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That's a question as well as a headline. I'd love to hear, in the comments below, what's changing for you as your company grows. Here are some things I've noticed in my companies and those of my clients. Even if…

Can I speak honestly? You're probably not functioning as a full-time CEO right now. I know that you are a CEO full time, but that's not everything you do. John Chester of Wild Apple Graphics in Vermont, had a business…

At one extreme, a company is like a one-man band. You do everything. But at the other extreme it's like a symphony orchestra where the conductor doesn't make any of the music the audience has paid to hear. Just like…

In the 1950s Xerox invented a way to make dry copies without wet, smelly chemicals. But that’s not what made them successful. They became one of the largest, most profitable companies on the planet because of another innovation. The copier…

Scot MacTaggart of Pitchwerks had me in for a podcast. We talked for about an hour and his crew edited down the best 30 minutes. Listen Here.

Asking “Should you take VC?” is like asking “Should you play in the NBA?” The answer is NO. Of course the answer isn’t no for everyone. But both of these options only make sense for very, very, very, few people.…

It’s critical that a company have a mission. Having a mission STATEMENT? Not so much. A mission is the reason that a company exists. It doesn’t have to be worthy of a nobel prize. “We make the best damn pizza…

If you’re an entrepreneur in any incubator or accelerator you've probably got access to a mentor — or several. And there’s the problem. More often than you think, different mentors will give you conflicting advice about what to do. Who’s…

File under: Software I Can NOT Live Without. How much time have you wasted looking for files on your PC? If it’s more than a minute, stop what you’re doing and go to and get a copy of the Everything…

They tell the story of two young fish who were swimming up the stream one morning when an old fish came swimming by. “Good morning fellas,” said the old fish, “How’s the water?” and he swam off. One of the…

. The Capability Maturity Model was developed to rate the maturity of a process for software development. It was funded by the US Department of Defense and written by Carnegie Mellon University in the early 1990s. I've adapted it to…

Most entrepreneurs only know one way to spend money. But there are two. And using the wrong one can get you into trouble. Before I tell you about them, you should think of why you spend money in a business.…

In my experience, there are 3 reasons why small firms stop growing. I’m talking about companies with up to 100 employees or so. I don’t know about larger companies, I suspect at that scale the dynamics are different. . Reason…

A friend asked how to split equity with a technical person she’s bringing on in her startup. Here are some thoughts in no particular order. Coincidentally, Steve Blank published a great article that’s relevant. Are you considering equity because you…

There’s a Lot Going on in Connecticut. In my work, I see a lot of companies looking for investment. At the AIF (Angel Investor Forum) where I’m president, we screen a few hundred companies per year, ask a couple dozen…

No question entrepreneurs have a hard time giving up authority, or letting go. Check out this article by Jason Fried of 37 Signals. You often hear business owners say things like “No one can do it as well as I…

Talk to people who’ve been married a long time about why their marriages last and you’ll hear that they’re in love. Great. But so is everyone who gets married – even those who will be divorced in 18 months. So…

Let's say you're driving when you come to a fork in the road and don't know which way to go. So you pick one and drive on. An hour later you realize you're going in the wrong direction. What do…

It takes commitment to build a business - or for that matter, to build anything. But what exactly does that word mean? I've been thinking about it lately and I've come up with this short cut. Commitment is not measured…

Mark Suster just posted a great piece on taking time to THINK as an Entrepreneur. Here’s the money quote (paraphrased). 1. I think the best leaders are Thinkers. They often need teams of people to help them Plan how to…

People who are not seasoned in sales often think discounts are more powerful than they are. As a result they end up giving away things they don’t need to. Here are some tips on using discounts. Rules for Giving Discounts.…