Here’s every blog I’ve posted (Other than massive lists of pitch decks etc).
I’ve tried to structure this up for you to make it flow through the evolution of a startup.
If you’re running a startup, I recommend learning what you need to learn now. There’s so much you need to learn, it’s best to not learn too far in the future. Focus on the problems you have now that you have to learn about.
If you’re an advisor/lawyer/investor, pick whatever you find interesting.
Starting your startup
How much do you want to sell your startup for?
Passion is over-rated. Build a better mousetrap instead
Is there a structured approach to finding a great business idea for a new startup?
The real reason launch a startup faster (not talked about)
What questions should you ask a potential startup cofounder?
Who becomes Startup CEO among co founders?
What should a startup founder salary be? Check out this calculator
25 startups that raised without a product
How do you validate a startup idea?
How to start a company right. Key terms when starting a company and fundraising
Intro and demo videos from famous startups
Sole founders are bad. You can’t build a billion dollar despicable me startup
The Ultimate Y-Combinator Guide of resources
Investible Founding Startup Teams
Startup stories
Before they were famous. 15 startup pivot to fame
Before they were famous. 15 startup pivot to fame. 1 Android and Flickr
Before they were famous. 15 startup pivot to fame. 2 Groupon and Instagram
Before they were famous. 15 startup pivot to fame. 3 Nokia and PayPal
Before they were famous. 15 startup pivot to fame. 4 Pinterest and Rovio
Before they were famous. 15 startup pivot to fame. 5 Shopify and Slack
Before they were famous. 15 startup pivot to fame. 6 twitter and turntable
Before they were famous. 15 startup pivot to fame. 7 Woot and Yelp
Before they were famous. 15 startup pivot to fame. 8 Youtube
Failing
Inspirational stories of the founder struggle
Why Founders Fail: The Product CEO Paradox by Ben Horowitz
Startup trends for death and stats on survival rates
Everest failed startup postmortem learnings
Failed business ideas. Lumos- IoT startup postmortem learnings
Accelerators and demo day
Monster list of YC Application Video
DTAC demo day pitching guide for startup founders looking for investment
Initial fundraising questions
A meaningful startup exit strategy is not the same thing for venture capital
Fundable startups are fundable
Sources and uses of funds runway calculator. How much to raise?
The two key business model tests to know if you are fundable
Will investors fund my startup idea?
Pitch decks
Why do they call a slide deck a “slide deck”? Where did it originate from?
What does send me the deck mean?
What’s a good file size for sending a pitch deck around?
Why I want a pitch deck before a pitch in a fundraising process
Pitch deck examples from VC funded startups
The fundraising documents you need to pitch venture capitalists
What DocSend learned from 200 startup pitchdecks that raised $360m
Sequoia capital business plan template
NextView pitch deck template for startups
Top VC Shares Guide to Pitch Deck Outline for Startups Fundraising
Reid Hoffman’s private pitch deck guide
Peter Theil pitch deck of Founders Fund. What he thinks is good
Guy Kawasaki 10/20/30 rule for founders startup business pitch deck
Pitch Deck Template Seed Stage Venture Capital Investor
35 ways on how to make a pitch deck from what not to do
Raising without a presentation deck to pitch
The key 16 pitch deck rules you need to know when pitching investors
One simple trick to make writing your startup description suddenly easy
How big can this get? Market sizing has killed many startup fundraises
Your solution is not my business problem
Should you include risk factors in an early-stage pitch deck? Free template
Pitch deck flick test. The test to know if venture capitalists will respond
Pitch deck thinking course:
What pitch material do you need?
What are the key questions investors will want to get from your deck?
Who do you trust with the pitch deck? Can I have an NDA?
How do you know if your deck is good?
How to send your deck to investors
Financial models
How to fill in a financial model template
Why you are making a financial model for your fundraise is wrong
How to forecast your fundraising till you exit
How to make your financial model look professional. Before and after example
Use Dollars in your startup, especially for your financial model
Why your financial model should forecast 3 not 5 years
Running a process
Don’t lie to investors about who is investing
Fundraising process manager tool
Investors will end your pitch if you suck, but that’s a good thing
Fundraising strategy. Ask for what you need and try get what you want to raise
Don’t lie to investors about who is investing
What is the best time of year to fundraise for your startup
This is how to get a venture capital introduction for your startup fundraise
Writing a Cold Email Template for Venture Capital Investors
How to get funded by venture capital and angel investors
Non disclosure agreements (NDA) for startup fundraising don’t matter, so don’t sign nda
How do solo founders deal with their startup while pitching for funds?
Bill Reichert: Top 10 Lies VCs Tell Entrepreneurs
Critical feedback when you are crapping your pants
Learn the Secrets of Dealing with VCs with Venture Deals Co-Author Jason Mendelson
Should you use a professional fundraising advisor to raise your startup round?
