Founder Fridays No. 28
Founder Fridays No. 28
Practical tips to help founders scale smartly.
Happy Friday. The focus for this week is growth.
SuperGoals, Super Focused
Before Anchor, novice podcasters would run into multiple barriers to reach a larger audience—high barriers of entry to popular listening platforms, navigating complicated software, expensive hardware, and cumbersome file hosting and distribution systems. The Anchor founders set their minds on making podcasting easier. They created a SuperGoal, a plan with a clear and urgent timeframe (three months); open-ended method of achievement (raise their Series A round of funding); and a single measure of success (10% week-over-week growth of weekly active users). If done correctly, SuperGoals should be clear to the entire team and not divert off into multiple goals, at least until the first SuperGoal is complete. Future (20 minutes)
Your Company Is a Mirror
Self-awareness is a tricky skill for founders, CEOs and execs to sharpen. One CEO, with a new team of 60 remote workers, found herself putting out fires more than she was actually leading. But scheduling 10 minutes of her own time before key meetings gave her room to focus on leadership duties and not crossing off a to-do list. During that 10-minute, self-reflecting time, she asked herself five questions: 1) What three words would you want people to use to describe you? 2) Your company is a mirror. What do you want to see there? 3) Where do you need to dial up or down the elements of your leadership style? 4) What are your superpowers? 5) What is your Achilles’ heel? First Round Review (27 minutes)
Founder FAQs: What Is the Deal With Equity Crowdfunding?
Instead of relying solely on venture capitalists, equity crowdfunding enables startups to raise capital from everyone. In turn, individual investors receive equity in exchange for their investment of working capital. This differs from donation- or reward-based crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter or Indiegogo, where funders may receive perks but do not receive company equity. Westaway (5 minutes)
Startup Funding Guides
I’ve put together a series of guides to equip founders to excel at fundraising. These guides break down the deal term by term and give you negotiation tips so that you can speak to investors with confidence.
Move Fast. Don’t Break Things.
Hi! I’m Kyle. This newsletter is my passion project. When I’m not writing, I run a law firm that helps startups move fast without breaking things. Most founders want a trusted legal partner, but they hate surprise legal bills. At Westaway, we take care of your startup’s legal needs for a flat, monthly fee so you can control your costs and focus on scaling your business. If you’re interested, let’s jump on a call to see if you’re a good fit for the firm. Click here to schedule a 1-on-1 call with me.