Corporate… New Year’s Resolution: The Two Purposes of Forcing Functions 2 Jan 2026 Happy new year! The holiday season is a time of reflection. I hope that past year was a good one and wish you even more success in the year ahead!…
Corporate… Cultivating Cohesive Startup Boards to Thrive in Crucible Moments 19 Nov 202522 Dec 2025 In 2000, amidst the DotCom bust, I was asked to mediate a dispute between a CEO and his Board. The company, having raised $100 million and on the brink of…
Financial… Six Product Market Fit Principles That Drive Startup Success 21 Jul 2025 Product Market Fit progresses through three phases: product, business and financial validation. We discuss six practices that improve startup success by accelerating progress through these three stages. “We don’t have…
Corporate… Who Scorecard: Executive Recruitment and Assessment 20 Jul 2025 Who is your number one problem. Not what. Talent is the key success factor for any startup. No other factor is close. The Who Scorecard aligns views on job qualifications…
Author… THINK: Make Comments Count 18 Jan 202519 Jan 2025 THINK was the one engraved sign that adorned the desk of Thomas Watson, founder of the world’s most powerful technology company. In the 1950s, IBM had over a 50% market…
Author… Be Exothermic: Igniting the Startup Flywheel 16 Jan 202523 Jan 2025 Last week was a reawakening of sorts. A four-hour drive for my first in person business meeting since last March seemed a minor inconvenience after a lockdown that included nearly…
Author… Founder Fit: Insight Driven Innovation 16 Jan 202523 Jan 2025 Founder Opportunity Fit Framework Venture investors profess preference for industry disruptors, yet this review finds that investors more readily back incremental innovation with credentialed founders than industry disruptors sponsored by…
Business Area… Experience vs. Insight: What Makes a Successful Founder? 16 Jan 202523 Jan 2025 What do Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Larry Page, Sergey Brin and Michael Dell have in common? These founders of Microsoft, Facebook, Tesla, Google and Dell have created pathbreaking…
Startup Cairns 