting milestones? Check

• Am I excited about the progress they are making? Check

Then came demo day. I was very excited to hear one particular company’s pitch, until they started. They lead with the dreaded, “We just closed an oversubscribed round.” For F^cks Sake (‘FFS’) - this does happen, but man is it a shot in the gut. I shook off the gut punch just in time to hear about more momentum; I was simultaneously sad that I wasn’t going to be a part of this company, while simultaneously being very excited to have spotted and seen the early journey of what I believe is going to be a very exciting, impactful and successful company. Then, the company continued to share milestones that made me even more bullish on their future success. I suggested that Jamie reach out to the company after demo day to ask if they might still consider taking on additional investors. She said she would.

*Are they already on the path*

• Is this company going to be successful without my money? Check

• Am I able to add value, beyond money, to the company? Check

• Are they raising money? FFS

Over the next few weeks, I expressed to Jamie that I was feeling sad that I wasn’t able to get in on the seed round of that one particular company and asked if she had reached out to them yet. Being the busy woman that she is, unfortunately to my dismay, she had not. However, it just so happened that Jamie’s relationship with the founders was ongoing and they’d been exchanging emails. Unbeknownst to me, while on a family e-learning, Covid retreat, in one of their correspondence Jamie mentioned my disappointment for missing out on the round - it was at that point the CEO replied that they had a small slug available in their syndicate, if we were interested. 

Next I heard Jamie loudly call out from across the house, “Matt come here, quickly!” Instantly, I was slightly panicked - I was expecting anything from a spider sighting to bloodshed. Much to my surprise, she was excited to tell me we got into the round. At that point, I told her to tell the CEO we’re in. She replied, “I already did”.

As a non-leading, seed investor, there isn’t a lot to the deal - even as a seed-stage lead, diligence is very limited. However, I was surprised to experience that “Just Take My Money” moment. It may seem like a rash way to make an investment, but after talking to several personal friends that are angel investors, apparently it's more common than you might think.

As a founder raising early-stage money, my advice to you is to be more focused on creating that “Just Take My Money” / “I’m lucky to be in this deal” feeling among investors - and the best way to do that is make the kind of ongoing progress that shows investors that you are already on the path to success, with or without them. If you can tell that story, the money will come. 

If you’ve had similar experiences as an investor or founder, I’d love to learn about your experience in the comments below.

Scratching My Own Itch - iPrompted

When I shutdown my last startup, all I wanted in this world was a cushy, corporate job. You know the kind. 20+ PTO days per year, plus company holidays, 401(k), cash bonus, maybe a little stock. I wouldn't have the ball, but I'd make a nice living and recover from 2.5 years of self-funding my dream. I was tired, defeated and just wanted a regular job.

So, that's what I did. Along the way, I got divorced and re-married. My wife is a fierce planner, list-maker extraordinaire, organized and efficient, whom I infected with the startup bug. She's currently the head of legal for Gitlab. Me, ADHD, jack of all trades, that gravitates towards Jeff Atwood's Top Three Things, currently managing Enterprise Information Protection at Best Buy. We have a blended family and between hers, mine and ours we have four children, from 14 (with ASD and ADHD) to almost 3. Needless to say, We're always running to or from somewhere.

My wife would describe me as well intentioned, but forgetful / oblivious at times and she's right. If she mentions something to me, the odds of me completing the task decreases at an exponential rate, after the initial request. Frustratingly, for the both of us, there are tasks that she has to remind me to do over, and over, and over and over. When her frustration gets big enough, it makes my top three and gets done. However, it's at a cost to our relationship.

It turns out I'm better suited to build a solution that solves this problem for millions than I am at solving it for myself. After all, if I could keep a calendar and make lists, I wouldn't be in this predicament in the first place.

So, I was telling a friend about my idea for a solution to my problem and he saw a lot of himself in my predicament and asked if he could build it with me. And that's what we did.

If my wife only had to ask me once, could technology make sure I get it done and then close the loop? Is there a tool that the organized people in our lives can leverage to make sure we get done what we need to? I want to make the most out of my time and not let down those around me, especially the ones that depend on me. I couldn't find something that scratched this itch in a way that resonated with me, so we built it.

Whether you are tired of dropping the ball or tired of having to remind someone in your life over and over again to do something, check out iPrompted and leave me your feedback in the comments.

My Order Shipped In 2 Hours and 21 Minutes...And Not From Amazon

My amazing girlfriend and I have been planning a trip to Thailand and it's rapidly approaching. Since we're going to be spending a good amount of time near the water, she mentioned investigating an underwater camera. The first time she mentioned it was the afternoon of 3/12, a Wednesday. On 3/13, a Thursday, she had clearly done some more research and was circling making the purchase (I'd recalled seeing similar behavior with a pair of really cute winter boots). So, during the late morning of 3/14, a Friday, on the way to the gym, I decided to surprise her with an underwater camera. But, my cleverly-orchestrated, surprise gift would only work if I could get her the camera before she bought it herself.

**It's important to note, she lives in Minneapolis and I was in California at the time (KW - clarification)**

On the way out of the locker room, I opened up the Best Buy Android app, found the Go Pro Hero 3 Silver Edition & and SanDisk 16 GB memory card and I bought it. Then, it started getting weird.

At 11:20 AM, on Friday, I got the following email:

That's nice, and while it's generally accepted that a website sends an email on confirmation immediately following an order, I was surprised that got one from Best Buy (and I work for BBY).  Now, I usually buy research online and buy in-store, so this might not be news to regular bestbuy.com online shoppers. But, it gets even weirder.

At 1:41 PM, on Friday, I got the following email:

As a customer, I'm was shocked, in the best kinda way. I did the math to discover that they processed my order and got it shipped in under three hours. From the perspective of a customer, that is a pretty amazing experience (I was delighted). But, as an employee, i got to see how an organization's hard work pays off, 1st hand.

Now that I was focused on following the bread crumbs, my investigation didn't stop there. I clicked on the tracking link, which is blacked out above, and starting following this package, slowly at first, but more fanatically on the day of delivery. The tracking table, in its entirety, is here:

After clicking on the "What's This?" link, I learned a few things:

1. Order Processed: Ready for UPS: UPS has received the electronic transmission of the shipment details and billing information for this shipment from the sender. Once the shipment is moving within the UPS network, the tracking status will be updated.  - A 3rd party was able to verify receipt of the completion event that BBY shipped this item REALLY FAST, though the verification was done at 3:04 - 3 hours and 44 minutes after order.
2. Origin Scan: This scan is the initial electronic record indicating UPS has possession of the shipment.  -  UPS was in possession of my package less than 9 hours after I ordered it.
3. Delivered: The shipment has reached its destination, and the date and time of delivery have been recorded. In the U.S. and Canada, residential deliveries that do not require a signature may be left in a safe place, out of sight and out of weather. This could include the front porch, side door, back porch, or garage area. If you have instructed the driver to leave the shipment with a neighbor or leasing office, the driver will leave a UPS InfoNotice^® at the delivery address.  - The next business day, after getting home from work and relaxing a bit, my incredible girlfriend had her gift in hand - SURPRISE!!!.

