The Startup Help Desk

In this episode we talk about staying positive. Things constantly go wrong at every startup company. How do you stay positive in the face of bad news? How do you keep your team motivated? We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including:What if your big product launch flops?What do you do if your competitor announces big news?How can you keep your team focused on the big picture?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website TheStartupHelpdesk.com or on X/Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you!Your hosts:Sean Byrnes: General Partner, Near Horizon www.nearhorizon.vcAsh Rust: Managing Partner, Sterling Road www.sterlingroad.comNic Meliones: CEO, Navi www.heynavi.comReminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice.Q1: What if your big product launch flops?Product launches rarely meet sky-high expectations: normalize the disappointment. Then, reframe the launch as a learning milestone. Even if metrics fell short, you've gained valuable data on what resonates (or doesn't) with customers. Highlight those learnings to your team.Adopt an “Always Be Launching” mindset. Shift from high-stakes drops to ongoing micro-launches that build momentum. Celebrate the team's efforts: recognize execution, creativity, and resilience.Finally, share a clear next step to drive focus and restore confidence. Forward motion beats stagnation when morale dips.Q2: What do you do if your competitor announces big news?Your team may feel shaken, but this is your cue to lead with clarity—not comparison. Fundraising is not a win; strategy is.Remind your team: we're playing our game. If the strategy is working, there is no need to chase others. Be transparent about your game plan. Explain how you're building durable advantages, like customer love, product strength, or operational excellence.Reaffirm your long-term edge. If you're not raising now, frame that as a strength. Perhaps your growth and margins mean you don't need to. Teams rally behind leaders who bring context, calm, and conviction.Q3: How can you keep your team focused on the big picture?Start with transparency. Let your team know what happened, why it matters, and also how it fits into the bigger picture.Then reframe: one customer is not your whole trajectory. Point to forward-looking metrics like pipeline growth, retention, and new demand.Most importantly: market to your team. Use repetition to reinforce your mission and momentum. When the team believes in the future, they stay focused despite setbacks.

In this episode we talk about getting started. Founding a company means you are constantly learning to do new things, like hiring and selling. How do you handle these new situations where you have no experience? How do you avoid mistakes? We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including:How is AI changing the nature of work?How do you stay ahead of how fast AI is changing today?Will my data advantage still be an advantage in the future?Can AI really replace employees for me?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website TheStartupHelpdesk.com or on X/Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you!Your hosts:Sean Byrnes: General Partner, Near Horizon www.nearhorizon.vcAsh Rust: Managing Partner, Sterling Road www.sterlingroad.comNic Meliones: CEO, Navi www.heynavi.comReminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice.Q1: How is AI changing the nature of work?AI has transformed daily workflows across every part of the startup journey. From first drafts of sales and marketing copy, to deep research using tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity, it's become the first step for many creative processes. Internal tooling has gotten faster with tools like Replit and Cursor, while product discovery now often starts with AI instead of Amazon. Whether it's coding, devOps, or customer discovery, AI gives founders leverage.Q2: How do you stay ahead of how fast AI is changing today?The key is to stay focused on your customer. While tech shifts rapidly, true customer pain changes slowly. Solve real, urgent problems—and use AI tools along the way to stay nimble. It's totally fine to use APIs like OpenAI's or wrap an existing model. The winning strategy? Build something valuable today, and keep evolving it with your users.Q3: Will my data advantage still be an advantage in the future?"Proprietary data" is losing its edge. Even Bloomberg's private GPT underperformed public models. Unless your data is restricted, hyper-niche, or massive, it's probably not a moat. What matters more is how well you deliver value to users—accuracy, speed, experience, and reliability. That's your real advantage.Q4: Can AI really replace employees for me?It's not about replacing people—it's about hiring the right combination of people and AI. Founders need to build the muscle of managing both. The real opportunity is in learning when to hire a human, and when to "hire" an AI tool. Treat AI as an employee that never sleeps, but still needs thoughtful management. We are already seeing plenty of instances where founders are using AI to replace content marketing teams. Furthermore, there is a trend towards smaller engineering teams, with engineers using AI tools to complement and accelerate their efforts.

In this episode we talk about getting started. Founding a company means you are constantly learning to do new things, like hiring and selling. How do you handle these new situations where you have no experience? How do you avoid mistakes? We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including:How do I find a co-founder?How do I sell my first customers before my product is ready?How do I hire my first salesperson?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website TheStartupHelpdesk.com or on X/Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you!Your hosts:Sean Byrnes: General Partner, Near Horizon www.nearhorizon.vcAsh Rust: Managing Partner, Sterling Road www.sterlingroad.comNic Meliones: CEO, Navi www.heynavi.comReminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice.Q1: How do I find a co-founder?Start by joining co-founder matching platforms like YC's co-founder matching, university mailing lists, and local meetups. Often, friends or friends of friends are the best connections.Talk about what you're building on social media at least three times a week.When you find a promising partner, work on a small project together first to test compatibility.Join hackathons, take on side projects, or participate in school challenges to build experience.Investigate problems that you are uniquely positioned to work on.Develop a durable skill set, especially in building products in emerging markets like AI.Q2: How do I sell my first customers before my product is ready?This is a great opportunity to create a design partnership.Consider offering a mix of services and software to get started.If they truly need your solution, they will be patient—it's a good test of urgency.Avoid endlessly delaying until you feel "ready"—perfection is a myth.Set a target date for release and keep them engaged along the way.Keep delivering value:Continue discovery—learn more about their specific needs.Provide access to prototypes and early versions.Offer no-cost pilots to keep them involved during final development stages.Q3: How do I hire my first salesperson?Seek advice from people who have hired salespeople before—they can guide you.Even if you don't fully understand sales, great people can help you hire the right person.Ensure you're actually ready—do you have a structured sales playbook to guide them?Write a clear sales playbook before hiring. If you can't, you're not ready yet.Post the job broadly to attract a wide range of candidates.Ask candidates to produce a sales deck or similar work sample as part of the screening process.Ash underscores how challenging it is to hire your first salesperson with this: hire three people, knowing that only one will likely be the right long-term fit.Tune into the full episode to learn how to navigate these challenging "getting started" moments!

In this episode we talk about process. Big companies have a lot of process, but startups have very little. How much process is enough for your startup? When do you have too little, or too much? We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including:When is the right time to introduce process?What if an employee refuses to follow our processes?How do I know if we are using too much process?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website TheStartupHelpdesk.com or on X/Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you!Your hosts:Sean Byrnes: General Partner, Near Horizon www.nearhorizon.vcAsh Rust: Managing Partner, Sterling Road www.sterlingroad.comNic Meliones: CEO, Navi www.heynavi.comReminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice.Q1: When is the right time to introduce process?Too little process leads to chaos. Too much process slows you down. So how do you strike the right balance? The key is to avoid predictable failures – like running out of money, missing legal obligations, or failing to talk to enough customers. You should introduce process selectively to prevent these known risks.Some processes will naturally emerge as your startup grows. Instead of forcing structure too early, focus on where process adds real value, such as:- Goal setting (weekly, monthly, quarterly).- Standardized specs for software to maintain quality.- Clear rules for custom sales requests to avoid overpromising.The bottom line: don't create process for process's sake. Evolve it intentionally as your startup grows.Q2: What if a sales employee refuses to follow our processes?High performing salespeople often bend the rules. Should you let them? It depends.What really matters: are they selling the right value proposition? If they are delivering strong sales results without misleading customers or breaking pricing rules, flexibility can be beneficial.What's not OK: selling things that don't exist. Overpromising features. Ignoring pricing guidelines.How to handle it: give feedback and set clear boundaries. If you allow flexibility, let them know that you are basing it on performance. If the performance drops, that flexibility disappears.Bonus tip: you might actually learn from this sales employee! Great salespeople often find better ways to sell – listen and refine your processes accordingly.Q3: How do I know if we are using too much process?Warning signs:- Your velocity feels slow and your team struggles to keep up with opportunities.- Customers are moving faster than your product development.- You're spending more time on approvals and red tape than executing.The right amount of process should be invisible – it makes work easier, not harder. If process is slowing you down, cut back.A common trap: founders who hire product managers from large companies often end up with too much process. If your team feels like they are drowning in structure, it's time to simplify.

In this episode we talk about employee problems. If you have employees, some of them will create problems that you will have to solve. How do you solve employee problems without firing someone? When do you have to fire someone? We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including:How do I handle an underperforming co-founder?What can I do about an employee who is chronically late?What if you suspect an employee has a second job?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website TheStartupHelpdesk.com or on X/Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you!Your hosts:Sean Byrnes: General Partner, Near Horizon www.nearhorizon.vcAsh Rust: Managing Partner, Sterling Road www.sterlingroad.comNic Meliones: CEO, Navi www.heynavi.comReminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice.Q1: How do I handle an underperforming co-founder?Here are our actionable tips:Weekly 1-on-1s are essential for resolving conflict and achieving alignment.Establish clear expectations for alignment and performance.Reflect on your own contributions to the problem: ask yourself, “what can I do better?”Seek coaching opportunities for your co-founder or explore if they might be a better fit in a different role.If you cannot achieve alignment with your co-founder, consider parting ways.Q2: What can I do about an employee who is chronically late?There are two distinct perspectives to consider:Flexibility is an advantage for your startup. Amazing talent with unorthodox work habits may unlock immense value for your startup.However, collaboration is key. The ability to collaborate is one of the most important skills someone needs in a startup. If punctuality impacts team dynamics, it is essential to address it.We had to settle this one through a tie-breaker decision! Be firm. Small adjustments are acceptable, but don't compromise the ability to collaborate. All work is collaborative. Your team has to work together to achieve goals.Q3: What if you suspect an employee has a second job?1: Outcomes matter more than effort. Are they meeting their goals?2: Consider the cost of losing them vs. the value they bring to your startup.3: Reiterate that team meetings and collaborative efforts are non-negotiable.The key takeaway is this: ignoring problems sets a precedent that affects company culture. Company culture matters.

In this episode we talk about giving up. Startup companies are hard, and at some point you need to ask whether it's worth grinding or just moving onto something new. When do you stay the course, and when do you give up? We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including:Should you keep pursuing a goal that is out of reach?How long should you keep trying if the business is flat?What happens when co-founders can't work together anymore?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website TheStartupHelpdesk.com or on X/Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you!Your hosts:Sean Byrnes: General Partner, Near Horizon www.nearhorizon.vcAsh Rust: Managing Partner, Sterling Road www.sterlingroad.comNic Meliones: CEO, Navi www.heynavi.comReminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice.Q1. Should you keep pursuing a goal that is out of reach?We shared varied perspectives on this one!Goals are meant to guide progress. Sometimes it is necessary to adjust them to stay relevant and motivating. Adjusting a goal can ensure that you keep your team's focus on achievable and impactful results, rather than unattainable targets that may demotivate your team.However, is is important to not create a culture where you habitually lower goals. This can incentivize the wrong behaviors. People will realize that it takes less effort to campaign to reduce the target when compared to the amount of work it takes to reach the goal. Thus, there are plenty of reasons to leave an ambitious goal unchanged – there are benefits to falling short of a goal.If you fall short of a goal, conduct a retrospective on what went wrong and implement changes to avoid repeating the same mistakes.Q2. How long should you keep trying if the business is flat?Deciding to give up on your startup is a personal and often emotional choice, but there are key signals to consider:- Team members or co-founders are leaving.- Customers are disengaged and growth has plateaued.- You feel increasing opportunity costs for staying with the venture.- The company is running out of cash without a clear path to sustainability.- There are no viable options to sell the business.Founders often face the question of whether to persevere or pivot. While icons of persistence may inspire founders to keep going, not all startups are destined to succeed. If critical signals point to insurmountable challenges, it may be time to move on and apply lessons learned to the next venture.Q3. What happens when co-founders can't work together anymore?Disagreements or misalignment with a co-founder can harm the company's growth and morale. Before making the decisions to separate, attempt to address the root causes of conflict and realign expectations.However, if the relationship has been toxic for an extended period of time and is unresolvable, parting ways may be the best choice for your company's future. We are not attorneys and this is not legal advice, so please consult your attorneys when parting ways with your co-founder. Ensure the separation process is clean and legal to avoid future disputes. A parting co-founder that retains large amounts of equity or board rights could impede the company's long-term success, so consult with legal experts to protect the business.

In this episode we dive into annual planning. All companies need annual plans, but most companies don't know how to build great plans. What does a great plan look like? How do you make sure your team believes in your plan? We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including:What should be part of an annual plan?How do I get my team bought into my plan?How aggressive should our annual goals be?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website TheStartupHelpdesk.com or on X/Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you!Your hosts:Sean Byrnes: General Partner, Near Horizon www.nearhorizon.vcAsh Rust: Managing Partner, Sterling Road www.sterlingroad.comNic Meliones: CEO, Navi www.heynavi.comReminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice.Q1: What should be part of an annual plan?Revenue is the centerpiece of startup annual planning. Goals that directly tie to revenue include: Distribution, Engagement, and Churn.Other goals that correspond to revenue include:- Product milestones, particularly those that correspond to features customers want.- Launch dates.- Runway and budget.- Hiring.Most importantly – all these lower level goals should clearly impact the higher level goals like revenue – so don't agree on a launch date for a new feature if you do not also expect it to drive a meaningful increase in revenue.Before you start your annual planning, make sure to align your goals with the reality facing your startup.- For a pre-revenue startup: the goal is to start growing.- For a startup that has validated demand: the goal is to accelerate growth.- For a startup that recognizes that something critical is not working: the goal is to validate that next major hypothesis.Q2: How do I get my team bought into my plan?Ambitious goals require better performance across multiple teams. You need them to work together instead of pointing fingers.Start with an objective evaluation of your metrics. How's your pipeline? How are your conversions? Anything that is not performing well enough needs to improve, regardless of function.This is where great communication and leadership ability really shines. An ambitious goal requires that you convince others to do great work. Telling people to do the work is easy. However, motivating people to want to do the work is a different story entirely. You need to galvanize all teams around a big goal.Consider different ways to deliver your motivating message. For example, if both teams need to improve performance in order to achieve your goal (which is likely), then craft a plan that focuses on ambitious targets where you are going to “test assumptions” about ways you can unlock even greater performance. Testing an assumption can unify folks around a common goal instead of pointing fingers.Q3: How aggressive should our annual goals be?Investors invest in growth. 3x growth is an accurate benchmark for what investors expect for a startup. However, the business needs to grow on its own; you can't always push it. If that growth is not possible, you might just not be a venture-backable company. Depending on your industry, you might have different goals. Talk to your investors!As an alternative, set a realistic goal: get profitable.- Cut costs.- Raise prices.- Focus on your most engaged customers.That way, you don't need to raise or at least you won't need to raise urgently.

