How much frugality do you need to build a million-dollar business today? — It was a fantastic summer day in our corporate lawyer’s office. I had just signed an investment deal securing millions of dollars for my start-up. A heavy thousand-dollar Montblanc ballpen was still lingering in my hand. “You can keep it,” said one of the investors, waving his palm at the…

How I escaped burnout’s unhealthy cycle of doom — Last year I was restructuring my company and eventually selling it. I obsessed about doing the best possible work I could. I scheduled every minute of my day for anything that seemed useful — anything that would make me feel worthy and help me avoid any shame for being lazy. …

Unleash One Hour of Genius Per Day — One day, I watched a sparrow from my office window. The bird would pick bread crumbs from the ground while anxiously hopping around and watching out for predators. Doing several things at the same time was its strategy to survive. Birds do it; bees do it: they multitask. But we…

Strengthen your business and maximize your wealth by avoiding these bad apples — Despite my twelve years of building a tech company and getting it acquired, I still haven’t evolved into the most confident founder. I often believe other people are smarter, more experienced, and know better than me. …

Stop hustling eighty hours a week, and start building your business like a system. — Twelve years ago, I started my journey to create a fantastic company and committed myself to doing whatever “work” was necessary to succeed. So I worked. Ten, twelve, sixteen hours a day. Seven days a week. Even when I was at home, my mind was at work. I went to…

Understand your startup team’s true motivations beyond a paycheck — When my employees ask me for a raise, I stare at them in awkward silence for a few seconds: Should I sign the check or tell them they’re insane? Most HR professionals recommend biting your tongue and not responding immediately. Performance consultant Dick Grote suggests a simple, three-word sentence: “Tell…

Always pack five raincoats even if it’s sunny outside — “What a wonderful day,” I gasped as I opened my bedroom blinds with bright morning sunlight flashing into my eyes. By noon, black clouds covered the sky, pouring heaven until the next morning. When I got home, my white sneakers were smeared with dirt, and my lungs were gasping with…

You’ll never hear this from billionaire entrepreneurs, but learning from small online sellers can change how you run your business — When I founded my company twelve years ago, I made a stand to take it to a multi-million-dollar exit. Startups have to think big. Inside our fancy startup incubator, we — the founders — gossipped about recent billion-dollar exits of renowned startups and bragged about investors who offered the most…

Choose the right product and win the game — In the early 90s, I would sneak into my dad’s office after school and play Commander Keen until my eyes bled. Playing arcades had a hypnotic effect on my young, immature brain: practice, learn all traps, and you will win the game every time. Fast-forward 30 years, my philosophy of…