The day of, I was so excited that this was coming together so quickly, that I was obsessively refreshing the tracking page, starting at around 5:30, to see when the package would arrive; not to mention all the excuses I made to excuse myself and check on something (which was really checking for package delivery). And when it arrived, and I got to see her open the box, and it was pretty awesome.

Now "how we do it" is very interesting, but not nearly as important as "that we do it". For more details on our "Ship From Store" program, you can read an article here. The short of it is, we've turned all 1400+ stores into mini-distribution centers that can fulfill online orders and do it quickly. And we're just getting started...I can't wait to see how efficient the supply chain will get over time.

And because my order was for more than $25 dollars, it shipped for free. 

Now I'm a BBY employee, and the views above are my own. However, as a consumer, I was delighted and thought the experience was very cool and worth sharing.

Dear Hiring Manager, It's Too Bad We'll Never Chat

Recruiting has been, and always will be, about people and relationships. However, with all the technological advancements, it's easy to see where that message gets lost. A recent interaction with a recruiter on LinkedIn led me to realize that because I'm not actively looking for a job, the hiring manager will probably never know about me. Let me explain.

What does my profile say about me?

A recruiter reached out to me via LinkedIn. For reference, you can see my profile here. My profile is relatively sparse, especially when compared to most folks. But, my summary is pretty straight forward. I have experience re-thinking traditional business experiences / processes, across industries, and use technology to redesign those experiences / processes. It's somewhat vague, but hey, I'm not looking for a job. I'm currently working at a BigCo, though BigCo does have a precarious reputation in the tech community. I also ran my own startup, worked at another venture-backed startup (though not on my LinkedIn) and worked for a small business. My profile also has a link to my blog and 5 patents pending.

What happened?

One day, I get an email from ScalingTechCo Recruiter, Jane Doe. Jane says,

Matthew,

I came across your profile and interested to learn if you might be on the job market. ScalingTechCo, Inc. is the world's leading marketplace in WIDGETS.I am looking to hire a Product Manager. We are looking for someone that has good experience managing a product in the busy world of the WIDGETS space. Would you be interested to learn more about the role? It's in SHANGRI LA and we do provide relocation assistance

I look forward to hearing from you

Now, this is pretty generic.  I'd really like a message that said something like, "I reached out because I saw that you are working with cutting-edge technologies to solve really hard problems. We have those types of problems and need someone like you to not only solve them, but do so in a way that differentiates us from our competitors (possibly even help us build a team of innovators, like yourself). I'd love to talk to you. Do you have time to chat?" The only other thing I'd be looking for is some insight into some of the problems they are facing. However, it's a first pass, so I'll cut Jane some slack.

My father taught me that there's no harm in listening to a proposal, so I responded with:

Thanks for reaching out. Generally, I enjoy my work and I'm not actively entertaining new opportunities. However, if the role matches my interests and skill set, and/or provides significant career advancement, I'd be open to a brief discussion.

Let me know.

The goal of this email was to get the conversation aligned with my interests and set expectations. Her response was:

Great. If you want to send me your resume, we can start there! I'll see 

what roles I can share that are the most natural fit   

Arghh! There nothing more frustrating than someone pursuing something from you and then levying an action item. Now, I'm sure having a readily prepared resume is a good idea. But, I don't have one. And, in the world of applicant tracking software, a recruiter just wants something to upload it and see what comes out the other end. I get it. But, I asked very specific questions, which weren't answered. Way to make a guy, who didn't come looking for you, feel special. A few days later, I respond with:

I didn't forget about you. I got really busy this week and haven't begun to put a resume together. 

I'm interested in 2 things: 

1) working with cutting edge technology to solve business problems; as you might see from my linkedin profile 

2) moving into product leadership 

I am very familiar with the WIDGET space (my startup was in that space). I'm also a big fan of ScalingTechCo (I used the site to get a WIDGET for a Valentine's WIDGET SPECIAL). Can you speak to whether or not any of the open positions meet either of my aforementioned interests? 

And I haven't gotten a response to date.

Who loses?

First and foremost, I lose. I will never know what job is available and if it offers a better opportunity than my current job. However, I'm happy with my job. The recruiter probably chalked me up as a lead, which might be a metric for her. But, what about the company? The hiring team might be missing out on exactly what they are looking for, or at least in the ball park (though probably not, I'm an acquired taste). But, the interaction put us at a Mexican standoff. I'm not willing to put in the upfront work for a role I know nothing about and the recruiter is unwilling to tell me about the role until I give him/her a resume.

Well, who's job is it?

The best stories of great leaders at great companies are those that go to great lengths to recruit very specific talent into their ranks. Now, I'm not saying that's me. I'll never get a call from Mike Duke, where he pitches me because I'm the guy that can take walmart.com to the next level, as chronicled here. Nor will Jeff Bezos write me a personal letter, like he did to recruit a rising distribution star from Wal-Mart. But, when I was recruiting for a small startup, I had to go to great lengths to make great engineers feel special, just for the opportunity to sell them on my small startup's dream. Unfortunately, that type of interaction is very hands on, so it doesn't scale. But, it does pique the curiosity of people that aren't looking for a job in the first place. 

What's the message?

Recruiting isn't scalable. Great employees, and the rare rising stars, are what build great / scalable businesses. So, if there's one place to put in the most effort, it's in courting the right folks, in hopes you'll filter down to the right person for the job. Now, not every hire warrants the CEO's attention. But, if I was a recruiter, I'd put in the same effort great CEOs put into making their key hires, into every hire I was responsible for. 

Where am I in the process?

Not surprisingly, I haven't heard from the recruiter and probably won't reach back out. I guess we all lose.

What do you all think?

Great Product Managers Steal - The Hardest Easy Job in Tech

We've all heard the (wrongly?) Picasso-attributed quote, "Good artists copy; great artists steal." And there is a similar quote around coding circles, "Great developers are lazy." However, this refers to the common practice of reusing code that someone else has already written. Well, the same holds true for product managers.

