This unlikely story of startup success has some important lessons for entrepreneurs everywhere. — In 2010, a guy named Michael Dubin had graduated from college and was learning comedy improv while working various marketing and advertising gigs, trying to decide what to do with his life. One night he met a friend’s father at a party, and they started talking about the ridiculous cost…

People say that economics is boring. So unit economics must be really boring. And yet it’s a leading cause of startup death. — Unit Economics form the underpinning of any venture’s financial model: You have something that you can make for X, and you can sell it for Y. If you’re a bakery then your unit economics are pretty simple — every loaf of bread costs you X to make and you can…

The pandemic is over, but the Zoompocolypse lives on. The fact is that a lot of business today gets done via video calls — this is the new normal. For startup founders in 2023, it’s likely your first few meetings with a prospective investor will all be via video. So…

We’re definitely at the end of a cycle. — In the 80-year history of Silicon Valley there have been three major accelerants to the growth of the ecosystem. The first was the flood of research dollars provided by the Department of Defense during the 1960’s and 1970’s, the second was the greenfield internet and the lifting of H-1B visa…

Great entrepreneurs are great storytellers. And they always have a concise story that fits the current circumstance, ready at a moment’s notice. — In the fundraising world, pitching tends to be a series of meetings in increasing length. First the proverbial elevator encounter, where you only have time for a sentence or two that will get you the first formal meeting. Then that first meeting might be a few minutes over Zoom. Then…

The story has several key examples of startup success patterns. — In our minds, the rise of Zoom will always be associated with the pandemic. But in fact the Zoom team worked hard for eight years to build the company before Covid, and embedded in the story are several key success patterns that every startup founder should take note of. I…

What’s better, solo founders or co-founders? Either way, your startup success will rest on your ability to put together a great team. — I have been a solo startup founder and I’ve also been a co-founder with others. Honestly, I think my personality is better-suited to being a solo founder (and I suspect my former co-founders would agree). But for you, as you’re starting your venture, it is better to be a solo…

It’s a different environment right now — which makes it even more important that startup founders use a structured process. — I’ve experienced startup fundraising in good times and bad. During the easy-money days of the “dot com boom” I raised a $5M Series A, only to find myself looking for a Series B during the nuclear winter that followed the crash. I succeeded, but it wasn’t easy. Then, during the…

Entrepreneurs and innovators doing customer development interviews should always remember to peel back the onion. — If you’ve ever been in the consulting business, you know that the problem a client hires you for is usually not the problem the client actually has. Last week I had a call with a the founders of a venture that has been running successfully for a couple of years…