startups - Matt Munson

Comparing our insides to everybody else's outsides

Looking back, I can see that in my earliest days as a founder and CEO I was comparing my insides to everybody else’s outsides. That was not a recipe for success.

founder psychology

Escaping the misery of self-comparison

Struck with self-loathing every time you hear of someone else's success? You are not alone.

cofounder issues

The unspoken pain of co-founder relationships

Cofounder relationships are at the heart of most startup stories. But like most marriages, there’s as much pain and struggle as joy and collaboration. Often more. Why is no one talking about this?

burnout

Are You Valuable if You Don't Get Shit Done?

This time of isolation and slowness has me facing a lifelong message I carry: that my value is tied to my productivity. If I work hard and have output to show for it, I matter and deserve to exist. That message no longer serves me. It might not be serving you either.

cofounder issues

10 Questions Every Cofounder Team Should Discuss

Most early-stage companies fail because of cofounder conflict. Here are 10 questions to help create alignment early.

sales

How to Get Your First Customers So Your Company Doesn’t Die

Our company almost died in 2015. Most B2B companies with good products struggle because they don’t find predictable, scalable methods of acquiring customers. If you’re exploring a sales-driven acquisition strategy, here’s how to test, validate, and scale your engine. Because death sucks.

startups

So You Wanna Advise Startups? Here’s How to Do More Good Than Harm.

The advisory relationship is one of the most helpful and misunderstood relationships in the startup world. Here’s how to get involved if you’re a domain expert and a mensch and why to stay the fuck away from founders if you’re not.

startups

How to find great advisors for your startup (and avoid the shit ones)

The advisory relationship is one of the most helpful and misunderstood relationships in the startup world. Here’s my personal take on how to get the best out of an advisory relationship from either side.

coaching

Why I’ve Decided to Start Coaching Startup Leaders

I spent 7 years running my last venture-backed startup. I don’t know if I would have survived without the help of the leadership coaches who came alongside me and helped me transform the way I understood the role of a leader. The work changed me as a person, as

startups

Why I Might Never Start Another Company

As I’ve begun to look into the abyss of what might be next, I am realizing there is no way to find my way to a real answer of the work that is mine to do without casting off this identity and these assumptions.

leadership

The Hardest and Most Important Change You Can Make as a CEO

Tears rolled down my face. I walked down Sandhill Road next to the famous venture capitalist who only days earlier had handed me a generous term sheet. Now, I was telling her my life was falling apart and explaining why she’d likely want to pull the term sheet and work with someone else.