Now, before the trolls gather, I want to explain. I do not condone the use of wget as a tool of the trade. However, I do believe that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Also, inspiration is often derived from the collective conscious; that great site you used to do X, seeped into your latest instantiation of the feature you're working on. Which is to say, others can also be inspired, by the same things you were, to draw the same conclusion that you did. But, not all stealing is equal. So, now that that's out of the way, here's how I steal.

Product managers are problem solvers and lucky for us, if you have a wide enough lens, there are very few new problems. For example, MapReduce looks like something implemented in the Linux Kernel, which looks like a classic queuing problem. Now, this is easier said then done. As a product manager you are constantly looking to competitors, best of breed companies, and hockey-sticking startups to try to determine how you can bring some of that to your product / company. And if you aren't, it certainly doesn't help that your 'business counterparts' are. But, does implementing a me-too search engine make you Google. In actuality, it probably makes you more Cuil than cool. So, be careful where you steal from, because it might not work for your business.

Personally, I prefer to steal from as close to home as possible. Now, what does that mean? Currently, I work for Best Buy; a company in the middle of a great retail turnaround. Now, every analyst and pundit thought we were long-for dead; the nerdy kid who loses his lunch day after day to the elusive interwebz; a part of the new world of retail we just don't understand...

So, steal from close to home? You can't be at Best Buy long without hearing the story of Dick Schulze, our founder, and the company's entrepreneurial roots. And if you're lucky, you can find Dick on-campus and ask him about it yourself. The gist is retail is a simple business. When an entrepreneur worked in a single store everyday, he was able to deliver an experience that allowed him to build what you know today as Best Buy. As a product manager for Best Buy, that's where I choose to steal from. Dick's customers back then, are my customers now (more or less). The company culture from then, is the company culture now (more or less). Rather than trying to turn Best Buy into Amazon, I rather turn Best Buy into Best Buy, just a modern version of past glory days. In the current era, that means web, mobile web, apps, omni-channel experiences (where the web and the store meet), in-store analytics, complex algorithms and the like. But, we can't focus on new applications of new technology in an old space. We have to focus on customer problems, which tend to be old, core problems that are incrementally different because the world has changed. For example, customers have always wanted competitive prices and a great in-store experience. But, now, the bar is higher than it has ever been. And since everything old becomes new again, I prefer to look back and see what worked in the past and use it as the inspiration to go forward.

As product managers, we have to discover what delights and what solves actual customer problems and scale that to the world we live in today, with an eye on where we might be tomorrow.

Now that you've seen what makes it easy, let me introduce you to what makes it hard. The world has changed. The customer is more sophisticated than ever and is ever becoming harder and harder to impress. In most cases, the customer knows more about a particular item than an employee. If I want to buy a blue dinglehopper, 30 seconds of internet research makes me as, if not more, knowledgable than the sales person. And the advantage of being able to get something now, by going to a store, is quickly waning. After all, how many things do we actually need RIGHT NOW? And if you are Best Buy, it's really hard. Why? Because our solutions have to work for more than 100,000 Blue Shirts, in more than 1100 stores, selling hundreds of thousands to millions of products, to more than 250 million annual visitors.

So, when you steal, steal solutions to customers' problems and ALWAYS start with the biggest problem. Nothing hurts more when you deliver a product only to find out that Your Solution Is Not My Problem

What Sprouts Farmers Market Can Teach You About Social

In a world where everyone is offering some widget, gizmo or gimmick that promises to give you Facebook-like viral growth / visibility, I see a lot of social done wrong. While working for startups, I sought out these solutions to help 'get the word out' and in my current role, not a day goes by where someone doesn't try to sell me some social service that'll fix all our problems. So, I feel very comfortable saying that most of the market focuses on how to enable social sharing...in hopes that people will just share whatever content it's attached to. Now, how many of you have added sharing widgets to your website?  How did that work out for you?

Today was different. In the most unexpected of places, I had an experience that I'm going to share with you and, hopefully, you'll see why I was so excited to get home and blog about it.

After picking up my son, we stopped at Sprouts Farmers Market in Hemet, CA (It's where I live, don't judge me). Now, my son Joey has autism and April 2nd was World Autism Awareness Day. He was proudly sporting his newly acquired Build-A-Bear Autism Speaks Bear, just like he is in the picture below.

During checkout, I was reaching for my wallet, when Joey told our cashier Yesenia that this was his bear, he cleverly named it "Autism" and that he had autism.  She warmly smiled and commented that she liked his bear.  Then, Joey noticed  that Yesenia's name tag / lanyard had a blue puzzle piece pin on it, much like the one on his bears' t-shirt.  Now, for any of you that don't know, the blue puzzle piece is Autism Speaks's logo.  Honestly, I'm not exactly sure why, but, Joey got SUPER EXCITED.  Then, Yesenia told us how Sprouts supports Autism through Autism Speaks and how, during their recent fundraiser, there were puzzle pieces like the one she had all over the store.  To which Joey replied, "I can paint puzzle pieces all over the store too!" In all honesty, I think he took her explanation as permission and might have even asked her for paint to start drawing on the windows in the front of the store. She smiled and, cool as a cucumber, rolled with Joey, without batting an eye. And then it happened. Yesenia asked Joey if he wanted her pin.  I'm not even sure she finished her offer before Joey said sure. At this point, I was in tears. Then, after almost handing it to him, she realized it was probably better to give it to me, which was very thoughtful.  Especially since she pretended not to notice me crying. 

As a parent of a child on the spectrum, you never know what your child is going to do or say, especially in public. But, it's stop phasing you pretty early on. However, you remain VERY sensitive to how other people react to your child's quirky behaviors, especially when you are in a public place, late in the day, when the meds are clearly wearing off. Oftentimes, people react poorly and the only saving grace is that despite the lack of sensitivity, understanding and patience in the world, your child really doesn't understand how terrible the people interacting with them are treating them. Needless to say, Yesenia small act of kindness was an example exactly what to do and I was very impressed.

Instantly, I wanted to take out my phone blow up my Facebook stream, letting everyone know what happened...but what one-liner would do this story justice?  So, I came home, snapped some photos on my phone, sent them to my email account and wrote a blog post.  Seems like a lot of effort, but well worth it for this moment. 

As a former Disney intern, I know Disney spend tons of resources drilling this type of customer service into their cast members, under the guise of creating "magic" and they are world-class at it. But, I wasn't at Disney. I was at the grocery store, with my son, in tears, because Yesenia decided she wanted to do something special to make Joey's day and create an experience that this parent and grocery-purchasing customer will never forget. And now I'm sharing this story, on their behalf, because I was so moved that I want everyone to know about what happened to me today and who was responsible for the experience. And that's the key.

