Are You Ready For Customer Gifts? (We Got You Covered!)
We’re back in 2024 with the most appreciated blog of the year. tl;dr: IT’S TIME TO ORDER CUSTOMER GIFTS!! Here are 3 new customer gift Ideas for startups!
Read More
We’re back in 2024 with the most appreciated blog of the year. tl;dr: IT’S TIME TO ORDER CUSTOMER GIFTS!! Here are 3 new customer gift Ideas for startups!
Read MoreWe started in 2022.
I did it again in 2023.
It was so popular…we’re back in 2024 with the most appreciated blog of the year.
tl;dr: IT’S TIME TO ORDER CUSTOMER GIFTS!!
(You’re welcome. Click here to skip jokes and go directly to the how-to guide.)
Bad News: You’re already behind.
Good News: You have time to get started!
If you want to know what the hot new-new is (this guide is from 2022), I still recommend talking to someone cooler than me. You know who I mean. The friend or coworker who knows allllll the trends.
(And please share their recs below! 👇👇)
But I do know 3 cool things and here they are!
Based out of the Atlanta Tech Village, with an amaaaaazing gift box for dudes (and a partnership with another brand that does women gift boxes), my husband got one and it was SO FUN. He loved it, I loved that he loved it, and my kids used the box for a boat/fort/weapon/vehicle. Win all around.
Based in Atlanta with a woman CEO and they have healthy things like fruit??? I am a sucker for these. Delicious, fun, and easy to send. (They have sweet treats mixed in with the fruit 😉). Sure to be a fan favorite in the office.
A personal touch while supporting local startups like you! Check out the P10 Foods list of brands to find awesome Southern brands at nearby stores. Same founders at King of Pops.
For a non-DIY version, Basketry (Louisana-based) and Giften Market (woman-owned, Minnesota-based) both have beautiful and fun options.
Here’s the tea:
And while you’re at it, think about employee holiday gifts too:
Important: If you’re trying to do a company holiday party…DO NOT PASS GO, DO NOT COLLECT $200, GO DIRECTLY TO BOOK A VENUE.
These fill up months ahead.
Or do it #scrappy and have it at someone’s house. Or on a Monday night (best price). Or an AirBnB with no rules about parties. You have options but gotta jump on it!
Any favorite gifts or other recs? What did you do for customers? Any helpful lessons learned??
Save yourself the years of therapy, unending achievements, and exhausting insecurity! Start being confident for no reason. The top CEOs do it too!
Read MoreTop CEOs exude confidence.
Yes, of course. They’re smart and successful. Look at how good they are at <insert what you admire here>.
It’s true for F500 CEOs and the CEO of the hottest startup you know.
Are they confident because they are great CEOs?
Nope.
Here’s the thing:
They acted with confidence BEFORE they were top CEOs.
If you wait for a reason to be confident…it will never arrive.
Because there’s 1,406,596 reasons that other people are better than you.
There’s also 1,406,596 reasons that YOU ARE AWESOME. Right now. Today.
Yep.
Even without achieving whatever it is you think you need to achieve before you can be great.
Because let me tell you…once you get to that official point of greatness, it actually won’t be that great.
You will see another point of greatness!
Just off in the distance…
THAT is the real point of greatness.
That ‘point of greatness’…it’s not really there.
It’s always a little further out.
How do you break the vicious cycle of never-arriving-at-your-greatness?
It’s simple:
Start thinking you’re awesome right now!
Save yourself the years of therapy, unending achievements, and exhausting insecurity!
Start being confident for no reason.
I see you rolling your eyes. (#momvision)
Kathryn, you say, if it was that easy, I would have already done it!
Yes and no.
There is a natural human tendency to want what you don’t have.
And the journey and anticipation of the goal is usually more fun than actually getting there.
You can’t totally override biological wiring from millions of years of evolution.
BUT.
You can start TODAY being a person who interacts in the world with confidence.
Start believing — right this very second — that:
People will take my call and reply to my email
Someone will help me when I need it
I can figure things out
I deserve to be here
I will close deals
And 100 other cheesy, yet effective, thoughts that change how you feel, act, and show up.
People with those beliefs interact with investors differently.
Trust me. I’ve seen it.
They are still polite and socially appropriate but there’s an under current of expectation in their communication that comes through and is very compelling.
If you’re not there quite YET (← “yet” — a word of confidence!), that’s okay.
You’re not alone.
As far as I can tell, most people feel some kind of Imposter Syndrome.
Including top CEOs.
They work hard to overcome it, show up with confidence, and establish credibility.
You too can use their strategies too!
Here are two more that I recently came across:
Say “I’m excited” instead of “I’m nervous” → here’s the research. I recommend Vanessa Van Edwards’ entire TedTalk. I watched twice!
Focus on “the gain” over “the gap” → think about what you’ve made progress in instead of what you have left to achieve. Love this concept (and book!) from Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy, shared by Brad Barrett. I did it in my nightly gratitude journal and — even when I knew it was a trick — it still was magical!
