Feel the Boot

Recently, I talked to my friend Che Voigt, co-founder and CEO of AltWork and chair of the North Bay Angels. We discussed their innovative workstation and how COVID is driving a work from home trend that is driving unprecedented growth in their sales. He also described their experiences of working with a supply chain based in China during this crisis. The launch of their first product immediately w...

Watch the Video https://ftb.bz/31V Read the Blog https://ftb.bz/31B Part of the startup fundraising process is pitching angel investors. But when you are putting together a pitch deck, it would be great to know what that audience wants to see. Rather than simply use my list, I reached out to a bunch of other angel investors to learn what they wanted. All of us wanted to see similar things. From th...

Elizabeth Gore, co-founder and president of Alice (helloalice.com), recently joined me to talk about her entrepreneurial journey and to share some insights with other founders. Alice is a free multi-channel platform powered by AI technology that guides business owners by providing access to funding, networks, and services. You can also watch this as a video: https://ftb.bz/30V Before that, she was...

Over the last couple of months, I have been incredibly busy with Feel the Boot and other projects. I have been setting up schedules, writing blogs, recording interviews, posting content, advising companies, and the like. All of the associated deadlines have been stacking up, making me feel stressed while not making much progress on my main strategic goals. Then suddenly, I realized that I had been...

Any time you are talking to an investor, whether in a pitch deck or during due diligence, they expect you to show financial projections. Many founders run into trouble with this when the company is mostly or entirely pre-revenue. You might wonder what you can show with no track-record. Even so, financial projections are still essential both to the investor and to your strategy. Right off the bat,...

Video: https://ftb.bz/27V Blog: https://ftb.bz/27B Episode on testing assumptions: https://ftb.bz/21B-testing-assumptions Starting a business with nothing A viewer recently asked me how he could launch a startup when he does not have any significant savings or wealthy connections. With just an idea, but no source of capital, he is going to have to do this the hard way because no outside investor w...

During any economic crisis, startups need to take immediate and radical action to stay alive. While I wrote this in response to the pandemic, the advice applies to any situation creating an existential threat to your company. My most significant experience with this kind of challenge was in the aftermath of the tech bubble bursting in 2000. Everything in the dot com sector seemed to grind to a hal...

Blog: https://ftb.bz/25PB Video: https://ftb.bz/25PV Intro Founders can be like hound dogs on a trail. They are tracking a scent, absolutely focused on their objective. Then suddenly: Squirrel! The CEO races off after some new enticing goal, possibly causing catastrophic damage to the core business. For all companies, but especially for startups, focus is critical. A founder I advise recently aske...

Watch the video: https://ftb.bz/impostor-video Read the blog: https://ftb.bz/impostor-blog The topics for these blogs come from the things I discuss most often with founders. Once they have started to trust me, they almost always talk about how they feel like frauds who will soon be caught and exposed. Even the most talented and successful feel this way. That is when I tell my favorite anecdote fr...

When I talk to startup founders or angel investors, one topic has started to dominate the conversations: the lack of A round financing. Video: https://ftb.bz/a-round-video Blog: https://ftb.bz/a-round-blog Podcast: https://ftb.bz/podcast Many founders and seed stage investors have a story for how a startup will grow. Initially friends and family will fund early prototypes. About six months later,...

Almost all successful companies share one thing in common: a pivot. When your startup hits a wall, the best path may be to change direction to go around it, rather than trying to bash your way through. Learning and adapting can be the best path to growth and success. Video: https://ftb.bz/Pivot-video Blog: https://ftb.bz/Pivot-blog

Entrepreneurs are always enthusiastic about their next business idea. They often avoid asking the hard questions that could undermine their plans. In this episode, I explore the importance of testing your assumptions and how to actually do it. Early experiments will reduce your risk and impress potential investors. Video: https://youtu.be/MLJQMRIIm7Q Blog: https://FeelTheBoot.com/blog/test-driving...