The key to social is moving people so much that they feel compelled to share the experience with anyone that'll listen.  Whether it's something funny / clever, emotionally meaningful, visually stunning or cat-related, there are many ways to move people. Social isn't about a button or widget; it's about creating moments worth sharing.

They did, so I did. 

The Magic Words of Early-Stage Startups

There is nothing like putting your product out there for the first time, especially if it's your first product. Whether it's good or bad is irrelevant. As a entrepreneur, especially a first-timer, you're convinced you are on the cusp of changing the world.  That's how I felt when I started the now defunct Browsemob, (God rest its soul). The whole world was going to name-their-own price, while shopping on any e-commerce website, using our bookmarklet tool.  And who knows, someday the world still might.

I sent hundreds of emails, hit up events / conferences, cold called and sometimes just showed up to try to convince potential investors, potential advisors, potential clients...basically, anyone I could get a hold of that could possibly further the cause, that Browsemob was the future and this was their chance to be a part of it.  It was a truly magical time, filled with ups and downs.

Honestly, most people ignore you, grin fuck or never reply.  But, the experience taught me the magic words of early startups, which I'll share with you.  Whether you are talking to a potential investor, advisor, customer, employee (paid or unpaid), co-founder, random person you bump into at a bar, whomever...when you hear them, you know you've reach the optimal outcome.

Now, before I tell you what they are, I feel obliged to tell you that you have to have a refined, coherent spiel, which only comes with practice. Also, when pitching your product, you can't lead with an obvious ask for the magic words, otherwise they won't come or they will come, but it'll be disingenuous.  And now, the words..."What can I do to help?"

Those six words mean that you have done your job pitching an idea, that's not quite a business yet, but one day could be.  It means you crossed the credibility threshold and have at least 1 shot at getting someone to do you some sort of kindness, based on whatever it is you've just shown them; for entrepreneurs the world over, they've led to first customers, round leaders, introductions to co-founders / early employees, high-profile advisors and so much more.

So, get out there and hustle.  And when you hear, "What can I do to help?" smile, think of me & don't screw up the ask :-)

Teaching Myself Python - Part 1

I've always wanted to be a better coder. However, it's in direct opposition with my passion, which is to be an entrepreneur. The problem is, I only learned how to code in order to build something interesting enough to convince a better coder to work along side me, for nothing but a mutual dream (and some stock, not yet worth anything to speak of). But, one can only sit beside great coders for so long, without being drawn back in.

Previously, I've experimented with a few languages, but my core development has been in PHP, with my theoretical background coming from high school AP classes, which at the time, were taught in C++ (if that doesn't date me : P ).  But, for the purposes of this blog series, I'm 'learning' Python.

The good news is, I've started already.  The purpose of blogging about it is to share my experience and plans, as well as get encouragement and guidance.  Hopefully, you all will keep me honest and on course.

Now, why Python?  I wish there was a deep, meaningful reason. But, there's not. I'm learning Python because it's concise and powerful...and all the coolest kids I know do it. However, I did read a Quora post, What are some signs that someone is an inexperienced Python programmer? that helped spark a memory.  This question, and responses, showed me how powerful Python is, in terms of saying a lot with very little code; it reminded me of the power of recursion.  As mentioned, I come from a for(int x = 0, x=string.length(), x++){ if(conditional)...} kinda world...so, if I keep at it, I'll have to write a lot less code.  Less code makes the base easier to maintain and easier to read (all good things).  Plus, it has it's own command line shell.

So, the plan.  I'm doing LPTHW (on lesson 39 atm), Python Challenge (Challenge 4) & I'm replicating the programs found on Python.org SimplePrograms, varying them slightly (On program 8).  I'm also using Python to write the middleware on a side project, failrecovery.com (though i'm working on this with a friend).

If you all have any thoughts on my plan, words of wisdom or additional resources, feel free to leave me a comment.

With me luck.

So, I Built The MVP, Now What?

In my previous post, Where Ideas Come From, I talked about an idea that came to me.  Without re-hatching the post, I was left with this idea that every social complaint is should be an actionable customer-service ticket, and making it public could put some social pressure on brands to pay attention.

So, I built it.  You can check out failrecovery.com and let me know what you think in the comments below.  The MVP is truly simple.  We have a small number companies to choose from and a list of top, most complained about companies.  I posted it on HN, sent out a few tweets and posted on my social networks.  So far, traffic is pretty abysmal.  Don't people care which companies ignore their social media complaints?  Don't companies care about knowing how many people are pissed off at them on Twitter?  I think they do.  So, now what?  Why isn't the traffic coming hands over fist?

Obviously, we have made ourselves relevant.  It's that age old question, "How are you going to get users?"  The way I see it, we only have a few options that really make sense.  One, we can increase the number of companies we are collecting information on, or two, we can directly create some way to motivate the customer or the company to engage with the site.  But, only one of those options has any chance of getting us users.

One thing that previous projects have taught me is NOT to work on creating a pretty website or extensive backend stuff / re-writes...when you don't have something people want to use, don't polish the turd; find a way to make them care.

If you find yourself in a similar situation, go with the option that has a chance at making your product more relevant to your users.

Where Ideas Come From

I remember interviewing for a position and I was asked, in reference to a startup project I was working on full-time, "That's a GREAT idea.  How do I know it's not going to hit in 1 month and you're going to leave?"  To which I answered, "You don't.  But, it's not about finding the right idea.  Once you start looking at the world through an entrepreneurial lens, you see them everywhere."

Everyone has problems.  But, entrepreneurs can quickly identify which ones are general enough to make a business out of and which ones are too niche.  They also see minimum viable products that provide value and don't take a ton of time / effort / money to build.

That brings me something that happened a few weeks ago.  I don't recall what I was doing, but I got a text message stating something like, "You just won $1000 gift card to walmart, click-thru to this url (which had walmart in the name) to redeem your prize."  I whois looked-up the domain and found that it was owned by some sort of hosting / advertising company and this was clearly some sort of lead-gen scam or worse.  I put together a 140 character response and took to my twitter account.  I sent tweets of a possible scam to various @walmart accounts and heard nothing.  I was so shocked, not because I didn't hear back (though that made me upset), but because I never considered how a company that big would ever manage my message, regardless of how important it was.  

I thought about the idea for a while and this past weekend, I started building failrecovery.com.  I don't know whether or not this will turn into anything, but that's where my inspiration came from.  So my advice to anyone looking for an idea is to become an observer.  Keep your eyes open, talk to your friends, co-workers, whoever.  Eventually, if you are paying attention and channeling your inner-entrepreneur, and idea will come out of nowhere, like a phishing / link-bait scam.

