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Answers to your questions about starting and building companies. Your hosts are Sean Byrnes, Ash Rust and Nic Meliones, all experienced founders who have built companies themselves and coached hundreds of CEOs on their startup adventures. They share their lessons from building, buying, selling and investing in companies over the past 20 years. If you have questions you'd like answered you can submit them on Twitter by tagging @thestartuphd or on our website http://www.thestartuphelpdesk.com.
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In this episode we answer questions about your top employees. The biggest problem with top employees is that they might leave! How do you make sure they stick around? We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including: What to do if a key employee wants to become a founder themselves? How do I handle competitors trying to hire my be…
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In this episode we answer questions about underperforming employees. If you have a team, some people on that team will underperform. What do you do when that happens? Can you turn them around, or do you have to let them go? We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including: How long should you give an employee to ramp up? Why would…
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In this episode we answer questions about innovation. Startups are expected to innovate, but what does that mean? What is innovation and how does it become an advantage? We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including: What is innovation? Is there a process to innovation? What is the cost to not innovating? How do I know if I'm b…
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In this episode we answer questions about startup accelerators. Accelerators are programs that promise to help improve your chances of startup success, but how do they actually work? We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including: What do I get if I join an accelerator? How do I know if an accelerator is worth it? How do I get t…
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In this episode we answer questions about building your sales team. Many startups sell their product via sales people, and building your sales team is one of the most important things you will do. We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including: How do I hire my first salesperson? What is a sales commission plan? How do I know if…
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In this episode we answer questions about raising money from Venture Capital funds. Many startup companies seek VC funding, but it can be a complex process if you haven't done it before. We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including: Is a SAFE or priced equity round better? What's the recommended amount to raise at every stage?…
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In this episode we answer questions about finding a co-founder and managing your relationship with your co-founder for the road ahead. Co-founder conflict is one of the top reasons for startup failure; many argue it is the primary cause of startup failure in the early days. We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including: How do …
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In this episode we answer questions about managing your time. Startups are all about speed, so you need to make the most of every hour of every day. We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including: Where should I spend my time as the CEO? How often should we have team meetings? Is our product development velocity high enough? All…
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In this episode we answer questions about complex exit options. While we all hope for a bit exit, startups more often face complex and difficult exit options including low sale prices, mergers and wind downs. We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including: What happens if my investors want to sell but I don't? Is a merger ever a…
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In this episode we answer questions about handling problem customers. If you make money you have customers, and if you have customers some of them will cause problems for you. We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including: What should you do if a customer plans to compete with you? How do you handle abusive customers? Should yo…
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In this episode we answer questions about choosing and using metrics. Metrics are one of the best tools you have to run your startup, but only if you use them well. We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including: What metrics should I put on my dashboard? What do we do if our competitors are lying about their metrics? How do we …
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In this episode we answer questions about managing your board of directors. If you have investors, you have a board and managing your relationship with them is one of the most important, and hardest, jobs you have. We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including: How do I handle a board member who is ignoring me? What do I do if …
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In this episode we answer questions about turning around your startup. Startup journeys are hard, and it's likely you'll need to turn things around when they start to go badly. We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including: What do I tell my investors about a big pivot? How do I hold my team together when people start leaving? …
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In this episode we answer questions about managing conflict. Conflict is inevitable in the high pressure, fast-paced startup world so managing it is critical to your success. We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including: What do I do when my co-founder wants to leave? How do I resolve conflict between product and engineering? …
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In this episode we answer questions about marketing! Marketing is one of the most challenging things to do well, but essential to success for your startup. We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including: How do we scale faster after our first few customers? Are we doing something wrong or do ads not work? When is the right time …
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In this episode we answer questions about finding product/market fit! The market has gotten harder on startups in the past 12 months, and finding product/market fit is more important than ever. We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including: Should you keep going or give up on your startup? How do I guide my team without concret…
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In this episode we answer questions about navigating uncertainty! The market and funding environment are changing every day, and managing those ups and downs is hard. We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including: How do I know what metrics I need to raise money in 12 months? How do I know if I should spend more to grow faster …
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How do you Handle Investor Relations? (with guest Leo Polovets)
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In this episode we answer questions about how to build relationships with your investors! Most startup companies have investors, and your relationship with them is critical to your success. We are here to help and in this episode we answer questions including: How honest should I be in my investor updates? One of my investors just invested in a com…
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How do you Manage Risk? (with guest Leo Polovets)
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22:52
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22:52
In this episode we answer questions about how to manage risk! Startup companies face mountains of risk, and it can be hard to know which risks to focus on and what you can do about them. We are here to help and in this episode we answer questions including: What do I do if I think my VP of Sales is looking for another job? How do we handle unusual …