Practice, learning, and pretending are all very effective at building confidence. 😁
You can give yourself permission. Right now. To be confident.
What would happen if you ACTED with the confidence of a top CEO?
What would happen if you saw clearly how awesome you already are?
What would you do, say, ask for, or attract?
It costs nothing but can change everything.
Start today.
For no reason.
Without explanation or justification.
BELIEVE IN YOUR SELF.
And the world will follow your lead. 😉
What is your best tip for projecting confidence? What are the most important insights you’ve learned about doubt, confidence, and success? When do you feel the most confident?
Venture Atlanta is coming upon us! *THE* event of the year. Largest venture conference in the Southeast. (Prepare yourself.) Here are a few events that I’ll be hosting or attending.
Read MoreVenture Atlanta is coming upon us!
*THE* event of the year. Largest venture conference in the Southeast. (Prepare yourself.) Investors come from all over the country to check out the top startups in the region.
Here are a few events that I’ll be hosting or attending.
Can you make it? What events are you the most excited for? Do you dislike networking like I do? 😉
Venture Atlanta …. expect 1000s of people!!
It’s non-stop action.
Meeting new people, bumping into folks you know, trying to find the person you’re supposed to meet with.
It is totally exhausting but also incredibly fun, well-run, and a great representation of Atlanta and the fantastic, growing startup ecosystem of the Southeast.
Not a comprehensive list by any means! There’s SO MUCH going on. Some of these are only for Venture Atlanta attendees but I’ve noted which ones are open to anyone! Add more events or faves in the comments 👇
—
Venture Crawl
Monday: 8:30am-3:00pm
Come get a tour of the best Atlanta tech hubs including ATV and South Downtown!
—
Pickleball
Monday: 11:00am-3:00pm
—
Intentionally Good Summit
**OPEN TO ALL (but sold out)**
Monday: 11:30am-7:30pm
—
Founders & Funders Jog
**OPEN TO ALL**
Tuesday: 6:45-8:30am
Bright & early! (Little birdie told me over 70 people are registered.) My absolute favorite way to kick off a conference and the best not-networking networking there is.
—
VC Panel
Tuesday: 9:00-10:30am
See session preview HERE!
We read Mark Suster’s blog like it was the Bible in the early days of Pardot and I still share his Rabbits, Deer, Elephants blog frequently with founders. Excited to hear him speak plus love the other powerhouse panelists (all women!) who all have Atlanta ties.
—
Women in Capital Breakfast
Wednesday: 8:30-9:45am
What started with 3 women, then 30 (my first VA 4 years ago) is now hundreds! It’s incredible what can happen in a short time. Thank you Christy Brown, Allyson Eman, and Kim Seals for getting it started.
—
Keynote Speaker Dawn Staley
Wednesday: 1:30-2:15pm
National champion & hall of fame basketball coach, right here in the south. I love sports, I love women playing sports, and I love the power of great coaching. Also, basketball is by far the best sport. If you disagree, I respect your opinion but you are wrong. 😉
Find me in the front row. 🤓 🏀
—
Techstars Demo Day
**OPEN TO ALL**
Wednesday: 3:30-5:00pm
I’ve met some of the founders, excited to meet more. They are top talent and can’t wait to see their pitches!
—
Female Founders in Innovation Dinner
**OPEN TO ALL (might be sold out)**
Wednesday: 6:00-9:00pm
Atlanta Ventures is a sponsor and I could not be more excited to celebrate the amazing women building companies!
—
Hands On Atlanta Tech Day of Service
**OPEN TO ALL**
Thursday: 2:00-6:00pm
Giving back in South Downtown! Thank you Eileen Lee and Endeavor for this important event. Volunteering together is an incredible team building (and authentic networking!) experience.
My parting gift to you. Absolutely no tips on networking, selling, prospecting, or how to work the booth. (You know how to do that.)
1. Drink Alllllll The Water.
2. Locate The Closest Starbucks or Coffee Shop.
3. Never Party With Sales. (Sales people are conference immortals.)
4. Set Your Phone Alarm Now.
5. Hide For At Least 5 Minutes Every Hour.
6. Learn How To Fake Drink.
7. Meet Someone For A Workout. (See Founder Funder Jog above ☝️)
8. Invest In A Good Mint.
9. Expect To Get Sick.
10. Schedule a 1 Day Return Buffer.
(#protip I know some Atlanta-based attendees who book a hotel room so they don’t have to commute home and back in the morning.)
Block your cal, work from home, and recover, I mean, get shit done to make the conference worth it!
More details on each with real conference stories here.
Events are happening all over Atlanta! If you can’t make it to Venture Atlanta, here are some of my favorite event calendars!
And of course, here’s a list of my favorite resources, groups, and tactics for getting a pulse on Atlanta and finding other tech folks.
Please feel free to drop other upcoming events with details and registration links in the comments below! What are most excited for at Venture Atlanta?👇
Sales has always been tough. Wildly important, critical to the success of every startup, and very very hard. Here’s what I’ve seen — based on startup results and reports from the front lines— working really well in 2024.