Is This Offer Fair - The Real Risk of Joining A Startup

It's no secret, startups are sexy again.  I've been getting calls from friends and helping them evaluate offers.  Since I just finished reading Mark Suster's TechCrunch article on dilution, which you should also read,  I'm writing this post to illustrate my POV on equity, as an entrepreneur-who one day hopes to be hiring and divvying it out.

My framework is loose, but valid in explaining non-investor risk among *venture-backed startup* operators (in both actual and perceived terms), so here goes.

*Venture-back startups are, by definition, companies that have to have to return 10X or better to be considered successful*

Founders:

The greatest risk applies to the founding team.  They have left real jobs, are working unpaid (for some period of time), get to draw a significantly less than market rate salary upon raising a seed round, don't have cash on-hand to cover salaries and operational expenses for more than 3-6 months (if lucky) and are compensated for their risk with more lottery tickets, so long as they stay around and keep hitting milestone.  If you don't get passed the seed stage and go broke, the experience gained is only incrementally valuable to a handful of companies in the market at large.

Employees hired after the first priced round:

This area is dicey, because you need top talent and can't pay premium prices.  As a founder, I couldn't hire someone that early without telling them upfront how many months I can guarantee their below-market salary;  the longer I can pay them, the less risk.  There is a resume risk b/c the startup is (usually) unknown and unproven and there is an opportunity cost, which incrementally tick up the amount of risk the first (few) hires are assuming, which has to be fairly compensated.  However, most early hires are exposed to valuable experience and are assuming titles that garner both respect and greater consideration / compensation if & when they leave the startup venture, not to mention they get veteran consideration in the startup community if they choose to move on to their own venture.  And oh yeah, institutional investors are really quick to snatch up these guys and move them to other portfolio companies.

Admittedly so, quantifying and rewarding these hires is tricky.  However, generally they are brought on for comparable, if not higher, equity to the packages received by seasoned / experienced, VP-level post A / B round...which sounds like a decent benchmark for fair.


Engineer 6+ or anyone that comes in after a $3-5 A round:

Effectively, you have no significant risk, besides a below-market rate salary risk, if you are getting paid below market rate at all.  And, since your equity is priced, you know you are being compensated for the gap and an average bonus as soon as you do the math on the equity offer...but you are also getting a better work environment, solving problems you are passionate about and greater marketability later.  So, I'm not sure what the bitching is about?

Most of the posts I see or personal inquiries I get seem to revolve around perceive risk and not real risk, since most people fall into that 6+ or post $3-5 A round category.  Just because the company may not be around, you will most likely have a job for 12-18 months (minimum).  You are not entitled to get rich, a big nest egg, or anything in return (beyond the aforementioned non-monetary compensation). In the likely event that you're not apart of a home run, you worked at a really cool small business.  Newsflash, if my argument doesn't convince you a startup is worth joining, don't do it.

For everyone that is joining a company at or around series B level...that's not a startup.

Here's the good news, if the company hits the home run that it promised it would when it accepted VC money, everyone gets paid more then they were actually worth...that's the whole point.  Equity is gravy...the sooner you get it, the better off you'll be.

If you have ever seriously entertained a thought like, "If I can get a bigger piece, in the event of a not so hot exit, I'll still get PAID", while negotiating with as engineer 6+ / $3-$5 mil A round, don't make the leap. You just don't get it and the mentality won't help the team that's extending you an offer.

As you saw from the infographic in the aforementioned article, deals aren't usually optimized for not-so-hot exits...and they shouldn't be.  But then again, equity is designed to motivate for the BIG EXIT.  In the event of a fire-side sale or flat exit, you'll be lucky to be made whole in-cash, but the experience gained will ease the pain.  But then again, you knew going in what the risks were.

Facebook Let's You Increase Security, If You Don't Use Chrome

Edit: After being schooled for shooting off a hasty post, this clearly isn't a Google specific problem.  I will keep up the previous post and Mea Culpa as a reminder for next time.  However, the larger issue is that in order to enable this security feature, which could cause you to lock yourself out of FB, instead of warning the user why this could cause problems or building a forgot your password recovery tool, FB chose to create require me NOT to clear my cookies.  It is a little ironic that by enabling device level security the trade off is allowing FB to track my activity via web/mobile device?

Facebook and Google don't like each other.  It's nothing new and it isn't going away.  In a big dollar, Highlander world, you do what you have to do.

Today, I was reviewing my privacy settings after the new FB release and I wanted to enable "Login Approvals", under the general settings>security tab.  After all, it's probably a good practice to ask for credentials when logging in from an unrecognized device.  By default, this setting is set to "Approval is not required".

After checking the box to enable the feature, I got this message:

After closing the box, the setting remains unchecked.  

I get it, I really do.  Facebook makes privacy hard because they don't believe we need it & it's bad for business.  I was unfriending people today and laughed when I realized FB didn't use check boxes to allow me to unfriend in mass.  To make it worse, I had to mouseover a box, scroll to the bottom of the list which was one space from a list of ~4 options, click & then confirm (via pop-up) each unfriend.  It's no secret security settings have always been unnecessarily difficult, but saying, "Want security?  Can't use Chrome!"  Sure, it's a swipe at Google, but it's a big FUCK YOU to all of us...your users...the ones that made you what you are today.  

Message to FB: I'm apart of the vocal minority that care about my privacy and browser choice, so ignoring me doesn't seem like a big deal.  There are 650+ million other users, who you are trying to earn revenue off of and most of them don't care.  But know this, I'm on every new social network, evangelizing and seeding the nascent community, just like I did for you FB.  I'm not asking for default privacy, b/c you err on the side of openness and that's your choice.  But this kinda shit drives me crazy and keeps me looking for somewhere better.

  

Yahoo! Fix? - It's Not About the Chief, It's About the Indians

Yahoo is all the rage again, this time it's b/c Carol Bartz is out and everyone has an opinion on how to fix Yahoo's problem...For all of those who think a product visionary (Steve Jobs) is the answer...it's not about the chief, it's about the indians.  The tech community talks a lot of shit about how Yahoo! is done.  They aren't.  They've got the biggest email user-base in the US (where they do well in content), are in fantastic positions in several markets abroad (in content and email) and make tons of money.  The next CEO needs to figure out how to retain, excite and recruit guys like Paul Tarjan (Yahoo! Resignation Video below).

