Category: Newsletters

Happy Saturday.

Hello from Kelowna, BC today where I led workshops on fundraising & angel investing. Just one more trip left in 2015 — Las Vegas this coming Wednesday, let me know if you’re around.

1. “Star­tups are about ex­e­cu­tion, not about ideas.” [Link] [Tweet]

Split things equally, always have a vesting schedule and get back to work. The default state of your company is failure and the only team that can change that is yours.

2. The Micro VCs Are Coming [Link] [Tweet]

Outside the Valley (and most other dense tech hubs), most founders and investors simply aren’t aware of how little it now costs to start (or invest in) a company. (Which is why I’m doing the 2016 tech tour and creating a weeklong set of workshops around these topics.)

3. “We don’t need another app to order food.” [Link] [Tweet]

Entrepreneurship has been Hollywood-ized over the past few years (eg, TV shows, movies and lots of press). As with most things, this is a double-edged sword.

Just as much as we’re encouraging more people to start their own thing, let’s agree to discourage them from spending too much time on things that simply aren’t working.

4. “Quitting slowly doesn’t serve you well.” [Link] [Tweet]

I should print this out and tape it to my laptop. You should too.

5. “Valuation and market capitalization are easily confused.” [Link] [Tweet]

Unfortunately, it’s more fun to throw around lots of big numbers than to understand the nuts and bolts: “When valuation numbers are reported to the public without understanding the calculations behind them, and without the context of the differences in calculation methods, swings in tech company valuations can sound like a big deal. The drama makes for a good story.”

6. “startups using equity crowdfunding will consist of lower-quality co’s that couldn’t get funding by other means” [Link] [Tweet]

The people that tend to be most excited about equity-based crowdfunding are, ironically, the least likely to ever raise any real money this way.

Until successful companies actually use equity-based crowdfunding (or one of the existing crowdfunded companies becomes a big hit), this won’t really take off.

7. “Founders fear long-term failure, but not the short-term mistakes that lead to it.” [Link] [Tweet]

Two thoughts:

1. Yep.
2. When are we going to see some stuff around how First Round creates such useful content?

8. Stay Focused on Your Goals Not Your Critics [Link] [Tweet]

“I’m always reminded that in tough times some people pull up their socks and help get the job done while others turn to being critics: Even some who don’t actually take risks or accomplish things but love to opine.”

9. “desktop companies have leveraged mobile better than actual mobile-focused startups.” [Link] [Tweet]

Knowing how to build an app isn’t enough.

I can’t seem to find it right now but I recall hearing a comment about the number of apps submitted to the app stores continue to rise daily but the average number of apps that an end-user keeps on her phone has remained steady for the last few years.

Building mobile apps is difficult. Building mobile apps that people will find, use and remember is incredibly hard. And it’s only getting harder.

10. “The cap table gets to a point where it can be challenging for new money to come in” [Link] [Tweet]

Back in 2010, it was rare to see angels participate in rounds larger than $500K. Today, angels are banding together to pump up to $1.5M into companies — sometimes without any VC firms included. I’m convinced the last few years will be remembered as the rise of the angels.

How about we spend a week together in 2016?

I’ve spent the last few years jetting in/out of places for keynotes and demo days. It’s an effective way for me, as an investor, to meet the maximum amount of companies in the shortest amount of time. I want to give back to local tech communities in 2016.

Here’s the general idea: I’ll come spend a week in your community and we’ll put together a week full of office hours, tech meetups, angel investing workshops, keynotes and fun. I might even bring some other investors with me to help.

In exchange, you cover my costs and help me figure out how to best help your tech community. Bonus: I might do it all in an Airstream.

I’m only going to do a few of these week-long trips in 2016, please fill this out ASAP if you think I can help your local tech community. I’m booked into six cities already, hurry up. 🙂

Firehose

You can get the full stream of the things I read, it’s all on Twitter — follow me: @paulsingh. Sometimes I write stuff too. You can always find me on Slack, apply to join.

Have a great weekend!

-P

P.S. If you loved this newsletter, share it with a friend. If you hated this newsletter, share it with an enemy.

Happy Friday.

Hello from Lisbon today where I’m keynoting FastTrack later today. If you’re in the Washington, DC or Kelowna, BC next week, scroll to the bottom — I’m hosting a couple of private meetups and I’d love to meet you.

1. “You may have noticed a theme here: at this stage, your marketing layers become reliable.” [Link] [Tweet]

I probably sound like a broken record by now: building a great product is table stakes, figuring out how to make the right noise about the product is the real differentiator between good companies and great companies.

Another important point from the author: “Since the ease of marketing a product is directly proportional to how great it is, incremental improvements at the outset can change the entire trajectory of your business in the long run. In a startup, the odds against you are already so high that marketing a sub-par product isn’t worth anyone’s time.”

2. “Intelligent people have a reputation for making dumb mistakes, especially in situations that require common sense.” [Link] [Tweet]

Everyone makes mistakes. The surprisingly hard part is to recognize them.

3. “Once you’ve taken care of the basics, there’s very little in this world for which your life is worth deferring.” [Link] [Tweet]

I love this: “I can only speak to the experience I did have. The one I do share with millions of people who have the basics taken care of, but who still yearn for the treasure perceived to be behind the curtain. For those who might contemplate giving up all manners of integrity, dignity, or even humanity to pull it back.”

I’ve made a ton of business-related mistakes and they all share one thing in common: I put money first.