Read MoreSales has always been tough.
Wildly important, critical to the success of every startup, and very very hard.
Especially when you are selling ice, I mean, an early stage product.
And — unfortunately — with high growth tech companies tightening their budgets, the Great Exuberance painfully unwinding, and tech buyers more likely than ever to hit “Mark as Spam”, it’s not getting any easier.
NEVERTHELESS, SHE PERSISTS.
And while I don’t see the tried-and-true B2B Saas playbook of cold call, automated cadence, demo flip to AE working nearly as well as it used to (#buyer-fatigue), I do see creative startups still crushing it on the sales front.
Here’s what I’ve seen — based on startup results and reports from the front lines— working really well in 2024.
Posting good content regularly on LinkedIn (or wherever your customers are) works. I know multiple founders with large followings who get inbound demo requests every day.
This is exactly why you should build your personal brand and a few ideas on how to start.
Want inspiration?
Lauren Goodell (LinkedIn, sales)
Troy Munson (LinkedIn, sales/marketing)
Loren Mount-O’Brien (TikTok, consumers)
I delete 50 emails per day without reading them because I can tell they are automated sales messages.
But I regularly respond to cold outreach.
How to stand out in a world of automation?
Be unequivocally human.
Just ask Paddy McNamara or Ellen Twomey, two of my favorite founders, who sent an obviously personalized and researched message when they reached out (via our Contact Form and LinkedIn, respectively).
This is why Zinnia (we’re an investor) is resonating so powerfully in the sales world.
Cookie cutter automation isn’t working nearly as well.
Showing a little bit of effort and creativity (even if AI does the research 😉) does.
You’re probably not going to usurp Gary Vee or Mel Robbins. But you could be a thought leader in your corner of the tech world.
Fynn Glover, founder and CEO of Schematic (we’re an investor), has a fantastic, very specific podcast on SaaS pricing and packaging (using AI to help with the publication process, of course). It’s a great reason to connect with industry leaders, and he’s quickly become a go-to resource with 50+ episodes recorded in a few months.
I took a page out of Fynn’s book, and am doubling down on the B2B-SaaS-investor-in-the-Southeast-who-is-a-working-mom-and-loves-running-and-cheesy-jokes niche of the internet. How am I doing? 😂
Be the trusted expert in your market. SEO is a slow burn, but when you do it right, it works. Especially in markets where you can win your niche or traditional outbound cold-calling doesn’t work.
Traditional SEO — do Google search, find company — is changing with AI search, but the core concept — you provide helpful expertise, customers find you — is still holding strong (see Social Media & Niche Though Leadership above 😉).
These are actually two different strategies for two different markets with one important thing in common:
Be in the physical world.
When everyone is using Zoom, social, email, and AI, you stand out by showing up.
Do the old-fashioned, analog, pure hustle thing.
Show up on their doorstep — whether they are a F500 or a daycare center — a face-to-face connection (and sweet treat!) will make a difference.
No surprise here but a personal connection — especially a recommendation from a current customer — is still one of the top ways to get a foot in the door.
Warm intros can take a variety of forms:
a sales rep who has pre-existing industry relationships
a strong channel partner
working the LinkedIn connections and networking events (even if you don’t like networking 😉)
Automation is helpful here, though best kept behind-the-scenes!
Laudable (we’re an investor) helps you find the customers who love you (and turn it into compelling sales and marketing content — the mid-funnel equivalent of a warm intro) and we’ve had several iterations in our Venture Studio for “Introer” to help you find and make more helpful connections.
Are these strategies fail-proof silver bullets?
Nope.
It will always be hard to break through the noise.
Plus, product, pricing, messaging, and solving a hair-on-fire problem also impact sales results.
But real startups are closing real deals TODAY doing this stuff.
And you can too!
What has been working for you? What doesn’t work anymore? What AI tools are you loving for sales?
No founder starts a company because they want to manage people. This is why they are SO appreciative of the employees who “get it.” Here’s a list of qualities I often see in top startup employees who move up quickly (and a helpful template for defining leadership within your company)!
Read MoreNo founder starts a company because they want to manage people.
They want to change the world, help customers, create jobs, make money, inspire others, innovate, and 100 other things.
They love to work with people and support them. But the actual day-to-day people management is…draining.
This is why they are SO appreciative of the employees who “get it.”
At a certain level of management, you are even paid to be self-sufficient. The CEO wants to spend time on strategic efforts, not dealing with people who need hand holding or oversight.
It can be hard to articulate what “they just get it” actually means. 🙃
How do you define it???
And if you’re at a startup now, how do you maximize your impact and career by being one of those awesome folks who does “get it”?
Here’s a list of qualities I often see in top startup employees who move up quickly (and a helpful template for defining leadership within your company)!
After seeing first hand and talking to many CEOs, here are common qualities among their favorite teammates and leaders.
This is the anti-I don’t want to talk to you list.