Approximately 2.5 years ago, every day TechCrunch was flooded with who's leaving Yahoo! now articles.  Some people left for Facebook/other startups, some founded their own ventures and others jumped to other tech giants.  People jumping around isn't new or necessarily news worthy.  After all, certain types of people always leave big companies, they just don't fit and can't stay.  Their thrill comes from figuring out solutions, as opposed to executing/maintaining established systems.  With some of those types, even if you have cool projects in the pipeline, a lot them just like changing things up or want to launch their own venture.  On the other side of the spectrum, many people will never leave the company they work for.  They are good / great at their job, settled into their responsibilities and work-to-live, as opposed to those who live-to-work.  There is nothing wrong with either types of employees or their professional proclivities.  What we saw with Yahoo!, and the sign that their culture was broken, was when the movers-and-shakers, the creative/quirky people, the ones who epitomize your culture (the stereotypical company XYZ employee we refer to when we talk about your company) and those management wanted to cultivate into future company leaders, up and left, in droves.  That exodus was the sign the culture was broken and no one with the power to do so cared enough to fix it.  When the culture that brought them to Yahoo! was gone and it became clear it wasn't returning, everything got tainted and they could only stomach it so long, before they left.  

What's left is a money making machine, that's not beyond repair.  However, greatness comes from your companies culture and Yahoo! has to get that back internally, before they can project an external image that attracts the types of people that left, back in the future.

How can they do that?  They have to break a few eggs.  Yahoo! has a lot of talented engineers, why not empower and motivate them to start solving problems?  Yahoo needs to spend a small fortune (how about the $10 million they don't have to pay Bartz for disparaging them?) on an all-hands event that expresses their appreciation for their current employees,  rallies the troops, forces product managers to experiment on their products and ends with announcing a new initiative that rewards and allows individuals to incubate Yahoo!'s future products.  Then, hold a small-group Hackathon, see what floats to the top and support the most promising projects.  Then, hold the hackathons every month (keep them themed.  One month is new features for existing products, then mobile, then deals, then whatever) and keep supporting the best projects.  That will build morale, buzz and excitement & that's what'll attract others to Yahoo!.  Oh yeah, you'll probably get some great products / features out of it too (and don't forget to tip your innovators).

Kinda sounds like a place I'd like to work.

  

The Law of Sexual Chemistry & Google+ - My Review

The tribal knowledge surrounding the casual dating scene is filled with wisdom.  For example:

1) Gain Their Attention - successfully approaching a potential interest and carrying on an interesting, balanced and engaging conversation with her and her friends.

2) Stay Out of the Friend Box - use appropriate touching to make your intentions known to the person of interest w/o freaking them out.

3) Separate the Sheep from the Herd - if interest is reciprocal, a soft suggestion is all that's necessary to get the person one-on-one...keeping rhythm -> would you like to dance, I'm stepping outside for X -> I'll go with you.

Failure to execute on any of the previous steps can be a powerful de-selector, though not impossible to recover from.  However, before any of the aforementioned can come into play, one must address the Law of Sexual Chemistry.  

The Law of Sexual Chemistry states that, "A person of the opposite sex knows instantly whether or not they want to have sex with you."  This law speaks specifically the high correlation between initial attraction and willingness to close the deal and not to whether or not you can overcome a lack of initial animal magnetism (IE: The Art of the Slow Play, The Last Call Exemption, Getting Out of the Friend Box - The Underdog Story).  

What does this have to do with Google+.  Google's nascent attempts in social were akin to the smartest kid in high school going to college.  For those of you still with me...

I won't talk about Orkut b/c I've never used it (I'm US based).

Buzz - This product had a double dose of confidence.  Unfortunately, it felt like Google's answer to twitter...which no one was asking for.  The nerdy kid got the courage to approach the group of girls, led with, "What did you get on your SATs" in hopes they would in turn ask him back and be impress with his 1600.  However, he got 3 faces staring at him and smiling awkwardly and then started to wet himself.  However, after studying the case, Google learned the power of integrating social w/ gmail and what that did to initial user adoption.

Wave - A heavily anticipated next attempt at social, more geared towards social collaboration in a professional environment (my opinion). This was an interesting twist and probably related to a sophisticated understanding of what % of gmail users used gmail for work, as well as an attempt to better position Google's b2b offerings.  The buildup leading to Wave, as well as the types of problems Wave attempted to solve, showed a refinement and understanding of the right type of confidence.  However, upon first logging into Wave, I had no earthly idea what the fuck they wanted me to do with it, I didn't know where to start and whatever problem Wave attempted to solve for me wasn't bad enough for me to invest anymore time into trying to figure out.  After mastering the approach and interesting, casual conversation, the young man started racking up female friends like it's nobody's business, but that's not gonna get your laid. 

Google+ - This offering is different and Google is making sure everyone knows it.  First, it speaks succinctly to the growing feeling that one network is better than nothing, but filtering / grouping is more trouble than it's worth (currently).  The current solution is that we have a professional network, a social network, a short-form / asymmetric content discovery network, etc.  To make matters worse, companies are popping up all the time that want to give us even more networks...politics, health, hobbies, family, close friends, etc.  The average user balances the number of networks they are willing to maintain, with the amount of spam they are willing to sift through.  For most of us, there has been a noticeable degrading return to our existing social experience.  Google+ is trying to be a better way to manage the people in our lives, as well as facilitate more meaningful interaction with those we choose to, when we want to.  The message is clear.  It has become obvious to all parties involved who fancies whom and exactly what his intentions are.

What remains to be seen is whether or not Google+ gets it right.  As someone who is eagerly waiting my invite, watched all the demos and read all the reviews, I have the problem they are trying to solve.  And from what I've heard, I'm not the only one.  After mastering the first two steps, separating the sheep from the heard is the current focus and it doesn't look like it'll be much of  a problem...she's biting her lip and playing with her hair.

However, I couldn't help but notice in the time leading up to the announcement, Google has made some changes.  There has been a noticeable commitment to design.  First, whispers of Google hiring designers,  even better Google Doodles, and visually compelling / meaningful commercials / videos.    Then, changes to plugin placements in my gmail, which let me know that my gmail can be the center of my online experience.  Finally, the screen shots of Google+ & demo videos with simplicity, color, panache and an impressive UX...that is both visually appeals to and leads the user through the experience (and name-dropping the guy who is responsible for it).  No one is really sure exactly when it happened, but the socially awkward, nerdy, skinny guy put on some muscle, got a new wardrobe and his confidence projects in a way that people respond to.

If you've made it this far...this analogy has gotten a bit uncomfortable.  All that's left to figure out is if he's gonna close the deal...Methinks he might.

The Myth of the Early Stage Pitch Deck

Do you know why there is so much information about how to craft the perfect early-stage pitch deck?  Because, people believe a good deck will get them investment...the secret is, it won't.  To make matters worse, it's damn near impossible and let me tell you why.

