Innovation is the key to long-term business success, both in startups as well as established organizations. Yet every business and every entrepreneur I know struggles with this challenge, focused on hiring the right people and implementing the right process. Yet, in my experience, the key seems to be more a discipline of innovative thinking from […]
Resources
The Risk of Trading Vulnerability for Opportunity
I’m just getting started and thinking about giving away some equity for a Cofounder and some early investment. It sounds like a lot of startups do this, but is there something I should be considering before I hand out all of this equity I won’t get back?
7 Practices to Enhance Accountability in Your Startup
If you are frustrated by a lack of accountability in your workplace, you are not alone. The real question is what you can do to improve it, as a manager, or even as a concerned team member. Accountability is all about taking responsibility for getting things done as expected, without excuses. Low accountability leads to mistrust, low […]
Why Communication Skills are Key to Leading a Startup
Effective communication is an absolute requirement for successfully starting a business, but it doesn’t come naturally to many entrepreneurs. Communication is considered a social skill, and inventors and engineers, for example, are not known to be social butterflies. Founders have to communicate their ideas and products to investors, business partners, and the rest of the […]
Stop Glorifying Hustle Porn
I’m getting inundated by Startup Hustle Porn which seems to tell me the only way to grow my startup is to work every waking hour and apparently crush things. Is this really what I’m supposed to be doing?
The Case for Growing Slowly
I wanna go fast! Startups are all about scale and speed (or so I read on Twitter) and my genius idea is no different. How could there possibly be a case for growing slowly if what I really want is a game-changing startup?
What’s Happening Around the Future of Proptech: Drivers, Trends, and Opportunities
In this column, Lerer Hippeau’s Naya Frazier dive into technologies and industries that are exciting, going deep into change drivers and stakeholders while exploring investment trends and opportunities through an early-stage lens.
4 Key Takeaways from the GEN Z VCs Summit
On Friday, September 17th Lerer Hippeau hosted the first GEN Z VCs SUMMIT in partnership with the Gen Z VCs Community. We’ll dive into the four most impactful Gen Z insights. Read on for takeaways useful to founders, VCs, and students alike.
Don’t Rush into Your Second Act
I just wrapped up my last startup and I’m totally ready to take on the next one! I just had this great idea 5 seconds ago and I’m running with it! If I just had a good outcome on my first run as a Founder, my second one should be even better, right?
Beware the Absentee Landlord of Equity
I’ve got a cofounder who is leaving the company and has a huge chunk of equity. Am I missing something or do they now get the same amount of value that I’ve got except they never have to work for it again while I slave away for the same benefit for the next decade?
7 Tips For Scaling Your Business To Long-Term Success
The keys to sustainable success start with building a solid business platform initially, with a strong support structure for scalability, sustainability, and long-term leadership. The proper support structure can only be built if you commit to and implement the following strategy elements…