Feel the Boot

📉Startup Funding in a Bear Market Adapt your fundraising strategy to succeed in a downturn Raise angel investment and venture capital in challenging times   When the economy is rough, investors become cautious. Learn how to position your company to survive these times and appeal to angel and VC investors.   Read the article https://ftb.bz/82B Watch the Video https://ftb.bz/82V Founders...

My worst day as a founder 😭 how we pivoted, survived, and eventually thrived Startup Stories: angel investor quits, acquisition falls through, & personal tragedy What to expect as a founder. Creating and growing a company can be an incredible experience, but you will have days that seriously suck. You will probably experience situations that challenge your determination to carry on. Because I...

Fire the Founder? 🔥 Take the initiative and replace yourself as CEO Startup typically outgrow their founding CEO It’s better find your replacement then be replaced   My board of directors wanted to replace me as CEO. This episode explains how I handled that with fantastic results. If you recruit the new CEO, you can find someone you want to work with, and who will respect you. They can help...

Cofounder Vesting 😭 Handling founder shares when things go wrong Stock vesting can save you in multi-cofounder startups Investors may require founder vesting before investing   This episode looks at the issue of founder vesting through the lens of a fictitious company founded by Iron Man, The Hulk, Thor and Loki.   Read the article https://ftb.bz/79B Watch the video https://ftb.bz/79V F...

Term Sheet Red Flags ☠️ Venture Capital Abusive terms cause dilution, loss of control, & sabotage future deals Learn what they mean and when to push back   Read the article https://ftb.bz/78B Watch the video https://ftb.bz/78V Founders Alliance https://ftb.bz/Alliance Mailing list for office hours https://ftb.bz/join   Article on pre-revenue startup valuations: https://ftb.bz/66B Art...

Have you ever tried to deliver a pitch deck or other presentation, and the technology just won’t cooperate? Either your computer won’t talk to their projector, or there is some issue with the PowerPoint. How can you handle these situations in a way that leaves you looking as good or better than you would have if everything had gone perfectly? Video: https://ftb.bz/77V Article: https://ftb.bz/77B J...

Get more from your investor updates What to include and an easy template   Get the template here: https://ftb.bz/investor-update-template   Watch the Video: https://ftb.bz/76V Get the podcast: https://ftb.bz/Podcast Visit the website: https://ftb.bz/ Join the mailing list: https://ftb.bz/Join   A regular investor update email is the best way to keep existing and prospective investor...

Low on cash with no imminent funding? Here’s how to keep your startup alive   Read this as a blog: https://ftb.bz/75B Watch the Video: https://ftb.bz/75V Visit the website: https://ftb.bz/ Join the mailing list: https://ftb.bz/Join   When things get tough and cash is short, you need to manage your startup cash flow to survive. If things are particularly difficult, you might be forced to...

What is a Cap Table? 🧐 Tracking VC Investments and stock option grants Understand startup capitalization, preferred stock, and angel investments Track ownership, options, SAFE, Convertible Notes, and dilution.   Startup equity and cap tables can be confusing to many founders. The CEO needs to understand startup equity well enough to talk to their lawyers and negotiate with investors. This ep...

Startup Survival 🤕 Quit, Pivot, or Persevere When your startup hits hard times what should you do? Make this high stakes decision with confidence   When your startup is in a dark place with no path forward, what should you do? This episode explores how to analyze your options objectively to choose the best option for you and your startup.   Subscribe to Boot Prints: https://ftb.bz/Subsc...

Startups 🧐 business advisor value Get more value from your startup advisors How to use mentors more effectively   If you have not recruited your advisors yet, watch this first: https://ftb.bz/68V The video on Founder Time Management for Strategic Thinking is here: https://ftb.bz/65V Read the blog: https://ftb.bz/72B Watch the Video: https://ftb.bz/72V Join us to access free one-on-one office...

Feel the Boot 🤓 Mentoring & Advising How our free mentoring office hours work Establishing formal advising relationships   Subscribe to Boot Prints: https://ftb.bz/Subscribe Join Founders Alliance: https://ftb.bz/Join Read this: https://ftb.bz/71B Watch the Video: https://ftb.bz/71V   Lance Cottrell has been an active startup advisor and startup mentor for over a decade. His advice...

