Get a Life!

Excerpted from the book on mindful business management, Business Black Belt. “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” ~ Cyril Northcote Parkinson When you proactively fill your time, you can prevent BS from filling it for you. A friend of mine was complaining that many otherwise great projects were going undone…

Do I Need a Business Plan to Raise Money?

In my experience raising capital, investors can’t seem to get enough information. Think about it. Before they’ll write a check, investors ask all kinds of questions and you need to have answers. Why do you think only 3-5% of startups get funded?!? You might as well do the homework ahead of time, do some of…

How a venture capitalist approaches an investment in your start-up

Investing in seed rounds is different than other stages of start-up investment. Unlike Series A, B, C, etc… there is little to no history of customers, milestones, numbers, references, etc. to evidence to support an intelligent investment decision. Read this article to learn more about how a venture capitalist approaches an investment in your start-up.…

Finding the Right Investor

Excerpted from the book on mindful business management, Business Black Belt. “It is time for us all to stand and cheer for the doer, the achiever, the one who recognizes the challenges and does something about it.” ~ Football Coach, Vince Lombardi I’ve written much on business plans, business planning, business plan software (of course),…

Video – Writing your business plan — the Financial Plan

What to think about as you edit the “Financial Plan” section of your business plan and what investors and lenders (crowdfund, angel, venture capital, SBA) look for as they consider funding your start up or growing company.