Author Archives: Dave Berkus

The best advice startups will never follow

Posted on January 20, 2022 by Dave Berkus

Dave’s note: This is a reprint of a 2015 insight that seems to have struck a chord with investors and entrepreneurs. None of this advice has changed… Let me tell you a few short hair–raising stories of entrepreneurs who have … Continue reading →

If you’re lucky enough: Celebrate your exit!

Posted on January 13, 2022 by Dave Berkus

How might you view your successful exit from the company you have spent so much effort to build? You’ve worked hard for years to reach the payoff, and the money sure looks good as you contemplate the wire transfer to … Continue reading →

Posted in The liquidity event and beyond | 1 Comment

VC investors: Don’t be greedy even if you can.

Posted on January 6, 2022 by Dave Berkus

First, the marginal exit event: Sometimes the end game or sale of the company is not a happy event for the early investors, including the entrepreneur or the founders. Especially when outside investors, venture capitalists or angels have put in … Continue reading →

Posted in Depending upon others, The liquidity event and beyond | Leave a comment

My hard-earned lessons from negative exits.

Posted on December 30, 2021 by Dave Berkus

In my life as an early-stage investor, I’ve been closely involved with so many businesses, there were bound to be numerous stories of actual and near failures, hopefully from which to learn lessons for all of us as we go … Continue reading →

Posted in Hedging against downturns, Protecting the business, The liquidity event and beyond | 1 Comment

Jeff Bezos asked a question that blew me away!

Posted on December 23, 2021 by Dave Berkus

Here’s the question: This piece of wisdom came from Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, during a board meeting for one of the companies where he sits as board member. Jeff asked the question “Is there anything big or small, which … Continue reading →

Posted in Finding your ideal niche, Growth!, Positioning | 4 Comments

Patent litigation can kill the small guy.

Posted on December 16, 2021 by Dave Berkus

Here’s the bright side to patents. When you think of patents, you think of added value to the corporation in the form of protection of its intellectual property. In fact, many corporations spend millions developing surrounding patents to form what … Continue reading →

Posted in Protecting the business | 1 Comment

Is there gold in your old intellectual property?

Posted on December 9, 2021 by Dave Berkus

Digging through your IP closet for gold… In past years, several times a month I’d have lunch with one of my CEOs, and each time we’d find ourselves digging into the intellectual property developed by the company over the years, … Continue reading →

Posted in Growth!, Protecting the business | 2 Comments

Budget from the top down or bottom up? A puzzle.

Posted on December 2, 2021 by Dave Berkus

Here’s the argument: Many people believe that bottom-up budgeting leads to waste and misdirection. The advocates of top-down budgeting are strong in their belief that if you give each person or department no guidance, they will budget to their wants … Continue reading →

Posted in Growth!, Protecting the business | Leave a comment

Recognize your five critical business risks.

Posted on November 25, 2021 by Dave Berkus

If you could predict a crisis within your business before its occurrence, wouldn’t you move to prevent or reduce its impact? Making such predictions is a skill that can be developed, and here’s one method of doing so. First let’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Protecting the business | 1 Comment

What can go wrong with your business growth?

Posted on November 18, 2021 by Dave Berkus

So, your business has begun to take off. You’ve figured out your channels of distribution, pricing model and how to support your growing list of customers. Don’t be alarmed by this next statement. That’s relatively easy. You can be the … Continue reading →