4. “Two-thirds of people around the world failed a short test of basic financial concepts.” [Link] [Tweet]

Know your money, yo.

5. “If you can’t offer radical candor, the second best thing you can do is be an asshole.” [Link] [Tweet]

Being nice and being direct don’t have to be mutually exclusive.

6. “I felt like this led to an arm’s race for the highest growth rates” [Link] [Tweet]

There are few people that understand SaaS businesses as well as Christoph Janz. Click through to his site to find KPI templates and a bunch of other extremely relevant content.

7. “Nei­ther of us know any­thing about angel in­vest­ing. Let’s learn quickly by fund­ing a bunch of star­tups.” [Link] [Tweet]

While it’s always interesting to read the story behind any successful company, survivor bias will likely result in at least a few of the readers to consider opening their own accelerators. If that’s you, don’t do it — accelerators are much harder than they look.

8. “mindset research is increasingly finding that it doesn’t take much to shift one’s thinking.” [Link] [Tweet]

I’m hot right now. Shifting my mindset doesn’t seem to be slowing my profuse sweating.

9. “cash is addictive.” [Link] [Tweet]

The best entrepreneurs see money as a tool rather than a milestone.

10. “Silicon Valley loves the mission-based startup and retroactively constructs a founder mythology.” [Link] [Tweet]

Every company has a story and a real story. Unfortunately, we rarely hear the latter.

Want to meet up next week?

Washington, DC Metro: I’m tired of working out of coffee shops when I’m at home in Ashburn — if you’re around on Tuesday, come hang with me. I’m borrowing a friends office for a few hours and want to get some work done around other smart people. Get more details and sign up here.

Kelowna, BC: I’m going to be hosting two workshops this coming Thursday in Kelowna:Fundraising 101 and VC 101. Each event is limited to 15 people so signup now.

Can I spend a week with you in 2016?

I’ve spent the last few years jetting in/out of places for keynotes and demo days. It’s an effective way for me, as an investor, to meet the maximum amount of companies in the shortest amount of time. I want to give back to local tech communities in 2016.

Here’s the general idea: I’ll come spend a week in your community and we’ll put together a week full of office hours, tech meetups, keynotes and fun. I might even bring some other investors with me to help.

In exchange, you cover my costs and help me figure out how to best help your tech community. Bonus: I might do it all in an Airstream.

I’m only going to do a few of these week-long trips in 2016, please fill this out ASAP if you think I can help your local tech community. I’m booked into six cities already, hurry up. 🙂

Firehose

You can get the full stream of the things I read, it’s all on Twitter — follow me: @paulsingh. Sometimes I write stuff too. You can always find me on Slack, apply to join.

Have a great weekend!

-P

P.S. If you loved this newsletter, share it with a friend. If you hated this newsletter, share it with an enemy.

Happy Friday.

Hello from 34,000 feet today. I’m somewhere over the Atlantic and heading home after a week of speaking and events in Guadalajara, MX and Madrid. I’d love to come spend a week with you in 2016, scroll to the bottom to learn more.

1. “Whatever I’m doing, I’m fully invested in that thing as I’m doing it.” [Link] [Tweet]

I agree with the author: it’s not about work-life balance, it’s about work-life integration.

2. “anyone building a marketplace company knows that marketplaces face unique challenges” [Link] [Tweet]

If you’re building a marketplace-based company, you should read this.

3. “I understood they wanted us to have a better life than theirs, but there were times I felt suffocated.” [Link] [Tweet]

As a first-generation Indian-American, every word in this piece rings true for me. I imagine other children of immigrants to the US feel the same way.

4. “a Trident D5 ballistic missile launched by the USS Kentucky off the coast of Southern California.” [Link] [Tweet]

Because missiles. Also, here’s a late Veteran’s Day “thank you” to all of the men and women that keep us safe.

5. “you don’t have to suspend reality to imagine that a few portfolio companies might exit at ~$250 million.” [Link] [Tweet]

Two thoughts:

1. The math around venture funds is relatively straightforward yet very few founders (and perhaps some investors as well) spend any time trying to understand how things work. The goal is to return 3X-5X (or more) to the LPs and that gets trickier as the fund size increases.
2. Has anyone seen how these single-GP funds are structured? Aside from the management fees and carry, I’d be interested in understanding how the rest of the LPA looks. Hit ‘reply’ and let me know if you’ve got something I can read.

6. “success goes to the fastest, not the first” [Link] [Tweet]

Having sat in countless pitches around the world, this particular idea is the least understood outside of Silicon Valley.

While everyone outside the Valley pitches their app/idea/concept, people inside the Valley are pitching their growth tactics.

How do we share that concept with more founders and investors outside of the major tech hubs?

7. “It is burned in your brain because the world as you knew it is now forever different.” [Link] [Tweet]

I’m late to drones. Really late.

8. “he did what anyone would do and shot a high-budget rap video about it.” [Link] [Tweet]

I had a lemon once but it was pre-social media. I wonder how much faster Land Rover would have reacted if I was able to create something that might bring millions of eyeballs into the issue.

9. “It doesn’t matter what people say. Watch what they do.” [Link] [Tweet]

This.

10. “I’m trying to find these things that aren’t meant to be beautiful but are.” [Link] [Tweet]

Big ships are really big. Also, it’s important to remember that the vast majority of goods available to you daily are taking a ride on one of these things at some point during their creation.

Can I spend a week with you in 2016?