In this episode we dive into competitive advantages. Everyone knows they need them, but what are they? How can you have competitive advantages when you are just starting out? What happens if you lose them? We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including:What competitive advantages can you have when you first start?What happens if we lose our competitive advantage?How can we turn one advantage into many?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website TheStartupHelpdesk.com or on X/Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you!Your hosts:Sean Byrnes: General Partner, Near Horizon www.nearhorizon.vcAsh Rust: Managing Partner, Sterling Road www.sterlingroad.comNic Meliones: CEO, Navi www.heynavi.comReminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice.Q1: What competitive advantages can you have when you first start?Competitive advantages evolve over time. However, some may appear on day 1. For example, a founder with deep technical expertise can offer a unique product. Furthermore, a founder with an established brand can bring an existing audience to sell to. Having an existing distribution channel – and brand name early customers to provide social proof – helps fortify an early distribution advantage.While these advantages are helpful, the key is to continuously understand your customers and validate their needs.Q2: What happens if we lose our competitive advantage?Advantages are often short-lived, especially as your competition learns from you and copies your advantage.A competitive advantage offers a head start, but the goal is to transform that head start into ongoing customer engagement and product development that solve your customers' problems and exceeds their expectations. Thus, an enduring advantage comes from constantly "talking to users" and building products they love.Building a talented and committed team is also key. If you can keep talented folks working at your company longer than the competition, that is an advantage.Q3: How can we turn one advantage into many?Your product being the "best" is rarely enough. Founders must stay tuned into their customers' needs while understanding why prospects choose the competition. If people are buying solutions to address their problems, that's already good news! Now you need to understand how to assure that customers consider your startup during the buying decision.Test new approaches to better communicate the value that your product provides prospective customers. At the same time, complete "postmortems" with lost prospects to understand why they chose your competitor.The more time you spend talking to customers (prospective buyers, existing buyers, and those that you lost to the competition), the faster you can unlock new advantages.

In this episode we dive into raising extensions and bridge rounds. Many companies are looking to these as ways to extend their runway, but they can be complicated. How do you go about raising these kinds of rounds? We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including:What is the difference between an Extension and a Bridge round?How do I talk to my investors about an Extension?What happens if one of my investors won't participate?How much should you raise for an Extension?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website TheStartupHelpdesk.com or on X/Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you!Your hosts:Sean Byrnes: General Partner, Near Horizon www.nearhorizon.vcAsh Rust: Managing Partner, Sterling Road www.sterlingroad.comNic Meliones: CEO, Navi www.heynavi.comReminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice.Q0: What is the difference between an Extension and a Bridge round?Extensions and bridge rounds are the same: you're raising a smaller amount before the next priced round, instead of an actual priced round. There are 2 reasons to do it: a position of strength or weakness. Weakness is the most common situation and you will see people use the term "bridge round" more often here. The term "extension" sounds better, so you should always use that.When pursuing this type of round, usually you have not grown as fast you would like and thus need more time to hit the milestone needed for the next round. That time requires a little more money.When pursuing an extension from a position of strength: you have grown very quickly, your existing investors are desperate to add more to their investment and you only need a relatively small amount to skip the next round completely.Q1: How do I talk to my investors about an Extension?You really don't want this to be the first time they hear the news. Make sure you send regular monthly updates to your investors. This makes a huge difference in investors' willingness to help. Make a basic plan first, with the projections and expected outcomes: the extension should prepare you for a great priced round or liquidity event. Then, contact your friendliest folks first and build momentum.Investors say "no" via email all the time to founders. It is important to break through the noise. Call your investors or meet them in-person to ask for their participation in the extension.Q2: What happens if one of my investors won't participate?This is a very common problem. Close the yeses now. A SAFE is one of the more common funding methods for this type of round. Then, you have to decouple the dependencies. Does this investor have real concerns and obstacles? Does this investor just not have the cash to allocate to the extension?If you cannot get this investor to participate in the round, start rallying new investors. Consider alternatives such as crowdfunding, too.Q3: How much should you raise for an Extension?What's your next milestone? Agree on that first. Then: how much cash do you need to reach your next milestone?Aiming for 12+ months of runway is not a bad way to frame it, but milestones are more important. Is there a critical revenue milestone that you are approaching? Is there a key growth milestone that this extension can help you achieve? Investors want their cash to be fuel for reaching major milestones. Identify the right milestone, and map out how much cash you need to reach it. With that number in hand, remember that you almost always need more funding than you think to reach a given milestone.

In this episode we dive into category creation and what it takes to win in a new category. Many startups are building products unlike anything that has existed before, but how do you build a category around it? How do you let people know it even exists? We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including:What is category creation?How do you anticipate the need for a new category?How do you educate the market that your new category exists?How do you maintain a competitive advantage as your category grows? Sean Byrnes has co-founded, scaled, and sold multiple startups and has invested in and advised countless others. "Category creation" has been central to Sean's ability to go from 0 to 1 and beyond. Ash and Nic put Sean on the hot seat to unlock winning strategies around category creation.All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website TheStartupHelpdesk.com or on X/Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you!Your hosts:Sean Byrnes: General Partner, Near Horizon www.nearhorizon.vcAsh Rust: Managing Partner, Sterling Road www.sterlingroad.comNic Meliones: CEO, Navi www.heynavi.comQ0: What is category creation?If you are selling something where there was nothing like it before, it's category creation. This differs from scenarios where you are selling a product that replaces something else (a product, a person/role). In those cases, it's a replacement.Q1: How do you anticipate the need for a new category?Category creation starts with problems. For example, you may observe old problems that go from small to huge (SaaS). Another way for opportunities to emerge is from problems that arise through new technologies, markets, or changes (mobile apps).“What kinds of problems are increasing in pain but now may be solvable given this shift?” These opportunities all start with inflection points: something needs to change to disrupt the status quo.Creating new categories is usually not the best approach. Even if it is, it often takes years before people recognize that the category exists.Q2: How do you educate the market that your new category exists?While replacement products are all about competitive advantages, category creation is all about education.Most of the education is not about your product. Instead, educate your prospective customers that it's possible to solve the problem! You just want everyone to know that solutions exist. Teach people what to look for in solutions: give them criteria and teach them how to evaluate.With “education” as a central component of your strategy, you still need to stay true to your classic startup principles: validate that people have a need, show them a clear use case, and generate proof that prospective customers want it badly.Q3: How do you maintain a competitive advantage as your category grows?First mover advantage is a fantasy. You would much rather be second or third. If you do create a category, there are a few advantages you can build up:- Premium customer logos.- Create your own conferences.- Prime positioning with analysts/industry coverage.- Defining the industry standard.Treat customers like co-researchers on this emerging frontier. Earned and owned media builds trust and buy-in.Lightning RoundHow do you validate demand for this type of startup? Is it different in any way than the classic methods that startups should take?What's more important: a crystal ball type of ability to anticipate a new category of opportunity or the ability to iterate quickly when an opportunity presents itsel

In this episode we dive into new kinds of Venture Capital firms and what they offer startups. Many startups seek venture funding, but most funds look the same. What can new types of funds offer? When are they a good fit for you? We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including:How involved should a typical VC be?What's more important the founders or the market?What are examples of an “unfair advantage” that a startup can have? We also hear details on Sterling Road and Near Horizon, two new kinds of venture firms started by our own Ash and Sean!All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website TheStartupHelpdesk.com or on X/Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you!Your hosts:Sean Byrnes: General Partner, Near Horizon www.nearhorizon.vcAsh Rust: Managing Partner, Sterling Road www.sterlingroad.comNic Meliones: CEO, Navi www.heynavi.comQ1: How involved should a typical VC be?For a typical investor, ideally they should not be involved much at all. Many VCs don't have experience operating a startup, thus, their advice can be distracting. Nonetheless, it is still important to keep them regularly tuned in via monthly status updates.For investors that have built and led startups, their help can be significantly more meaningful. With Sterling Road, Ash provides regular cadence coaching to help your startup at the earliest stages. This also includes hiring intros, customer intros, community access, and fundraising help.Sean explains that Near Horizon gets as involved as possible, but they aren't the CEO. You need a CEO with vision and deep knowledge of the space; Near Horizon is the booster rocket to make them better. They support the CEO with a wide range of founder-centric efforts, but fundraising and hiring remain the CEO's responsibility.Q2: What's more important the founders or the market?You need both! Let's talk about the table stakes for a startup:1: The market: it needs to be a huge problem with a lot of potential buyers.2: The founders: impressive founder with a history of success and resilience is key. The founder will make or break the company.3: Proof: then you need a great idea, evidence that it might work, a demo, and a bunch of customer discovery.Great founders can build businesses in small markets, but not venture-backable businesses. Weak founders can show traction in big markets but will struggle to scale. Investors are looking for a unicorn, and that is very rare. Most investors review hundreds if not thousands of startups for every one investment.Q3: What are examples of an “unfair advantage” that a startup can have?Ash explained that Sterling Road prizes advantages in tech, network effects, and user experience (usually based on tech, otherwise a competitor could easily copy it).Sean emphasized that Near Horizon looks for founders with unfair advantages in distribution. You need a way to reach your customers that isn't paid advertising.Other nice-to-haves include:Hiring - having a network of amazing people who want to join your team.Customer rolodex - knowing the first dozen or so buyers.Lightning RoundDo founders make the best investors?What's a clear signal or indicator from a startup that can make it interesting to potentially invest?After three months of receiving the Near Horizon or Sterling Road golden touch, what's the change that a startup should experience – what can they now do differently?

In this episode we answer questions about growth. Specifically, what do you do if your growth has stalled? How do you find a new growth engine? We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including:How do I break out of a flat sales slump?How do I avoid spending all my time fighting with competitors for deals?How do I stand out in a crowded market?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website TheStartupHelpdesk.com or on X/Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you!Your hosts:Sean Byrnes: General Partner, Near Horizon www.nearhorizon.vcAsh Rust: Managing Partner, Sterling Road www.sterlingroad.comNic Meliones: CEO, Navi www.heynavi.comReminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice. Q1: How do I break out of a flat sales slump?Start by reviewing some of your growth fundamentals to make sure your key pillars are in a good spot. Your ICP: do you know your Ideal Customer Profile, and do you have evidence that this customer category has demand for a solution? Proof: do you have proof that your product is generating great value for customers (and have you created assets based on that proof)? Referrals: are you making it easy to get referrals? Make sure these pillars are in a healthy spot first.Then, investigate which growth levers need more attention. Your sales funnel is one such lever that is critical to this process. Conduct a sales funnel analysis:- Are we doing enough initial calls or getting enough signups?- Are enough people getting excited or engaged when they see the product? 10-20% is a good baseline.- Are enough people becoming paying customers after they try it out? Converting 30% of trials is a good baseline.- Look for the chokepoints: where are the easiest places to improve?Q2: How do I avoid spending all my time fighting with competitors for deals?Listen to your customers. It's likely both products fail in some way for the customer. You may be able to find an opportunity to differentiate that value you provide by addressing this unmet need. Furthermore, you may unearth a subset of customers whose needs are going unmet. Don't be afraid to take a risk and test new ideas and features.Much of this is a function of changing how you – as the founder – frame the strategy. Spend less time talking about the competitor and more time talking about how the world should look. Seeking parity is what turned Blackberry from a global force in cellphones into what it is today. You want to build an iPhone, and that's not going to come from matching the competition.Consider how you can change the game through radical product changes, radical pricing changes, and radical strategic moves.Another avenue to consider: this can be a great opportunity for a merger! There are many notable examples (include Sean with Flurry) where two high growth startups merge, with one brand leading the charge moving forward.Q3: How do I stand out in a crowded market?You never win by playing the same game as everyone else. Look at where the market is going and try to get there first. Understand the pain better and find a new way to fix it. Find a new crowd!A common mistake is to differentiate by highlighting the features you have compared to the competition. Instead, differentiate through storytelling – what opportunity is emerging in the world, and how can your startup be the engine that makes it possible for your customers to participate in that opportunity? That's what people care about.