The real reason founders are not funded VCs don’t say in a pitch process
Pitching
How to actually win the award in a startup competition
Founder confidence. How you answer investors’ questions matter
40 pitch red flags which will undermine your startup fundraise
22 Tips on Pixar Storytelling Applied to Startups
A storytelling pitch exercise improv artists use which can help you raise
How founders should dress when pitching a VC your startup
How to do a demo in a venture capital pitch
How to pitch in a venture capital meeting
Investor pitch meanings. If they say this in your meeting you know if it went well or not
Real VC feedback on a founder’s startup
Want to know how to win at a startup pitch event? Watch this
Watch rapper Chamillionaire do a pitch for his startup Convoz
Any specific advice for female founders with regards to fund raising?
Presentations: The consequence of not knowing or not having interest in a topic
Who are your startup competitors?
Fundraising deal questions: What venture capital startup interview questions will be asked
Fundraising financial questions: Questions to ask an entrepreneur. What VCs will ask
Fundraising sales questions: What venture capital startup interview questions will be asked
Term sheets
Due diligence checklist request list for startup fundraising from investors
Cap table
How to read fully diluted shares and total outstanding stock in a cap table
Professional capitalization table template. Full blown tracking and analysis tool
Ultimate startup cap table example and return analysis template (UPDATED!)
Cap table course:
CAP TABLE #1: What is a cap table and other important questions
CAP TABLE #2: Cap table dilution formula step by step example
CAP TABLE #3: Cap table dilution math
CAP TABLE #4: Starting the cap table – Format sheet
CAP TABLE #5: Shareholders sheet in the cap table
CAP TABLE #6: Deal calculations in the cap table
CAP TABLE #7: The cap table sheet
CAP TABLE #8: The assumptions sheet of the cap table
CAP TABLE #9: Individual shareholder returns sheet of the cap table
CAP TABLE #10: Returns waterfall calculation sheet of the cap table
CAP TABLE #11: The ESOP sheet of the cap table
CAP TABLE #12: The Common sheet of the cap table
CAP TABLE #13: Accounting for convertible debt and warrants sheet
CAP TABLE #14: The preference shares sheets – From Series A to I
Valuation
Guide to understanding valuation multiples in pricing startups
Free startup dilution calculator. How does dilution for founders work with ESOP and investment
How do you value your social media startup with investors?
Deal structures
Seed round convertible, priced and SAFEs. What venture capital terms are standard?
Differences between SAFE and convertible notes
Free convertible note calculator. Conversion math at Series-A. Know how it really works!
SAFE Calculator for the Y-Combinator Post Money SAFE
Post Money SAFE Cap and Discount Explained Line by Line
Post Money SAFE Cap Explained Line by Line
Post Money SAFE Discount Only Version Explained Line by Line
Post Money SAFE MFN Only Explained Line by Line
Post Money SAFE Pro Rata Side Letter Explained Line by Line
Key convertible note terms that no one understands and cost you big
Seed round convertible, priced and SAFEs. What venture capital terms are standard?
Why do Venture Capitalists want preference shares?
What’s your startup valuation is the wrong question (Here’s how it really works)
ESOP
Employee Stock Option Plan – ESOP training course. 16+ things you didn’t know?
eShares 101 – How this startup manages employee onboarding
How to size startup ownership structure for employees?
ESOP Template and Step by Step Guide to Retain and Attract Top Staff
How does European startup employee ownership share plan compare to the US
Quarterly vesting schedule for staff incentive ESOP plans
Scale
Andreessen Horowitz Startup Bootcamp: Go-to-Market Best Practices for Startups
Disagree and commit to ship things faster
Startups and scale ups: Running 10 and 100 person scale up business
Manage your startup
What is the difference between a founder and the board of directors?
Board presentation deck template for seed stage startups
Board deck template for seed stage startups from nextview vc
Board report template by IA Ventures
Startup Boards Course with Brad Feld, Venture Capital Managing Director of Foundry Group
Free OKR example template with PPP and KPI for startups in Google Sheets
Pro OKR template with KPI and PPP team tracker tool in Google Sheets for startups
Simon Sinek: How great leaders inspire action – “The Golden Circle”
10 lessons from superheroes on being a startup hero
What are 16 things you need to avoid in order to be a successful entrepreneur?
Email can suck less. Use this banker system so startup emails work for your team
The Double Opt-In Email Introduction
Super hack for annoying LinkedIn connection requests
Should I talk to my company competition and their investors?
Sleep more if you suffer from pretending to work
One trick I learned to fire your staff without getting sued, tears and shouting
The best startup offer letter for employment you have ever seen
CEOs impact the productivity of the office with their attitude
Strategy
If you do this one thing your startup business model is doomed to succeed!
How did Groupon make money? What was so smart?
Barkbox: Barking mad? Why some business models applied to other verticals can work
The birchbox business model isn’t great, so why is it now being cloned in Indonesia?