Top Startup Employees & Leaders:
Help others
Do what's right for the company
Are a trusted sounding board
Raise concerns + problems but also have solutions
Do their “day job” with excellence
Be positive, appreciate others, celebrate wins
Proactively teach teammates, recruit new employees, make sales connections
Communicate well
Follow through and do what they say
Acknowledge mistakes
Don’t wait for permission to do the right thing
Don't wait for someone to tell them it’s ok to be a leader
If you or someone on your team is not getting the career progression they want (“Why did Brenda get promoted but I didn’t???”), it’s likely they could improve in one of those areas.
Yes, there are tactical details not covered in that list. But it’s rarely about a specific skill or project. It can almost always be traced back to a higher level pattern.
Here’s what I didn’t say: Be really, really smart.
Of course, you need to be smart ENOUGH. But when a lot of smart people are in a room, attitude trumps aptitude every time.
As your company grows, here is another resource that may be helpful as you think through things like:
Who gets what title?
Who is on the leadership team and why?
Where can this person develop as a leader?
Why is PersonA a Vice President but PersonB is a Director?
This is a very basic Leveling Guide Template that I’ve used as a starting place at several companies:
You can also use this for inter-department job levels and get specific about technical skills (e.g. the difference between Jr and Sr Engineers or SMB and Enterprise CSMs) or milestones (e.g. close $1M in revenue to move to Sr Sales Rep).
If you have a full time HR person, they will scoff at this and have something better. 😁
Did someone come to mind as you read this article? Have you been looking for specifics to share with an employee or getting vague feedback from your boss?
If you’re looking for a way to start the discussion, feel free to share this blog or use bullets from the list!
What are qualities of top startup employees? What do you look when promoting someone? Anything you would add or remove from the list?
Conference season is quickly approaching. Here are 5 tips for startups looking to make the most of a conference especially if prospective customers are attending and budget is tight!
Read MoreConference season is quickly approaching.
When is conference season?
It’s always conference season somewhere!
In Atlanta, we have Venture Atlanta in early October so it’s time to get going if you want to attend, sponsor, or put on an event during InnovATL.
I’ve even heard rumors — can neither confirm nor deny — of another Founder/Funder Jog hosted by TrackCred on Tues, Oct 8.
If something as awesome as that should happen, I’ll post sign up details on LinkedIn. 😉
But back to conference season.
The most important writing I’ve ever done has been my conference guide:
The *REAL* Conference Guide: 10 Non-Traditional Tips From A Conference Veteran
It’s essential reading for any attendee of any conference and highly useful at identifying (and avoiding) conference immortals.
It’s applicable to everyone — whether you’re a young female employee mistaken for a booth babe (me) or someone using a conference as an excuse to party with favorite teammates (also me).
I feel confident it has made the world a better place and I’m expecting a Nobel Conference Prize any day now.
But while I wait for my accolades, I’ve created another conference post with more targeted, and, dare I say, more practical tips, specifically for startups.
Here are 5 tips for startups looking to make the most of a conference especially if prospective customers are attending and budget is tight!
The value of the conference starts well before you put on your official name tag lanyard.
It’s a reason to reach out to your best prospects!
Will you be there?
Come see us at our booth!
Here’s some events we’re looking forward to — what are you attending?
Sneak preview of thought leadership content or product release!
Would love to connect in person — want to grab coffee?
We’re hosting a dinner with other CTOs like you — want to join?
If you can’t make it…we’re doing a recap, we’re posting daily, we’ll share best practices.
Can I buy you lunch at this awesome vegan restaurant I know you will like because I used Zinnia AI to uncover personalized insights like what a health nut you are??? (Oh. Just me who says yes to any kind of kale outing during a conference?? 🥗🤤)
I know this sounds crazy because you’re desperately trying to order last minute swag, book a cheap hotel, and upload your logo for your booth design but FOR THE LOVE OF EVERYTHING…spend an hour planning your post-conference follow up.
Then spend 2-3 hours prepping it.
Are you sending an email?
Offering a follow up demo?
Are reps doing custom outreach?
How do you designate high potential leads vs tire kickers?
Is there a unique path depending on interest level and fit of a prospect?
Are there lists, forms, Calendly sign ups, something in the CRM to track things?
It will be total chaos, then everyone will be exhausted, jet lagged, and hungover.
If you don’t prep now, it will be 5 days after the conference that you’re following up and then everyone has forgotten you!
If you can afford a booth, go for it! But sometimes they’re a couple million dollars sooo…that may not be in the budget.
Activate Backup Plan!
Can you partner with someone else who has a booth and help them by manning the booth? Everyone is short staffed so a strategic partner may appreciate the help with customers or demos.
Or — host an event during the conference that’s close to the main location (but not an “official” conference event).
If that’s too expensive, send your best rep and have them set up meetings with all the ideal prospects attending. They can hold meetings at locations outside the conference hall.
They will also hustle their way into some events. TRUST ME. If your sales person can’t get in to a conference party, you should fire them. 😂
If you’re newish to conferencing, you may not realize that technology never works in conference halls.
This is largely by design.
Conference organizers want to force you into the $1,000,000-per-day-plus-naming-rights-to-your-first-child fees for fast internet.