Everyone has been told to follow their passion. What they don’t learn is how to identify and leverage that passion. That energy is the unfair advantage of the best entrepreneurs. This episode shows how to connect your business to your passion with examples from my own path to startup success. Video: https://youtu.be/_4NvC0SEU3Q Blog: https://FeelTheBoot.com/blog/powerofpassion

When you are raising funds for your startup, one of the biggest questions is, How much should I ask for? Don’t let concerns about dilution tempt you into raising too little money in your investment rounds. Video: https://youtu.be/20NbJ9LxTag Blog: https://FeelTheBoot/blog/raising-enough-capital

One of the most frightening moments as an entrepreneur is when you finally quit your day job. Fortunately you can risk reduce that transition and improve your chances for angel funding at the same time. https://youtu.be/jUY-Vjz83lo https://FeelTheBoot.com/blog/quityourdayjob

I lose interest in most of the pitches I see within the first thirty seconds. After that, it is incredibly difficult to get me back on board. This is a common experience with most investors. I am going to share with you what goes wrong and how to nail the opening of your pitch. Video: https://youtu.be/88FOE093LsQ Blog: https://www.feeltheboot.com/blog/hook-investors

Most growing startups quickly reach a point where they are choked by the founder’s limited time. As humans, we simply don’t scale well. There is only so much that efficient work and forgone sleep can squeeze out of a day. The problem is that the entrepreneurs need to delegate more of their responsibilities. This is not an intuitive process for most of us. The typical career path is all about accum...

I recorded the video for this episode in a hotel room while evacuated from my home because of the Kincade fire in Northern California. I wondered if I should just skip this episode because I was feeling very stressed and distracted. I decided that it might be interesting to do a short episode about how sometimes life makes you look at where your true priorities lie. Video: http://bit.ly/2pCGfWa Bl...

When founders come to me for advice, they are often looking for help with pitching, fundraising, strategy, or security. At some point, they will often ask what one piece of advice I would give them. I always tell them “stay due diligence ready”. This comes from my personal experience of being totally unprepared when an offer to buy my business come out of the blue five years after starting. What f...

Virality is the holy grail of business growth strategies. In this installment I explain the three kinds of virality and how you can leverage them in your startup. Investors love viral business models, but are also skeptical of the claim. Through early testing and clear analysis, you can show why your company has the potential for viral hyper-growth. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyxTtZ6Gl...

If you are launching a blockchain based company, I have some specific advice for you. Right now, I see many times more blockchain and Initial Coin Offering pitches than anything else. And most of them are bad. This creates additional hurdles that I want to help you navigate. The tsunami of blockchain pitches causes investors to set the bar very high. At the same time, the entrepreneurs are making...

Your business is your baby. You don’t want anyone to take it. But holding on too tight could smother it. Understanding the dynamics of power and control in a startup will allow you to grow and succeed. 51% ownership is less important than you might think and the contortions required to hold that number can scare off the investors you need. Video: https://bit.ly/51percent-video Blog: https://bit.ly...

Founders and entrepreneurs need to understand the inner workings of stock options. Otherwise they can waste equity, disappoint key employees, and dilute their ownership. In this episode I cover: Why you should issue options How to create an option plan Setting up the initial option pool Negotiating changes to the option pool How many options to grant an employee How to vest options Video: http://b...

Many times, when giving out stock options, I found that the recipient did not understand them. Options are one of the most important employee motivators and a big part of their compensation, and confusion substantially reduces their effectiveness. This episode is devoted to educating employee about the options they receive and helping founders explain them to their teams. Video: http://bit.ly/opti...

Founders are confused about all the different terms used for funding, and what they all mean. Are they ready for a seed round and what does it take to get an A round? Learn what each kind of investment round means, what to expect, and what investors will expect from the business. Making the right ask to the right people at the right time is one of the keys to startup fundraising. Video: https://bi...