1929 courtesy of the Orange County Library It is a history book about the crash - but no lessons for today! I finally made my way through the book. It is a huge collection of facts sequenced as anecdotes. Each one makes for interesting reading and is well researched. Unfortunately the author Andrew Ross Sorkin never addresses the obvious similarities to the age we are living in now. Only in the epilogue does he make some observations that allude to our current level of record

One of the frequent assignments we receive involve either finding a Partner or evaluating a possible Partner for companies going from...

This article is a great autopsy of an MLM company going bad: The link: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/10/business/beautycounter-carlyle...

In the fast-paced world of entrepreneurship, making the right choices can be the difference between success and failure. One such choice...

Introduction: Navigating the Risky Waters Starting a new business venture is both exciting and challenging. Entrepreneurs invest...

Introduction We have been working with our client, Allerbi over the last year as they are moving from concept to MVP. We think of it as...

“The Secret Life of Groceries” is a book you need to read if you plan on selling food to the retail sector or if you are thinking of...

AI and your Business. No matter what the media is that you get information from, you cannot escape the mention of AI and the wonderful...

Cap Table As an advisor to Founders from a variety of industries, I have been thinking recently about “Cap Tables” and why every start-up should have one. That includes self-funded start-ups and especially companies which have more than one Founder. Why? A “Cap Table” is and will be the permanent record for every equity and shareholder loan to the company. It is the financial spinal cord for your company and will be critical every time you raise capital, incur debt, or need t

Overview Have you noticed how change seems to be accelerating? Have you gotten whiplash from having to react to new information flooding in from customers and marketing? While “Whiplash” was written in 2016, it was remarkably prescient. There are several books with the same title, however, so here is a picture of the one I am writing about: It was written by Joi Ito , former head of the MIT Media Lab and Jeff Howe , a writer for Wired Magazine. Why you should read this book!

If you started or led a business in the last three years, you have had to deal with the COVID pandemic, the return of Inflation and now...

Inflation may be happening and it is scary! Photo by Marcus Winkler What is Inflation? Inflation is currently the hot economic topic and featured hourly on many TV channels you happen to turn on. It measures the average price changes in a basket of commodities or services over time. What does it mean to a Start-Up or a small to medium business that is already facing issues because of COVID-19? It can either kill your company or it can offer opportunities for exceptional profi

Why a Business Plan and why do I need to write it? Photo Credit: Corpnet.com Unfortunately, that is a question potential clients ask us...

Is Family Money good for your Start-Up? Why or Why Not. Clients have come to us for assistance when resolving issues involving family...

Starting an apparel business may not be a good idea at this time! Custom tailored blue jeans During the Pandemic we were contacted by start-ups that wanted to enter this space. They ranged from individual designers to teams. Their strategies for entering the market and to make their dreams come true ranged from “bespoke” suits to mass produced t-shirts. Several were inspired by STITCH FIX and their subscription model. Why? The market in the US is presently in excess of $ 186

Herding Leads! Lead-Generation for B2B Sales! You need to increase B2b sales, but lead-generation for B2B sales can be challenging. Yet it does not have to be! As long as you realize you are in a different arena than your B2C peers. They use a shotgun – you need to use a rifle. During the last several months our clients have asked us to analyze their lead-generation processes and to recommend changes. Their concern was triggered by the COVID-19 crisis. Almost all of our cli

When I saw it on the shelf – Pappyland spoke to me immediately. I knew Pappy Van Winkel was a brand of Bourbon! This book is the story behind a great American brand. A couple of years ago a European client asked us to do a deep dive into the American Craft Distillers’ industry. Like the the pet food business the distilled spirits industry is dominated by very few players and hundreds of brands. Seven companies control over 95% of the available capacity. Over 1,200+ companies

The book “Big Kibble” was recommended to me by my library algorithm and it looked like a regular business book about the “Dog Food”...

“Why aren’t we rich yet?” is a question we receive more frequently than you would think. Of course the statement almost never uses the...

Deep Work by Cal Newport while less than 300 pages packs quite a punch. It’s purpose is how to train yourself to make more time for deep work by changing your habits. The author is a professor who writes about our interactions with technology and was one of the pioneers of advocating that less use of technology in our lives is a key to being more productive. Even though, we all admire craftsmanship we do not always give credit to the mental focus that is needed to create it.