Also, you’ll need to pay for a power outlet. That’s only $500,000. A bargain really.
One hack for crappy internet — open all the tabs you need for a demo and don’t let anyone change them! Click from tab to tab instead of waiting for pages to load in real time.
Other tech challenges not fabricated by the conference mafia are things like your demo stations being too crowded or paper being quicker than technology (e.g. business cards).
Having a PDF overview to hand out or let reps talk from is helpful.
A place to capture business cards or email addresses if needed is also good.
Yes, yes, of course you’ll have conference scanners and get the list of attendees. But that shit breaks and people are too busy fixing other scanners to fix yours.
So just have some lo-fi options if you can for back up!
**WARNING: Controversial Suggestion Ahead***
I saved my spiciest suggestion for last.
Design your super awesome giveaway raffle thing so that you pick who wins. And make it a great prospect so you have a reason to follow up.
Conferences halls are ruled by Viking law which legalizes swag raids, daytime drinking, and hand-picking business cards out of glass bowls.
If you’re upset by this, I’d like to remind you — IT’S A FREE IPAD, PEOPLE!!! You probably don’t need one anyway, you just like to win free shit.
(Note: I don’t actually recommend iPads. It’s just a great 2010 example. Here are the real lessons I’ve learned about what kind of gifts and swag customers like.)
Also, I’ve literally been at conference halls when everyone is packing up and watched all the booths around me doing this. So if you win something at a booth…you’re a great prospect and expect a sales rep to follow up relentlessly. Hope it was worth it! 😉
Regarding the prize — make it something a person wants. No discounts for your product or something that is an expense-able work item. GIVE ME SOMETHING FREE FOR MYSELF!! (says every conference attendee.)
What other conference advice do you have? Any special tips for startups or companies on a tight budget??
I love sharing tips and lessons from my 10+ years on the front lines of helping customers at startups.
Read MoreI love sharing tips and lessons from my 10+ years on the front lines of helping customers at startups.
I’ve made all the mistakes and learned from many excellent people!
If you’ve recently brought on new customers, hired your first customer-focused role, or you’ve started scaling and are hitting some growing pains…
I feel you and this is your new favorite blog post. 😉
It's the highlight reel of all the post-sales, how-to-serve-customers content I’ve shared in 2.5 years.
For long time O’Daily readers…if you’ve already read every blog, email me for a prize.
For everyone else, here’s a decade of information in <500 words (a few more if you read all the posts).
What are your go-to customer success blogs or articles???
Which people or companies put out your favorite content?
Share your recs! I’d love to do a roll up in a future post!
You’ve brought on your paying first customers. Woohoo!
Here is everything you need to know to keep your customers happy and get started on building an amazing customer experience.
The 1 Metric That Will Transform Your Customer Success Program
Good At Sales But Bad At Customer Success? Here’s How To Fix That
I’ve seen the evolution of customer implementations and onboarding at several B2B Saas companies and from many other customer success leaders in the industry.
Here are the best tips I’ve learned for welcoming customers, getting them started off right, and staying in touch.
Getting started is only half the battle. Helping customers realize long term success is the most powerful way to grow your business.
They renew, buy more, tell their colleagues and bosses, and bring you in when they change jobs.
THIS is how a billion dollar business is built.
And THESE 👇 are the retention and value strategies that the best companies are using.
Pricing is closely tied to customer success.
It needs to align with value, incentivize increased usage (and spending 😉), and be simple enough for your team and customers to follow.
Many companies have 5, 10, even 20 iterations — with updates and feedback coming from customer-facing roles.
These blogs take you through basic pricing strategy and real-life examples for every stage.
Don't forget to show your customers love! A thoughtful gift can be the difference between a cancellation and willingness to work through product challenges. And of course, you want to appreciate your biggest advocates!
Here are considerations, steps, and budget-friendly ideas for customer gifting.
Do you have any other recommendations for founders looking for Customer Success resources? What should be added to this Customer Success Guide? Do you enjoy receiving guides like this? What other types of guides would you like to see?
You found the perfect person for a role. Woohoo! But wait. You’re an early stage startup. Cash is tight. Here’s my top 4 recommendations for founders when thinking about and making offers to key employees!
Read MoreYou found the perfect person for a role. Woohoo!
But wait.
You’re an early stage startup.
Cash is tight.
This “perfect person” can make way more at a large company. You know it. They know it.
How do you get this person over the finish line without putting your company in a precarious cash position (aka pay them more than you can afford)??
Here’s my top 4 recommendations for founders when thinking about and making offers to key employees!
You have a lot to offer as a startup.
High salaries are not one of them. 😂
But you do offer:
Ability to make an impact and do meaningful work
Fast career growth
In-depth, behind-the-scenes business exposure
Daily access to the CEO 😉 (sounds ridiculous to you but it’s great learning and rarely happens at larger companies)
Stock options with exponential growth potential
Great culture (hopefully!)
Small team
Make sure you’re asking lots of questions to understand what the candidate is looking for and why so you can lean into that.