First of all, no matter how good your slides are, you're only guessing what the person across the table wants to see.  I realize that many VCs, like Sequoia and Dave McClure (500 Startups) via How to give a VC a Hardon, tell entrepreneurs what they want to see.  However, that's just a guideline at best.  Depending on whom you actually get face time with, even within the same firm, they all have different experiences, knowledge bases, skill sets and triggers...not to mention getting VCs interested is about getting them excited, not-not boring them to tears.

Second, public speaking is hard.  Most people can't land a joke successfully when all eyes are on them.  Think about how many conferences you've spent staring at your phone or picking at your terrible meal, instead of listening to the speaker.  In the world of entrepreneurs pitching VCs, I guarantee that no VC has ever invested in an entrepreneur they've tuned out.  But, don't worry.  You don't need to spend years perfecting public speaking.  But, before I tell you my thoughts on what to do, I'm sure some of you are wondering, "How do you know if I'm a talented speaker?"  If you haven't spent years dazzling crowds, or if you don't feel guilty about all the great events you have to turn down speaking requests from, it's unlikely that you are a great public speaker.

The good news is, you don't have to be.  Check out Sergey & Larry at early Google.  The secret is to let your passion come out.  Focus on what you have going for you, which is the problem you're solving, your solutions to the problem (ie product) and the empirical evidence you've gathered that tells you it's going to be a winner.  The best pitch meetings I've ever had started with a demo (core use case, not EVERY SINGLE FEATURE) and then I shut my mouth.  The interested ones wouldn't let me through the demo without lots of questions and comments (that's a good thing).  After you get through the product / use case, then it gets down to the evidence.  This is where you should use your prepared slides.  If you get through the details and the conversation turns turns to "How much are you looking to raise?" or "What can I do to help?", that's the best possible outcome...no pitch from a deck required.

The caveat is if you aren't pitching the right person in the firm, the aforementioned doesn't apply.

Then why do so many people ask for decks?  Theoretically, a deck is faster to thumb through than a executive summary and you can direct submitters to touch on important topics.  All that means is, if you are part of the unfortunate masses that haven't invested the time into directly networking with investors or people investors respect, when you get put in the never-empty inbox, you have a better shot at getting thumbed through.  But, do you really want anyone seeing your slides un-narrated?  NO!

If you get a seat at the right table, let your passion, hard work and external validation shine through.  There is nothing worse than having your pitch stopped or watching people you've spent months trying to get to-check their email.  Realizing you blew is like a punch in the stomach.  Pitch decks are only for products that have gained traction (specifically in the minds of investors).  If the person you are pitching isn't already a fanboy, and they're usually not (odds are they haven't even looked at your product, even though you are on their calendar), you have to make them a believer.  To do that, you must make them believe, in this order:

1)  users will use it.
2)  that someone will pay for it.
3)  that they can make a big return by backing it.

Most investors invest with their gut and justify with facts.  Once you've crossed the threshold of worthy of their time (their most valuable resource), they'll be more forgiving.  However, for most of us, running them through a slide deck during your 1 bite at the apple, isn't going to do it for you.  The good news is, now you know that is.

What Startups Can Teach Big Companies About Hiring

I've read so many posts about interviews.  Whether you are trying to learn what questions to ask or how to answer the hard questions, the practice seems to be converging towards a standard song and dance, as opposed to a true assessment of how an individual will meld with your company's culture and what type of value they will bring to your company when they get there.

First, screen candidates for actual business needs. Every interview should have some standard for general competence, because we've all seen resumes that take liberties.  However, if you are hiring a developer / engineer, give them a real world problem and ask them how they'd solve it.  Better yet, tell them about problems you've actually encountered.  Then, ask them how they would go about solving the scenario.  Then, have them start coding it.  Throw them some curves on the fly and see how they deal with it.  There is more value in seeing someone psuedo-code a solution (free from a scrutinizing eye saying "that'll cause a runtime error") to How would you programmatically parse a sentence and decide whether to answer "that's what she said"?   than there is in knowing the difference between obscure algorithms (for 95% of your engineering team).

Next, interviewers are sales people.  There job is identifying hot leads and figuring out how to close.  It is a skill, so don't send them out unprepared.  Every interview I've been on, as a candidate, ends with me asking:

"What is your company / group's short-term goals?

"How do they measure progress towards achieving those goals?"

"What does your company value and how do they live those values?"

"Someone from your company said your company is looking to move in direction X.  What tangible steps have been taken to support that directive?"

From a startup perspective, those questions are critical to recruiting people and keeping them happy when they join your team.  As an interviewer for a larger company, you should make it a point to mention these things; they aren't just important for startups trying to recruit.  I learned to ask those types of questions because the information never comes up unprompted.  Surprisingly (or not), most of the time, the people conducting interviews can't answer those types of questions anyway.  Not bringing those types of things up, and certainly not being able to answer those types of questions, is a sure sign that your house isn't in order.  And your house has to be in order to attract the right type of candidate.

That leads me to my final point. HR representatives should know the open roles they are responsible for, the teams looking to fill those roles and the projects they are currently working on, cold. However, they should also know what other open reqs are out there AND have a standard for finding roles for 'the right people'.  All too often, candidates interview for a position and would be a better fit somewhere else.  It's a miscarriage of HR's responsibilities not to be able to spot this when it happens.  Since most larger companies have an arduous process for requisitioning new personnel, I'll stop short of saying that a great company always has a place for talented employees.  But, they really should.  At a small startup, the people trying to build a company based on a vision are conducting the interviews.  They would never let 'A' talent out the door because the role wasn't a fit.  At a larger company,  recruiters should pretend that the CEO, COO or SVP of something or other, is behind a two-way mirror.  Believe me, 'A' talent in a new role is better than experienced / I fit the job description perfectly 'B' talent every day of the week.  And let's face it, you have to hire 'A' talent when you find it.

It's Not Them, It's You - Why You Can't Recruit Top Engineering Talent

Recruiting anyone worth having on your team is hard.  But, as a entrepreneur, you won't get very far without being able to do it.  Over time, I recruited a technical co-founder and several engineers / designers (albeit only part-time).  I'm almost embarrassed to tell you how long it took me to figure out what it takes to get them to give up what little free time they do have to spend it working on your startup idea.  Instead of airing my own dirty laundry, here's an approach that I've found very effective when recruiting engineers.

