How to Manage the Fallout of a CTO Crisis for Better Outcomes
Founders and C-Suite warriors, do you have a CTO disaster on your hands?
You vetted your CTO. Perhaps you could have done the job yourself but you are busy running your business. You were so convinced that the talent you hired was doing their job because of the appearance of a good track record, some serious smooth talking, cool PowerPoint slides, a nice wireframe, a workable strawman for a pilot, or reasonable excuses for missed deadlines, etc.
But the fact is that the person you hired did not do the job you paid stacks of cash for and told your biggest clients would be done. You did not expect somebody to mislead you when checking in regularly about progress and anticipated deadlines.
But when it was time to deliver the product, you had ice water thrown in your face right before your *ss was set on fire because you had to go tell your customers YOU COULD NOT DELIVER. 😭
You are not alone.
Derisking Ventures through UX Research: A chat with GV’s Michael Margolis.
How can you find your TAM and validate your product-market fit if you don’t know who your bulls eye customers are? UX research is a way to accelerate the learning curve of startups and derisk the investment.
We had another great session of my H4H impact venture incubator course at Columbia Business School this term. Michael Margolis, UX Partner at Google Ventures (GV) joined us to chat about the key takeaways of an effective research sprint to improve the success of a venture.
Michael shared with us highlights of his approach developed over his vast experience working with Uber, Slack, Foundation Medicine, One Medical, Flatiron Health, GitLab, Lime, Kindbody, Gusto, Blue Bottle Coffee, StockX, Cockroach Labs, and Nest. These are all companies known for effectively scaling based on maximizing the value of their customer/user experience.
TAM/SAM/SOM The Meaning Behind the Metrics
Founders, you may be struggling with calculating and interpreting these familiar concentric circles. Let’s begin with the understanding investors would like to derive from them.
Is it Time to Pivot?
Founders, contemplating a pivot in your quest for product/market fit? Consider this.
30 Seconds of Fame: A Guide for Founders
Founders, you have thirty seconds to explain why the venture you work on day and night is worth someone’s attention. You are innovative, your technology sizzles, and you have a talented team. You even have traction. You get so excited that you dive right into the technology. Time's up.