Unlike big companies, you can craft a job role, title, comp, description to match what a person is looking for.
Use your competitive advantage.
Salaries, healthcare, 401k matches, and many other benefits are expensive.
Even stock is not “free” (even though it may feel like Monopoly money at the moment!) because there are long term implications to fundraising and exit strategy if your cap table is overextended.
Here’s what you can offer:
Big title — “Head of” titles give you the ability to define levels (e.g. are they a VP or a Director?) later. But if someone great wants to be a VP, why not? Yes, you may have to layer them later (hire someone more senior who becomes their boss) BUT that’s a high class problem that many companies never have. Just like angry customers are a good sign, so is needing to hire more experienced leaders.
Flexibility — yes, you work your ass off in a startup. But letting people work from home a few days per week, work while traveling, or come in late/leave late do not cost you anything. As a working mom, the ability to pick my kids up from school when I need to is worth 10s if not 100s of thousands of dollars in salary. Seriously. Because that’s how much you’d be paying a nanny anyway.
Impact — people want their work to matter. I took a 25% pay cut (40-50% if you include benefits) and walked away from $50k+ of stock options to do more work. I wanted less politics, more action. Don’t underestimate the persuasiveness of meaningful work and allowing people to deliver results.
Culture — working with nice, talented, passionate people feels normal to you but is unique in the working world. Set your company’s core values, align to them, and let your workplace culture shine as a competitive differentiator.
Let the candidate choose their own (startup comp) adventure!
Option #1 - higher salary, fewer stock options
Option #2 - lower salary, more stock options
(How much equity? Here’s a great blog that we reference and share regularly.)
Note: “higher salary” = high end of the range you are comfortable with, not high salaries compared to market rate.
You can even offer a third in the middle if you’re so inclined.
Basically — let them decide what they want to optimize in their career and personal finances.
Do they need the higher base salary because they are supporting aging parents or bought a house? Can opt for more equity because their spouse is carrying the team as a lawyer?
Less stress for you to figure out the perfect salary/equity blend and you get good insight to what “I need a high salary” or “I want to have a meaningful stake” really means to them.
You want to compensate someone fairly without being irresponsible or hindering your ability to bring on other key hires.
Offering two variations of salary/equity comp is a great way to engage someone in the job offer process and be mindful of limited company resources.
Most roles don’t have bonuses or commission. It’s simpler for all involved.
(Sales, of course, is a huge exception!)
I wouldn’t proactively offer bonuses or variable comp for non-sales roles but sometimes it comes up as a strategy for attracting top talent at a lower base salary.
“Your base salary is here but as you/the company performs, we’ll get you up to your required salary through performance bonuses.”
Whenever possible — especially for sales roles and for any other roles that end up with variable comp — tie bonuses or commission structure to actually getting money in the door.
Sounds obvious but it’s easy to get into bonus structures or variable comp packages related to “key metrics” for a role instead of when the company gets revenue.
Examples (OF COMP STRATEGIES TO AVOID):
Marketing manager who gets a $10k bonus for hitting the pipeline creation target (theoretical pipeline…might not turn into revenue)
Customer success manager with variable comp for # of outreach calls (make it renewal orupsell instead)
When you are big and have lots of money…go for it. Incentivize however you want.
But as a scrappy startup, you want to pay variable compensation, commission, bonuses, incentives — whatever they are — in alignment with company revenue!
Examples (OF COMP ALIGNMENT):
Commissions get paid when the customer payment is received and not simply when the contract is signed.
Why?
Encourages sales reps to follow through on full sales process, customer solvency, and make sure the customer is a good fit.
Leadership team or company-wide bonuses are paid around revenue targets and cash efficiency.
Why?
Overhiring sales reps or overspending on marketing campaigns to hit the revenue target shouldn’t earn you a bonus!
Examples (OF SORT-OF EXCEPTIONS):
Business Development Reps (BDRs) often get paid commission on meetings set or demos booked. This makes sense especially if the sales cycle is longer and you have monthly demo targets. You want to keep the desired outcome and reward close enough together that it’s motivating (and financially viable for someone to pay their bills! Don’t pay demo commission 5 months after the demo happened.) Usually they will get a significant kicker (a % of the deal amount) if a deal closes!
In-house recruiters usually have a higher base salary and get paid commission when a hire “works out” aka has been with the company 120+ days.
Paying bonuses on money saved - I saw an engineer save a company upwards of several hundred thousand dollars per year with an effort to decrease hosting costs while keeping performance (it was an intentional money-saving initiative). With a measurable impact to company finances, it makes sense to pay a bonus or give a raise — as long as you’re careful with the precedent. If everyone starts downsizing tools or teammates to increase their own salary, that could get out of hand quickly. 😂
Getting top talent on a scrappy startup budget is a challenge but it’s absolutely possible! It’s one of the many places to apply your stellar sales skills as CEO 😉
Hellooooo dream team!
Who was the most amazing hire you recruited? How did you do it?
Any lessons learned or comp strategies that worked (or didn’t)??
