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Pace

Pace

The benchmark for growth has changed radically for software companies: Just look at the most successful companies (likely a questionable practice, but, in reality, it is what everyone does): Then…in the era of installed software: It took Microsoft three years from...
Growing Up

Growing Up

August marks the end of our first full year of operations for Gain Compliance. While I’ve chronicled our path in a series of posts (starting with this one) on a semi-monthly basis (more or less), here are my two top-level takeaways: Building a complex product is not...
Co-location

Co-location

It’s common practice for software development teams within a company to be distributed, or working on projects together while not sitting in the same office (or even the same time zone). The primary advantage of this is pretty obvious: the best person for the job...
Due Diligence

Due Diligence

Outside of pitching to individual investors one at a time, the typical ways for a startup to solicit early-stage (angel) investment typically comes in one of two flavors: Angel group: a group of loosely-affiliated, accredited investors who hear pitches as a group, but...
Here’s the pitch…

Here’s the pitch…

  In the world of startups, the process of raising capital is overly glorified by the media and in popular opinion. The reasons that this individual piece of the puzzle commands such mind share are straightforward: It’s visible: this is one of the few activities...
Beating the Odds

Beating the Odds

Unicorns are very rare.I’m not talking about the conventional, fairy-tale animal, but rather the Silicon Valley definition: A unicorn is a startup valued at over $1 billion. The term was coined in 2013 by venture capitalist Aileen Lee, choosing the mythical animal to...
Did you get that memo?

Did you get that memo?

Last month, we attended the Prometheus Awards. The Technology Association of Iowa puts on the event which celebrates the accomplishments of a fairly close-knit community in our state. We were nominated for “Outstanding Startup of the Year” for 2016 (alongside a cohort...
Onboarding

Onboarding

When I worked at a larger company, a small part of my VP role was welcoming new employees during their onboarding sessions. Every other week on Tuesdays at 10:35 a.m., I had a dedicated slot to introduce myself and talk about the product strategy team to a roomful of...