Insights
What we’ve learned building companies.
Lessons from the businesses we’ve built with founders, and the ones that taught us the most.
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Sometimes success means giving upWhen it comes to starting companies—or observing other people starting one—it’s common to hear cries of “never give up!”. But entrepreneurship isn’t about never giving up. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Sure, tenacity and determination are absolutely prerequisites. I’m not challenging that for a second. But let’s be honest for a second.Read the post →
The shortcut to raising vanture capital for your startupIs there a shortcut—an easy way—to raise venture capital? Sort of, yes. As we hear constantly, there is a vast amount of capital looking for ideas that will change the world. And that’s the key. What do investors believe will transform our world?Read the post →
5 lesser-known tips for cold pitching VCsAre you a founder trying to cold-pitch VCs? Keep these 5 things in mind↓ Double down on your homework. Don’t waste time pitching to VCs who aren’t interested in your sector. Example: If they’ve made it clear they’re not looking at med-tech, don’t send that cold email. Instead, try connecting on LinkedIn.Read the post →
Before raising investment ask yourself: what phase is my startup in?Before you raise money for your startup, ask yourself what phase you’re in. Paul Graham says that, at Y Combinator, founders are advised to raise money in phase 2 This is when the company already has traction but needs to accelerate.Read the post →
Why it’s never too late to start a businessDid your opportunity to start a business pass you by? Nope, and here’s the proof… ↓↓ Harland Sanders — KFC (age 62) Charles Flint — IBM (age 61) Dietrich Mateschitz — RedBull (age 60) Ferdinand Porsche — Porsche (age 56) Nicolas Hayek — Swatch (age 55) Julie Wainwright — The RealReal (age 53) Ray…Read the post →
How startup founders should use LinkedinI often run experiments to try to help our portfolio companies. One of these has been running for the last month here on LinkedIn. Maybe you noticed?Read the post →
How to improve your investor outreach by 2500%Here’s how to improve your investor outreach by literally 25x (no hyperbole!)… Dori Stein raised more than $30m for his last startup, and he’s obsessed with creating a part-automated fundraising process that actually works. Here’s what he told me: ↓↓ Emailing investors you don’t know almost NEVER works. The response rate is shocking: approx.Read the post →
How services can de-risk your startup journeyMost founders who present their idea to DQ pitch us some kind of product, but our 3 most successful portfolio companies all sell services. Here’s what they do, plus the common thread that’s driving their success.Read the post →
Our LinkedIn statistics laid bareFeel like LinkedIn is getting harder? You’re not imagining it… This time 12 months ago, I’d gone from 3,000 to 18,000 LinkedIn followers in a year. In the last 12m, however, despite getting better (hopefully?) and more consistent (definitely), my follower rate has slowed massively (I just passed 24,000). Let’s dig in.Read the post →
The problem with outsourcing to a software development companyOne of the biggest problems with taking your startup idea to a software development company is this… … They might build exactly what you ask. ↓↓ I was talking to an experienced CTO last week, who told me that people often come to him with a very clear brief of what they want to build. SometimesRead the post →
Building successful companies without venture fundingPeople often ask me: how can you create successful outcomes for founders if you advise them NOT to pursue VC money? That’s easy. We focus on what we call “rational startups”. For us, that means… businesses that we believe can grow to a minimum $10m outcome WITHOUT venture funding.Read the post →
Is it better to burn out or fade away?There’s a fine line between never giving up and knowing when to quit. I’ve been in the startup and investing business now for nearly 15 years. With the benefit of all that hindsight (but definitely not at the time!), I now realise that one of the best things I did in my startup was failRead the post →