In this episode we answer questions about your top employees. The biggest problem with top employees is that they might leave! How do you make sure they stick around? We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including:What to do if a key employee wants to become a founder themselves?How do I handle competitors trying to hire my best salespeople?How do we keep our first employee as the company scales?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website TheStartupHelpdesk.com or on X/Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you!Your hosts:Sean Byrnes: General Partner, Near Horizon www.nearhorizon.vcAsh Rust: Managing Partner, Sterling Road www.sterlingroad.comNic Meliones: CEO, Navi www.heynavi.comReminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice.Q1: What do I do if a key employee wants to become a founder themselves?Ideally, you would be the one suggesting that this key employee become a co-founder, not the other way around. You don't want someone to hold you ransom on their pursuit of this new title. Further, becoming a co-founder is another level of commitment. If they have demonstrated they are up for the task, set expectations about what new responsibilities come with the co-founder title.One of the challenges with adding a co-founder later in the process can be equity. Be generous with equity without sacrificing your ability to hire more great people. Don't be afraid of big equity grants on 6 year vesting schedules. Lastly, you can make key employees feel exceptionally valued without giving them a co-founder title. Don't rush into offering someone this new responsibility before thinking about how else to value their great work.Q2: How do I handle competitors trying to hire my best salespeople?Top salespeople are an incredible asset – there is always a risk that your competition will try to lure them away. Salespeople are motivated by money. If they think they will make more money with you, they will stay. However, this means they need to believe they can sell more with you.Make sure your commission plan is competitive. This allows you to further reward performance with less pressure to raise salaries and guaranteed money. Give your salespeople more accelerators for hitting or exceeding their targets. Make sure the targets are not unreasonable.This proactive approach can keep you in the driver seat. The golden ticket to stopping the competition from hiring away your best talent? Continuously create great reasons for top performers to stay.Q3: How do we keep our first employee as the company scales?So, one of your best engineers wants to leave and start their own company. And you're worried others might leave with them? When you hire great talent, there is always the risk that they will leave to pursue their next great opportunity. Once someone talks about leaving, odds are they are going to leave eventually.The best policy for retention is love not fear. Wish them well. If you have the means to do so, consider investing in their next startup.Going forward, do a better job of understanding top employees' motivations. You can provide more ownership to someone like this, much earlier in the process.Implement a transition plan. If they aren't on a deadline, they might be willing to stay for a few months so you can hire a replacement. Along the way, make sure you understand if there is anything they are running away from.Most importantly, give others a reason to stay. If your startup offers more value to top performers than the alternative, you can make staying better than leaving.

In this episode we answer questions about underperforming employees. If you have a team, some people on that team will underperform. What do you do when that happens? Can you turn them around, or do you have to let them go? We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including:How long should you give an employee to ramp up?Why would a top sales person start missing targets?What do you do about executives that aren't working full time?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website TheStartupHelpdesk.com or on X/Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you!Reminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice.Q1: How long should you give an employee to ramp up?An underperforming new hire is not good news. You should be excited about new people joining your company, not concerned!It is critical to move quickly. For a technical new hire, you want them to at least be pushing code by the 2 week mark. If a new hire hasn't made you say “wow” in the first 6 weeks, the odds of it working out are not in your favor.Overall, an 8-12 week ramp up timeline is reasonable, as long as you are seeing the proper early milestones and an acceleration of key contributions. That being said, if it is not working out by as early as the 2 week mark, you need to take action. Remember, the longer you keep someone who isn't working out, the harder it is for them to explain the gap in their resume. Thus, deciding to part ways early in the process can benefit both your startup and the new hire.Q2: Why would a top sales person start missing targets?Start by investigating why they missed their targets. Is there not enough pipeline? Are their close rates low? Figure out if it's the sales person, the pitch, the process, or another factor.Interact with the sales person regularly to correct course. Always make sure you are setting clear expectations. Get them a coach. Pair them up with someone doing well. In short, do what you can to intervene, understand the issue, provide support, and get back on the winning path.Top sales people are in high demand. If it turns out the performance issue is a result of them interviewing elsewhere, evaluate your incentives plan to see if you are creating enough reasons for them to want to stay and keep performing at a high level.Q3: What do you do about executives that aren't working full time?First, have a serious conversation about expectations around availability. Second, focus on why people want to stay. Give them reasons to want to work hard! Finally, make sure motivation and engagement is part of your interview process. Hiring motivated self-starters is always in season.Ultimately, you want underperforming executives to turn the tide and start creating more value for the company. Consider setting more ambitious goals for them. In doing so, you will have a measurable way to see if their output rises to the occasion which, in turn, should result in increasing their work-time presence. Include regular check-ins as part of the process to achieve the goal.

In this episode we answer questions about innovation. Startups are expected to innovate, but what does that mean? What is innovation and how does it become an advantage? We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including:What is innovation?Is there a process to innovation?What is the cost to not innovating?How do I know if I'm being innovative?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website TheStartupHelpdesk.com or on X/Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you!Reminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice.Q0: What is innovation?Innovation is the process to generate a new method, idea, or product that solves a problem. Innovation is an umbrella term that includes entrepreneurship, corporate innovation, social innovation, and others.Adoption is key. The intent of innovation is to create a positive impact, not solely come up with new ideas.Q1: Is there a process to innovation?Yes! However, innovation is not a direct line process. While there are common paths and milestones, the process requires judgement and the ability to cycle backwards and iterate.Key steps include:Small teamsBe uncomfortable: short deadlines and pressurized situationsThe common start across every innovation process is to identify “the problem”. Talk to people. Don't do surveys. You need to find problems people need fixed. When you have done enough user interviews and found a problem, define it with precision.Brainstorm a variety of ways that you can solve the problem.Then, another important “judgement” moment. Amongst all of the possible ways to solve the problem, prioritize one. Figure out the solution that is closest to magic but also plausible to build.Run fast, incremental tests to try to solve part of the problem for your “true believers” – the people who feel the problem strong enough that they are willing to try your v1 solution.Collect data from your tests, iterate, and test again.Resources available online include content about Human Centered Design, Design Thinking, and more. In fact, two of our hosts have produced tons of fantastic content on the topic: Ash Rust on Medium and Sean Byrnes' The Breaking Point on Substack.Q2: What is the cost to not innovating?The cost for doing nothing can be catastrophic. A PwC survey of more than 4,700 CEOs worldwide showed that “45% of the respondents were worried that their businesses wouldn't be viable in a decade without reinvention.”Innovation is a durable skill set.Innovation is hard to learn, but it is one of the few advantages you have. Innovation is a head start. You won't win by playing by the rules, you win by creating a new game.Q3: How do I know if I'm being innovative?There is no set of rules to guarantee that you are being innovative. Your innovation success hinges upon achieving some level of adoption.That being said, if you answer “yes” to the following questions, you are on the right track:Are you talking to customers, users, and stakeholders to understand where opportunities exist?Are you describing problems with precision?Are you running fast, incremental tests then iterating on your solutions?If customers want your product or at least the idea of it, that's a good sign. Furthermore, if competitors copy your idea, that's a sign that you are bringing new value to an opportunity.

In this episode we answer questions about startup accelerators. Accelerators are programs that promise to help improve your chances of startup success, but how do they actually work? We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including:What do I get if I join an accelerator?How do I know if an accelerator is worth it?How do I get the most out of my accelerator?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website TheStartupHelpdesk.com or on X/Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you!Reminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice.Q1: What do I get if I join an accelerator?Well-established accelerators typically provide:Cash: they typically invest. The amount varies and the terms are often on the lower side vs. what you could get from going directly to multiple investors to raise a round.Demo Day: the fastest way to 100 investor meetings. Accelerators host a showcase event for their startups and their network of investors to meet. This can be a huge value, helping you to line up investor meetings.Network: an accelerator immerses you into a network of fellow founders, investors, and company builders. They can provide mentorship and open doors for leads.Tools: accelerators may also provide tools to simplify how you connect with and benefit from the network.Healthy competition: working alongside and learning from other ambitious founders is a great way to create some healthy urgency for your startup.Serendipity: all of this combines to create new opportunities for you. If you put in the right kind of work, you may be surprised to see what doors open.Q2: How do I know if an accelerator is worth it?This is a critical question to ask; there are lots of snake oil salespeople.Ask yourself what you need first:Need help fundraising? YC has shown that a premier accelerator can help with that; however, not every accelerator has shown they can help.Need help selling? Some industry or focused accelerators can help teach you.Need help recruiting? Some accelerators can help mostly through association with their brand.Generally, there are cheaper ways to get the help an accelerator offers.When evaluating the benefits, consider the following value that accelerators can offer:Cash: is it at least 6 figures?Demo day: are there plenty of examples of recent multi-million dollar rounds from the program?Network: are there well known alumni and speakers at their events?Tools: do alumni report using their tools?Make sure the benefits they offer have substance.Q3: How do I get the most out of my accelerator?Set expectations with your co-founders about the desired outcome from the accelerator. Is it to accelerate sales? Is it to fundraise? Work backwards from your end goal so that you know where to prioritize your efforts.Talk to founders that have been through the same accelerator – preferably before applying! Identify what the most successful companies did in the program and make a plan to do those things.Once in the accelerator:Hit the ground running so you're always at the front of your class.Take control of who you work with, rather than waiting for the accelerator to assign mentors.Be creative with your tests: your accelerator companions will be eager to help you amplify what you do!

In this episode we answer questions about building your sales team. Many startups sell their product via sales people, and building your sales team is one of the most important things you will do. We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including:How do I hire my first salesperson?What is a sales commission plan?How do I know if a salesperson is doing well?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website TheStartupHelpdesk.com or on X/Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you!Reminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice.Q1: How do I hire my first salesperson?To source candidates, consider various hiring platforms, such as Craigslist, Indeed, LinkedIn, ZipRecruiter, and Wellfound. Your network may have fantastic candidates. Ask fellow founders and investors. Check on people you have worked with previously.To filter and evaluate candidates, start with a project, such as a PowerPoint sales pitch. Filter further via phone interviews, ultimately leading to an onsite.Ash sparked some serious debate with his recommendation on the final phase of the hiring process! To combat the high attrition rate in sales and to hedge against the difficulty of predicting how well a new hire will work out, he suggested making 3 hires per sales role that you want to fill.While making 3 hires per sales role may fit your hiring plan, we anticipate that most startups will hire one sales person per role.Your first sales person will contribute to your startup culture. Set up this new hire for success. Before you hire your first salesperson, make sure you can clearly articulate a few key aspects of your business, such as:The problem you solve.Your customer profile.How your product solves their problem.Why current customers value your product.If you do not know the answers to these questions, you are setting this first sales hire up for failure.Q2: What is a sales commission plan?Sales people get paid two ways: salary & commissions. A sales commission plan describes the income a sales person makes based on performance.A simple example of a sales commission plan is to pay a sales person a % of the deal value that they close (i.e. 10% of all deals).Companies like sales commission plans because they allow the business to both incentivize and reward performance. A good sales commission plan clearly ties performance to important areas of growth for the business.The plan you choose is important because it provides specific incentives! Do you want your sales people chasing really big deals? Or should they prioritize a larger volume of little deals? Your sales commission plan can influence priorities.Q3: How do I know if a salesperson is doing well?It is hard to distill progress vs. noise. There are steps you can take to add more objectivity to your evaluation process:They should immediately shadow you in all deals.They should master your pitch in their first week or two.They should book lots of calls: ideally 10 a week.They should not focus their energy on a small number of marquee leads.They should use and update the existing sales playbook vs. going in a new direction.They should generate their own pipeline within a month.They should own their own deals after a month.They should move deals forward in their first quarter.If your sales cycle is less than 45 days, they should close their first deal in their first quarter.Sales people need to be ROI positive, so they should pay for themselves fairly quickly.

In this episode we answer questions about raising money from Venture Capital funds. Many startup companies seek VC funding, but it can be a complex process if you haven't done it before. We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including:Is a SAFE or priced equity round better?What's the recommended amount to raise at every stage?How do I meet investors to pitch?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website TheStartupHelpdesk.com or on X/Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you!Reminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice.Q1: Is a SAFE or priced equity round better?There is no right answer that you can apply to every situation. A SAFE is often faster, less complex, and maintains more control for the founders. Because of their simplicity and the flexibility they offer to an unproven startup, SAFEs are a frequent choice for an early-stage startup that is still figuring out much of its business.However, there are plenty of situations where a priced round makes sense. A priced round can provide more clarity about ownership and the present valuation of the company. However, this clarity adds complexity to the process. In addition to needing to negotiate with more precision about the valuation and ownership, a priced round usually involves a board seat for an investor. Thus, you are forcing your company to grow up a lot right now with a priced round.Q2: What's the recommended amount to raise at every stage?Consider raising as little as possible – enough to get to your next milestone so you can raise the next round. Capital is expensive!While the round size can vary widely from one startup to the next, these are more common amounts that startups raise at key stages:Pre-seed - $250-$750kSeed - $1-3MSeries A - $5-10MSeries B - $15-25MSeries C - Anything can happenHow do you which stage you are at today? It's hard to know with complete confidence until you go out and raise!Q3:  How do I meet investors to pitch?Volume is key when it comes to a successful fundraise. The following avenues are great channels for meeting investors:Warm intros from other entrepreneurs is the golden ticket.With high quality emails, cold outreach can generate a ~30% response rate.Conferences and events.Press.Customer referrals causing inbound.Make it easy for people in your network to make warm intros: send an email blurb that they can easily copy and paste. And of course, consistently reach new milestones for your business – don't forget that part of the equation!

