Startup Advice from Brett Hurt, Austin Ventures Partner and BazaarVoice Founder
Brett Hurt has been blogging for some time now. At a recent appearance at the Austin Regulars meetup, Brett answered questions from several audience members. Throughout the conversation, he kept referring to his blog as a source to dig deeper into his thoughts and opinions on launching startups and the state of entrepreneurship in Austin. So, I decided to put together the blog posts he referenced to help startup founders in their journey to launch their first, or next, startup. Enjoy!
Advice on raising capital (aka bootstrapping or venture capital)
Should you raise capital from investors or bootstrap? Should you do both perhaps? Brett shares his experience from both sides:
Advice for naming your startup
Startup names tell a story. Spend the time to select one that tells your company story.
Advice about stealth mode
As the saying goes, “every startup is in stealth mode by default.” Staying in stealth mode is often easy, but sometimes talking to the ‘right’ people will you get further.
Advice on the key ingredients for building a big company
There are five important ingredients to building a big company: the business model, the team, the mindset, the funding, and the culture.
The five critical ingredients to build a big company
Advice for building a startup culture
Recruiting is the key to building a culture. Each person that you recruit contributes to that culture. This means escaping the past approach of being a numbers game and recruiting those that will perform and can work with others in the organization.
The most important thing you can do to build a great startup culture
Advice for startups struggling to close the early sales
As startups, the first few sales are often critical for both revenue and momentum. If you are asking how to close those first few sales, especially as a Software-as-a-Service startup, then read this two part series:
Part 1: Your first clients – start with who, and win over the ‘cool kids’
Part 2: Your first clients – how to win over the ‘cool kids’
Advice on efficient and effective communication
Communication requires selecting the people, medium, and content that is the most effective. Read the tips and consider a recommended book from Brett regarding improving communication within your startup.
How to be efficient in your communication to get things done quickly
Advice on tapping into the value of your investors
Your investors are more than a bank. They come with experience, insight, and relationships. Learn how to better engage with your investors to strategically grow your business and make your investor relationship a win-win.
How to leverage advisors and investors as your extended team
Advice on asking for help
What do Steve Jobs, 1776, and Israel have in common? You have to read the article and watch the video from Steve Jobs to find out.
Steve Jobs on asking for help, and the DNA of 1776 and Israel
Advice on money as a utility
Beyond taking care of our needs, money can be a utility that can be used to change the lives of other people. This post is a challenge to all of us to reconsider how we see time and money.
Time is money, money is time, or something different?