I’ve spent the last few years jetting in/out of places for keynotes and demo days. It’s an effective way for me, as an investor, to meet the maximum amount of companies in the shortest amount of time. I want to give back to local tech communities in 2016.

Here’s the general idea: I’ll come spend a week in your community and we’ll put together a week full of office hours, tech meetups, keynotes and fun. I might even bring some other investors with me to help.

In exchange, you cover my costs and help me figure out how to best help your tech community. Bonus: I might do it all in an Airstream.

I’m only going to do 6 of these week-long trips in 2016, please fill this out ASAP if you think I can help your local tech community. Three of the cities have already been booked, hurry up. 🙂

Firehose

You can get the full stream of the things I read, it’s all on Twitter — follow me: @paulsingh. Sometimes I write stuff too. You can always find me on Slack, apply to join.

Have a great weekend!

-P

P.S. If you loved this newsletter, share it with a friend. If you hated this newsletter, share it with an enemy.

Happy Saturday.

Hello from 31,995 feet today. I’m en route to Guadalajara, MX to speak at Startup Weekend before heading to Madrid again for a keynote at the IE Venture Day this Thursday. Racking up those miles, y’all. I’d love to come spend a week with you in 2016, scroll to the bottom to learn more.

1. “Guess what is often the worst slide in an investor pitch deck?” [Link] [Tweet]

It makes me sad when founders don’t take 10 seconds to Google for pitch decks of other companies before pulling their own decks together. Many 500 demo day pitch decks (and the pitch videos) are posted on Slideshare. Other investors are doing the same with their portfolio companies and there’s a wealth of information that can be pulled from AngelList (eg, who funded other companies in the space, how many companies are aiming for a particular market, etc).

It doesn’t matter if you’re a founder or an investor: it’s 2015, there’s no excuse for bad pitches or not knowing the market.

2. Do you speak VC? 30+ jargons and acronyms you should know. [Link] [Tweet]

It’s easy to get lost in the jargon that comes along with running a business. You should probably bookmark this.

While you’re at it, take a look at the definition of GMV and see if it lines up with what you’ve been defining as revenue.

3. “I am all screwed up and it’s not something your body gets used to.” [Link] [Tweet]

I can’t imagine doing these types of commutes routinely but a growing number of careers today benefit from (and sometimes require) a little more face-to-face time.

Regardless of whether you’re a freelancer or working at a Fortune 500 company, it’s extremely important for you to be thinking entrepreneurially. These people chose long commutes rather than uprooting their families. What are you willing to do?

4. A data genius computes the ultimate American road trip [Link] [Tweet]

I’m a sucker for road trips. Scroll further down this email to see what I’ve got in store for 2016. Hint: it involves road trips. And possibly an Airstream.

5. “few of them have the cutting-edge abilities that startups crave.” [Link] [Tweet]

This isn’t just a problem for startups in India, it’s an everywhere problem.

As more investors — especially Silicon Valley focused angels and VCs — begin to pump money into startups outside the major tech hubs (eg, Silicon Valley, NYC, etc), I’m seeing this much more often.

I’ve met founders in places like Tennessee, Madrid, Detroit and Bangalore that have raised millions of dollars from Silicon Valley investors but then have a challenge finding enough talent locally (or willing to relocate to these places) to fill the slots on their hiring plans.

I suppose remote work could be the answer but, for high growth companies especially, it’s extremely hard to replicate the face-to-face interactions that enable the real magic to happen.

6. “Don’t give orders. Give outcomes.” [Link] [Tweet]

Managing people is hard but managing entrepreneurial people is even harder. Mostly because entrepreneurs don’t thrive under management, they excel with leadership.

Something I tell every entrepreneurially-minded person I’ve ever hired: “I’m not asking you to give me the next 20 years of your life, I’m asking you to give me the next 12-18 months. In exchange, you’ll gain more experience in those 12-18 months than most people get in their entire careers.” Then listen to what they say next.

7. “The route covers 12,299 miles, stops in 28 states and passes through 40.” [Link] [Tweet]

Have I mentioned that I love road trips? (Yes, that’s the second mention this week — so apparently you all love road trips too.) I’m starting to thinking about my 2016 travels and road trips are going to be a big part of them. Scroll down to learn more.

8. “It’s infinitely more competitive for emerging apps to compete for limited/fixed consumer appetite for app usage” [Link] [Tweet]

If you’re thinking about building a mobile app (and possibly basing your business around it entirely), this section sums it all up nicely: “The number of mobile apps is skyrocketing. We, the consumers, aren’t using any more apps than we used to. Our home screens are dominated by well-funded, multi-billion dollar apps. It’s infinitely more competitive for emerging apps to compete for limited/fixed consumer appetite for app usage. Your new consumer-facing app is gonna die.”

9. “Sometimes, it takes the cold, harsh truth to burst your cozy bubble.” [Link] [Tweet]

We’re all selling something, including ourselves. Do it right.

10. “It is impossible to short the current perceived tech bubble. The only way is to choose not to invest.” [Link] [Tweet]

It’s worth understanding how monetary policy affects your angel investors and VCs. That money you’re trying to raise isn’t free, you know.

Can I spend a week with you in 2016?

I’ve spent the last few years jetting in/out of places for keynotes and demo days. It’s an effective way for me, as an investor, to meet the maximum amount of companies in the shortest amount of time. I want to give back to local tech communities in 2016.