In this episode we answer questions about finding a co-founder and managing your relationship with your co-founder for the road ahead. Co-founder conflict is one of the top reasons for startup failure; many argue it is the primary cause of startup failure in the early days. We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including:How do I find a co-founder?Can I add a co-founder later?What are the best ways to avoid co-founder conflict?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website TheStartupHelpdesk.com or on X/Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you!Q1: How do I find a co-founder?Best practices include:1: Build your startup and have conversations with interesting people. Talk to the best people you know in tech and ask who are the best people they know. As you build relationships around the problem you aim to solve or the industry within which your startup operates, you can generate potential co-founder leads.2: Use your network. Connections from past employers, university mailing lists.3: Use helpful tools. One such tool is the YC co-founder matching platform.4: Create opportunities for serendipity. Go to events, compete in hackathons, and spend time learning from others that want to solve meaningful problems.Finding a co-founder takes time. Build a relationship with a prospective co-founder first, work together on some projects, and confirm compatibility across key areas before rushing into co-founder status.Q2: Can I add a co-founder later?Yes! Starting the company yourself and hiring a co-founder is a best practice. "Co-founder" has no formal definition; thus, you can add a co-founder at anytime.When you add a co-founder later than typical, then you may be able to start the co-founder relationship with more clarity about the direction of the business. For example, you may already have a clear problem you are solving with customers and investors. This can make it easier to identify the complementary skills that you would like to add via a co-founder.The biggest problem is equity.  How much can your co-founder own? The good news is that common vesting schedules help protect you and the company from a co-founder relationship that does not work.  Q3: What are the best ways to avoid co-founder conflict?Co-founder conflict is common; it is a leading cause of startup death. Expectation setting is the root of all conflict. How do they react under pressure? What about when there is a lot of money on the line?You can de-risk this process by knowing your co-founder before you start the company.To align on expectations, be honest and transparent with each other about responsibilities, timelines, and priorities.It is not reasonable to think that you can create a successful startup by avoiding some executive friction. Growth and obstacles create friction. Set up a good framework for debates and empower decision makers.It is very rare for co-founding teams to stay together for the 10+ years it takes to bring a great company to life.

In this episode we answer questions about managing your time. Startups are all about speed, so you need to make the most of every hour of every day. We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including:Where should I spend my time as the CEO?How often should we have team meetings?Is our product development velocity high enough?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website TheStartupHelpdesk.com or on X/Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you!Reminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice.Q1: Where should I spend my time as the CEO?As your team grows, your responsibilities will shift: less tasks as an individual contributor and more responsibilities to drive the overall company strategy. A classic breakdown of your responsibilities is 30% product, 30% money (sales, fundraising), and 30% HR.However, if you are growing the team, hiring should be 80% of your time. Convincing great talent to join the company is hard and requires a lot of your focus.Critical tasks that CEOs often do not spend enough time on include 1on1s, setting goals, and customer success.In short, your responsibility is to shape the overall vision and the corresponding messaging (within the company and outside of it) and empower the talent on the team.Q2: How often should we have team meetings?Startups are not like big companies; you should aim for the fewest possible meetings! Consider 1 to 2 meetings a week to define priorities and assign responsibilities. Inevitably more meetings will come up – focus on doing the work, not talking about the work. Keep meetings to 20 minutes.By keeping the volume of team meetings low, you can recognize that these are precious synchronous moments. Build a healthy routine (for example, always starting right on time, sending an agenda, or sending action items post-meeting) to maximize their output.Q3: Is our product development velocity high enough?If you're not sure, then it's likely a problem. Product development velocity should be always increasing. If it's not, then you aren't getting the most from your team. You need a combination of authentic urgency (i.e. pushing towards a great milestone for your customers) and a team that can motivate itself.If velocity is not high enough, the best way to speed things up is cut down the scope of work: remove features and reduce use cases. When you are more narrow with the scope, it's much easier to move quickly.If you sense a deeper problem, set very clear goals on short timelines. Often people are ambitious in the goals they set for themselves and, with a short timeline, it will be easier to hold them accountable. If someone or more than 1 person isn't working out, you may need to let them go.

In this episode we answer questions about complex exit options. While we all hope for a bit exit, startups more often face complex and difficult exit options including low sale prices, mergers and wind downs. We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including:What happens if my investors want to sell but I don't?Is a merger ever a good idea?How do I know it's time to shut down my company?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website TheStartupHelpdesk.com or on X/Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you!Reminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice.Q1: What happens if my investors want to sell but I don't?In most cases, it's the primary founder's decision. Facebook was pushed to sell to Yahoo! but refused. However, there are often consequences for refusing to accept an acquisition offer. Those consequences include executive resignations, investors deciding to no longer fund subsequent rounds, and a hostile board.If you are OK with those consequences, you are ready to keep pushing.Much of this decision rests on how much conviction you have about the next stage of growth for your startup. How much runway remains? Is your startup growing? Do you have any signal that suggests you are reaching an inflection point? Is your team uniquely positioned to succeed with this opportunity vs. pursuing a new opportunity? These are the types of questions to answer when deciding to accept or turn down an acquisition offer of this sort.Q2: Is a merger ever a good idea?Mergers are very risky. There are integration costs, culture clashes, and a mix of incentives. If you and your competitor are the two clear leaders, it can mean 1+1=10. However, if you are just two players in a sea of competition, pursuing a merger may distract you.A merger may make the most sense as a last resort. If you cannot sell your startup and are going out of business, a merger can be the life raft. A merger can save some of the employees' jobs and investor stakes. This last resort is worth a shot, but expect a low probability of a good outcome.Finally, if you decide to pursue a merger, expect the merger integration to take at least a year. Manage your risk and plan accordingly!Q3: How do I know it's time to shut down my company?If you are out of cash, it's an easy decision. If not, it's a really hard decision with no clear answer. Some people waste years of their life on a dying company, while others find a breakthrough at the end and become a big win.Is there something else you would rather do with your time? Are you and your team members uniquely positioned to pursue another opportunity instead?While there is no definitive process for this decision, consider the following: give yourself a clear timeline with objective goals. These goals should likely focus on demand, customers landed, or revenue received. With this data in hand: do you have enough evidence to justify working on this further vs. shutting down so that you can allocate your time elsewhere? This comes down to opportunity cost, the realities of how much cash remains for your startup, and how your gut evaluates your options.

In this episode we answer questions about handling problem customers. If you make money you have customers, and if you have customers some of them will cause problems for you. We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including:What should you do if a customer plans to compete with you?How do you handle abusive customers?Should you let customers invest in your company?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website TheStartupHelpdesk.com or on X/Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you!Reminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice.Q1: What should you do if a customer plans to compete with you?Lots of people are planning to compete with you. Don't spend too much time worrying about it. Focus on creating happy customers. If you do that, then your competitors are in big trouble.If they really do copy you, you can cut them off as a customer; however, this should be a minor consideration.An additional item to consider: if your startup's differentiation (i.e. the unique value you offer customers) is something that can be easily replicated, you will need to demonstrate why your team has the skill set to maintain your advantage. Otherwise, you may find it challenging to stand out amongst your competition when fundraising.Q2: How do you handle abusive customers?Sales requires tons of conversations like this. Err on the side of finding a way to build healthy dialogue vs. pulling the plug on the customer!Troubleshoot: listen to Gong calls and figure out what the issue is. Does your sales team have everything they need? Are you training them to navigate tough conversations like this? One of the critical customer-facing skill sets that you want to hire for is the ability to persevere in challenging conversations and stay focused on the goal.If it's clear the customers are being abusive and your team is navigating the conversations deftly but to no avail…is the persona right? You may be talking to the wrong stakeholder at your customer's organization.Q3: Should you let customers invest in your company?“No” is a good place to start. Strategic investments like this are dangerous, as they close doors for you. If a customer is willing to hold you hostage today, imagine what they will do as an investor!One of the primary risks is that they may limit the customers and types of opportunities that you can pursue, as those outcomes could be counterproductive to this customer's priorities. Furthermore, this customer could get information about your business that gives them an advantage over your other customers. Thus, it is preferable to avoid a strategic investment like this.If they represent a significant portion of revenue for your business, it is critical to approach this tactfully. Start by suggesting that you evaluate the opportunity during your next fundraise. Consider other options, such as warrants and convertible notes.

In this episode we answer questions about choosing and using metrics. Metrics are one of the best tools you have to run your startup, but only if you use them well. We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including:What metrics should I put on my dashboard?What do we do if our competitors are lying about their metrics?How do we report metrics like revenue, which have many definitions?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website TheStartupHelpdesk.com or on X/Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you!Reminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice.Q1: What metrics should I put on my dashboard?There is a lot of danger with creating a dashboard. The risk is that you may track the wrong metrics or track too many metrics, creating a “wallpaper” that distracts from the foundation of your startup “house”.The common three metrics to track are: distribution, engagement, and churn. The core company dashboard should not include more than 3-4 metrics.Cash and runway are other critical metrics. For monthly investor updates in particular, you will likely want to share data about your current cash and runway.When you focus on select few metrics – specifically, the metrics that are core to bringing value to your business or value to your customers – you can make decisions focused on core components of the business.Q2: What do we do if our competitors are lying about their metrics?Do not start lying about your metrics, too! Without even considering the ethical side of this (and ethics alone: you shouldn't lie about your metrics), consider this scenario:- Imagine that you make your metrics look better to fundraise.- Fundraising starts a growth curve where you need to consistently accelerate in order to fundraise again.- Your next round will need even more incredible metrics – good luck with that!Instead of playing catch-up via fake metrics, differentiate from your competition in another way. Your metrics are one part of a multifaceted story. Tell the story that emphasizes your competitive advantage and paints a compelling road forward from where you are today.Q3: How do we report metrics like revenue, which have many definitions?When it comes to reporting revenue, consult with an accountant and a lawyer so that you have an effective accounting process in place!Different audiences may desire different formats for understanding revenue. For example, “revenue” may mean something different to your board, your investors, and your sales team (and the sales team's commission plans). For each of these audiences, they want to understand revenue in terms of how it reflects the current status of the business and how it can help predict the future status of the business.One thing to note: it is not uncommon for a startup to run into challenges trying to collect all of the revenue due to it! Thus, actually collected money can be different from bookings. “Actually collected money” is always important, and it increases in importance as your startup grows.

In this episode we answer questions about managing your board of directors. If you have investors, you have a board and managing your relationship with them is one of the most important, and hardest, jobs you have. We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including:How do I handle a board member who is ignoring me?What do I do if my board tells me to fire someone?How do we recover from a big fight at a board meeting?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website TheStartupHelpdesk.com or on X/Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you!Reminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice.Q1: How do I handle a board member who is ignoring me?There are three potential issues:1: You're not growing fast enough for them to care.2: They have bigger problems at the moment.3: You are not designing your board meetings to make them effective.The board is not there to ask questions. They work for the company. Make it easy for them to contribute. Be transparent about the problems and opportunities and where they can support each. By showing them the most interesting problems in the business and giving them a stake in the resolution, you have a good chance of improving engagement.Talk to your board members 1-on-1 outside of meetings in order to further remove obstacles from their participation.Q2: What do I do if my board tells me to fire someone?When approached by the board member in this way, avoid being reactive. Ask questions before responding so that you can more completely understand their perspective. What's the need? Are they worried that the company is not growing fast enough?This usually means the board has lost faith that this individual can hit their goals. It might also mean they have lost faith in you. The board craves predictable, positive results. Whether or not this individual is “working hard” doesn't matter. Make sure you understand this board member's motivation and the real problem they are trying to solve with their recommendation.You will likely need to make some changes and/or start hitting your goals.Whether you agree or disagree with their request, acknowledge their intent and be clear about what your decision is moving forward.Q3: How do we recover from a big fight at a board meeting?Investors disagree all the time - that's why you want more than one! Don't try to pick a side. Stop the fight from distracting the meeting too much and agree to address the topic further afterwards.Schedule 1-on-1 time after the meeting to make sure both sides feel heard. Understand the root cause of the disagreement. You don't need to identify who was “right or wrong” in the dispute. Instead, ask them to keep the board meeting discussions civil and focused on productive conversations.Lastly, do not worry about making investors happy. Worry about making them money.

In this episode we answer questions about turning around your startup. Startup journeys are hard, and it's likely you'll need to turn things around when they start to go  badly. We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including:What do I tell my investors about a big pivot?How do I hold my team together when people start leaving?How can I recapture growth after it stops?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website TheStartupHelpdesk.com or on X/Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you!Reminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice.Q1: What do I tell my investors about a big pivot?Your investors invested in you; they expect challenges. Do not delay in communicating with them, as it will only reduce their ability to support these next steps and it could erode their trust in you.What you should be doing for your pivot:- Restarting the customer discovery process.- Building your wait list.- Testing workflows.What you should share with your investors:- Runway.- Burn rate.- Timeline for relaunch.- Current progress on customer discovery.- Interest levels.Communicate early, explain your decision, and explain your process for what's next.Q2: How do I hold my team together when people start leaving?People leave for a lot of reasons, not always the ones you think. Having multiple people leave at once is more common when a key executive leaves, as these executives may have hired the departing employees. Instead of brainstorming ways to prevent employees from leaving, focus on giving them a reason to stay.In many ways, your company culture is a “product”: it is important to build it intentionally so that your company culture achieves your desired outcomes.Anytime others follow someone else's departure, investigate what went wrong in order to avoid the same mistake. While it may be that these employees are simply following the departed executive to the next opportunity, it is also possible that there is a more fundamental issue that needs your attention.Q3: How can I recapture growth after it stops?First, is it you or is it the market? Losing product/market fit is common. That doesn't mean that you can take it for granted that you will find it again. It's important to move quickly.Take a hard look at your fundamentals. What changed? Where in the funnel is growth breaking down?- Are your distribution channels no longer working?- Are you having a hard time closing the final sale?- Is your price point off?- Are you seeing high customer churn?- Has your use case changed?Focus on testing and experimentation to find where the problem exists and how to address it. Once you have isolated the issue and opportunity, you can choose the best response, such as:- New marketing channels.- New features.- Better reliability.

