“Rich versus King”: The Core Concept https://lnkd.in/g6eV77xZ Be in Control, Be King: If you want to retain full control over your business (like a "king"), you can run it the way you like. However, this often means keeping the business small or self-funded, which limits its potential for scaling, wealth generation, and broader impact. You're the sole decision-maker, but growth might be slower. Get Rich, Have Big Impact: If your goal is to create wealth and a large-scale impact, you usually need external funding, partnerships, or a bigger team. To achieve this, you must often sacrifice some control, as investors or stakeholders may want a say in how the business operates. This allows for rapid scaling and wealth creation but diminishes your autonomy. The Challenge of Being a Rich King: Achieving both full control (being a "king") and wealth/impact (being "rich") is extremely difficult because the very process of scaling and generating wealth often requires giving up some control. It's rare to have both unless you're in an exceptional position, like owning a highly scalable business with no need for external resources (which is uncommon). Key Lesson for Entrepreneurs: Decide on your priorities early: Do you want control, or are you willing to trade some of it for wealth and scale? Most founders must make this trade-off, so aligning your goals with your values and vision is crucial. #entrepreneurship #newventurecreation
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What's your priority - Building Value or Valuation? When I meet aspiring founders seeking capital, this is one thing that makes a DIFFERENCE! A few questions that I seek: 🔻Does it solve a problem for an addressable market? 🔻What is the purpose of your business? 🔻How will it make a difference? 🔻How does it add value? I have always worked to build core value in my enterprise; if the value is appreciated, valuation usually follows. Chasing valuation without making a real difference is, in my opinion, a short-sighted approach. Well, of course, we can debate on this (I'd love your opinions) If you're building a business for the long run, building value followed by valuation is perhaps the better approach. 𝗕𝘂𝘁, If you want to create a valuation for capital gains or profits then building a valuation first could work. Hoping for quick valuation success in attaining a unicorn status does not happen in reality. Even if it does, it is short-lived. Putting in the hard work every single day and working towards organic growth is usually what is sustainable. PS: I love to guide startups in their entrepreneurial journey via mentoring or consultancy. Look forward to collaborating and helping in making your vision a REALITY. ✨ #BusinessGrowth #Entrepreneurship #StartupAdvice
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🚨 Warning 🚨 Unsolicited advice for entrepreneurs and founders 🤓 In March Austin is unmistakably characterized by the appearance of bluebonnets, SXSW madness, and energy buzzing with excitement. Everyone, seemingly from all over the world, gathers in our beautiful and vibrant city to celebrate the convergence of tech, film, music, education and culture. In the past week or so I had the opportunity to attend over a dozen Founders and Investor events, and hear everything from talks, to panels, fireside chats, seemingly endless pitches, and casual banter about the future of business and human life as we know it. Amongst all the different viewpoints, I picked up on several common themes as they relate to entrepreneurs and founders. In this post I share them with you: 💥 Build a Resilient Business: As an entrepreneur, you should take full responsibility for building a solid foundation for your business. This means surrounding your venture with expertise and a culture of excellence. 💥 Leverage Your Strengths: Identify what you excel at and focus intensely on that. Enlist the guidance of advisors and mentors to strengthen your position and help you navigate the entrepreneurial landscape. 💥 Think Beyond Capital Constraints: The bottleneck for most companies isn't necessarily capital. It's about having the right strategy, resources, and operations in place. Leverage your network and partnerships. 💥 Consider Sustainability: Growth is not just about scaling up. Don't lose sight of what your business needs to sustain itself in the long term. 💥 Venture Capital Realities: VC funding can catapult you to spectacular heights or lead to sensational failures. Assess if the stakes align with your vision, as well as appetite for risk and control. 💥 Strategic Alignment with Your Goals: Always strategize with the end in mind. Ensure every step you take is a stride towards the ultimate outcome you envision for yourself and your business.The essence of these themes isn't just about seeking growth for its own sake but about fostering a sustainable, value-driven business capable of weathering the trials of entrepreneurship. Navigating these truths requires not just insight but actionable strategies tailored to your unique business landscape. 🚀 Ready to elevate your business with strategic clarity and actionable insights? Let's connect and turn these insights into your competitive advantage. #SXSW #Entrepreneurship #BusinessStrategy #Sustainability #GrowthMindset #Entrepreneurship #VentureCapital #StrategicGrowth #BusinessAdvisory
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𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐡... 𝗡𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗲. It’s not that you haven’t got a good product or that there isn’t a good market for your product. The odds are heavily against you succeeding simply because you don’t get enough market demand quickly enough in the time you have available before you run out of money. Good Product-Market Fit (PMF) is the most compelling evidence to give investors confidence that they are likely to get the return on the investment they are looking for. It also improves your bargaining position with investors and the range of investment sources that are open to you. Achieving perfect alignment between your value proposition, the needs of your customers, and the distribution model that gets it to them is the key to securing future investment and the ultimate success of your company. 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗮 “𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲” 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗣𝗠𝗙 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆, 𝗮 𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗯𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝗲𝗱. In my two decades of experience working at the intersection between science, business, and funding, mentoring and coaching hundreds of startup founders from over 20 countries, I have developed the fastest way to achieve significant traction in the market, a key step in securing future investment, without you giving up equity or a share of future investments in your company. I work with founders of IP-based businesses to build a stronger offer that resonates more with the market and develop a solid plan to achieve market traction that investors buy into, whilst avoiding having to make costly new hires at a time when your cash flow is critical. It’s never too early to do more to put the customer at the centre of your strategy, get them involved in the design process for your innovative products, and focus on how to delight the customer to build long-term value, for them, for your company, and for you. ⛔ 𝗜𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹, 𝗵𝗼𝘄𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿, 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲, 𝘀𝗼 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗮 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝗿𝘂𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝘁? Message me to find out how...... #innovation #entrepreneurship #founders #traction #buildaunicorn
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