In this episode I explain why a very high valuation can cause trouble for your startup. It can demotivate your employees by hurting their payout at exit. It can derail your next funding round my making your last investors hostile and demanding.   Read this as a blog: https://ftb.bz/70B Watch the Video: https://ftb.bz/70V Join the Founder’s Alliance: https://ftb.bz/Alliance Subscribe to Boot P...

When to sell your startup? 🤷‍♂️ Equity and Valuation vs. Risk When should you take an offer for your startup? What is the risk of continuing vs. the immediate reward?   It is critical to consider if and at what price you would consider selling your company before the offer arrives. When it does, the big $$$ may muddle your thinking. In this episode, I discuss how to systematically analyze th...

Recruit startup advisors 👨‍🦳 board of directors Your advisors can make or break your startup Learn how to identify and recruit the perfect startup advisory board   Read the blog: https://ftb.bz/68B Watch the video: https://ftb.bz/68V Join us to access free one-on-one office hours: https://ftb.bz/Join Meet other entrepreneurs at the Founders Alliance: https://ftb.bz/Alliance   In this e...

Blitzscaling 🤔 4 hour work week What kind of startup do you want to create and run? Be clear on your desires to achieve the journey and outcome you want. Read the blog version here: https://ftb.bz/67B Watch the video: https://ftb.bz/67V Join the founder alliance: https://ftb.bz/alliance In this episode I ask founders to think about the kind of startup journey and outcome they want. Consider thing...

Learn how angel investors and venture capitalists determine your startup’s valuation I share three formal methodologies and the secret technique most angels actually use   Join Feel the Boot to access one-on-on coaching https://ftb.bz/Join Meet other founders in the Founders Alliance https://ftb.bz/Alliance Read the full blog from this episode https://ftb.bz/66B Watch the video https://ftb.bz...

Task Management ✍️ make time for strategic thinking Use these two time management and prioritization frameworks to ensure you accomplish your high priority strategic objectives   Founders and CEOs can often get in the trap of working on mundane tasks while failing to take time to do the critical strategic thinking that will make the company soar. I found two frameworks that helped me in my st...

2021 was a big year for us at Feel the Boot. We experienced lots of growth, and I want to thank all of you for making such a fantastic experience. The best part of this year has been getting to interact with so many of you founders. I had many more one-on-one coaching sessions than in previous years. I've loved talking to so many of you. If you took advantage of them, I hope you have found them he...

Many founders skip the marketing fundamentals and strategic thinking and jump directly to executing on some set of ad-hoc initiatives. Then they wonder why their marketing is not working. While I have done a lot of marketing over the years, it is not my core expertise. So, I interviewed Tim Fitzpatrick with Rialto Marketing, who is an expert. We talked about the fundamentals of marketing strategy...

Job titles in startups are usually loosely defined and casually managed. In many cases, founders hand out very senior-sounding titles to their co-founders and early hires. While everyone likes having a fancy-sounding job title, they can come back to bite the company later as it grows. The one big title you need to have in the company is a CEO. Investors, partners, vendors, and employees all need t...

In this episode, I talk about dilution, the process by which your ownership in the company shrinks as you bring in investment. The decisions you make, and the terms you negotiate, can drastically alter your payout at exit. Read the article version of this content here: https://ftb.bz/61B Listen to the Podcast: https://ftb.bz/Podcast Join Feel the Boot: https://ftb.bz/Join Join the Founders Allianc...

Podcast I have learned a lot of things about business and the entrepreneurial experience over the last twenty-five years. During that time, I was a founder, CEO, Chief Scientist, angel investor, and startup advisor. I recently gave a live talk at the Founder Institute, where I talked about my most significant insights about the startup world, business, and life. The attendees loved it, so I immedi...

I noticed a pattern among founders I meet, and it is something I did too. We have an idea and immediately start working on it before validating it with our potential customers. In many cases, we have practically finished the product before we start showing it to people. But, if we guessed wrong we have wasted a colossal amount of work. I think I know why this happens. For technical founders, codin...

When I started as a founder, I struggled with sales meetings. My scientific instincts worked against me. I often wanted to prove that I was right and argue my way to a sale. Fortunately, between fantastic coaching and excruciating failures, I eventually turned sales meetings into a personal strength. I want to share some of my key learnings with you so you can avoid the whole "pain and suffering"...