In this episode we answer questions about managing conflict. Conflict is inevitable in the high pressure, fast-paced startup world so managing it is critical to your success. We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including:What do I do when my co-founder wants to leave?How do I resolve conflict between product and engineering?How do I repair a broken investor relationship?This episode we're joined by guest panelist Kat Mañalac of Y Combinator! Kat is Managing Outreach Officer at Y Combinator where she participates in funding and supporting hundreds of startups every year. Kat has been at YC since 2013 and has seen over 3,500 companies go through the program. Previously, Kat was Chief of Staff to Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of reddit and investor.All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website TheStartupHelpdesk.com or on X/Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you!Reminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice.Q1: What do I do when my co-founder wants to leave?Sharing best practices from YC and founder coach Amy Buechler, Kat emphasizes that founder conflict is often not because of a failing relationship, but rather a result of “a lack of process” - a lack of routine to enable built-in collaboration. To build a healthy co-founder relationship:- Set up weekly 60-90 minute founder syncs to build consistency.- Practice giving each other feedback.- Practice providing mutual recognition.- Address the tough questions about the business.- Define clear ownership over key responsibilities.Ultimately, you may have to accept reality and their departure. To prepare for their potential departure, make sure to start looking for someone else, too.Q2: How do I resolve conflict between product and engineering?“Hoping that this will resolve itself” is a recipe for disaster. It is very bad for the business and for the culture of your startup to be “not really shipping anymore.” It is essential to address this conflict ASAP.Address the problem immediately and hear both sides of the story. Step one is for everyone to be able to understand the other person's perspective fully. This kind of conflict is often an issue rooted in mis-alignment on something key, such as priorities, process, or recognition.Interpersonal conflict or disagreement is part of working on a team, and it can be healthy when focused on the right outcomes. Address the conflict as a team - ask questions and help them pursue a positive outcome and solution collaboratively.Start lining up small wins that result in shipping product again. Give it a timeline where you need to see results.Q3: How do I repair a broken investor relationship?This happens, especially when everyone is under stress. You have to talk it through, apologize and reset your relationship. Understand where the anger came from and be honest. Invest in your investor relationships outside of meetings to help avoid this.Being assertive and sharing your thoughts with conviction can be fantastic for the business, especially when you are debating strategy and priorities. Thus, when you are sharing your passion during a board meeting, focus on your main objective: driving value for the startup. Steer clear from disagreements and conflicts that are targeting the person.

In this episode we answer questions about marketing! Marketing is one of the most challenging things to do well, but essential to success for your startup. We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including:How do we scale faster after our first few customers?Are we doing something wrong or do ads not work?When is the right time for me to hire our first marketing person?This episode we're joined by guest panelist Kat Mañalac of Y Combinator, an expert in marketing! Kat is Managing Outreach Officer at Y Combinator where she participates in funding and supporting hundreds of startups every year. Kat has been at YC since 2013 and has seen over 3,500 companies go through the program. Previously, Kat was Chief of Staff to Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of reddit and investor. All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website TheStartHelpdesk.com or on X/Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you!Reminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice.Q1:  How do we scale faster after our first few customers?Warm intros and referrals are always in season.Founders should lead sales themselves in the early days. Avoid the urge to outsource sales too early. Sales is a numbers game: you need a large volume of qualified leads at the top of the funnel. To get there, continuously test and perfect your sales email.Spend 75% of your time optimizing existing channels that work and 25% testing new channels. Most channels eventually tap out, except for referrals. Be ready to try everything from cold email, to conferences to content and everything in between.Write a playbook of what is working to make it repeatable - that way you can hire people when you are ready.Q2:  Are we doing something wrong or do ads not work?Ads can be effective:(i) When you are in the discovery phase for an idea and are trying to test demand.(ii) And when you know precisely who your target customer is, where to find them, how to message to them, and your target customer is already spending time on a platform where you can advertise.However, ads are not a cure-all for fast growth. Ads are not a fit for every company, they are expensive (especially for early stage startups), and the channels are noisy and competitive.Early on, find 10 people who really love you. The way to do that is likely not through ads. It might be through your network, channels like LinkedIn, or other communities where your target customers spend their time. Solve their problem and continuously improve the customer experience.When you are ready to consider ads, run small, iterative tests to see if ads are an engine of growth before scaling your spend.Q3:  When is the right time for me to hire our first marketing person?Marketing should be seen as your foundation, not just a lead generator for sales. As soon as you've identified your Ideal Customer Profile and have a handful of customers, you are ready to start your search for your first marketing person. Consider starting with product marketing so that they can help shape your message.That being said, you do not need a full time marketing person for launch. Founders should create the early marketing and messaging for the startup. Ultimately, the timing varies per startup. For example, a SaaS startup likely wants to achieve a repeatable sales process before adding a marketing person.Are there multiple marketing challenges the founders can't handle anymore? What exactly will this person work on? Your answers to these questions

In this episode we answer questions about finding product/market fit! The market has gotten harder on startups in the past 12 months, and finding product/market fit is more important than ever. We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including:Should you keep going or give up on your startup?How do I guide my team without concrete goals and traction?How do I know if I should pivot to another idea or stick with this one?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website https://www.thestartuphelpdesk.com/ or on Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you!Reminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice.Q1:  Should you keep going or give up on your startup?If you have spoken to 200 potential customers and don't have something they want that you can build, it is 100% fine to look at another market. But remember, finding product market fit isn't likely to be easier in a different market.If your customer discovery has found proof that prospective customers need a solution and you just don't know "how" to solve it yet, iterate on the “how”.If you have not spoken to 200 potential customers - do that customer discovery.Get people talking about their problems and, in most cases, it will become quite clear what people need along with the skillsets you need on the team to solve the problem.Q2:  How do I guide my team without concrete goals and traction?This situation is common! People from big companies want clarity and structure, yet a startup requires thriving without clarity and structure. The only concrete plan you can have is to move quickly and test constantly.Proving demand is the only goal. Thus, every effort should focus on that: find more prospective customers to talk to, conduct more interviews, and continue learning and adapting to bring yourself closer to product/market fit.Pitfalls to avoid: Don't let the team (and their desires for clarity and structure) run the company. Avoid the urge to "create work" in order to provide structure.Stay focused on the goal and work quickly towards it.Q3:  How do I know if I should pivot to another idea or stick with this one?There are two parts to this question. The first is the concern about how to accurately size the market opportunity. There are a few ways to think about the size of a market:1: How many potential customers exist?2: How many potential customers can you reach?Thinking through #2, how many potential customers you can reach, will help you better understand what's feasible with your distribution.If you have a few customers with your current product, and they are very happy, you have a very strong foundation for your startup. Customer satisfaction is rare. Thus, it is probably worth trying pretty hard to figure out distribution.The business is about reaching customers; the product is secondary. In fact, the major innovation is your distribution channel. Distribution is that hard!Test: scaling your current channel, trying new channels, and trying adjacent customer profiles.Experiment more! Push yourself to improve distribution.

In this episode we answer questions about navigating uncertainty! The market and funding environment are changing every day, and managing those ups and downs is hard. We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including:How do I know what metrics I need to raise money in 12 months?How do I know if I should spend more to grow faster or cut costs?How do we handle re-orgs at our big customers?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website https://www.thestartuphelpdesk.com/ or on Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you!Reminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice.Q1:  I need to raise more funding in 2024, but I don't know what the market will be like then. How do I know what targets to aim for to be able to raise money?With the potential stampede of startups planing to fundraise in the first half of 2024, it may be hard to stand out amongst the crowd. Instead of pinning your hopes on a future fundraise, consider growing the business and making money. If you can become sustainable by 2024, you won't need to rely on fundraising. Better yet, you will be more marketable to potential investors when the time comes.In terms of targets:If you previously raised with zero or minimal traction, now you need to show accelerating traction, such as major customers and a healthy pipeline of new opportunities.2x YoY growth should prove that you are on the right track and get prospective investors' attention.4-10x YoY growth is better.Q2: My business is growing but not fast. I could cut costs but that would reduce our growth further. How do I know if I should spend more to grow faster or cut costs to preserve money?This is a hard question for everyone. You need to make a bet on the future: If your path is growth: can you grow fast enough?If your path is survival: can you survive long enough?Put another way, what's your risk/reward ratio?Are you OK with moderate long growth and the business surviving, provided limited payouts in future?Or do you want to risk it all for a shot at a big outcome, remembering that there's a good chance you could blow it all up and get zero?Generally, you control your future by cutting costs, but this requires closing some doors.Q3: Our biggest customer just had a big re-org and we're not sure what that means for our contract. Their renewal is in 6 months but we're not even sure who the buyer will be. How do we navigate this?Re-orgs happen! A lot! They are a big form of risk and uncertainty. You need to build lots of relationships with a customer, not just with your users. Map the new org and figure out whose budget you are in ASAP.Do not assume that your contract will just naturally transition and renew with the customer's new buyer. Instead, treat this like a new sale.Ask your current champion (the original buyer) to give you a glowing warm intro.Set up a call with the champion and the new buyer early in the process.Demonstrate that you understand the problem that the new buyer wants to solve and how you solve it.Communicate with the new buyer very often!With the right process, you can transition your contract to the new buyer successfully.

In this episode we answer questions about how to build relationships with your investors! Most startup companies have investors, and your relationship with them is critical to your success. We are here to help and in this episode we answer questions including:How honest should I be in my investor updates?One of my investors just invested in a competitor, what do I do?My investors have stopped responding, how do I get them engaged again?We are joined by a special guest host in this episode: Leo Polovets from Susa Ventures! Leo is a founding partner at Susa Ventures, a $125m seed stage fund that was an early investor in companies like Robinhood, Flexport and Viz.ai. He also runs Humba Ventures, a new micro-fund in the Susa family that's focused on emerging/frontier sectors like robotics, climate/energy, and defense. Prior to Susa, Leo spent a decade working as a software engineer. He was the second non-founding engineer at LinkedIn, then worked at Google for three years, and then spent four years at Factual before transitioning into venture capital. We are lucky to have Leo join us to answer your questions!All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website https://www.thestartuphelpdesk.com/ or on Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you!Reminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice.Q1: How honest should I be in my investor updates?You should have at least one and ideally a few investors that you trust enough to share all of your concerns with. Investors can't help if they don't have a good picture of what's going on.The cost of secrecy or retaining information is too high. Transparency is freeing as a CEO. Talking about problems in your investor updates is a great way to get help.However, the person that wrote a $10k check 3 years ago and hasn't talked to you since doesn't need to know everything about your day to day.Thus, the bigger the investor group, the less detail you need to provide in your general investor updates. Rather, share the complete picture with your trusted circle of a few investors.Q2: One of my investors just invested in a competitor, what do I do?Avoid the impulse to respond hastily. First, meet with the investor and try to understand the situation as clearly as possible.After that, you will likely want to limit informational sharing with the investor as much as you can. Talk to your attorneys to better understand if you should limit the investor's relationship with your startup and, if so, how.If you have a good relationship with the investor, you can tell them you're uncomfortable with the situation. If the investment is not 100% closed yet, sometimes the investor will reconsider if they know that they are jeopardizing their relationship with your company.Q3: My investors have stopped responding, how do I get them engaged again?Investors are busy and if they aren't responding, it might not be about you. Have you been sending regular updates? Write your updates in a way that invites responses! For example, if you don't include any asks in your updates, then fewer people will respond. Or if you include the exact same ask each time, then people who can't help with it in the first update will have nothing to add in additional updates. However, if your asks vary, and especially if you have really easy asks like “check out our homepage and tell us 2 things you'd improve about it” then your response rate should go up.Reach out to investors 1:1 and not just in groups if you want them to engage more.Focus on your business and don't stop communicating.

In this episode we answer questions about how to manage risk! Startup companies face mountains of risk, and it can be hard to know which risks to focus on and what you can do about them. We are here to help and in this episode we answer questions including:What do I do if I think my VP of Sales is looking for another job?How do we handle unusual requests from our biggest customers?How do we stay ahead of huge numbers of new competitors?We are joined by a special guest host in this episode: Leo Polovets from Susa Ventures! Leo is a founding partner at Susa Ventures, a $125m seed stage fund that was an early investor in companies like Robinhood, Flexport and Viz.ai. He also runs Humba Ventures, a new micro-fund in the Susa family that's focused on emerging/frontier sectors like robotics, climate/energy, and defense. Prior to Susa, Leo spent a decade working as a software engineer. He was the second non-founding engineer at LinkedIn, then worked at Google for three years, and then spent four years at Factual before transitioning into venture capital. We are lucky to have Leo join us to answer your questions!All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website https://www.thestartuphelpdesk.com/ or on Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you!Reminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice.Q1: What do I do if I think my VP of Sales is looking for another job?Always be ready for the "hit by the bus test." Establish clear processes (such as using a CRM) and regularly check in to confirm that teams are documenting their work. If someone leaves their role, you want to be able to pick up where they left off with minimal damage.Second, you cannot have your startup's major customer relationships only tied to the VP of Sales. The CEO needs to have a relationship with these customers (for tons of reasons, not only to manage the relationship if the VP of Sales leaves).Lastly, look within. Are you doing something wrong? Have regular check-ins with team members to understand the pulse of your startup. Seek honest feedback from the team member to learn more about their needs and how they feel about their role and the company.Q2: How do we handle unusual requests from our biggest customers?Customer concentration is a common problem for startups and there's no easy answer. If you strike gold and this large customer asks for things you were already planning, great! Try to get some compensation out of it. Unfortunately, that rarely happens. You should be ready to say "no" to such a request. If their revenue is critical to your survival, then it can make sense to accommodate their request. Otherwise, it is too much of a distraction. Short term sacrifices to appease your large customer will limit your ability to learn about the needs of other customers, making you more vulnerable in the long term.Q3: How do we stay ahead of huge numbers of new competitors?Having tons of competition emerge is a badge of success! This can be a signal that there is a real opportunity. Let's talk strategy: Completely ignoring competitors is a mistake. Know what key industry players are doing and react appropriately. Often the right move is to ignore their actions, but not always.The big risk is that the sheer number of competitors drown out signal in your market.How do you stand out?- Land big customers.- Get press coverage to show you are a leader in the space.- Go big on outbound.- If you have a major product feature where you are winning, double down on it to extend your lead.- If your competition has depth but your customers need multiple features, consider differentiating by adding breadth to your product.