I tell everyone in the startup world that ideas are a dime a dozen, work on the idea that is meaningful to you (work on the project that you would use A LOT).  The problem is, it's unlikely the problem that drove you to start a startup will be more than 'interesting' to most engineers...especially the engineers you want.  However, interesting is a good starting point, not as good as "I've known this person X for years and we've been looking for an opportunity to work together", but it'll do.

What makes an idea interesting to you is the use case.  Once you figure this out, I encourage all non-technical founders to spend time learning to code a bare-bones v.0001.  Learning to code (a little bit) does a couple of things:

1) you get some cred w/ the engineer
2) you understand the lense through which your recruit sees the world
3) you understand a snapshot of all the work that goes into some business guys bright idea for a new feature 4) you develop genuine admiration for the skill set it has taken your potential hire years to develop

Then, get it in front of a potential hire.  At this point, you must treat the potential hire like the prettiest girl at the bar.  Get them interested, using as few words as possible.  Let them play with the product..  Ask them the some key questions.  What do you think?  Given what's going on with the web today, what would you build next?  If you've had users, give the engineer user feedback.  If they are interested, you'll see the sparks flying.  You'll know it's going well if they start talking, hypothesizing, building Rome and using the pronoun 'we'.

Engineers that join early startups has an uncharacteristic (to their field) risk profile and you have to nourish their inner desire to do more than just code.  And guess what, the engineers I've worked with have WAY MORE TO CONTRIBUTE than just code.  They can smell a whartonite-seeking code monkey a mile away.  Don't be that guy!!!  Any early members at a startup is a utility player, the more they bring to the table, the better off you will be.

FYI, being able to recruit goes a long way towards building a team and moving your project along.  Which is to say, it's a major milestone in terms of showing a customer / investor you can get stuff done.  It'll also stop you from ever having to say, "I'm raising money to hire 3 rock star engineers from company XYZ that have already told me they'll quit their job once I can pay them X."  If you don't already know, the aforementioned statement is second only to, "You'll need to sign an NDA before I can tell you about my idea," on the list of things to say to get thrown out of a serious conversation about startups.

Only N00Bs Ask For Advisors / Investors

I'll preface this post with the fact that I spent the better part of 9 months reaching out to investors for money and anyone who had done anything remotely significant in my project's space asking for advice.  During that time, I found that there is a lot of goodwill in the startup/investment community and lots of great folks who field thoughtful responses to enthusiastic neophytes b/c they remember what that feels like.  In my case @joshk, @jayadelson, Kamran Pourzanjani and a few others, gave me way too much of their valuable time (based on a cold email / chance meeting), when I truly didn't deserve it...If you find yourself in that position, make sure you are respectful of how you use their ears when you have it, or you will certainly lose it.

The point is, investors invest and thought leaders advise (and sometimes invest too).  As an entrepreneur, you need both types of people involved in your startup, so it's natural to identify targets and phrase 'the ask'.  From my experience, that approach doesn't work.  But, I have found that the following approach works for both types of people.

Build a product, an MVP like I mentioned in my previous post, and get people using it.  Once that happens, try to get face to face with your target.  You should note that they probably won't take a meeting if they don't have a warm intro from someone they trust (ie someone that made them money).  So, go to the events they go to.  Politely introduced yourself, use your one-line pitch and show them your product.  Then, here's the really important part, SHUT YOUR MOUTH AND OPEN YOUR EARS.  If they aren't interested, they'll let you know.  If they are interested, they'll start talking and that's a good thing.  The most valuable commodity investors / advisors have is time.  If you are getting it, make sure you don't fuck it up.

Investors are highly intelligent and have tons of experience.  If they are interested their wheels start turning right away.  They'll have suggestions and questions, make assumptions that may or may not be true, and they'll give you an opportunity to demonstrate to them that you are the person that can take an interesting idea and turn it into a big business.  If all goes well and you jive, which is to say if they can believe they can convince their partners that you are investment worthy, they'll ask if you are raising money.  It's their job to invest.  They'll assume the reason you are talking to them is to raise money (b/c it is), so you don't have to ask.

Advisors are a little different, depending on their background / experience.  When talking to them, approach them in the same way I mentioned above.  If they are interested in you and / or your product, they'll come out and say, "What can I do to help?"  At that point, you don't need to ask them to advise you, b/c they've already offered.  FYI, you don't need to offer advisory equity to most people, especially if you haven't raised money / have a formal board.  As a matter of fact, I'd caution you as to anyone who says they'll advise you if you give them X.  Also, advisors are just that, so use them respectfully.  Especially at first, limit your asks to things that can be solved over coffee, introductions, etc.  After all, most advisors worth their salt are probably running their own companies / departments and advising multiple other startups, while trying to maintain some type of personal life.

Remember, you don't need to ask.  

Just F^cking Build It & Send It!

     As a nascent entrepreneur, my team and I have been knocking out projects for about 1.5 years.  Some better than others, but we have a few minimum viable products (MVPs) under our belt (and from my experience comes my .02, buyer beware).  With our latest project, I found that we were trying to build Rome.  This was a mistake we made with our first product, it was pointed out to us by @Votizen's David Binetti and we've tried to avoid doing it again ever since.  If for no other reason then to remind myself, "JUST FUCKING BUILD IT & SEND IT" & "DON'T BUILD ROME".

     There is a huge emphasis on perfecting your pitch, the elevator pitch, the my company is X for Y and so forth.  There should be as much, if not more, emphasis on building just enough to see if your product has a market / delivers value.  In our case, we have an integrated solution for e-commerce.  We have to add functionality to existing systems in order for our application to work.  So our barrier is higher than most.  But, if you are building a social solution, my advice to you is think ABACUS (ancient mathematical tool you played with in grade school).

     The abacus was around for thousands of years because it got the job done.  Later it was replaced by the slide rule, then calculator and now the calculator app...but it got the job done so people used it.  When you deliver value to a group of people in need, some portion of that group will use your product.  Then, once you've attracted some...focus on making it better to attract more.

     If your team is arguing about whether or not you'll lose more people b/c you don't have multiple login services setup, just get Facebook going and move on.  If you don't have Facebook and Twitter sharing setup yet, guess what?  If your app sucks, people won't share it anyway...time wasted installing those buttons / delaying your launch is time you'll never get back.  And don't add any 'You Can Also'.  Let me repeat...NO YCAs.  As a startup, your product does one thing.  If no one likes that one thing, take it down and do another.  No user will look past your first crappy offering to try some other (crappy) thing.  You have like 5 seconds to deliver value...otherwise they are gone forever.  First time users of web / mobile apps don't have time to figure stuff out...it's your job to make it so simple they don't have to think twice about how to use it.  When you are big you can add other stuff, when you are a startup you have to be focused on one thing at a time...