Startup CEO: A Field Guide to Scaling Up Your Business + Website

Praise for Startup CEO "One of the key principles of the Lean Startup movement is that entrepreneurship is management. In Startup CEO, Matt Blumberg provides a comprehensive guide to every facet of entrepreneurial management. An essential and practical guide for entrepreneurs everywhere." —Eric Ries, author, The Lean Startup "There′s no silver bullet for building a great company. Startup CEO deciphers the challenging, complex, uncertain, and oftentimes lonely role of a first–time CEO without oversimplifying it." —Ben Horowitz, cofounder and General Partner, Andreessen Horowitz "I′ve been on Matt′s board for more than a decade, and I′ve watched him develop into one of the finest CEOs I′ve had the pleasure to work with. With Startup CEO, Matt allows other entrepreneurs to profit from his years of experience and emulate his remarkable example." —Fred Wilson, cofounder, Union Square Ventures "There is the one–in–a–million company that catches lightning in a bottle and grows like a weed without care and feeding. For the rest of us, there′s Startup CEO , the how–to manual for getting there the old–fashioned way. This book will be your coach, mentor, and advisor in any situation you or your company are likely to encounter." —David Rosenblatt, CEO, 1stdibs "Startup CEO is the definitive book for any CEO—first time or otherwise—of a high–growth company. While dozens of books have been written about starting businesses, it′s time for entrepreneurs to focus on scaling them. Matt shows them how." —Brad Feld, Managing Director, Foundry Group

FOREWORD XIII ACKNOWLEDGMENTS XV ABOUT THE AUTHOR XIX INTRODUCTION XXI PART ONE: STORYTELLING 1 CHAPTER ONE Dream the Possible Dream 3 CHAPTER TWO Defi ning and Testing the Story 11 CHAPTER THREE Telling the Story to Your Investors 19 CHAPTER FOUR Telling the Story to Your Team 27 CHAPTER FIVE Revising the Story 37 CHAPTER SIX Bringing the Story to Life 47 PART TWO: BUILDING THE COMPANY’S HUMAN CAPITAL 57 CHAPTER SEVEN Fielding a Great Team 59 CHAPTER EIGHT The CEO as Functional Supervisor 71 CHAPTER NINE Crafting Your Company’s Culture 77 CHAPTER TEN The Hiring Challenge 87 CHAPTER ELEVEN Every Day in Every Way, We Get a Little Better 99 CHAPTER TWELEVE Compensation 111 CHAPTER THIRTEEN Promoting 119 CHAPTER FOURTEEN Rewarding: “It’s the Little Things” That Matter 125 CHAPTER FIFTEEN Managing Remote Offi ces and Employees 131 CHAPTER SIXTEEN Firing: When It’s Not Working 135 PART THREE: EXECUTION 143 CHAPTER SEVENTEEN Creating a Company Operating System 145 CHAPTER EIGHTEEN Creating Your Operating Plan and Setting Goals 149 CHAPTER NINETEEN Making Sure There’s Enough Money in the Bank 159 CHAPTER TWENTY The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Financing 165 CHAPTER TWENTY–ONE When and How to Raise Money 175 CHAPTER TWENTY–TWO Forecasting and Budgeting 181 CHAPTER TWENTY–THREE Collecting Data 189 CHAPTER TWENTY–FOUR Managing in Tough Times 195 CHAPTER TWENTY–FIVE Meeting Routines 201 CHAPTER TWENTY–SIX Driving Alignment 211 CHAPTER TWENTY–SEVEN Have You Learned Your Lesson? 217 CHAPTER TWENTY–EIGHT Going Global 223 CHAPTER TWENTY–NINE The Role of M&A 229 CHAPTER THIRTY Competition 239 CHAPTER THIRTY–ONE Failure 243 PART FOUR: BUILDING AND LEADING A BOARD OF DIRECTORS 251 CHAPTER THIRTY–TWO The Value of a Good Board 253 CHAPTER THIRTY–THREE Building Your Board 257 CHAPTER THIRTY–FOUR Board Meeting Materials 267 CHAPTER THIRTY–FIVE Running Eff ective Board Meetings 271 CHAPTER THIRTY–SIX Non–Board Meeting Time 279 CHAPTER THIRTY–SEVEN Decision Making and the Board 281 CHAPTER THIRTY–EIGHT Working with the Board on Your Compensation and Review 287 CHAPTER THIRTY–NINE Serving on Other Boards 293 PART FIVE: MANAGING YOURSELF SO YOU CAN MANAGE OTHERS 301 CHAPTER FORTY Creating a Personal Operating System 303 CHAPTER FORTY–ONE Working with an Executive Assistant 311 CHAPTER FORTY–TWO Working with a Coach 317 CHAPTER FORTY–THREE The Importance of Peer Groups 323 CHAPTER FORTY–FOUR Staying Fresh 327 CHAPTER FORTY–FIVE Your Family 337 CHAPTER FORTY–SIX Traveling 345 CHAPTER FORTY–SEVEN Taking Stock 349 A NOTE ON EXITS 355 CONCLUSION 359 WHAT DID I MISS? 360 BIBLIOGRAPHY 361 ABOUT THE COMPANION WEB SITE 365 INDEX 367 EXCERPT FROM STARTUP BOARDS 373

Matt Blumberg founded Return Path in 1999 because he believed the world needed email to work better. He is passionate about enhancing the online relationship between email subscribers and marketers so that both sides of the equation benefit. It is with great pride that he has watched this initial creation grow to a company of more than 400 employees with a market-leading brand, innovative products, and the email industry's most renowned experts. Before Return Path, Blumberg ran marketing, product management, and the Internet group for Moviefone, Inc. (later acquired by AOL). Prior to that, he served as an associate with private equity firm General Atlantic Partners and was a consultant with Mercer Management Consulting. He holds a BA from Princeton University.