In both my venture-backed companies I was founding CEO; but wasn’t CEO forever. The data says this is quite typical. Noam Wasserman’s book The Founder’s Dilemmas, cites the following statistics out of 3,600+ startups surveyed (9,900 founders) over 10 years: Founding A-round B-round C-round D-round On its 3rd (or more ) CEO 0% 0% 9%Continue reading “Founding CEO succession”
Tag Archives: startups
Your child (company) will someday grow up and move away
I founded Acquia in 2007 by teaming up with Dries Buytaert. And in the years since then, we’ve succeeded in building up a really great team, forming a really great business, with amazing customers. As with many founding CEOs, there came a time for me to hire a CEO with experience in bigger companies andContinue reading “Your child (company) will someday grow up and move away”
Managing seed / angel to Series A
Angel investors have been around for a long time. But starting 2-4 years ago, the growth in wealth of successful entrepreneurs & investors means angels are proliferating at a geometric rate. They’ve also been able to become more organized, with angel groups like the Common Angels, and angel investor products like Angel List. At the same time,Continue reading “Managing seed / angel to Series A”
Drupal world domination – step 2
In recent years, a new breed of incubators called seed accelerators have had success helping new companies get started. They provide mentoring, connections, and capital. Depending on the accelerator, even the branding from having been accepted into the program adds value. The best example I’ve seen is TechStars. TechStars has helped launch dozens of companies over several yearsContinue reading “Drupal world domination – step 2”
The most common startup problem: Lack of go-to-market answers
I recently attended a terrific event we have in Boston called the “UnConference”, where organizers go out of their way to run the conference in non-typical fashion. There are always all-kinds of innovations. I’ve been privileged to be asked to help the organizers as part of a small advisory board for the conference. One sessionContinue reading “The most common startup problem: Lack of go-to-market answers”
JAB Ventures 