Time for a tea?
I used to be the kind of American who loved a quick New York-style meeting. Walk in, fast intros, distill overlaps, debate for a few minutes, then leave before the latte cools. Limited small talk or pleasantries, just…
Filed under Sales
The glories of a 3 hour conversation
Yesterday, something magical happened... I managed to have a conversation that lasted longer than 30 minutes. Not just any conversation, mind you, but one that took a glorious 3-hours. The funny thing is, it didn't feel like an…
Investor Reference Checks
In the past few weeks, I've witnessed startup investors being incredibly value-add and also seriously destructive. It always surprises me who ends up in which camp - my gut feeling is often wrong. There also seems to be…
The Components of Speed
I’ve always noticed speed varies drastically from company to company. Some are amazingly efficient, while others meander (or worse). Recently, a founder asked me to help significantly increase their company’s speed. After a few conversations, we distilled the…
Me on the Iron Throne
Here's one of my favorite slides from the "Going Global" session I hosted today with some amazing ScaleNL Dutch founders. While some people present what they know, I basically overshare all the things I screwed up over the…
Cold Emails
I love what Stéphane and his crew at OpenVC are building, such an amazingly open ethos. They shared 14 actual cold outreach examples recently sent to VCs, all had the same general cadence: Hi <VC>, I'm <NAME> with…
Gratitude Coorelation
I'm making a few VC intros for a founder I rate highly, the replies: A+: "Many thanks for the intro!" A: "I appreciate you thinking of us!" A- "Thanks for sharing the opportunity" (x2) B: "Please introduce me"…
Interesting vs Critical
The hardest discussions to table are interesting, relevant topics that aren’t critical. I find most meetings cover important topics in-depth, leaving critical ones for the last few minutes. Simple questions easily lead to everyone chiming in. Challenges are…
FOMO FOREAL?
A founder recently asked for my advice about creating hype and FOMO while fundraising, stemming from a post making the rounds in entrepreneur circles. Their take was... "Based on the article, we should pretty much stop engaging with…
No trust, no sale
Selling is often considered an art form. It takes no less than the most fine-tuned of inter-personal skills and a precise focus on value. But value is in the eye of a beholder, and to truly sell (I'm…