In this episode we answer questions about how to handle competition! We all have competition and how we handle it is the difference between winning and losing in our markets. We are here to help and in this episode we answer questions including:How much time should we be spending thinking about our competition?How do you handle entirely new kinds of competition, like LLMs & GPT?What do we do if our competition starts to beat us?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website https://www.thestartuphelpdesk.com/ or on Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you!Reminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice.Q1: How much time should we be spending thinking about our competition?The dream is to only focus on your customers' needs. In reality, almost every founder – good and bad – probably spends too much time thinking about competition.You should spend more time understanding your competition when potential customers name your competition as other solutions they are considering. You need to know who your potential customers are considering to solve the same problem you solve. You need to know why potential customers are considering them and, if a competitor wins the business, what made the customer's decision.In these scenarios, you can accelerate your ability to learn about your customers by understanding your competition.In some cases, your “competition” may be a new trend or technical advancement, such as what we are seeing in AI. Tectonic shifts like this may make it possible to solve problems in a new way: this can either be a huge differentiator for you, a distraction, or a disruptor for your business.Q2: How do you handle entirely new kinds of competition, like LLMs & GPT?It will happen! If not today, eventually. Your playbook to handle this kind of competition should include:Assess your exposure. Will your product compete? Will your business model survive?Build a timeline for the impact. How long do you have?Talk to customers. How does this new competition impact them? Does it help solve their problem in a better way?Focus on your core niche. Identify where you can be differentiated and focus there.Consider finding markets underserved by the new trend.If this tectonic shift helps your customers and helps your key differentiation, consider integrating or, if your product is mature enough, become a platform.Adapt as quickly as possible.Q3: What do we do if our competition starts to beat us?1: Make sure you know where and how they are beating you.2: Talk to even more customers than usual. Understand WHY they are beating you. Is it your product? Price? Marketing?3: Set expectations. There are rarely short term solutions, so set expectations appropriately.4: Focus, focus, focus on whatever you need to do to win again.Remember: your startup is a calculated bet. You should be in a constant state of learning if your value proposition works and adjusting where needed. If your competition starts to beat you, it is time to evaluate your differentiation. Simplify what you do so that you focus exclusively on your differentiation, and test continuously to see if your differentiation is enough to get you back into the winner's circle.

In this episode we answer questions about how to handle a crisis! There have been no shortage of crises recently, including the COVID pandemic and the recent banking crisis. We are here to help and in this episode we answer questions including:What, if anything, can I do to prepare for a crisis?How do we handle crises that are bigger than we are, like the recent banking crises?What do I tell my team if they are panicking during a crisis?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website https://www.thestartuphelpdesk.com/ or on Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you!Episode NotesReminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice.Q1: What, if anything, can I do to prepare for a crisis?It is extremely difficult to predict when the next crisis will strike. The good news is that you can take action today to prepare.  The best preparation is to build a healthy business (revenue coming from various sources and/or well managed runway) with:- Clear ownership across the team for key responsibilities.- A legal team already established and familiar with the needs of your business and industry.- A regular cadence of communication with all team and direct reports.Additionally, it can be hugely helpful to have your go-to advisors or other founders who have been in the trenches. When crisis strikes, you don't time to establish new relationships and friendships to learn how others are navigating a crisis. Instead, build your network of trusted advisors and fellow founders so that you can consistently learn from them and - in the moments of crisis - learn how they are addressing the crisis, too.Q2: How do we handle crises that are bigger than we are, like the recent banking crises?Make sure you survive. Assess what you control and what you don't, and focus on on what you control. In the midst of a crisis, you need to act and make decisions quickly. To do so:- Sync with co-founders immediately.- Seek guidance from advisors to learn what steps they are taking for their businesses.- Proactively reach out to employees and customers.- Get legal's endorsement for the plan. By communicating early and often, focusing on what you can control, and clearly defining your goal as "survival", you can get your startup to smoother tides.Q3: What do I tell my team if they are panicking during a crisis?They will panic; it would be strange if they didn't! 1: Acknowledge the crisis and their concern.2: Give them a plan to work towards. If you don't have a plan, give them a plan to make a plan.3: Be honest and transparent while staying calm and consistent. You are the anchor.4: Give them a forum 1:1 to express concerns and listen.Common pitfalls to avoid include:- Yelling and screaming to create urgency. Instead, communicate urgency and set ambitious, shared goals.- "Anyone not onboard with the plan needs to leave now." Instead, over-communicate the plan to help everyone understand the company's focus and how to get there.

In this episode we answer questions about the problems that come from scaling your startup, and how to fix them! We answer questions including:How does the Founder role as a company grows?What do I need to change as my team goes from 5 to 25 people?What do I do if my co-founder isn't growing with the company?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website https://www.thestartuphelpdesk.com/ or on Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you!Episode NotesReminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice.Q1: How does the Founder role as a company grows?We discussed three common stages for a founder as the company grows:Stage 1: Building. Find the right problem, do customer discovery, and start solving the problem for your first customers. Build, test, repeat!Stage 2: Fundraising and Marketing. Once you have proof that your startup is solving a problem worth solving, it's time to add fuel to the fire. Your primary focus is growth via accelerating your sales and marketing and/or fundraising.Stage 3: Recruiting and HR. When your company reaches a large enough scale, the best way to scale your efforts as a founder is to hire more great people.Your role as a founder at all stages is to set the vision, remind people of the vision, decide on how to prioritize the pursuit of that vision, and motivate people to keep going.Q2: What do I need to change as my team goes from 5 to 25 people?Move from leading by example to leading through instruction. “Leading by example” only scales so far. To scale your leadership principles:Write things down!Communicate early and often with the team.Make sure you're doing 1:1s with your core team.Set expectations!In addition to changing your leadership style, your startup will face new responsibilities, such as:Regulatory and financial compliance.The developer team may need to prioritize building internal tools.Month-over-month revenue growth becomes a major priority.Q3: What do I do if my co-founder isn't growing with the company?It happens at almost all companies. An effective partnership requires frequent talks, including those about productivity and performance. Being a “founder” is a unique role, but the title doesn't make someone magically qualified.Start with investigating the problem. Have an open discussion about your co-founder's role and the company's future.You may find that more frequent open discussions with your co-founder lead to better alignment and a better environment to support their growth.You may find there is a role that better fits their skills.Alternatively, you may find that they are no longer bought into the vision.If they are being toxic or creating conflict, it's time to part ways and transition them out of the company. This is complex, so of course discuss this with your lawyers and investors.Understanding the main obstacle to your co-founder's growth will help you triage and either unlock their growth potential or recognize that it is no longer a fit so that you can adjust accordingly.

In this episode we answer questions about your employees, how to know if they are happy and how to ensure that they are! We answer questions including:How do you measure employee satisfaction?What do you do if employee morale is low?What's an MVP of performance reviews?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website https://www.thestartuphelpdesk.com/ or on Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you!Episode NotesReminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice.Q1: How do you measure employee satisfaction?You have to find ways to "listen" to the pulse of the company. However, listening is hard, so you have to design intentional ways to collect info. Go-to methods include: surveys, 1-on-1s, event attendance, demand for more events (i.e. are people asking for events?), employee retention numbers, and manager perceptions (their observations from 1-on-1s and more generally how they perceive team morale).Lastly: make sure you spend the time to interpret the results and demonstrate that they lead to action. For example, if you run a survey, commit to investigating the results closely and implementing change where applicable.Q2: What do you do if employee morale is low?There will always be points where morale is low! Focus on where you are going, not where you are stuck. It is important to give employees something to believe in: always have a plan, and change the plan if it's not working.Consider the following ingredients in your plan:- Have an all-hands: be open about problems, take questions and feedback.- Let go of bad eggs: if your startup faces a money crisis, you can have layoffs in one go.- Make a plan for success: make it credible, set owners to generate excitement.Transparency is key. Be honest about the circumstances and optimistic about the road forward.Q3: What's an MVP of performance reviews?Early companies don't need performance reviews. Focus instead on personal growth: help your team grow in their careers.If you have under performers, you know it. If someone is over performing, you know know it. Let go of under performers, and give more responsibilities to over performers.When it comes time to create v1 of your performance review process: document team members' progress. You want an easy way to track when an employee is helping move the company forward. Do this via monthly 1-on-1s and written status updates from the employee (can be weekly, monthly, quarterly: track their "wins" that contribute to helping the startup reach its milestones).

In this episode we answer questions about how to set the price on your product! We answer questions including:How do I decide on a price for my new product?Should I raise my prices if I think they are too low?Should I raise prices on existing customers or only new customers?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website https://www.thestartuphelpdesk.com/ or on Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you!Episode NotesReminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice.Q1: How do I decide on a price for my new product?Here's a 4-step formula to consider when pricing your first product:First price = Free. Your goal is not revenue. Your goal is usage and getting a chance to learn from your customer.Second = $1. Charge something. Goal is to price it low so that it is hassle-free but you learn about your customer's purchase process.Third = Fair price. Charge a price that more closely reflects the value your product provides. Fourth = 3x your price. Keep increasing the price until you get too many "no's".A few more best practices:You will likely get your first price wrong! Pricing involves plenty of testing.In more established markets, find a comparable product and price yours similarly. Different customer profiles will have different abilities to pay (fortune 500s compared to SMBs).Proper pricing is a function of "value". How much value does your product provide to your customer? Are you helping them make money or cut costs? Understanding how your customer values your product allows you to price effectively.Q2: Should I raise my prices if I think they are too low?Yes! You should raise prices. Price should be high enough that it's not an easy "yes" from the customer, but still a "yes".The key: make sure the value your product provides goes up over time so that the price does too.Regularly test your pricing: your customer's appetite to pay is the ultimate decider!Q3: Should I raise prices on existing customers or only new customers?There are a few avenues to consider on this one: One route: raise prices for new customers only, never raise prices on existing customers.This creates great incentives for a customer to buy today: the price will increase in the future, so buying now leads to savings.It also creates great motivation for renewals (look how much you're saving).Instead of raising the price for existing customers, consider getting something else instead, such as case studies and referrals.Another route: you are probably undercharging customers today, so it is OK to raise prices on both new and existing customers.OK to raise prices if your costs are going up.Some customer churn is OK: your new price means you can make more money per customer.Do the right thing: warn customers about a price increase as far in advance as possible. Help with off boarding if needed.

In this episode we answer questions about making money and profitability! We answer questions including:Should I focus on Growth or Profitability?How do I figure out my Unit Economics?How do I know if I'm making enough money?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website https://www.thestartuphelpdesk.com/ or on Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you!Episode NotesReminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice.Q1: Should I focus on Growth or Profitability?Most should prioritize profitability. This has not always been the case, especially as investors have encouraged venture-backed founders to prioritize growth for years. However, the macro climate has changed, and profitability is always in season.Profitability makes it possible to pursue your ambitious growth goals. That being said, if you have plenty of cash on-hand, then prioritize growth.10% month-over-month growth is exciting.Growth expectations are lower when you are profitable.Q2: How do I figure out my Unit Economics?Unit economics answer this question: are you making money or losing money on every unit of your product that you sell? Common factors for your unit economics include:CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost): the cost to acquire a customer.LTV (Lifetime Value of a customer): the estimated revenue you will generate over the lifetime of a customer.The length of your sales cycle.Customer retention.The aforementioned methods can be effective to helping you determine how much money you make (or lose) with every product you sell.Another way to think about unit economics is to start with the margins you need for your startup (Ash implores founders to aim for 90%+ margins), and price your product accordingly. Thus, the revenue you generate per customer should be roughly 10x the corresponding costs you incur to acquire, service, and retain that customer.When do unit economics matter? They matter when you are turning on your startup's growth engine.Q3: How do I know if I'm making enough money?The answer to "am I making enough money with my startup" is different for every founder. Are you comfortable, motivated, or over-stressed with your startup? Are you venture-backed? Or are you profitable and bootstrapped? The answers to these  questions will factor into your own equation for what "enough money" means to you.Other factors to include in your equation are:If you are venture-backed, then there are growth and revenue milestones that will influence your ability to raise the next round of funding.If you are not profitable, then how much runway do you have?If you are profitable, then how much capital reserves do you have?As your startup grows, "enough money" may take on a new form at every stage. Are you making enough money to help your company reach the next milestone. Once you reach that next milestone, you will likely need to recalculate what "enough money" means and continue your pursuit for it.

In this episode we answer questions about how to hire your first employees! We answer questions including:How do I find the right co-founder to join you? How do you convince people to join your very early stage startup?What should you pay a co-founder?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website https://www.thestartuphelpdesk.com/ or on Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you!Episode NotesReminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice.Q1: How do you find the right co-founder?It takes a ton of effort. Plan to work on it daily, scheduling a minimum of 5 meetings a week.Search for co-founders everywhere:Talk to everyone in the industry that you know.Tap into affinity networks: your school network, your work network.Communities where you have shared interests.Through trusted intros.Don't become best friends overnight. Look for someone with:Complimentary skills.A compatible risk tolerance.Alignment on company values. This includes: What their role looks like years from now.Who they envision as first hires.You can start testing your fit as co-founders by solving problems together and creating things together.Don't get discouraged! It takes time.Q2: How do you convince people to join your very early stage startup?It's really hard.Like, really hard.Seriously, it's hard.Got it? Ok, let's talk strategy now.People are most likely to join because of "you". Thus, they are most likely to be from your network. Offer them what they can't find elsewhere: a chance to be creative and solve important problems with a huge impact.Empower them to contribute meaningfully:Make it clear that they will have ownership of key decisions.At the same time: empower them by asking them where they can contribute the most.Look for people who bring the passion with them and care deeply about solving the problem your startup intends to solve.And of course, a key strategy is "build your startup"! That's right: people want to work with folks who create momentum. As you generate traction, you will demonstrate that this is a real opportunity, and it will make it easier to convince folks to join your journey.Be patient. It takes a long time to hire your first few employees.Q3: What should you pay a co-founder?We heard a variety of answers on this one! First, some common details:Salary needs to be "enough": money stress distracts from being able to focus on the work, so avoid this stress if possible.Don't pay as much as big tech companies: if someone wants a huge salary, they should go somewhere else.Don't be  afraid to make an early employee a co-founder if they deserve it and want to make that kind of commitment.We saw differing opinions on other details.Opinion 1:Co-founders should split equity equally,  even if one of the co-founders originally had the idea, started first, or invested.For the first employees:10% allocated for the first 10. Log scale: 2-5% for employee 1 but likely around 0.1-0.25% for employee number 10. Opinion 2: Co-founders should never split equity 50/50.First employees should get 10%+ of equity since they are basically founders.That's the magic of your startup journey: advice can help pave the way for a variety of paths to consider, and you can then decide how to apply it to your startup.