What did you walk away from to join a startup???
I love these! Shoot me a note!
What are the most successful entrepreneurs, business people, and leaders doing? Am I doing it? Seemingly small things can make a huge difference in how you feel, perform, are treated by others, and long-term success.
Read MoreI’m a student of the game.
What are the most successful entrepreneurs, business people, and leaders doing?
Am I doing it?
Seemingly small things can make a huge difference in how you feel, perform, are treated by others, and long-term success.
Here are 6 things that I’ve learned from years of being “at the table” with top CEOs, founders, investors, and executives.
I recommend these often, especially to folks early in their career, anyone “breaking into” the business world, or someone wanting to uplevel or be taken more seriously.
Many of these things did not come naturally to me, but I realized they were important.
I did them anyway, practiced a LOT, and — surprise, surprise — got better at them!
Salaries, revenue, pricing, fundraising details. Compare notes.
When you talk about money, you get information!
You also show you are a business person.
When I’m with experienced business people, the conversation naturally turns to revenue, margin, salaries, financial decisions, contract terms, and more.
Talking about money is how you know what is normal and how to negotiate the best deal for yourself or your company!
It’s also the love language of investors. 😍
I don’t like this one. I really wish I didn’t have to.
But when people ask me what I do, I say “Partner” in the first sentence.
Why?
Because when I try the more humble, generic “I’m with Atlanta Ventures,” they say, “Oh, like operations?”
(Happened multiple times before I learned to say Partner.)
Ditto for when I said, “I run operations” instead of COO.
One amazing, very tactical takeaway from an executive training program for women founders was to always introduce yourself as:
“I’m <FirstName, LastName>, founder and CEO of <CompanyName>.”
It sounds cringey when you say it in your head or the first few times aloud.
But when you hear someone else do it with casual, matter-of-fact-ness (comes with practice), it sounds normal and awesome!
After a few times, it becomes second nature. Plus it is a great conversation starter and provides immediate context when you meet someone.
This article changed my life. Literally.
I read it the same week that I saw this:
Person #1 walked into a meeting, apologizing profusely for being late, saying that they overslept their alarm, it’s never happened before, and they’re so so sorry.
Person #2 walked into the same meeting, a day later, also 10 minutes late. They walked in without apology, as if they had been doing something important that had kept them away, sat down, and said nothing.
This is just one tiny example of a pattern I see often!
Same scenario, different reactions, which lead to different expectations and perceptions — even though the 10-minute-late reality was the same for both people!
Person #1 can’t be late again or it becomes a “pattern.” They were flustered, and ended up over-apologizing.
Person #2 remained calm, collected, confident, unapologetic. Everyone assumed they had been on a client call, breakfast meeting, or tied up with something important. They didn’t pay a social or work penalty for being late.
When you feel like you have to justify or explain every second you’re not at your desk, decline a meeting, leave early, show up late, haven’t replied instantly, don’t work 80 hours/week…it’s exhausting! (And easy to burn out.)
Everyone — even the hardest working, most dedicated business people — are taking time for family, personal to-dos, doctors appointments, a weekend getaway.
They aren’t broadcasting it. They are still getting their shit done. And so are you!
I talk about saying no all the time (for example, here, here, here, here) because it’s such a powerful (and challenging!) life skill.
It’s similar to not over-explaining your time as it relates to focus, prioritization, and staying in the game long term.
One key thing I’ve noticed:
Successful people don’t justify or explain their “no.”
“I can’t make it but have a wonderful time.”
“I have a conflict at that time but I could do xyz.”
“Please proceed without me.”
Now, you may say, it’s easy for them to give a “no” without explaining because they are a big deal. I’m just a nobody who has to explain myself, you may be saying.
FALSE.
I’ve known these “successful” people for years and they’ve being saying no (without justifying it) for a long time. Part of why they’re successful is because they are willing to say no.
Here’s the other thing:
99% of people don’t care that you said no and they spend less than .0001 second thinking about it.
They’re too busy worrying about their own “no” to care about yours! 😂
There’s 100 different ways to say no or set boundaries that’s polite without having a “legit” excuse like, I have to amputate my own leg today so I’ll be running late.
Watch a circle of experienced business folks or high powered executives introduce themselves. Everyone says first and last name.
My dad answered his cell phone for 30 years with “Jack Honderd here” like you might not know which Jack you were calling. 😂
When you hear someone’s last name, you’re more likely to:
Remember them (thus better follow up, asking for an intro later, mentioning their name another time)
Realize that you know them or have a mutual connection (thus solidifying the relationship further)
Understand who they are by recognizing their name (thus asking better questions, tailoring the pitch, knowing the decision maker)
Get the subtle signal that they are someone worthy of a first-and-last intro! 😉
Did I find it a little cringe-y and weird at first? Yes!
Do I still practice this today? Yes!
Do I think it’s a very important habit and social cue? Yes!
I’ve mentioned it before and shared a video about my own experience.
It’s so important, here it is again!
Highly successful people don’t wait to be called on.