Here’s the general idea: I’ll come spend a week in your community and we’ll put together a week full of office hours, tech meetups, keynotes and fun. I might even bring some other investors with me to help.

In exchange, you cover my costs and help me figure out how to best help your tech community. Bonus: I might do it all in an Airstream. 🙂

I’m only going to do 6 of these week-long trips in 2016, please fill this out ASAP if you think I can help your local tech community.

VC Vault?

I (and a few of my well known angel and VC friends) meet hundreds, if not thousands, of startups around the world each year. I’m considering opening up the notes we take during these meetings so that other founders and investors might learn (and help us learn).

To be clear, the Vault will never contain confidential information that we receive from a startup (eg, financials, trade secrets, etc) — just our thoughts as professional investors.

Fill this out if you’re interested in getting access to the Vault.

Firehose

You can get the full stream of the things I read, it’s all on Twitter — follow me: @paulsingh. Sometimes I write stuff too. You can always find me on Slack, apply to join.

Have a great weekend!

-P

P.S. If you loved this newsletter, share it with a friend. If you hated this newsletter, share it with an enemy.

Happy Friday.

Hello from Ashburn, VA today.

1. “Finding ways to increase your value while doing the things you love may be the most important thing you do.” [Link] [Tweet]

I’ve been thinking about Imposter Syndrome quite a bit lately. Mostly because it’s something I’ve been experiencing more often than usual throughout 2015 but also because it’s coming up often with students taking my public speaking email course. I’m not sure anyone ever gets over Imposter Syndrome, you just manage it as best as you can.

This paragraph sticks with me: “Well, we often hesitate to believe that what’s natural, maybe even easy for us, can offer any value to the world. In fact, the very act of being really good at something can lead us to discount its value. But after spending a lot of time fine-tuning our ability, isn’t it sort of the point for our skill to look and feel natural?”

2. “everything worth doing is hard.” [Link] [Tweet]

I don’t know if this is my mid-life crisis or just a rough few months for me, but I secretly envy people that have taken back control of their lives.

3. “The problem is that many founders ask for advice in strange ways.” [Link] [Tweet]

Two things:

1. Regardless of whether you’re a founder or you’re an entrepreneurial employee (the world needs both, by the way), this article is for you — it’s the one thing you need to know if you want to get on the radar of people that are going places. Askspecific questions, not broad ones.
2. If there was a Gmail plugin that auto-filtered any email that contained “pick your brain”, “grab some coffee” or any other other common time-wasting phrases, I’d pay for it.

4. “Here’s the thing: everyone hustles.” [Link] [Tweet]

Everyone’s busy. Everyone’s working hard. Everyone’s trying to get ahead. The key, therefore, isn’t to be busier, work harder or get further ahead on your own.

You’re not special but if you help other people get ahead, you will too. Counterintuitive, but true.

5. “What are the point of valuations if you can’t eventually build a business?” [Link] [Tweet]

Unless you’re a VC ramping up to raise your next fund soon or a founder trying to figure out your cap table, valuations are not the yardstick for measuring success.

In fact, focusing solely on valuation is probably a sign that you’re not aware of how complicated term sheets can be in the real world. Someone smart once said: “Here’s a blank term sheet. You can write down any valuation you want as long as I get to set all the remaining terms.”

6. “A dent in the universe is plenty. Curb your ambition. Live happily ever after.” [Link] [Tweet]

DHH FTW. My favorite: “The web is the greatest entrepreneurial platform ever invented. Lowest barriers of entry, greatest human reach ever. I love the web. Permission-less, grand reach, diversity of implementation. Don’t believe this imaginary wall of access of money. It isn’t there.”

7. “Get your head right.” [Link] [Tweet]

In case no one’s reminded you this week: doing your own thing is hard. Really hard.

8. “Starbucks is already handling more than 5 million mobile orders per month—and that figure is growing by the hour.” [Link] [Tweet]

I’ve been using Starbucks’ app for at least a year now but, earlier this week, I used their mobile ordering feature (order anything you want through the app and it’ll be ready for pickup at the nearest store) for the first time.

I have to tell you: it was amazing. Order on the app, walk to the store, head to the pickup area and skip the line in the process. No waiting for people, no fumbling for money and no fuss.

We’re living in the future.

9. “You might be right, but there’s little value in being right.” [Link] [Tweet]

Everyone’s an armchair quarterback, unfortunately.

10. “Most people own things that they don’t really need. It is worth thinking about why.” [Link] [Tweet]

Understanding why people do things is much, much more important than understanding what people do. I call this the invisible game and it’s being played all around you every day.

Sponsor the Results Junkies Community

I put a lot of time and money into this newsletter each week and I’m planning to dial things up in a huge way this year (think: giveaways, contests, meetups and more). If you’d like to help, fill this out and we’ll hop on a quick call to discuss. First come, first serve y’all — as you know, I only send one newsletter each week so you better get on it.

Firehose

You can get the full stream of the things I read, it’s all on Twitter — follow me: @paulsingh. Sometimes I write stuff too. You can always find me on Slack, apply to join.

Have a great weekend!

-P

P.S. If you loved this newsletter, share it with a friend. If you hated this newsletter, share it with an enemy.

Happy Friday.

Hello from Ashburn, VA today.

1. “Finding ways to increase your value while doing the things you love may be the most important thing you do.” [Link] [Tweet]

I’ve been thinking about Imposter Syndrome quite a bit lately. Mostly because it’s something I’ve been experiencing more often than usual throughout 2015 but also because it’s coming up often with students taking my public speaking email course. I’m not sure anyone ever gets over Imposter Syndrome, you just manage it as best as you can.