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In this episode we answer questions about how to handle competition! We all have competition and how we handle it is the difference between winning and losing in our markets. We are here to help and in this episode we answer questions including: How much time should we be spending thinking about our competition? How do you handle entirely new kinds…
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In this episode we answer questions about how to handle a crisis! There have been no shortage of crises recently, including the COVID pandemic and the recent banking crisis. We are here to help and in this episode we answer questions including: What, if anything, can I do to prepare for a crisis? How do we handle crises that are bigger than we are,…
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In this episode we answer questions about the problems that come from scaling your startup, and how to fix them! We answer questions including: How does the Founder role as a company grows? What do I need to change as my team goes from 5 to 25 people? What do I do if my co-founder isn’t growing with the company? All of these questions were submitte…
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In this episode we answer questions about your employees, how to know if they are happy and how to ensure that they are! We answer questions including: How do you measure employee satisfaction? What do you do if employee morale is low? What's an MVP of performance reviews? All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can su…
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In this episode we answer questions about how to set the price on your product! We answer questions including: How do I decide on a price for my new product? Should I raise my prices if I think they are too low? Should I raise prices on existing customers or only new customers? All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You c…
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In this episode we answer questions about making money and profitability! We answer questions including: Should I focus on Growth or Profitability? How do I figure out my Unit Economics? How do I know if I'm making enough money? All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our websit…
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In this episode we answer questions about how to hire your first employees! We answer questions including: How do I find the right co-founder to join you? How do you convince people to join your very early stage startup? What should you pay a co-founder? All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for …
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In this episode we answer questions about how to build your first product! We answer questions including: How do you decide what to include in your Minimum Viable Product (MVP)? When does good design matter? How do you start selling, with just a prototype or an MVP? All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit qu…
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In this episode we answer questions about how to get your product in the hands of customers, also known as distribution! We answer questions including: Should you build an audience or product first? What are the secrets to cold outreach? What are channel partners and should you use them? All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like …
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In this episode we answer questions about doing effective Customer Discovery, including: How do you hold a Customer Discovery interview? What to do if you hear inconsistent feedback? How much time should you put into it? All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website https:…
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When is Your Product Ready, Is Fundraising Going Well and How to Hire for Unfamiliar Positions
22:18
22:18
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22:18
In this episode we answer questions submitted by founders just like you, including: When is my product ready for launch? When will I know if my fundraising process is working? How do I hire for positions where I don’t have any experience myself? You can submit questions for us to answer on our website https://www.thestartuphelpdesk.com/ or on Twitt…
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We discuss questions on the minds of many companies these days: How do we sell the company? Whether you want to sell or need to sell, few people have experience doing it and even fewer have ever done it well. We address common questions about the selling process based on years of experience selling and buying companies including: When do you need t…
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How To Rally Your Team Behind Your Vision, Understanding Customer Development and Generalists vs Specialist
23:47
23:47
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23:47
In this episode we answer questions submitted by founders just like you, including: How do you motivate your team around your vision? What's the difference between Customer Development and Sales? When do you need Generalists or Specialists on your team? You can submit questions for us to answer on our website https://www.thestartuphelpdesk.com/ or …
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How to Collect Investor Feedback, Monetize your First Customers and Understanding Cap Tables
24:07
24:07
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24:07
In this episode we answer questions submitted by founders just like you, including: How do you get useful feedback from investors? How many investors is too many? How do you get your first customers to pay you? You can submit questions for us to answer on our website https://www.thestartuphelpdesk.com/ or on Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hea…
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How To Find Product/Market Fit, How To Plan For The Long-Term
23:35
23:35
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23:35
In this episode we answer questions submitted by founders just like you, including: How do you know when you’ve found Product/Market Fit? How do you know when it’s time to pivot? Or that you just haven’t spent enough time on your existing strategy? How far in the future should you be planning? You can submit questions for us to answer on our websit…
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How To Settle Founder Disputes, How To Setup Your Company
24:06
24:06
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24:06
In this episode we answer questions submitted by founders just like you, including: What corporate structure should you have? Does it matter? How do you scale hiring? How do you resolve co-founder disagreements? You can submit questions for us to answer on our website https://www.thestartuphelpdesk.com/ or on Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to he…
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How To Hire When You're Too Busy, How To Pivot Your Product
22:14
22:14
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22:14
In this episode we answer questions submitted by founders just like you, including: How do you handle a co-founder who isn't scaling in their position at the company? What do you do when you are overwhelmed as a founder and know you have to hire, but don't have the time? I have a consulting business that is cashflow positive, but want to pivot to a…
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How To Get Your First 5 Customers, How To Fire Someone
22:25
22:25
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22:25
In this episode we answer questions submitted by founders just like you, including: If you see other startups doing the same thing, is that a sign that there is a demand for this opportunity? Or a sign that you are not differentiated enough? How do you acquire your first five customers? How do you fire someone? You can submit questions for us to an…
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