Transparency and business: Four critical things business owners need to know

There’s a growing culture of openness in society today, and the business world is caught up in the trend. It’s generally felt that being transparent about your operations is good for business.

In this blog, I want to address the limits of transparency. Because while in general I’m all for it, I also believe that businesses have to be aware of the consequences of releasing too much (or too little) information.

Topics: CEO

SaaS KPIs: Which to focus on at each stage of your company's growth

They may sound obvious, but these words from Paul Graham, the co-founder of Viaweb and Y Combinator, have grown into a truism for startup founders:

“A startup is a company designed to grow fast.”

And if that startup is a SaaS (software as a service) company, Graham’s words could perhaps become “designed to grow really fast.”

Topics: CEO, Metrics and KPIs

Top Takeaways from the 2017 Gartner Data & Analytics Conference in Texas

Last week, in Grapevine Texas, Gartner hosted its annual lovefest for over 3,000 data and analytics professionals from mostly large global companies and from the 60+ vendors exhibiting at the show.

Gartner is a major information technology research and advisory company, and there is really nothing small or mid-sized about the firm’s annual flagship conference for the business intelligence community.

Topics: CEO

What venture capitalists look for: Six things VCs want to see before they invest.

This is the third in a series of postings on the venture capital investment process, and what startups need to know about VCs – venture capitalists. I want to share what I’ve learned about how VCs work and what questions young entrepreneurs need to be asking. Last time, I offered my insights about what entrepreneurs need to know before they look for startup funding. Today, I want to look at the questions VCs will be asking you – and how you should think about them.

Topics: CEO, Klipfolio

How $12M in Series B funding will accelerate our mission to give businesses real-time access to all of their metrics

We have some big and exciting news to share. Klipfolio has closed its Series B round of financing. We raised $12 million (Cdn) in a pre-emptive insider’s round led by OMERS Ventures and with the participation of all our existing investors. This is the third equity round for the company and it brings our total funding to $19.6 million.

Topics: CEO, News and Events, Klipfolio

Four critical things entrepreneurs need to know about startup funding

This is the second in a series of postings on what startups need to know about VCs – venture capitalists. I want to share what I’ve learned about how VCs work and what questions young entrepreneurs need to be asking. Last time, I took a look at what VCs and angel investors are and how they operate. In this posting, I give my insights about what entrepreneurs need to know before they look for startup funding.

Topics: CEO, Klipfolio

Six things startups need to know about venture capitalists

There are several ways for startups to raise money. One is to appeal to VCs – venture capitalists. Today, I’m kicking off a series of postings on what startups need to know about VCs. I want to share what I’ve learned about how VCs work and what questions young entrepreneurs need to be asking. First: What a VC is, and how they work.

Topics: CEO, Klipfolio

Seasonality in a SaaS startup: How to fight summer slowdown

Do things slow down during the summer? For many businesses – yes. But that doesn’t mean yours should. Entrepreneurs need to take the time to learn about their business, understand its cycles – and then see what they can do to take advantage of them. Here’s what we did this summer.

Topics: CEO, Klipfolio

Four tips for writing an executive summary that will actually get read

With so much information available, it is more important than ever to come to the point. Most people don’t have time to sift through reams of detail. Being able to condense information down to one page is an important skill. In this day and age, shorter is better.

Topics: CEO, Tips and Techniques, Klipfolio

Why you need to own your mistakes

We all screw up at some point. But in my experience, it’s not the mistakes that hurt a business – it’s how the business reacts to them. There are negative consequences to hiding a mistake, denying it or brushing it under the rug. Conversely, a business that takes ownership of its mistakes can actually create goodwill and improve its image among its clients.

Topics: CEO, Klipfolio