Over the years I worked with many startups. First as an employee, then as a manager, then as an investor, a board member and part of C-level management teams. I have been lucky to see startups from just about any angle. I've executed someone else's plan and made my own, I've invested in rounds and raised funding, I've worked with CEOs from positions below and above, the list goes on. Over the years I've looked at around 40,000 business plans/pitches, watched around 100 companies develop, worked closely with about 50 and accumulated some other impressive (and somewhat surprising for me) statistics. I've seen some big successes and some really hard landings. I also have had a privilege to live in Cambridge, UK, one of the first and biggest startup clusters in the world and to work closely with some people who were behind its formation decades ago as well as others who are making its history today.
I guess, what I am trying to say is that my life trajectory took me around the startup block in ways that not very many people have experienced.
And I love young companies. I know how hard it is, how long it takes, how brutal the success statistics are. I lost what was remaining of my rose glasses somewhere between the crisis of 2007-8 and the time it took to get to decent revenue for the startup I've been on the board of for about 10 years (looking very good now, fingers crossed!). But something inside me just releases a happy enzyme giving an energy boost when I look at a new company. A bit corny, I know.
I often get questions about various startup topics. Many repeat time and time again. So I've been wanting to start this blog for a long time. Now I have. Ta-da... It's the first time I am trying to do a blog. Paraphrasing a famous quote - a small step for mankind, a giant leap for one man. I want to thank good people at www.loyal.vc/ for giving me a gentle nudge to get going.
I called this “No to Startup BS” - in my experience startups don't really have time for BS or self-delusion. The money and years of your life keep ticking away. I see the upcoming posts as a collection of practical, no BS, real tips formed in the process of accumulating grey hair. Recently I started to more systematically collect questions that folks would like to get real answers to. For the most popular questions I will do a blog piece.
So - ask your question!
www.notostartupbs.com/
(or www.notobs.com if you feel this concept should be applied broader than only to startups).