This week I'm covering startup maxims — those little phrases we all repeat to each other as common wisdom but may or may not be true, helpful, or relevant. Today's maxim: "Ask for money, get advice. Ask for advice, get money." About AVL Growth Partners AVL Growth Partners, founded in 2009, is the leading fractional Finance and Accounting firm supporting organizations in pivoting from growth to scale. AVL brings an experienced team of CFOs, Controllers, and Accountants to your organization,...

Just as the purpose of the deck is not to get a check, it's to get the first meeting, the purpose of the first meeting is... About Eric Marcoullier Eric coaches first- and second-time tech CEOs, keeping their companies alive long enough to get lucky, figure out their business, find product/market fit and replace his ass with someone who knows how to scale companies beyond $5M in ARR. His work primarily involves challenging business assumptions, providing frameworks for new situations and...

A VC's job is to say "no." Now knowing that, how do you adjust your approach? About Eric Marcoullier Eric coaches first- and second-time tech CEOs, keeping their companies alive long enough to get lucky, figure out their business, find product/market fit and replace his ass with someone who knows how to scale companies beyond $5M in ARR. His work primarily involves challenging business assumptions, providing frameworks for new situations and distilling complexity down to basic, actionable...

If you aren't getting positive feedback from the market, don't start adding things. Strip the product down to its core basic value prop. About Eric Marcoullier Eric coaches first- and second-time tech CEOs, keeping their companies alive long enough to get lucky, figure out their business, find product/market fit and replace his ass with someone who knows how to scale companies beyond $5M in ARR. His work primarily involves challenging business assumptions, providing frameworks for new...

Founders are efficiency-seeking missiles, which is what compels them to start businesses, but it's a double-edged sword. About Eric Marcoullier Eric coaches first- and second-time tech CEOs, keeping their companies alive long enough to get lucky, figure out their business, find product/market fit and replace his ass with someone who knows how to scale companies beyond $5M in ARR. His work primarily involves challenging business assumptions, providing frameworks for new situations and...

The CEO is responsible for three things: communicate the vision,  hire great people, and don't run out of money. But it all boils down to just one thing. About Eric Marcoullier Eric coaches first- and second-time tech CEOs, keeping their companies alive long enough to get lucky, figure out their business, find product/market fit and replace his ass with someone who knows how to scale companies beyond $5M in ARR. His work primarily involves challenging business assumptions, providing...

"This will not be your last startup." About Eric Marcoullier Eric coaches first- and second-time tech CEOs, keeping their companies alive long enough to get lucky, figure out their business, find product/market fit and replace his ass with someone who knows how to scale companies beyond $5M in ARR. His work primarily involves challenging business assumptions, providing frameworks for new situations and distilling complexity down to basic, actionable ideas. If you'd like to learn more about...

My friend Eric is a very successful startup founder who has been a CEO coach for the last decade. When founders come to him to ask if they should shut down their startup, he runs this process with them. About Eric Marcoullier Eric coaches first- and second-time tech CEOs, keeping their companies alive long enough to get lucky, figure out their business, find product/market fit and replace his ass with someone who knows how to scale companies beyond $5M in ARR. His work primarily involves...

There are ways to shut down: The Ghost, The Bonfire, The Refund. But there's also a great way to sell your startup. That advice is not mine to share, so go read this presentation by Geoff Lewis: The Terminal Plan https://www.slideshare.net/justGlew/the-terminal-plan-how-to-sell-a-startup-geoff-lewis-presentation-sxsw-2013 About AVL Growth Partners AVL Growth Partners, founded in 2009, is the leading fractional Finance and Accounting firm supporting organizations in pivoting from growth to...

This week we're covering an important but difficult topic: shutting down your startup. If you're asking yourself the question, you may already have the answer. And your investors may have already written your company down.  About AVL Growth Partners AVL Growth Partners, founded in 2009, is the leading fractional Finance and Accounting firm supporting organizations in pivoting from growth to scale. AVL brings an experienced team of CFOs, Controllers, and Accountants to your organization,...

When a start up comes into my inbox cold or through another investor, there are really only two things I'm trying to figure out: 1) Is this for me?  2) Is this interesting? About AVL Growth Partners AVL Growth Partners, founded in 2009, is the leading fractional Finance and Accounting firm supporting organizations in pivoting from growth to scale. AVL brings an experienced team of CFOs, Controllers, and Accountants to your organization, delivering transparent, strategic actions for short and...

Allyson joins us to share her insights on providing specificity in the problem being solved.  A founder has to be able to convey the severity of the problem and the specific upside for solving it. Without both, investors know customers just won't buy. About AVL Growth Partners AVL Growth Partners, founded in 2009, is the leading fractional Finance and Accounting firm supporting organizations in pivoting from growth to scale. AVL brings an experienced team of CFOs, Controllers, and...

Wrapping this up, I've been watching the "Follow-On Death Spiral" for the last year. It's not all bad news through. About AVL Growth Partners AVL Growth Partners, founded in 2009, is the leading fractional Finance and Accounting firm supporting organizations in pivoting from growth to scale. AVL brings an experienced team of CFOs, Controllers, and Accountants to your organization, delivering transparent, strategic actions for short and long-term success. Transform your financial approach...

The time between startup fundraises has grown significantly. Additionally, the time between venture fund vintages has also grown, resulting in a slowdown of capital deployment. All while venture funds buoy the healthy companies in their portfolio with follow-on capital.  About AVL Growth Partners AVL Growth Partners, founded in 2009, is the leading fractional Finance and Accounting firm supporting organizations in pivoting from growth to scale. AVL brings an experienced team of CFOs,...

Over the next few days we're going to dive into why follow-on investment is the most important thing for Seed startups. Today, a quick background on the lengthening of the Seed Phase and why Series A raised the bar.  About AVL Growth Partners AVL Growth Partners, founded in 2009, is the leading fractional Finance and Accounting firm supporting organizations in pivoting from growth to scale. AVL brings an experienced team of CFOs, Controllers, and Accountants to your organization, delivering...

Maybe a founder could explain to me why you would not follow up with investors that opened your deck on DocSend? About AVL Growth Partners AVL Growth Partners, founded in 2009, is the leading fractional Finance and Accounting firm supporting organizations in pivoting from growth to scale. AVL brings an experienced team of CFOs, Controllers, and Accountants to your organization, delivering transparent, strategic actions for short and long-term success. Transform your financial approach...

Clear communication is crucial for startup CEOs to sell their vision effectively to investors, customers, and employees. SpringTime partner, Allyson Plosko, shares why Simplicity is Genius. Subscribe to the VC Minute Substack to read more from Allyson: https://vcminute.substack.com/ About AVL Growth Partners AVL Growth Partners, founded in 2009, is the leading fractional Finance and Accounting firm supporting organizations in pivoting from growth to scale. AVL brings an experienced team of...