In this episode we answer questions about how to build your first product! We answer questions including:How do you decide what to include in your Minimum Viable Product (MVP)?When does good design matter?How do you start selling, with just a prototype or an MVP?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website https://www.thestartuphelpdesk.com/ or on Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you!Episode NotesReminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice.Q1: How do you decide what to include in your Minimum Viable Product (MVP)?Start with "nothing". You heard that right!Can you provide the service manually first? The answer is often "yes".Start with a spreadsheet, a text message, consulting.This is the fastest, most inexpensive way to solve part of the problem for your first users and learn more about the opportunity.Once you have validated what you should build, v1 of your software needs to only do one thing well: solve one part of the problem. Everything else is a distraction.The emphasis on “one” is key: by only doing one thing, you can measure if your solution is actually solving the problem or not.Of course, there are components of your solution that will be requirements, such as the ability to login. Eliminate everything that is not absolutely essential.Q2: When does good design matter?Design matters on day 1, but not necessarily the “design” that we commonly think of. There are three kinds of design, and they typically arrive in this order:1: Design thinking: important from day 1 of startup journey. 2: UX Design: important once you know which problem to solve.3: Visual Design: important once you have proof that you are solving an important problem.Early investment in design can hold you back, since you don't want to over-invest in prototypes. Thus, good design matters when you have a clear idea of who your user is and how they want to use your product. Until then, your "design" efforts should focus on unearthing insights about your prospective users and how to solve their problems.Lastly, design makes complex products simple and can be a critical differentiator. Users won't see great design, since it makes everything easier, but that's okay!Q3: How do you start selling, with just a prototype or an MVP?Start selling as early as possible. How early?Start selling long before you even have a prototype!You can sign LOIs with customers based on a prototype.Your first customers can emerge from your customer discovery research.Thus, you are selling with your set of discovery not questions, nothing close to a prototype.However, "selling" ultimately means you are getting money for the product. Thus, when you have customers ready to pay, they are often looking to use your MVP (which many often consider to be your prototype). This is especially true if it's a product that requires integration with other systems: an MVP is usually necessary to get the customer to integrate.In general, with few exceptions, if you build before you sell - you will have to build twice. Limit this risk considerably by selling ASAP so that you know what to build.

In this episode we answer questions about how to get your product in the hands of customers, also known as distribution! We answer questions including:Should you build an audience or product first?What are the secrets to cold outreach?What are channel partners and should you use them?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website https://www.thestartuphelpdesk.com/ or on Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you!Episode NotesReminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice.Q1: Should you build an audience or product first?We heard differing opinions on this one!One take: either works, as it really depends on the team's existing talents.You can generate long wait lists and strong demand by working on the audience first. An example of this might be making a great video for a Kickstarter campaign and generating a community from that interest.Alternatively, if you're building in a crowded market or your product UX will be a major differentiator, it can make sense to build first then launch with an innovative product that generates interest. A good example here would be launching a new kind of CRM on Product Hunt.Another take: the biggest risk you face as an entrepreneur is building something that nobody wants. It is more important to prove demand first. Thus, build an audience first.To do so:Find a problem that you are uniquely positioned to solve.Start talking to folks to learn if there is a market for solving this problem.This will result in you building an audience naturally.Then, once you have proof that there is demand for a solution, start testing a solution.Q2: What are the secrets to cold outreach?Best practices include:Find your target audience in places where they are already spending their time. You have to understand where their attention already is and attach yourself to that. If you can't be sure,  just use your best guess.Make sure you're reaching out to the right person. No matter how good your outreach, if the recipient can't act on it immediately, nothing is going to happen.Focus on the impact you can have for them, not what your product does. People buy value not tools. Do it manually first before introducing any automation.Leverage proof in your messaging: testimonials and examples of success with your solution.Create urgency (explain an up-coming milestone that you would like them to be part of).Even the best cold outreach has extremely low conversion rates. Anything above 1% is amazing.Q3: What are channel partners and should you use them?Channel partners are great AFTER you've established your business. They work best if you have customers coming to you that you don't want to support yourself.However, channel partners come with plenty of challenges:Their effectiveness varies significantly from one industry to the next. They may come with a really high tax that stops you building a big business - e.g. Apple app store and their 30%. You can't build a public company handing over that kind of revenue share. And anyone with great distribution opportunities will make you pay.They won't bring you new customers until you're quite large.They are a lot of work to maintain, so you will need to have dedicated people to train and help them.In the early days of your startup, it is much less likely that a channel partner will be effective. The main benefit may be the perceived prestige from working with a known brand in your industry.

In this episode we answer questions about doing effective Customer Discovery, including:How do you hold a Customer Discovery interview?What to do if you hear inconsistent feedback?How much time should you put into it?All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website https://www.thestartuphelpdesk.com/ or on Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you!Episode NotesReminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice.Q1: How do you hold a Customer Discovery interview?Step 1: disarm your interviewee.Get them talking! Small talk, affinity, ice breakers.Make sure your objective is clear: your goal is to learn whether this person (or business) has a hair on fire problem, and you want to test your major assumptions about how you could solve that problem.Thus: you are not selling.Explain that you do not want “feel good” answers.Step 2: ask about their problems.Don't assume they have your problem or that it is important.Find out how they currently solve these problems. Why is it bad?Step 3: ask “subjective” questions to go deeper on their motivations to solve the problem.Provide possible solutions and evaluate their response.See if any make them “reach across the table” and demand it now.Step 4: conclude the interview by asking if you can follow up with more questions and if they can introduce you to others to interview. Schedule another meeting or get them on the mailing list.Additional best practices:Have two of you on the call: one teammate to lead the conversation, one to take notes.Take plenty of notes!Q2: What to do if you hear inconsistent feedback?In the early stages of your customers interviews, expect a lot of variance. It can often mean you haven't found the right problem to solve yet, or you have not narrowed in on the right target audience yet.Remember: words and behavior are not the same. Listen closely and continue calibrating your questions, asking more open ended questions. Furthermore:Instead of asking them what they think of X or Y, ask them to tell you about their day & problems in their own words.Test demand - how bad do they want a solution? How much could they pay? When would they want it live?Test suggestions from customers in new interviews - what reactions are you seeing vs previous messaging?Focus on a more narrow set of customer profiles.As you increase your volume of interviews, calibrate your questions, and refine your target audience, you may see your feedback become much more consistent!Q3: How much time should makers put towards building vs selling/discovery?Selling only matters after you have product/market fit. If you don't have it, then you need to focus your time on customer development. On day 1, 100% of your time should be on discovery.Interview 200-300 people. Even if you have a bad template or ask wrong questions, volume can save you.Once your interviews show that you have right problem to focus on, you want to test your ability to solve it: this is where you have a balance of “building” and “discovery”.Once you have product/market fit, you need to have a team in place so that you can build and sell at the same time instead of jumping back and forth.As a founder, you'll always need to be selling. You don't always need to be building. However, if building is what makes you happy, you need to make time for it. If you are miserable, you won't be an effective leader.

In this episode we answer questions submitted by founders just like you, including:When is my product ready for launch?When will I know if my fundraising process is working?How do I hire for positions where I don't have any experience myself?You can submit questions for us to answer on our website https://www.thestartuphelpdesk.com/ or on Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you!Episode NotesReminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice.Q1: When is my product ready for launch?As Jack Dorsey explained to Ash during his time at Klout: “if you're happy with a launch you've waiting too long.”Your product is ready for launch as soon as someone is willing to use it. Thus, launch immediately, test, iterate, launch again. What is the simplest version of your product that can deliver value to your customers? Identify the smallest slice of the problem to solve. Launch the simplest version of the product that can solve that slice.To create the simplest version of your first product:Step 1: Solve it manually.Step 2: Create a prototype in Figma, Sketch, Invision.Step 3: Use a no-code builder.Step 4: Then build.Don't be afraid of starting with no product at all. If you can do it manually - start there.You may say, "but we are a hardware startup. Does this strategy work for you us, too?"Yes! You can build and test small parts or smaller versions of product very early - and that customer feedback will be just as important as it would be for a SaaS business.Q2: When will I know if my fundraising process is working?If you're going to fundraise, you need to plan for 90 days of focus and at least 100 first meetings.Everyone – even the very best fundraisers – hear "no" 90% of the time.Most people get their yeses towards the end of the process, as they get better at pitching and responding to feedback. This generates more momentum.So, the bad news: you don't really know if your fundraise is working until you've done the full 100 meetings.That being said, there are common signs that may indicate your fundraise is not working:If you hear similar concerns and no follow-up, it's likely not going to happen.If you don't see a constant progression in engagement, it's likely not going to happen.If you are talking to an investor for a few weeks but no discussion about terms, it's likely not going to happen.Q3: How do I hire for positions where I don't have any experience myself?Everyone deals with this! Here are strategies to help you overcome this challenge:Talk to people who are in those positions at other companies. What do they look for? Hire recruiters that specialize in those fields, i.e. sales focused recruiters.This is a great chance to leverage the expertise of your investors, advisors, and colleagues. They do not need to lead the hiring process – rather, they can either:Work with you to create a process to evaluate a candidate.Evaluate final candidates before extending an offer.The best candidates for a role should help you understand what they will do and why it will help. Also, talk to other founders that have recently hired successfully for a related role. Ask them how they evaluated a candidate and what skills the candidate has that justified the hiring.

We discuss questions on the minds of many companies these days: How do we sell the company? Whether you want to sell or need to sell, few people have experience doing it and even fewer have ever done it well. We address common questions about the selling process based on years of experience selling and buying companies including:When do you need to start planning a sale?How do you sell a company?How do you close a sale?You can submit questions for us to answer on our website https://www.thestartuphelpdesk.com/ or on Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you!Episode NotesReminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice.Q1: When do you need to start planning a sale?As the saying goes - companies are bought not sold. Thus, step 1 is to make sure your company has potential value for an acquirer.We discussed two theories:Theory 1: don't think about and acquisition unless someone approaches you inbound OR it is your last resort. In either case, remember the probability of success is very low.If someone approaches you:Ask them to put a number in an emailThis demonstrates they're seriousIt usually scares off people kicking the tires and – unless they're serous – they don't give it a 2nd thoughtIf you have to sell: it usually takes at least 6 months and 1-2 people's full time focus for a small chance of success at best.Theory 2: the acquisition process starts MUCH earlier than you think. You need to increase your surface area for luck. Build great relationships with:Large customersCompetitorsOther major companies that could be acquirersAcquisitions take time. Much like finding the right co-founder requires a lot of effort and relationship-building, acquisitions require rarely come together very quickly.Q2: How do you sell a company?There are three common phases that go into an acquisition:Connect with executive leaders at potential acquirersHave in-depth discussions where you pitch your business and make the case for the acquisitionNegotiation, after you have 1 or more LOIs and need to get to closingTo connect with potential acquirers, target 150-200 leaders, aiming for 50 first meetings.Dig through every network connection you haveThis volume requirement is why founders are attracted to bankers for help; however, bankers often focus on deals that are $200MM+Try to get any offer at all:The first offer is often an acqui-hire - or a zero for the investors and only jobs for the teamWith this bad offer in hand, you can start to create scarcity and push for a decision amongst your other leadsAnticipate a lengthy legal process. This means:Understand the legal costs, which can be 6 figures, regardless of successAnd make a realistic plan for runwayDon't plan to close an acquisition with a few days of cash of hand - that will almost certainly result in disasterQ3: How do you close a sale?The faster you move towards close, the more likely it will close.Acquisitions are very challenging – assume that your sale won't go throughDeals can fall apart at the last minuteExpect problems and give yourself room to maneuverCreate urgencyContinuously demonstrate that you solve a key problem or desire for the acquirerYour potential acquirer wants to solve a key problem and become the better version of itself. If you keep reaching key milestones – and sharing these results with your potential acquirer – you can demonstrate how you help the acquirer become the future, better version of itself faster.

