Category Archives: Growth!

My story: Fail locally, one customer at a time.

Posted on June 11, 2015 by Dave Berkus

By Frank Peters Our guest insight this week is from Frank Peters, well-known in the angel and in the bicycle worlds for his podcasts and passion.  His personal story is full of lessons for us all. – Dave We’ve all … Continue reading →

Posted in Growth!, Hedging against downturns | 3 Comments

Drive your recurring revenues.

Posted on June 4, 2015 by Dave Berkus

This week, our guest post is by  David Steakley, a past President of the Houston Angel Network, and a reformed management consultant.  David is an active angel investor, and manages several angel funds in Texas.  I have a positive fetish … Continue reading →

Posted in Growth! | 2 Comments

Nail it; then scale it.

Posted on June 2, 2015 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 →

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Premature scaling kills businesses.

Posted on May 21, 2015 by Dave Berkus

Venture capitalists sometimes make an error in directing their portfolio company CEOs to push resources to the limit and scale the business to immense size quickly, all to seize market share.  The logic in this is simple: once a company … Continue reading →

Posted in Growth!, Protecting the business | 5 Comments

5 Simple Steps to Executing the Plan

Posted on May 14, 2015 by Dave Berkus

It is all about execution.  Waiting over a year to see results is too long, since your chance of mid-course correction is greatly reduced.  To make the point, Harvard’s Robert Kaplan believes that less than 10% of corporate strategies are … Continue reading →

Posted in Growth! | 2 Comments

Fish in the giant ocean – not in a shallow creek.

Posted on May 7, 2015 by Dave Berkus

This is like a Hans Christian Anderson parable, but aimed at you and your business… There are big fish and small fish, potential customers, all swimming in the sea that is your potential marketplace.  You, the lonely fisherman, have to … Continue reading →

Posted in Growth! | 4 Comments

A tale of two CEOs and the management of pain

Posted on March 26, 2015 by Dave Berkus

This is the tale of two CEOs, one of them unfortunately….me.  It’s a story of how people handle unusual situations when selling to the top – an executive of a prospective customer.  And the stories couldn’t be more different. Recently … Continue reading →

Posted in Growth!, Protecting the business | 3 Comments

Fire yourself. Rehire a new you.

Posted on March 12, 2015 by Dave Berkus

When a new CEO or manager is hired into a company, for a while lots of energy flows from the top and new ideas seem to be generated daily.  It is one reason not to fear the unknown when upper … Continue reading →

Posted in Growth!, Surrounding yourself with talent | 3 Comments

Two reasons to attack critical issues first.

Posted on November 26, 2014 by Dave Berkus

There are two reasons to consider reordering your priorities to attack your most critical issues first, before the easiest ones to knock off the list. First, you are fresher at the start of a day, and your best efforts should … Continue reading →

Posted in Growth! | 2 Comments

Extending Your Runway

Posted on October 30, 2014 by Dave Berkus

One of my books, Extending the Runway, uses parallels to piloting a plane to equate to the process of creating and building a small company, making maximum use of resources to get to and beyond breakeven. It is worth revisiting … Continue reading →

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