Founder Collective 101
5 min readOct 7, 2019
We’ve been writing about startups and venture capital since Founder Collective began, and we thought it would be helpful to collect some of our most popular posts to help entrepreneurs understand our approach and thought process. Follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, and our mailing list if you don’t want to miss future posts.
Overview
- A Ridiculously Detailed Fundraising Guide Eric Paley
- What to expect when you’re expecting (funding) Eric Paley
- The Warning Label That Should Come With Venture Capital
- Why today’s tech themes are poor predictors of tomorrow’s hot startups David Frankel
- Blessed are the “Boring,” for They Create the Billion Dollar Startups Micah Rosenbloom
- Wasting time with the Joneses Eric Paley
Capital Efficiency
- Venture capital is a hell of a drug Eric Paley
- Toxic VC and the marginal dollar problem Eric Paley
- What Could You Build with Just $10,000? Joseph Flaherty
- 50 Big Companies that Started with Little or No Money Joseph Flaherty
- Overdosing on VC: Lessons from 71 IPOs Eric Paley / Joseph Flaherty
Weird & Wonderful Spaces and Unusual Places
- Startup Success Outside Silicon Valley: Data from Over 200 Exits in 17 Cities David Frankel / Joseph Flaherty
- How to Pitch Your Oddball Startup to VCs Micah Rosenbloom
- Why today’s tech themes are poor predictors of tomorrow’s hot startups David Frankel
- Wary of the next Warby Micah Rosenbloom
- How to Conquer Silicon Valley from Sydney, Stockholm, or South Africa David Frankel
Ideas
- A great idea is never enough Eric Paley
- Whose Opportunity Is It? David Frankel
- Are You Working on a Side Project or a Startup? David Frankel
Product
- The platform paradox Eric Paley
- The probable, the possible, and the delusional Eric Paley
- The product/market fit mirage Eric Paley
- Dear auto entrepreneurs, please think outside the gearbox David Frankel
- Blessed are the “Boring,” for They Create the Billion Dollar Startups Micah Rosenbloom
Leadership
- How to transform from visionary to leader Eric Paley
- The best advice you’re not taking Eric Paley
- How to avoid second-time founder syndrome Micah Rosenbloom
- How not to get fired Eric Paley
- Learning to embrace conflict as part of startup’s culture Eric Paley
Team Dynamics
- What to Do When a Co-Founder Can’t Scale David Frankel
- VC Doesn’t Make Recruiting (Much) Easier Eric Paley
- The Curve of Talent Eric Paley
Management
- The plague of rationalization Eric Paley
- Bonuses are toxic at startups Eric Paley
- It doesn’t matter unless we win Eric Paley
- The two games every startup plays Eric Paley
- The fine line between success and bankruptcy Eric Paley
- Don’t Let Your Startup Happen To You Eric Paley
- Startups rarely do anything well Eric Paley
Operations
- Before you make that pivot Micah Rosenbloom
- Spotting & Stopping the Slippery Slope of Ethical Lapses at Startups David Frankel
- Mock the Magic Quadrant at Your Peril Micah Rosenbloom
- No six-figure finance hires without eight-figure run rates David Frankel
- You Need Less Than You Think David Frankel
Growth
- Confidence: The currency of acceleration Eric Paley
- “Go-to-Market” must be on your mind from day one David Frankel
- Startups should read this checklist before they go “whale hunting” for big partners David Frankel
- Don’t Get Seduced by GMV Micah Rosenbloom
- Tech Takes a While Micah Rosenbloom
- Handshakes and Hashtags: Two Key Ingredients for Networking Success Micah Rosenbloom
Fundraising Strategy
- Wasting time with the Joneses Eric Paley
- Conviction Eric Paley
- Redefining dilution Eric Paley
- Don’t mortgage your startup David Frankel
- When venture capital becomes vanity capital Eric Paley
- Going Up and Down the VC Roller Coaster David Frankel
- When to take the seed — answer the “knowables” Micah Rosenbloom
- When to raise capital and the trap of the artificial timeline Micah Rosenbloom
- Strategic Investors — You’ll Have Sold Your Company. You Just Won’t Know It Micah Rosenbloom
- Don’t let your investors buy all the options Micah Rosenbloom
Pitching
- 20 Lines to Write Before Starting Your Pitch Deck Eric Paley
- Always Be Pitching Micah Rosenbloom
- Why “But Wait, There’s More!” is a Bad Way to Pitch VCs Micah Rosenbloom
- Does Your Startup Pass “The Summer Camp Test?” Eric Paley
- Advice to startups: Stack the deck Eric Paley
How to build a deck
- Don’t Waste Your First Slide Joseph Flaherty
- How to Write Better Cold Emails to VCs Joseph Flaherty
- Your pitch deck isn’t an application for financial aid Joseph Flaherty
- Don’t Quote Me Joseph Flaherty
- Pitch Rescue: Five Investor Presentation Pitfalls to Avoid Joseph Flaherty
Fundraising
- Want to raise a series A? Be smarter at seed David Frankel
- Securing a huge growth round David Frankel
- Playing “Find the Leader” in VC Micah Rosenbloom
- What’s the worst thing a VC has ever said to you when you were fundraising? David Frankel
- Venture Debt: The third rail of venture financing Micah Rosenbloom
Diligence 101
- Diligence 101 for Seed Stage Startups Micah Rosenbloom
- Who wants a highly-engaged VC? Joseph Flaherty
- Why do VCs Really Want to See Your Financial Model? Micah Rosenbloom
Reasons you won’t get funded
- The Mythical Million Dollar Run Rate Eric Paley
- How to obliterate a multi-million-dollar fundraising process during due diligence David Frankel
- Four words that could kill your startup David Frankel
- 5 reasons you won’t get funded that aren’t your fault Joseph Flaherty
- I Have 2x More Revenue Than Them! Why Can’t I Close My Round? Micah Rosenbloom
- You earn a million dollars per year and can’t get funded David Frankel
Managing Capital
- When burn rate outweighs enthusiasm Eric Paley
- You just raised $10M. Now what? David Frankel
- How to prepare for an investment apocalypse Micah Rosenbloom
- Running out of money isn’t a milestone Eric Paley
- Don’t let your investors buy all the options Micah Rosenbloom
Investor Relations
- A “Fill-In-The-Blank” Investor Update Template for Busy Founders Micah Rosenbloom
- After funding, watch burn rates and beware the tyranny of incrementalism Eric Paley
- How to Break Bad News to Investors Micah Rosenbloom
- Sell the vision, not the progress Eric Paley
- Eight People You’ll Meet on Your Board of Directors David Frankel
- “I can grade you, or I can teach you, but I can’t do both.” David Frankel
- Why Small Interactions Make a Big Difference Eric Paley
How to Sell Your Company
- How to sell your company without a buyer Eric Paley
- Ten pieces of friendly for when someone wants to buy your company David Frankel
- It’s Not About The Pot of Gold Eric Paley
- Who’s Going to Buy This Startup? Eric Paley
- How to plan for your startup’s gruesome demise David Frankel
- The “Get Rich Slow” Exit Strategy Joseph Flaherty
