Get Real or Go Home
We have talked about Sequoia Captial a number of times. We love that they do and how they do it.
So when they call together their CEOs for a little motivation and discussion about expectations, it interesting to listen in. Even more interesting, is if you can get the presentataion.
Its a call that any business should heed. Do more with less. Understand your strenghts and exploit your competitors weaknesses. And focus on cash flow. Its funny, but the folks from 37Signals have been Getting Real for some time and declining VC investment despite multiple offers.
Of special interest is emphasis on specific aspects of operations (slide 47):
Product - what features are absolutely essential?
Marketing - measuring & cutting whats not working?
Pipeline - real probability of closing deals?
No one moves fast enought (slide 50). Unfortunately we have seen this multiple times. We often sound harsh when we propose significant changes. Salaries always come into focus and the standard assumption is cutting headcount – it really doesnt have to be this way. Our experience is that in many cases, it can make sense to reduce salaries but keep teams together to reduce the difficulties as people leave the organization.
We think this is just great business advice.
Posted in: Uncategorized | Tagged: cashflow, sequoia, startups | No Comments
