Mastering the VC Game: A Venture Capital Insider Reveals How to Get from Start-up to IPO on Your Terms is written by Jeff Bussgang, General Partner at Flybridge Capital Partners. Follow him on Twitter here, and read his own thoughts about the book here. Jeff has been a VC for a number of years, but […]
Startup CEOs: Masters of Alignment
If there’s one thing startup CEOs have to excel at it’s managing the alignment of interests across a ton of different people. It’s a lot more complicated than you might think. Alignment means everyone is pushing for the same goals and executing on their part in order to see the shared goals realized. It’s impossible […]
Startup CEOs: Delegate Responsibility Don’t Outsource It
So here begins a possible series of posts for startup CEOs and founders, based on my experience with Standout Jobs (and before that). I have a few ideas to work on, we’ll see what comes of them. Here’s the first… The role of startup CEO is to delegate responsibility, not outsource it. I’ve mentioned before […]
Standout Jobs has been Acquired
Around 3 years ago I started Standout Jobs with two great guys – Fred Ngo and Austin Hill. We raised money, built a great product, hired an incredible team and worked to build a business. Today I’m pleased to announce that we’ve sold Standout Jobs. I can’t name the acquirer at this point in time. […]
Design Web Apps With a Scalpel Not a Hammer
Design works when it solves problems. And there aren’t many problems on the Web that you can solve using a hammer. Slamming someone upside the head is generally not the best way of getting them to do what you want. Brute force has its place, but if you’ve pummelled someone into submission, they’re not likely […]
And You Thought Building Product Features Was Easy?
Laura Klein really blew my mind with her post: 6 Questions to Ask Before Launching a New Feature. I don’t think I’ve ever put that much thought into adding a feature before. From now on, I’m going to make damn sure I do (or at least try!) The only addition I can really make is […]
Startup Founders: It’s Not About Smarts, It’s About Being Opportunistic
In a recent presentation, How to Start a Company While Still in School, I said it was important to be open, take risks and be strategic. That’s absolutely true. In the presentation I said, “I’m seeking startup people.” Originally I had written on the presentation slide, “I’m seeking smart people” but I changed it for […]
8 Things to Look for When Hiring Startup Talent
Once you have an aggressive system in place for building a recruiting magnet and sourcing talent you need to have a clear sense of what to look for in each potential candidate. When initially sourcing, you don’t need to spend a ton of time reviewing people’s profiles, analyzing resumes, etc. You just find interesting people […]
How to Start a Company While Still in School
I started my first company in 1996 while attending McGill University. It was between my 3rd and 4th years. I completed my degree and graduated, but work was a heck of a lot more fun. Plus, I never picked up my diploma… Earlier today I spoke at Startup Square’s inaugural event. What’s great about Startup […]
10 Steps to Successfully Sourcing and Recruiting Startup Talent
Hiring people remains one of the biggest challenges and mysteries for startups. Since most CEOs and founders aren’t trained recruiters, they generally have very little idea about how to recruit properly. And because they’re so busy running their startups, they rarely invest enough time in the recruiting process. Hiring at startups is extremely difficult Even […]
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