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Words on Founder Mode

I’ve worked at three successful start-ups and one failure. I’ve also worked at post-IPO successes such as Borland, Netscape, and Apple, which means I’ve seen a lot of different founders who, if you measure success financially, were quite successful. My backstory aside and with deep respect, most founders fail. You’ve heard of the stories of… More

Late Again

Awkward. Seven of us now. Sitting around the table. Five minutes since the start of the meeting. We’ve used up our chit-chat allowance and wonder if you will show. In the scheme of things relevant to a company’s success, showing up late to a meeting is not the end of the world. When it happens… More

Shields Shirts

Back in December of 2015, I was in a meeting with HR, and we were arguing about retention, stock grants, or something similar. I was making no progress in explaining my nuanced point. Long pauses and blank states usually mean my spoken words have nothing to do with the valuable idea in my head. Ok,… More