Yes, they are good listeners and socially appropriate.
But also, they add to the conversation. They share their perspective. They contribute to the discussion equally. They believe their thoughts, experience, or questions add value.
They do not see themselves as a recipient or “lucky” to be there. They are a valued participant in any meeting or interaction.
Don’t be afraid to interrupt, especially if someone is monopolizing the conversation.
If you wait patiently for your turn, it might never come.
Make your own turn.
Jump in and add value like the peer that you are!
What habits have worked for you? Have you noticed anything particularly effective?
I’d love to hear from you! Reply to the email or share in the blog comments. If we get enough responses, we’ll do a follow up with audience suggestions :)
Blogs are helpful but sometimes you just need real humans! Big events, small events, panels, parties, workouts, virtual — whatever your style, the next few months are packed with potential! Here are a few that I’ll be hosting or attending.
Read MoreBlogs are helpful but sometimes you just need real humans!
Big events, small events, panels, parties, workouts, virtual — whatever your style, the next few months are packed with potential!
Here are a few that I’ll be hosting or attending.
Can you make it? What type of events are your favorite? Do you dislike networking like I do? 😉
Please feel free to add other events you’re excited about in the comments!
📅 Fri, Aug 16, 7:45a
📍Atlanta Tech Village
Nothing brings people together like suffering in the Atlanta heat. 😂 And you’ll get your workout and networking all wrapped up by 9am!
I’ve also heard rumors of early access nutrition products…if you happen to like cutting edge performance tech (I do!).
Thanks to TrackCred for hosting!
P.S. It’s TrackCred founder Denis Cranstoun’s birthday. I’d tell you about the surprise treats but then I’d have to kill you. 😉🥳😂
📅 Wed, Aug 28, 9-10a
📍Virtual
Join me and fellow Atlanta Ventures partner, A.T. Gimbel, for an informal Q&A sesh. Common topics include fundraising, product development, how to get early customers, what we look for when investing, and more!
📅 Thu, Sep 19, 5-7p
📍ATDC Offices in Tech Square
Join me and some of my favorite folks — Kaitlin Hagan, Rahul Saxena, Seth Radman, Robert “RED” Daniel — for a high energy panel on entrepreneurship!
Everyone has extensive and varied front-line startup experience.
They will have practical advice and stories from the trenches. My favorite kind (and hopefully yours too!)
📅 Mon, Oct 7 - Thu, Oct 10
📍Woodruff Arts Center
*THE* event of the year. Largest venture conference in the Southeast. (Prepare yourself.) Investors come from all over the country to check out the top startups in the region.
Tons of auxiliary events. I love the Founder + Funder Social Jog on Tues morning and the Female Founders Dinner on Wed evening. Excited to see a volunteer activity from Hands on Atlanta and Endeavor on Thurs.
For investors, the Monday night Venture Crawl will tour Atlanta tech hubs including behind-the-scenes look at South Downtown!
Founder tickets are reasonable, Woodruff Arts Center is a great venue, and I don’t know a single startup who attended who wasn’t excited about the connections they made.
📅 Tue, Oct 1 - Sat, Oct 19
📍All Over Atlanta!
Come for Venture Atlanta, stay for InnovATL.
A coordinated calendar of startup and innovation-focused events over 2 weeks in the glorious early October weather.
Techstars Demo Day, Main Street Demo Day, Startup Awards, and approximately 1,728,286 more events.
Bring your caffeine drip and book an Atlanta Tech Village nap room now. 🥳💪🍑
📅 Wed, Nov 13, 12p
📍Atlanta Tech Village
I’ll bring the hard hitting questions for Christine de Wendel, who scaled multiple unicorns before founding SundayApp, where she is CEO and has raised over $125M.
Oh yeah, she also has 3 kids and is a wonderful human.
I will dive into Christine’s amazing journey including:
Raising big money from top tier investors
Lessons from scaling billion dollar companies
Founder vs. C-suite mentality
Bringing European lifestyle to US startup culture
Picking big markets, building product, growing teams, and much more!
Want to learn how she does it?
Me too!
This is part of Women + Tech programming but all are welcome!
Mark your calendars and check back here for registration which will open soon.
📅 TBD
📍Charlotte, NC
Still hammering out the details but GET EXCITED because I love collaborating with gWen.
I’ll be heading to Charlotte in the next few months to hang with top tier founders.
All I can promise is that it will be both (a) value-add and (b) really fun!
Did I miss something? Absolutely! I can never capture all that’s going on in this bustling startup world!
Here are some of my favorite event calendars…that will still only be the tip of the iceberg!
And of course, here’s a list of my favorite resources, groups, and tactics for getting a pulse on Atlanta and finding other tech folks.
It’s the first time we’re posting upcoming events on The O’Daily.
Do you like an occasional event roll up here?
Or prefer events on LinkedIn with the O’Daily strictly as startup advice?
Press reply and let me know! #always-be-testing-and-asking-for-feedback 😁
Please feel free to drop other upcoming events with details and registration links in the comments below! 👇
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