This paragraph sticks with me: “Well, we often hesitate to believe that what’s natural, maybe even easy for us, can offer any value to the world. In fact, the very act of being really good at something can lead us to discount its value. But after spending a lot of time fine-tuning our ability, isn’t it sort of the point for our skill to look and feel natural?”

2. “everything worth doing is hard.” [Link] [Tweet]

I don’t know if this is my mid-life crisis or just a rough few months for me, but I secretly envy people that have taken back control of their lives.

3. “The problem is that many founders ask for advice in strange ways.” [Link] [Tweet]

Two things:

1. Regardless of whether you’re a founder or you’re an entrepreneurial employee (the world needs both, by the way), this article is for you — it’s the one thing you need to know if you want to get on the radar of people that are going places. Askspecific questions, not broad ones.
2. If there was a Gmail plugin that auto-filtered any email that contained “pick your brain”, “grab some coffee” or any other other common time-wasting phrases, I’d pay for it.

4. “Here’s the thing: everyone hustles.” [Link] [Tweet]

Everyone’s busy. Everyone’s working hard. Everyone’s trying to get ahead. The key, therefore, isn’t to be busier, work harder or get further ahead on your own.

You’re not special but if you help other people get ahead, you will too. Counterintuitive, but true.

5. “What are the point of valuations if you can’t eventually build a business?” [Link] [Tweet]

Unless you’re a VC ramping up to raise your next fund soon or a founder trying to figure out your cap table, valuations are not the yardstick for measuring success.

In fact, focusing solely on valuation is probably a sign that you’re not aware of how complicated term sheets can be in the real world. Someone smart once said: “Here’s a blank term sheet. You can write down any valuation you want as long as I get to set all the remaining terms.”

6. “A dent in the universe is plenty. Curb your ambition. Live happily ever after.” [Link] [Tweet]

DHH FTW. My favorite: “The web is the greatest entrepreneurial platform ever invented. Lowest barriers of entry, greatest human reach ever. I love the web. Permission-less, grand reach, diversity of implementation. Don’t believe this imaginary wall of access of money. It isn’t there.”

7. “Get your head right.” [Link] [Tweet]

In case no one’s reminded you this week: doing your own thing is hard. Really hard.

8. “Starbucks is already handling more than 5 million mobile orders per month—and that figure is growing by the hour.” [Link] [Tweet]

I’ve been using Starbucks’ app for at least a year now but, earlier this week, I used their mobile ordering feature (order anything you want through the app and it’ll be ready for pickup at the nearest store) for the first time.

I have to tell you: it was amazing. Order on the app, walk to the store, head to the pickup area and skip the line in the process. No waiting for people, no fumbling for money and no fuss.

We’re living in the future.

9. “You might be right, but there’s little value in being right.” [Link] [Tweet]

Everyone’s an armchair quarterback, unfortunately.

10. “Most people own things that they don’t really need. It is worth thinking about why.” [Link] [Tweet]

Understanding why people do things is much, much more important than understanding what people do. I call this the invisible game and it’s being played all around you every day.

Sponsor the Results Junkies Community

I put a lot of time and money into this newsletter each week and I’m planning to dial things up in a huge way this year (think: giveaways, contests, meetups and more). If you’d like to help, fill this out and we’ll hop on a quick call to discuss. First come, first serve y’all — as you know, I only send one newsletter each week so you better get on it.

Firehose

You can get the full stream of the things I read, it’s all on Twitter — follow me: @paulsingh. Sometimes I write stuff too. You can always find me on Slack, apply to join.

Have a great weekend!

-P

P.S. If you loved this newsletter, share it with a friend. If you hated this newsletter, share it with an enemy.

Happy Friday.

Hello from Ashburn, VA today where it’s good to be in one timezone for a little longer than usual. I’m planning to dial things up in a huge way this year (think: giveaways, contests, meetups and more) for the Results Junkies community — that’s you — so read through to the bottom of this week’s email if you’re interested.

1. “startups don’t attack existing players head-on.” [Link] [Tweet]

It’s interesting to watch the blockchain-powered companies slowly — but steadily — building solid businesses in the FinTech space. It seems obvious that one of the big publicly traded banks will make the first large acquisition of a “BlockTech” company but I wouldn’t be surprised if a large credit union or small local bank makes the leap first.

Regardless, this is yet-another-reminder that startups should tackle large markets by solving specific problems first — this is your wedge in the door and, assuming your initial product solves a problem, will keep you alive long enough to tackle the next problem. And the next problem. And the next problem. Before you know it, you’re not a startup anymore.

2. “Whether or not this should happen or does happen is besides the point – the point is that most VCs see it coming.” [Link] [Tweet]

Two important takeaways here:

1. Founders shouldn’t worry about whether we’re in a bubble or not, just know that raising your first round will be the easiest money you ever get. The bar is rising for companies seeking later stage funding.
2. Increasing revenue by 5X yearly or 15% month-over-month is the right goal. Hit those numbers and you’re going to be fine.

3. “rating systems have turned customers into unwitting and sometimes unwittingly ruthless middle managers” [Link] [Tweet]

Rating systems have been around us for quite a while now. You’ve used Zagat and Yelp to decide where to eat — most probably by reading the ratings and reviews of others that have dined there. You’ve used Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to gauge someone’s background, experience and network before interviewing them for a job. You’ve even asked your friends for recommendations on a Realtor or car salesperson.