In this episode we answer questions submitted by founders just like you, including:How do you motivate your team around your vision?What's the difference between Customer Development and Sales?When do you need Generalists or Specialists on your team?You can submit questions for us to answer on our website https://www.thestartuphelpdesk.com/ or on Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you!Episode NotesReminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice.Q1: How do you motivate your team around your vision?Capture “proof” everywhere you can – document it – and share it with the team:Proof is your fuel to acquire new customers, hire, and motivateProof = earning new customers, testimonials, existing customers asking for more, case studiesCollect proof each week and share it across the companyNic records a weekly status update video to share with the team!Ash suggests not to share every metric, as that can be distracting from the key ones – instead, focus on one (or a select few) KPIs and share those wins with the teamYou will need to pitch all the time – practice your public speakingBuild the "well of good will"Involve the team in company principles workshops and directionQ2: What's the difference between Customer Development and Sales?Customer Development happens before you find Product/Market Fit. It's the process of interviewing potential customers, learning from them and testing ideas. CD is all about iteration and learning.Consider Customer Development to be your compass: Who your customers areWhat specific problem they need solvedHow to solve itHow to reach and sell to themSales starts after you have clear signal and can start to build a process around selling the product. Sales is about process, reproducibility and optimization. Thus, sales is the engine or fuel: once you know who your customer is and are ready to grow revenue, you can add more fuel to the fire with sales.Too many companies confuse the two, and start trying to sell the first MVP of their product instead of learning from the market. It's not about growth until you have a foundation to grow.Q3: When do you need Generalists or Specialists on your team?Once you start to grow quickly, you need specialists. Generalists deal well with uncertainty and when you need to do something for the first time. Once you have a playbook that someone can pick up, you want specialists who can make it better. However, hiring specialists before you have a solid process is a common cause of startup death, since specialists often struggle to go from zero to one. So, let's talk about signals that you need more specialists vs. generalists. If you're tracking goals honestly, it should be obvious over a 90 day period. If you observe:Generalists missing key goals with steadily less warning and steadily less good ideas to solveInternal team friction from their direct reportsNoticeably distracted by other goals and/or ignoring constructive feedback on how to improveThis can be a sign that you need specialists for roles.Where to put great generalists as you scale?On the firesThey usually want to have an impact and are adaptable. Very helpful when dealing with a crisis or serious issue.Don't be afraid to ask people what they want.As you scale, there are always new areas that need to be developed and built. Generalists can move among those opportunities and be the ones who are trailblazing the next function, area or process.

In this episode we answer questions submitted by founders just like you, including:How do you get useful feedback from investors?How many investors is too many?How do you get your first customers to pay you?You can submit questions for us to answer on our website https://www.thestartuphelpdesk.com/ or on Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you!Episode NotesReminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice.Q1: How do you get useful pitch feedback from investors?Most investors are very hesitant to provide feedback, because a lot of time founders don't accept it and can become hostile.If you do get any feedback notes - you actually shouldn't care unless feedback repeated.So ask but don't expect too much - for example, some investors will happily provide feedback at the end of a call but will not provide feedback over email. Ash provides a website link with the most common feedback. This helps avoid a lot of back and forth.Best place to get feedback is when investor isn't necessarily concerned with investment but is supposed to be providing feedback. Some accelerators provide this via their mentor or events programs.Instead of asking for feedback, seek to understand the process and what's next. Ask:What's your typical process to analyze a deal?What's the next step?What about our pitch would prevent us from getting to the next stage?This can help you understand the steps it takes to convert from pitch to a successful fundraiseQ2: What challenges are caused by having too many people on a cap table?Everyone on your cap table has a lot of influence on your company. They can cause a lot of trouble for you, such as refusing to sign docs.It's not about the number of investors, it's about whether you trust them and can work with them. The more you have the less likely it is that you know them well enough to trust them.There is a point where you are limited by the number of investors you have, but that is at the very late stages and there are plenty of solutions at that point so don't be concerned about them early.An individual can cause a lot of drama if the documents from later rounds are not perfect. Usually around moderate acquisition outcomes, they will appear asking for special terms. Good lawyers solve this problem - so it's not needed if you have one of those but certainly good protection. Roll up vehicles are SPVs and they require mgmtOverall though, more people on the cap table is preferable to going out of business - so usually the best advice is "TAKE THAT MONEY."Q3: Should you charge your first customer and, if so, how do you convince them to pay?The first people to try using your software aren't customers, they are helping you build your product. Thus, with customer #1, it is more important to…Learn if your product solves their problemCollect proof (through testimonials and case studies)When you start to see the software used the way you expect, without you pushing people to use it, you have something to sell. Then you should sell.Anyone will try something for free, paying is how they really tell you if it's valuable. Start with a low price if you're nervous, and increase the price for each customer. People pay for value, if they don't want to pay you then you haven't built something of value yet so keep going!Price it similar to existing products.See if you can understand the buyer's decision process and what approvals they need at certain price thresholds: price it low enough to make the approval easy.

In this episode we answer questions submitted by founders just like you, including:How do you know when you've found Product/Market Fit?How do you know when it's time to pivot? Or that you just haven't spent enough time on your existing strategy?How far in the future should you be planning?You can submit questions for us to answer on our website https://www.thestartuphelpdesk.com/ or on Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you!Episode Notes:Q1: How do you know when you've found Product/Market Fit?Oh, you'll know!It's when the business is pulling you forward, instead of you pushing itTypically, it means you're adding customers/users faster than is comfortableUse a framework where you look at Buyer, Use Case, Price, and ChannelReferrals - rate of referral per user - ask them how they found you. At least 50% - ie 1 referral for every 2 customers.NPS - out of 10 - but do calc properly - over 50Engagement - DAU, not weekly - at least 2-3 times a week. 5x7 ideal.Feature requests - people want more, trust and more money - 10% of base asking for moreGrateful emails  - great inbound emails coming in from customers that love you. Very motivating for the teamQ2: How do you know when it's time to pivot? Or that you just haven't spent enough time on your existing strategy?This is the hardest decision to make as there is no objective criteriaIf you started from a great problem this is a lot easier. Are you still excited? Are there promising experiments you can run?Revisit this decision every few monthsYour strategy to go from 0-1 almost always requires more work than you initially think. You should expect it to be very difficult to acquire your first customers. You should expect your first product to be filled with issues.That being said, you still need to see some objective evidence that you are on the right track. For example, if you have paying customers that keep wanting more, and they say they cannot live without your solution, that's a good sign. Q3: How far in the future should you be planning?Focus on the short term. A big vision is great, but startup plans 1+ year out are just an exercise and will be a miles from reality.2 weeks - weekly make it hard to make progress, 1 month - monthly goals good central structure for whole company3 months - best for measuring real growth - volatility1 year - max distanceAfter that lol - only for investors It is important to set objective milestones: that's the only way you can measure your progress towards achieving your long-term roadmap. Objective milestones can include:Customer growth goalsProduct goalsHiring goalsOnly feature milestones: a bad signEvaluate your progress regularly, define your next incremental advancements, and confirm long-term alignment.

In this episode we answer questions submitted by founders just like you, including:What corporate structure should you have? Does it matter?How do you scale hiring?How do you resolve co-founder disagreements?You can submit questions for us to answer on our website https://www.thestartuphelpdesk.com/ or on Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you!Episode Notes:Q1: What corporate structure should you have? Does it matter?If you intend to raise venture capital: If you're building a startup and you want to raise money, you'll want a DE Corp. Lots of people want to wait on raising $$ before switching from an LLC or a foreign entity to a US parent but need to think other way round. Do this 1st to get the investors interested.There are great tools available: Stripe, Atlas, AngelList StackClean cap table with co-founders getting roughly the same equityEarly on you usually only issue shares to the founders, on a vesting schedule with cliff - very important. And all money you raise would be debt on a vehicle like a SAFE or convertible note.Random advisors, departed founders or former employers with double digit stakes will kill chances of fundraising before you get going.If you do not fit into the DE C Corp bucket (perhaps you don't intend to raise venture capital or your company is a small business), then you may consider another company type. Consult an attorney.Q2: How do you scale hiring?Spend more time on it. Recruitment is one of, if not most important job at the company. Likely 1 cofounder almost 100% on it. And yes, that means delegationFind candidates wherever you can - post your jobs on social media and angellist, community boards, use the marketplaces, make sure your investors have your logo on their site, and of course - contingency fee recruiters - there are downsides, but most startups use them to fill their pipeline.Get an In house recruiter. If you have 3+  job openings it's time. You can start by getting a contractor to embed with your team but given the importance of this job, you'll want someone on the full time and equity based compensation.You also need to establish a consistent hiring/interviewing process so that many different members of your team can act as hiring managers. The most important thing you can do is to focus on ensuring everyone understands what your criteria is and why. Otherwise, they will just add their own criteria and hiring will get unreliable and inconsistent. Q3: How do you resolve co-founder disagreements?You need to invest in your co-founder relationship long before you have a disagreement. Build trust, do things together outside of work and make sure you have open and honest discussions. Remember, if you and your co-founder have different expectations it will result in conflict.If you do have a disagreement, start by identifying the differences and understand why they exist. Do you disagree on facts, or weigh risks differently? Build lists of pros and cons and see if there is a way to agree. If necessary, consult someone outside such as a board member or advisor. In the end, make a decision and commit to it even if you disagree. For many decisions…You can use data to inform the decision. Let's say you are debating a new product feature. Wireframe it and interview 10 customers. Analyze the results to make a decision.Some decisions will fall into a specific co-founder's bucket. Give each co-founder authority over certain domains: product, technology, sales, marketing, etc.That being said, there will be plenty of decisions that demand real debate. If you are in a real gridlock, change your “battle arena”. To introduce a new perspective, take your debate for a walk or to a new venue.

In this episode we answer questions submitted by founders just like you, including:How do you handle a co-founder who isn't scaling in their position at the company? What do you do when you are overwhelmed as a founder and know you have to hire, but don't have the time? I have a consulting business that is cashflow positive, but want to pivot to a product so we can grow faster. How do I do that?You can submit questions for us to answer on our website https://www.thestartuphelpdesk.com/ or on Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you!Episode Notes:Q1: How do you handle a co-founder who isn't scaling in their position at the company?Bad expectation setting is the root of all founder problems. Be clear, open and objective about performance and roles from the beginning. Make it clear what's necessary to scale and provide coaching to help founders do their best. Key three steps to consider include:Discussion! Talk with them early and often about the issues, provide feedback and try to find out if there's something going on that you're not aware that might be influencing performance. Motivated people often change their behavior with these kind of conversations.Remediation. More training - trying things like executive coaching and reducing a founder's portfolio of responsibilities can allow them to flourish.Parting ways. If 1-on-1 discussions, additional help, and a change in role haven't resolved the issues, then it is time to transition them out. With founders, the separation is usually much more complex than if someone is only an employee, so be sure to chat with your lawyer and investors before taking a big step.If a founder has to leave, it almost never happens peacefully. No one's ego is ready to handle the rejection of being pushed out of the company they started, so be prepared for backlash. Vesting, etc. are critical to protect the company.Q2: What do you do when you are overwhelmed as a founder and know you have to hire, but don't have the time?Make the time. Everything else doesn't matter if you can't scale.Usually this is a symptom of something else, since hiring is one of the most important things you can do. For example, some founders avoid hiring because they don't enjoy it.New hires accelerate you so slowing down in the short term helps you go faster long term.In order to make time...Start by doing an inventory on all of the “hats” that you are wearing as a founderIdentify which of those hats are part of your business' core competency: the thing that you need to be the best atFor any hat that is not part of this core competency, someone else should be doing itThen, start small with your hiring efforts: write a job post, send it a to a friend, share it on social, and post it on the classic online hiring spots (LinkedIn, AngelList)Build these small efforts into your day to start exercising your hiring musclesQ3: I have a consulting business that is cashflow positive, but want to pivot to a product so we can grow faster. How do I do that?Are you still focused on the same problem for the same customers? Answering this question will help inform your pivot.Best way - find someone to take over your consulting business.If you're running a successful consultancy, you will usually be planning to put resources into it first. Do not simply have the consulting company build v1 of the app - decide on how much you can invest, make a budget, and pay your consultancy for the work, so we don't muddy the waters.Set clear goals on what is needed for you and other team members to leave consulting for good. 

In this episode we answer questions submitted by founders just like you, including:If you see other startups doing the same thing, is that a sign that there is a demand for this opportunity? Or a sign that you are not differentiated enough?How do you acquire your first five customers?How do you fire someone?You can submit questions for us to answer on our website https://www.thestartuphelpdesk.com/ or on Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you!Episode Notes:Q1: If you see other startups doing the same thing, is that a sign that there is a demand for this opportunity? Or a sign that you are not differentiated enough?Everyone has competition, and competition is the sign of a big opportunity. At any given time there are likely dozens of startups pursuing a similar vision to yours. If you have absolutely no competition, it's very likely you're on the wrong path unless you've invented a new technology. At the same time, you need to be differentiated. Differentiation is the most important asset of your company/product since it's the only advantage you have in a competitive market, especially if there are large, established companies. What makes you stand out? Is it obvious, will a potential customer or user see that difference in the first 30 seconds? You can learn from your competitors' wins and mistakes. See how your competitors are solving your customers' problems. The more you know about your customer, the better you can solve their problems. Q2: How do you acquire your first five customers?Finding your first customers is hard! You need to get creative, use your network heavily, and make incremental advancements. Easiest way - network introductions. Leverage existing personal relationships to meet and get feedback from potential customers. Solve their problems and they should become your first customers.Obviously, not everybody has those connections. Create a “customer advisory board”. This involves cold outreach directly to a potential customer or end user's inbox but you're not asking for them to buy...you're asking for advice. These advisors are sales leads. They can give you lots of feedback on your early versions and again some will become customers.Other channels I see used at the very beginning for startups are - Content marketingConsulting - where you're build something 100% custom initially aiming to find something scalableAnd community first (popular with open source developer tools and crypto)Acquiring your first five customers is a magical milestone, and...it sometimes requires a pancake breakfast. We're not kidding! Find a creative way to get your target audience's attention and convert them into your early adopters and biggest supporters. Pancakes are always in season.Q3: How do you fire someone?First, realize that it's extremely traumatic to be fired. Second, realize that it's very traumatic to fire someone. There are a lot of emotions on both sides. Before you've gotten to the point of firing someone, you've looked at their performance and set expectations on what needs to change so it's often not a surprise.Start with a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP). Have to lay out reasons. Give them a chance to recover. Almost nobody does.After 2 week PIP, you can let them go with reasonable severance and ideally a month of health insurance (if you're in the US).Make sure you have spoken to your lawyer & you have at least one other executive on the call.Layout - get straight to it, decision already made, now looking to the future. Here's your reference and severance - just need them to sign non disparagement agreements.Immediate removal from systems and physical office