Startup = Growth. No company can grow forever with just one product. The best startups launch, buy, and grow many products. Xerox → PARC Google → X Amazon → Grand Challenge Google → Alphabet Facebook → Meta Keeping their startups in perpetual studio mode is key to staying relevant for another generation. Running an indieContinue reading “Studios vs. Startups”
Tag Archives: Founders
Founders vs. VCs
If you’re really ambitious in startups, there’s only ever been two paths: founder vs. VC. Founders go deep on one company. VCs get to build a broad portfolio. So they’re incentivized to keep founders locked up in their original startups. They don’t want founders to diversify. VCs want a portfolio for themselves but not forContinue reading “Founders vs. VCs”
Utopic Studio
Indie = 100% Ownership I’m prioritizing independence in this phase of my career. Individual startups in my portfolio can and will raise outside capital when they’re ready to be independent. But Utopic LLC, the original parent company, will always stay 100% mine. Startup = Anything I Want to Create Any funding: Bootstrapped → VC/PE AnyContinue reading “Utopic Studio”
Personal Capital
Personal Capital > Venture Capital They’d quit if they had $100K+ to cover their next 1-2 years. Example: I meet brilliant engineers who work at Fortune 500 companies and have awesome startup ideas, but they’re scared to launch them because their employment contracts say all IP they create is owned by their companies. Think: 360Continue reading “Personal Capital”
360 Deals for Founders
In the music industry, a 360 deal is where a record label provides an artist with financial, marketing, and distribution support in exchange for a percentage of future revenue streams. Help founders create their own startup studios. This gives founders the freedom to think big and quickly take multiple shots on goal. Motown Records’ 360 dealsContinue reading “360 Deals for Founders”
Utopic Ventures
This idea is a work-in-progress. If you’d like to riff on it, hit me up @neilthanedar on Twitter!