The difference is that Uber, Lyft, Handy and many of the other on-demand platforms — through the ubiquity of mobile devices and beautiful UX/UI — have finally made it incredibly easier to provide feedback on service providers (read: they collect more reviews) and easier to manage those same service providers (example: Uber deactivates drives if their score drops below 4.6 in some regions).

You are the customer and the performance manager. You hold the keys to someone else’s future and, like me, you probably don’t take it seriously enough.

4. “Fundraising is somewhat of a game, and to do it you need to learn how to play.” [Link] [Tweet]

Fundraising is an art, not a science. With that being said, this is a good overview of the process. TLDR: fundraising takes time.

5. “Realize no one cares as much as you do, and that’s OK” [Link] [Tweet]

A lot of people want to be the founder (or the CEO), few of them realize what is actually involved. Read this.

6. “If you’re judging your output by your tiredness, you’re sure to be misled.” [Link] [Tweet]

If you’re in a blue collar / production role, you’re absolutely going to be judged by the amount of time you’re standing on the job site. I know this personally, I used to lay brick and pour concrete. (Note the story of the locksmith in this piece as well.) Changing the perception of the client is nearly impossible. If you want more money, do more visible work.

If you’re in a white collar / knowledge worker role, you’re going to be judged by your output rather than “seat time” at your desk. If you want more money, produce more measurable results.

7. “Don’t ever just show up to a meeting without knowing what it is going to be about.” [Link] [Tweet]

People are careful about spending money when they can see/feel/touch it (eg, “I’m not spending $200 on that shirt, that’s crazy!) but they don’t think twice about calling a 45 minute meeting with 3 people that could effectively cost $1,000 in payroll and overhead. Get it together.

8. “In the VC model, moderate success is almost as big of a risk as bankruptcy.” [Link] [Tweet]

Look, I’d invest in restaurants, car washes and other brick & mortar businesses if I wanted to invest in a “good” company. I don’t want a good company, I want a go-big-or-go-home company.

Counterintuitive: the easier it is for founders to get to their first revenue, the harder it is to make money as an angel or VC.

9. “If you go at it alone, you’re better off angel investing or doing syndicates over AngelList.” [Link] [Tweet]

If you’re considering raising a fund that will end up under $10M, save yourself the hassle and consider AngelList Syndicates or other alternatives. OK,

10. “And it was a revelation to look at the phones. All Android. Most lower cost devices like Moto G.” [Link] [Tweet]

For those of us that have spent the majority of the last decade within the United States, we generally take the costs of our smartphones lightly. Outside the US — where the dollar is more expensive and the median incomes are lower — smartphones and connectivity are much, much different.

Facebook’s experimenting with “2G Tuesdays” to force their engineers to feel the realities in order to build a better experience for users outside of the US. If you’re selling to customers outside the US, you should consider something similar as well.

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Firehose

You can get the full stream of the things I read, it’s all on Twitter — follow me: @paulsingh. Sometimes I write stuff too. You can always find me on Slack, apply to join.

Have a great weekend!

-P

P.S. If you loved this newsletter, share it with a friend. If you hated this newsletter, share it with an enemy.

Happy Friday.

(Hello from Detroit today.)

1. Your friends are more than their job titles (and so are you) [Link] [Tweet]

I’ve been meeting a ton of people over the past few weeks and, particularly when I’m at a conference or other tech event, asking people about their hobbies tends to (1) keep me from feeling burnt out when talking to so many people, (2) help me learn more about the person standing in front of me and (3) gives me an interesting way to introduce them to someone else at the conference. So, I guess that makes this a bit of a networking hack. Win-win.

2. “The scale of her commercial supremacy defies parallel.” [Link] [Tweet]

I love in-depth pieces (like this one) that shed light on the way successful people do what they do. Taylor’s level of self-awareness is nothing short of incredible.

3. Trade groups and networking groups don’t make regions better, individuals and companies do. [Tweet]

It doesn’t matter whether you’re an angel group, a trade organization or a Chamber of Commerce — in a time where every individual has direct access to a broad audience via the internet, you’re going to lose your influence (and revenue) if you don’t adapt.

Like most industries disrupted by the internet, you need to start thinking about yourself as a service provider rather than an access provider.

4. “The most potent weapon in sales is understanding a buyer’s perception of time.” [Link] [Tweet]

You should internalize the concepts of buyer urgency and seller scarcity. It’s something we used to think about quite a bit when I was selling cars in the early days of Carmax (eg, “So what are you driving now?” and “There’s only one of these on the lot. Oh look, these other people are looking at the car now.”) and it’s still relevant today.

5. “I was thinking linearly. I paid lots of money to create this software, now it’s your turn to pay.” [Link] [Tweet]

The old way of making money: I made this, you should pay for this.
The new way of making money: I made this, you can use it for free, I might charge you for some of the “pro” features.

Go for the max market in both your personal and professional lives. You’ll be surprised by the number of opportunities that will appear along the way.

6. “We’re busier than ever. We’re often on autopilot.” [Link] [Tweet]

I’m on autopilot right now, actually.

7. “Outward appearance isn’t as important as the quality of the work you do.” [Link] [Tweet]

You know, it’s not that everyone should be wearing t-shirts (or wearing suits). It’s that we should wear the clothes makes us most comfortable and wear the clothes that align the most with our customers. Just be comfortable and sell some shit, y’all.

