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Here is How to Make Sense of Conflicting Startup Advice

Both Sides of the Table

Everybody has a blog these days and there is much advice to be had. Many startups now go through accelerators and have mentors passing through each day with advice – usually it’s conflicting. So far from not taking advice from other people – I want more advice, more data points, more opinions.

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8 Tips To Get the Most Out of Your Investors and Board

Both Sides of the Table

He wrote a post this long weekend on how he manages the board of DataSift. In his post he asserts, “You get the VCs you deserve” and the corollary “You get the performance out of your board that you deserve.” By spending more time educating your board on your business you get more valuable advice from them.

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The Problem with Startup Advice

This is going to be BIG.

I'm often the last one to leave an event, held back by the most persistant of entrepreneurs trying to squeeze as much advice as they can out of me. Often times, the advice is terrible or impractical. They don't look cautiously at the advice given to them by their favorite VC blogger. Why should that stop me, though?

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13 Entrepreneurs Reveal Their Best Business Advice

Entrepreneurs' Organization

If you’re pitching, selling or proposing a partnership, you want to find out what will spark the other person’s interest so that they can’t help but want to work with you. It’s because you just haven’t pitched your products or services to solve their problems. I have held back because I place more value on the relationship.

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Why being a VC sucks. Advice to anyone who wants to get into venture capital.

This is going to be BIG.

Since there''s no way to both make yourself accessible and not get a fire hose of inbound, most of the pitches you''re going to have are from perfectly nice, smart people who have perfectly horrific, unworkable ideas. 2) People pitch you. Even the best and most active board members can still feel pretty helpless.

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Should Your Startup Have an Advisory Board?

Both Sides of the Table

This is part of my ongoing series Startup Advice. Many startup companies hire advisory boards. So do advisory boards really add value? In my experience most advisory boards under deliver relative to expectations. My main advice to you if you’re considering it is don’t waste much equity on it.

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The Pre-Board Board: How to Create Accountability Before You Give Away a Board Seat

This is going to be BIG.

Typically, investors don’t take a board seat until you raise your first equity round—which means that it could be *years* before you have a real board meeting: A year of nights/weekends work researching, prototyping, and fundraising. Many people extend this round and don’t get there for two years. I’ll make it simple.

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