Appendix. Business Model
Appendix. Company Summary
Appendix. Competitive Advantage
Appendix. Competitors
Appendix. Customer Problem
Appendix. Customer Segments
Appendix. Management Team
Appendix. Products & Services
Appendix. Sales & Marketing Strategy
Appendix. Target Market
Chapter 1. Putting the necessary pieces together
Chapter 1. Scratching the startup itch How I became an incorrigible entrepreneur
Chapter 1. The ground floor
Chapter 1. The moral of this anecdote
Chapter 2. Almost CEO
Chapter 2. Avoiding four-legged sales calls with a technical CEO
Chapter 2. The moral of this anecdote
Chapter 2. What makes you think you are CEO material
Chapter 3. A venture-backed turnaround A dangerous place to be
Chapter 3. The human cost of VC investments
Chapter 3. The moral of this anecdote
Chapter 3. Turning NovaSoft around
Chapter 4. Determining who is in the in group and the out group
Chapter 4. How and when do people get the title founder
Chapter 4. The founding team Who s in and who s not
Chapter 4. The moral of this anecdote
Chapter 5. Friends and family, angels, venture capital, or strategic
Chapter 5. Seed stage
Chapter 5. The moral of this anecdote
Chapter 6. Angels Your bridge financing solution
Chapter 6. Finding and pitching to angels
Chapter 6. Preparing for your pitch
Chapter 6. The moral of this anecdote
Chapter 6. The pitch
Chapter 6. What VCs think of angels
Chapter 7. The art of pitching to institutional investors
Chapter 7. The deck (aka your business plan)
Chapter 7. The moral of this anecdote
Chapter 8. Investors aren t your friends
Chapter 8. The moral of this anecdote
Chapter 9. How the money flows within a VC firm
Chapter 9. Life span of venture capital funds
Chapter 9. The moral of this anecdote
Chapter 9. Understand the VC business model Raise money faster
Chapter 9. Venture capital math
Chapter 10. Extensions to the seed round
Chapter 10. Pre-money and post-money valuations
Chapter 10. Requirements for raising a seed round
Chapter 10. Seed The first priced round
Chapter 10. The moral of this anecdote
Chapter 10. The sequence of steps in a financing round
Chapter 10. Typical seed investors
Chapter 10. When a seed round is not needed (or rewarding)
Chapter 11. Problematic terms
Chapter 11. Terms in follow-on rounds
Chapter 11. Term sheets An institutional investor wants to invest in you
Chapter 11. The moral of this anecdote
Chapter 12. Due diligence An exam you must pass
Chapter 12. Phase II The interactive due-diligence phase
Chapter 12. Phase I The investor s due-diligence checklist
Chapter 12. The data room
Chapter 12. The moral of this anecdote
Chapter 13. B2B services
Chapter 13. Business-to-business and its variants
Chapter 13. How your business model affects hiring
Chapter 13. Internet advertising
Chapter 13. Software-as-a-service (SaaS)
Chapter 13. The moral of this anecdote
Chapter 13. Your business model The beating heart of your business
Chapter 14. Getting to a minimum viable product with lighthouse customers
Chapter 14. Talking to the market
Chapter 14. The critical importance of lighthouse customers
Chapter 14. The moral of this anecdote
Chapter 15. Defining PMF
Chapter 15. Product market fit Making sure the dogs will eat your dog food
Chapter 15. The moral of this anecdote
Chapter 15. The obsession necessary to obtain PMF
Chapter 16. Articulating your vision
Chapter 16. Go-to-market How to make your business viable and grow
Chapter 16. Making sure your GTM works
Chapter 16. My introduction to GTM
Chapter 16. The GTM strategy
Chapter 16. The moral of this anecdote
Chapter 17. A formal business plan in 10 steps
Chapter 17. Introduction to strategic planning
Chapter 17. The moral of this anecdote
Chapter 17. The steps in working order
Chapter 18. Burn rate and runway or, where is the edge of that cliff
Chapter 18. How much runway do you need
Chapter 18. The arithmetic of burn rate and runway
Chapter 18. The moral of this anecdote
Chapter 19. Achieving cash-flow positive A startup s Holy Grail
Chapter 19. Liberation from the shackles of burn rate
Chapter 19. The moral of this anecdote
Chapter 20. The moral of this anecdote
Chapter 20. Why valuation matters
Chapter 20. Your startup s valuation Up, up, up (hopefully)
Chapter 21. Closing the deal
Chapter 21. Hire slowly and correctly
Chapter 21. Sourcing candidates
Chapter 21. The interview process
Chapter 21. The moral of this anecdote
Chapter 22. Aligning your teams
Chapter 22. Beyond foosball Crafting a positive culture that retains your team
Chapter 22. Driving company culture through a core set of principles
Chapter 22. Founders pivotal role in maintaining culture
Chapter 22. How culture is formed and maintained
Chapter 22. The moral of this anecdote
Chapter 23. Co-CEOs A rare phenomenon
Chapter 23. Does a startup need both a CEO and a COO
Chapter 23. Five reasons for a startup to have a COO
Chapter 23. Personal reflections on being CEO vs. COO
Chapter 23. The moral of this anecdote
Chapter 24. Friction between CMO and other senior execs
Chapter 24. Marketing Too often a startup s afterthought
Chapter 24. Progression of marketing titles
Chapter 24. The moral of this anecdote
Chapter 24. Why do CEOs sometimes undervalue their CMOs
Chapter 25. Characteristics of great salespeople
Chapter 25. The moral of this anecdote
Chapter 25. The right character for your sales leader and when to hire them
Chapter 25. Unique compensation package
Chapter 25. When to hire your sales team
Chapter 26. Board of directors composition
Chapter 26. Board of directors meetings
Chapter 26. Presenting to the board of directors
Chapter 26. Startup boards The good, (how to prevent) the bad, and the ugly
Chapter 26. The moral of this anecdote
Chapter 27. Board observers Observe only, please
Chapter 27. Can you get rid of observers
Chapter 27. Stories of bad board observer behavior
Chapter 27. The moral of this anecdote
Chapter 28. Dealing with extra-needy investors
Chapter 28. Investor communications They needn t be cod liver oil
Chapter 28. The moral of this anecdote
Chapter 28. What to communicate
Chapter 29. Heaven forbid if you must downsize
Chapter 29. How to execute layoffs correctly
Chapter 29. The moral of this anecdote
Chapter 30. Heaven forbid if you must wind it up
Chapter 30. The goals
Chapter 30. The moral of this anecdote
Chapter 30. The process
Chapter 31. Acquisition Your financial dream come true
Chapter 31. Executing the acquisition
Chapter 31. Planning for an acquisition
Chapter 31. The moral of this anecdote
Part 1. First time leading a startup
Part 2. Raising money
Part 3. Business strategies, models and plans
Part 4. Your team Building it, sizing it, aligning it
Part 5. Management challenges