On a related note, the suit-to-jeans ratio is an important metric for any tech conference. Outside of Silicon Valley or other major cities, you can tell a lot about the maturity of a local tech community by the number of jeans (with or without sport coats) in any audience.

8. “Uber’s most recent round of financing did not imply it would have cost $50B to purchase the entire business.” [Link] [Tweet]

Given all the talk of unicorns these days, it’s important to understand how the various classes of stock work. It’ll make your brain explode.

For the investors reading this: “If you hold series seed shares in Uber (a fairly subordinate class of stock) and mark them as if the entire company is worth $50B, and that your shares are worth the exact same as the more senior shares, you’re lying.” You might want to double-check your quarterly portfolio markups and markdowns. Go ahead, I’ll wait.

9. “Today is not yesterday.” [Link] [Tweet]

Yep.

10. “I have more job security now that I work for a dozen co’s than I did when I was a full-time staff member at one.” [Link] [Tweet]

Look, the way we all work is changing — it doesn’t matter whether you’re a founder, an employee or something in between. Everyone needs to be an entrepreneur.

Building a personal brand might feel unimportant but, frankly, you’re going to be at a disadvantage if you don’t put some time into it. In the worst case, your brand will be the “insurance policy” you’ll cash in when it’s time to look for a new job or raise your next round. In the best case, you’ve got that insurance policy and you’ll have opportunities coming across your radar that you would never have received otherwise.

As you know, I’m a big believer in learning better communication and public speaking skills — it really is the lowest-effort-highest-ROI way to build your personal brand. If that’s not for you, find your thing but I sincerely hope you don’t ignore this particular point.

Coming down

I’m on the tail end of a month of heavy travel — flying and talking, flying and talking, flying and talking. I’m spent.

A couple of things I’ve been thinking about as I meet so many entreprenuers, investors and community builders:

• People who compare technology-enabled businesses (a.k.a. “startups”) miss the point: tech-enabled companies can’t be easily compared to existing companies.
• I’ve been talking to lots of entrepreneurs lately, the most successful seem to have one or more traits:
  • They’ve got a functional prototype with small but measurable usage.
  • Small but cross-functional teams: the hacker, hustler and designer are already on board.
  • They can clearly articulate how their product solves a problem for a **specific** customer.
• The best investors and companies (and individuals) see themselves as marketing companies that happen to do what they do — not the other way around. Distribution is everything.

Firehose

You can get the full stream of the things I read, it’s all on Twitter — follow me: @paulsingh. Sometimes I write stuff too. You can always find me on Slack, apply to join.

Have a great weekend!

-P

P.S. If you loved this newsletter, share it with a friend. If you hated this newsletter, share it with an enemy.

P.P.S. I’m starting to do a little bit of consulting for real estate firms and tech community builders around the country. If you think I might be able to help with something you’re doing in your neck of the woods, hit ‘reply’ and let’s talk about it.

Happy Friday.

(Hello from Halifax, NS today. It’s been a long few weeks of travel and I’m looking forward to a few days of downtime when I get back to DC late tonight.)

1. A photographer edits out our smartphones to show our strange and lonely new world [Link] [Tweet]

There’s a 36% chance (seriously) that you’re reading this from a mobile phone which means you probably look like the people in these photos. Your goal today: make eye contact.

2. “I wouldn’t recommend anyone to put more than 5% of his or her investment assets into startups.” [Link] [Tweet]

If you’re a founder considering a fundraise soon, read this to get a better understanding of how investors think. If you’re someone considering becoming an investor soon, read this to understand how hard it is to be a good investor.

Writing checks is the easy part. Figuring out how all the pieces together is much, much harder.

3. “CEO psychology is the most under-appreciated, yet most important part of building a company.” [Link] [Tweet]

There’s not much in here that you don’t already know but seeing the ideas written down somehow makes them feel a bit more real.

My advice: if you’ve raised your first round already, take the time to see a therapist once a week. If nothing else, you’ll have a completely neutral sounding board that you can trust will keep your deepest fears private. The value of that can’t be overstated.

4. “I’ve spent the last 10 years of my life learning how to manipulate people.” [Link] [Tweet]

Sales can feel scary and complicated but this about sums it up: “If you can win their trust, then you don’t have to sell. You just become the guy who has the thing that other people want. And in the world of online sales, that’s the perfect place to be.”

5. “I finally recognized and accepted where my personal problems are, which allows me to deal with them.” [Link] [Tweet]

Love him or hate him, Tucker Max is opening the kimono on this one: “Basically, this whole fucking thing is therapy, as all writing is. It’s just helping you and me both, instead of just me.”

6. “The basic problem is that there’s nowhere for the packages to go.” [Link] [Tweet]

It’s interesting to think that physical places and spaces are getting jammed up with things that we buy online. The solution probably isn’t to build bigger spaces, not immediately any way. The real solution is figuring out how to move the packages through the “last mile” more efficiently.

7. “To survive, manage yourself.” [Link] [Tweet]

Yep: “There are so many things that can kill a company.  There are so many ways to fail it almost overwhelms people.  Make sure that if you fail, you fail because of things you cannot control.”

8. “Stop complaining about how much of your time is already spoken for and start figuring out a way to get it back.” [Link] [Tweet]

I probably say “yes” too much. You probably do too. Let’s fix that.

Default answer: “No.”

