Tag: Founders
-
How do you think the Air Force inspects nuclear missile silos? A cool green laser, or maybe some infrared goggles? Well, until recently, they did it like this: “…Joe on a rope with a hammer, he was listening to the sound that the silos made when he hit it.” That’s…
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ AI, Artificial Intelligence, Defens, Defense, Entrepreneur, Finance, Founders, Investing, Money, Robotics, Robots, Startups, Tech, Technology, Venture Capital, YC+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
-
I once met a founder who went into $700,000 of debt for his startup. On the Mr. Bray Labs podcast, I dug into that and other crazy stories I’ve seen in my 3.5 years investing in startups. Here are some of my favorite moments from the Part 2 with Jesse:…
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ Angel Invesing, Business, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Founders, Investing, Money, Silicon Valley, Startup, Startups, Tech, VC, Venture Capital+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
-
+
+
+
+
+
+
If you’ve ever met with me, chances are I was on time. Today, I thought I’d share the little trick I use to ensure I’m never late. I fine myself $10 for every minute I’m late. Being late costs me $600 an hour. Telling myself “Don’t be late!” is one…
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
-
+
+
+
+
+
+
“Let me tell you how we got here…” This is the most useless part of a startup’s pitch. But you’d be amazed how many founders spend a ton of time on it! “Well, we started with furniture sales, then we pivoted to eVTOL sandwich delivery. But the FAA shut us…
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ Entrepreneur, Finance, Founders, Investing, Money, Small Business, Startups, Tech, VC, Venture Capital+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
-
+
+
+
+
+
+
“A lot of VC’s just want to give us money because we’re in YC. They don’t care about what we’re building.” That was a great founder I spoke with yesterday who’s currently in YC. It seems insane to me, but a lot of investors operate like this. Team, product, traction,…
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
-
+
+
+
+
+
+
Here are the financial situations of a few founders I know: 1) Salary paused indefinitely.2) Searching for side jobs to pay the bills while continuing to run the company.3) Relying on a spouse with a normal job because the startup isn’t making money. We’re talking enormous stress here. But money…
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
-
+
+
+
+
+
+
Yesterday afternoon, I was chatting with a great founder. She was having a really hard time — her two co-founders had just left the company. People rarely talk about co-founder divorce. But it happens, and when it does, it has a profound effect on a company. After a co-founder breakup,…
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
-
+
+
+
+
+
+
You love the founder and the company is crushing it. Time to write a check, right? Think again. There’s one other little matter that needs to be ironed out before I invest in a startup: finding a lead investor. A lead investor sets the price and terms of the round.…
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ Entrepreneur, Finance, Founders, Investing, Money, Silicon Valley, Startups, Tech, VC, Venture Capital+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
-
+
+
+
+
+
+
When I e-mail my friends in VC during the summer, they often take 1-4 weeks to get back to me. Are you sure you want to raise right now? Every year, venture fundraising hits two troughs: one in the summer, and another between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. And yet, some…
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
-
+
+
+
+
+
+
What makes a great deck? Where can angels find deals? I dug into all that and more on the very first episode of the OpenVC podcast! Here are some of my favorite moments… 2:03: How I got into angel investing and finding some early success. 9:43: Helping founders after I…
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
Tremendous 