Entrepreneur's Agony Aunt Blog

Archived: The Tech Startup Founder Blog

CEO/founder perspective posts from a startup entrepreneur. Mostly written over a two-year period in response to specific, but rarely discussed startup challenges

The posts published here represent my previous tech startup experiences as a founder, mostly dating from 2012 - 2019. These days I'm too busy on my latest startup to write here - plus times and the preferred means of sharing of information change. So, if and when I have something new and useful to say, I will post the article on LinkedIn and add a link to it from here.

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Why strong friends can help your startup thrive in uncertain times

New in 2023. Since I founded my latest startup, every year of its short existence has been in “unprecedented times”. Despite (or perhaps...

How to find your startup problem worth solving

The six questions I ask myself before I do a startup, and how finding a problem worth solving helped me find my purpose again. My TEDx talk

You don't need adult supervision

Why startup founders need to start trusting themselves and recognise the blindspot that may encourage them to seek out expensive and counter

Do less, tell more. Advice to my 22 year old self

Work smarter not harder, learn fast not perfectly, don't wait for permission and when you fail - as you will - fail fabulously. Advice t

How to get further in the first 6 months of your startup

I have achieved more in the first 6 months of my current startup than I did in the first 3 years of any of my previous ones. I credit this p

How to bounce back from a startup failure

The pain of any kind of startup failure cuts deep. Good people and good companies don't always win, that isn’t always right or fair. Her

What to avoid when you build your first board

Boards make the most important decisions about companies. Hard decisions are often made by individuals with no more than a few dozen hours i

Difference, ethnicity, diversity and enterprise

One of the most inspiring podcast conversations I've had, transcribed in full. Entrepreneur Pheona Matovu shares the story of how she an

Exit myth busters: why that startup big exit you're dreaming of probably won't happen

I want to challenge the assumption that an acquisition or exit is always good, and the ultimate success outcome that entrepreneurs and their

My new startup launched this week, here's how it happened

Get Market Fit, my 4th startup, made its debut yesterday. I launched at EIE18, Scotland's grand-scale technology investor showcase. 6 mo

10 signs a startup leader needs to scaleup or step back

Few founders or other startup leaders can transform themselves on their own. It is hard to invent your own best practice, especially if you

How to cope with an involuntary pause

My TedX University of Glasgow talk: Press pause to begin. The shock and sheer physicality of an involuntary pause can render the maps you

How to nail your Q and A to secure your startup investment

Scottish Edge CEO, Evelyn McDonald and I in discussion on how startups can secure investment by getting their post-pitch Q & A absolutel

Sharks, snails and starvation - 3 things that destroy founders and their companies

I've been talking to founders about how they lost, or almost lost their company. There are some common themes to their horror stories. I

Funding your startup in desperate times

If your startup is worth saving, here's how to make desperation funding work. Plenty of us have done desperation financing and survived

10 important lessons I learned from other people in 2017

The best founders I meet continually listen, learn and act. And though we do all still fall into making the same mistakes others have made (

Networks, tribes and advisors

It is impossible for a startup to thrive and grow in complete isolation. You need customers, staff, supporters and advisors. And that means

New Entrepreneur Agony Aunt Podcast

My new Entrepreneur Agony Aunt podcast to support startups, CEOs and founders through the personal and professional challenges of growing th

Three sad facts about startup money

While sales do indeed solve everything, selling something isn’t the same as getting paid for it. Cashflow and access to working capital rema

How to startup as a first time founder - part 1 (the how)

One of the most common questions I get asked by first time pre-start founders is "How?" Here are my tips on how to start, what to

Historic Posts

Why strong friends can help your startup thrive in uncertain times

How to find your startup problem worth solving

You don't need adult supervision

Do less, tell more. Advice to my 22 year old self

How to get further in the first 6 months of your startup

How to bounce back from a startup failure

What to avoid when you build your first board

Difference, ethnicity, diversity and enterprise

Exit myth busters: why that startup big exit you're dreaming of probably won't happen

My new startup launched this week, here's how it happened

10 signs a startup leader needs to scaleup or step back

How to cope with an involuntary pause

How to nail your Q and A to secure your startup investment

Sharks, snails and starvation - 3 things that destroy founders and their companies

Funding your startup in desperate times

10 important lessons I learned from other people in 2017

Networks, tribes and advisors

New Entrepreneur Agony Aunt Podcast

Three sad facts about startup money

How to startup as a first time founder - part 1 (the how)

Productivity problems in your startup?

Startup fears we really need to talk about but don't

Five ways to innovate with data

10 ways you must sweat your startup numbers

Stop telling entrepreneurs that it's not personal

Leaders: measure what really matters to your business

10 things about business life I wished I'd learned sooner

How to come up with ideas for a startup

10 mistakes that cost startup founders their companies

Can startups survive selling to enterprise customers?

10 people challenges startups have to overcome to succeed

Product market fit: what is it and what next if you don't have it?

My tips on raising money for your early stage startup

Archived: The Tech Startup Founder Blog

CEO/founder perspective posts from a startup entrepreneur. Mostly written over a two-year period in response to specific, but rarely discussed startup challenges

Connect with me

Historic Posts

Archive Blog