Shrinking a market and owning it
Startup barriers to entry and Economic Moats For Early Stage Startups and Investors
Parable of defensible software network by Fred Wilson
Investing
Why we invested. Venture capital firms share why they backed startups
How VCs can reject founders and have them still like you
Why founders hate VC rejection emails
How venture capitalists can improve qualified inbound deal flow from startups
Venture Capital Pitch Deck What VCs raised with to get capital to invest in startups
Venture capital LP one pager for fundraising from Limited Partners
Venture capital Indication of Interest template to raise from Limited Partners
Investment Thesis Collection from Venture Capital Firms
Private Airbnb email on how a VC missed out on a unicorn
A reputation comes at a cost, and should
Founder Control and Value Creation in Startups don’t seem to be the same thing
Venture Capital Investment Memo Collection
The confidential YouTube Investment Memo by Sequoia you were never meant to see
Startup valuation methods don’t work. Here’s how to do it
Venture Capital Disrupts Itself: Breaking the Concentration Curse – Cambridge Associates
Ten Attributes of Great Fundamental Investors
Venture capital learnings 23 Things I’ve Learned as a VC
Being a helpful VC and achieving your goals
Startup investment memo template. How one VC looks at deals
Angel investing
Angel investing guide to startup investing
ANGEL ADVICE: Suggestions for Angel Investors by Brad Feld
The Top 8 Mistakes Jason Lemkin Made In His First 18 Months As a VC Partner
How to be a startup angel investor presentation
Investment thesis
VC investment thesis Notation capital
VC investment thesis venture capital 500 startups
VC investment thesis: 1839 Venture Funds Live Oak Fund
VC investment thesis: 500 Startup Israel – Adam Benayoun
VC investment thesis: Bowery Capital
VC investment thesis: Cento Ventures
VC investment thesis: Deep Space Ventures
VC investment thesis: Earlybird
VC investment thesis: Escala VC
VC investment thesis: Foundry Group
VC investment thesis: Homebrew
VC investment thesis: Kima Ventures
VC investment thesis: Maven Ventures
VC investment thesis: NextView Fund III
VC investment thesis: OpenOcean Venture Capital
VC investment thesis: Placeholder.vc
VC investment thesis: Point Nine Capital
VC investment thesis: Savannah Fund – Mbwana Alliy – Africa
VC investment thesis: Underscore
VC investment Thesis: Union Square Ventures
VC Investment thesis: Daphni investing in platformisation
SaaS
ARR Monthly Recurring Revenue explained for SaaS startups
Decipher key top line SaaS revenue terms like bookings, billings and revenue
David Skok’s Startup Killer CAC, LTV & Other Metrics that will make (or break) you
Exceptional Series A SaaS Benchmarks of Startups by Tomasz Tunguz
2018 SaaS survey results. Check out all these metrics
LTV/CAC: Credit Suisse approach to SaaS Customer Unit Economics
MRR Monthly Recurring Revenue explained for SaaS startups
68 Learnings on the Things Not to Do in Your SaaS Startup
Marketplace
Super Guide to Building Startup Marketplace by VersionOne
Blogging
200+ free graphic resources for you startup. Image banks, tools, icons
Complete startup guide to start a blog and begin content marketing
Create a custom YouTube subscription link to get more subscribers
How to make links for your podcasts open in iTunes directly (Without a website)
How to make your URL links pretty and easy to remember with Pretty Links!
Mega list of cloud SaaS tools to hack your startup, marketing and podcast efficiency
17 handy desktop automation tools to save your startup or podcast hours every day
Virality
Basic Overview of K Factor in Viral Growth Models for your Startup
Getting Network Effects in Your Startup: an a16z Podcast
How to model viral growth at your startup
Viral cycle time matters if you want to go viral. (Here’s why)
Get smarter
Ask dumb questions. It’s the smartest thing you can do
Hunter S. Thompson explains the meaning of life
Think better: Pareto principle or 80/20 rule for startups
The (fairly) definitive reading list. How to get smarter about tech startup.
Excel
Excel number format cheat sheet
Google sheets automation: How to Automate Email Updates (Google Scripts)
Excel financial model formatting guide
Powerpoint
How to remove unused PowerPoint master slides with a macro
General
The direct to consumer landscape. You need to see this picture. Wow.
Financials revealed: British startup darlings by numbers
7 Things Thomas Korte (AngelPad) Learned At Google And Every Startup Should Copy
8 Myths about Startups and Venture Capital in Asia
99 problems and the CEO is one. Springowl hunts for Marissa’s head at Yahoo!
The secret silicon valley history
Leaked Salesforce corporate development board deck
Top 5 tips to hustle startup conferences. Hacking TechCrunch Disrupt
Startup learnings from Mitchell Harper, co-founder of Bigcommerce
South East Asia and India 2015 predictions in the startup landscape
e-conomy: Unlocking the $200 billion digital opportunity in Southeast Asia
The Venture Capital Opportunity in South East Asia
Is ASEAN at an inflection point for eCommerce? UBS ecommerce analysis broker note
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