Although Gene Kratz in the movie Apollo 13 (I know, terribly old school) did not in invent the phrase 'failure is not an option' (it was the screenwriters, according to wikipedia…who knows?), the quote is sprinkled through start up literature and presentations.  The NY Times magazine last weekend featured In Praise of Failure, well worth the…

Perhaps the major sin I have recently observed in my portfolio companies is letting available cash get below 6-9 months of cash burn. There are many good reasons for this, according to my CEO/founders, but I do not buy any of them. The CEO/founders first responsibility is to ensure that the company has enough cash…

I dragged myself out of bed at 430 AM this morning (should not have watched that Seattle/Washington MNF game) to attend a 730 AM Healthbox Investor meeting in Boston. I do this often as one never knows who they might meet and what connections can be made.  It turns out I met someone who can…

It's a lot harder than that…

I often say, 'You will always be a Dad' to new fathers, who are just beginning the lifelong journey of caring for a child (and an adult, in all cases, as being a parent never ends). I had the realization this morning on my walk that the same applies to founders and their start up.…

Congratulations! You raised your seed series or series A funding and now want to tell the world. Call a local PR firm and find out they want $10K to 'issue a press release'? Gulp. Gee, thanks…but I want to spend the new cash on sales and product development. There is an easier a better way:…

I am often asked by an entrepreneur…multiple times…about making the same decision. It may be about firing an employee, entering a new market, or some other tough call. The same question, again and again… In a start up, taking time with some decisions is important. Others? Get it done…fast..How does one tell the difference?  Consider…

One of the problems I often see in early stage start ups is the lack of co-founders on a team. Someone has a great idea, but is not a developer, or vice versa. Or someone needs a business developer, or a CTO or CFO. You get it. I have known about Co-Founder Labs for a while,…

Whenever I'd have a 'brilliant idea', I'd ask my Mom if it made sense. If I had to go on for over a few minutes, I knew that the idea needed more work to make it easily explainable. Now that Mom is passed, my CFO (and wife of 47 years) has taken the place of…

One of the frustrating problems VC's face is the entrepreneur who sets unrealistic deadlines. Whether its a business plan revision to evaluate, a monthly update on the company, or legal docs for signature, I seem to be always chasing people who promised them to me weeks ago. I realize that entrepreneurs have a lot more…