9. “There’s little value in pointing out a problem unless you have an actual idea for solving it.” [Link] [Tweet]

This is the most coherent framework for anyone’s first 90 days at a job (and each subsequent 90 days after that).

10. “my worries are drowned out by the kind of unfettered optimism that only $1B valuations (on $0 earnings) can buy.” [Link] [Tweet]

Anecdotally, it seems that overall sentiment from tech investors is shifting from optimistic to cautiously optimistic to “oh shit, everything’s about to fall

I’m coming for you

No, actually I’m done for a little bit. I’ve spent the last few weeks in Madrid, SP (where I gave my first keynote in a bullfighting ring!), Halifax, NS, Chattanooga, TN (where I did my first speaking gig inside an old church) and a bunch of other interesting places. Detroit and Lagos are on the agenda in the next few weeks.

Anything cool happening in your neck of the woods?

Firehose

You can get the full stream of the things I read, it’s all on Twitter — follow me: @paulsingh. Sometimes I write stuff too. You can always find me on Slack, apply to join.

Have a great weekend!

-P

P.S. If you loved this newsletter, share it with a friend. If you hated this newsletter, share it with an enemy.

Happy Friday.

(Hello from Lincoln, NE today where I’ve been checking out Lincoln Startup Week, eating runza and speaking.)

1. “It’s a terrible thing, I think, in life to wait until you’re ready.” [Link] [Tweet]

When you’re starting something new, it’s scary easy to get bogged down in the details before ever taking the first step. “I’m going to need business cards” and “how will I ask for my first sale” are real questions that overwhelm many people before they ever take the first step. As Reid Hoffman (the founder of LinkedIn) famously said, if you’re not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve waited too long.”

Just. Ship. Something.

2. “10 years from now people will be embarrassed to say unicorn.” [Link] [Tweet]

The “short cut culture” is absolutely a real thing. Sometimes it’s easier to think about possible short cuts rather than doing the unsexy work that it takes to grow a company. I’ve done it, you’ve done it and that’s OK as long as you recognize it. The important thing to remember is that “it’s really about love. And sacrifice. And hard work. And putting in the daily things that it takes to achieve great things.”

3. “I like you, but you gotta understand, my friends don’t get out of bed unless they’re writing a $25 million check.” [Link] [Tweet]

I love Semil Shah’s writing, particularly his ability to take complex topics and distill them into posts that anyone can understand. If you’re thinking about raising a fund soon, it’s worth reading this entire post (and subscribing to his blog).

4. “If our research is correct, you need to eat even less and exercise even more.” [Link] [Tweet]

Back in my day, we used to be able to have a Happy Meal every day without thinking twice. Ah, the good old days.

5. “You are the average of the people you spend the most time with. It’s a natural thing.” [Link] [Tweet]

Two thoughts here:

• If you’re having a hard time reaching a certain goal, it’s worth taking a hard look at the people around you most often. Then change it.
• I grew up in the Indian community of the DC Metro area. Many of the young people I knew at the time spent the majority of their free time with other Indian kids on the weekdays and weekends while I, being in enrolled in a private Christian school, spent the majority of my time with anyone but Indians. I’m convinced this was a HUGE benefit to my career. Said another way, I think most Indian kids are at a disadvantage: they spend so much time with other Indians that they never quite learn how to interact with other cultures — this hurts their prospects in the long run.

If you notice that everyone in your circle looks like you, comes from the same place as you and generally does the same thing as you, it’s time to make a change.

6. “Growth is where all the action is, and to where all the money flows.” [Link] [Tweet]

I met a founder today that seemed to have a pretty cool product. The problem, however, is that no one is using it. When I poked the founder about this, he responded, “well, I thought you might be able to help me get customers.”

Wut? No.

Growth doesn’t happen magically and it doesn’t stop magically. It happens because founders focus on it.

7. “Sell yourself, sell your vision to investors, employees and most importantly, to your customers.” [Link] [Tweet]

Yes. Yes. Yes. Everyone needs to be a storyteller.

Oh, by the way, I offer a free email course on public speaking and storytelling. 1,100+ smart people are currently about halfway through the course and I’ll be opening up the next cohort very soon — sign up here. Again, it’s free so you have no excuse not tosign up.

8. “I think innovation can happen anywhere, you just have to dream big.” [Link] [Tweet]

Ashton Kutcher is super smart, you should read the entire article.

9. Yes, Let’s Ask Men in Tech About Being Dads [Link] [Tweet]

Dads are people too.

10. “Truism: customer money is better than VC money.” [Link] [Tweet]

This is amazing to me: “At Arthur Ventures we’ve made 15 investments out of our current fund.  3 of those 15 have not spent a penny of our money and another 3 have burned a relatively small amount (50% or less) before being roughly breakeven again.  All 6 of these companies have had at least a year since initial funding.”

I’m coming for you

Next up (though, not in this exact order): Madrid, SP, Halifax, NS, Detroit, MI, Lagos, NG, Chattanooga, TN (coupon code: PaulSingh) and a bunch of other interesting places.

If there’s cool stuff happening in your neck of the woods, let me know ASAP — let’s get it on the calendar, I want to see how startups are growing in your neck of the woods.

Firehose

You can get the full stream of the things I read, it’s all on Twitter — follow me: @paulsingh. Sometimes I write stuff too. You can always find me on Slack, apply to join.

Have a great weekend!

-P

P.S. If you loved this newsletter, share it with a friend. If you hated this newsletter, share it with an enemy.