This month we’re pivoting our focus to help those of you who are suffering from what is clearly “pandemic paralysis.” We are collectively in a time of “business unusual” which is causing a lot of uncertainty and business volatility.

Having helmed businesses that survived the dot com crash of 2001, and the massive economic downturn from 2007 - 2009, here are my three best pieces of advice to help you weather this pandemic storm.

As we roll into Spring conference season, New Year’s resolutions often go out the window... hijacked by time zone changes, cocktail hours, and conference programs that are jammed from early in the morning to late in the night.

One of the most important relationships for a founder, and at times the most tenuous, is the one with their investors. Whether you’ve raised money from friends and family, angel investors, or a Venture fund, here are our top three strategies for building and maintaining strong relationships.

You have $100. You can either acquire 4 new customers or keep 20 of the ones you have. Which would you do?

Some of you will hedge, “Well, it depends on the customers.” True. “How much are the new customers worth?” Valid point. Simple example aside, new customer acquisition can run at least 5x more than the cost of retaining existing clients. And yet, companies spend considerable time, energy and resources on new customer acquisition, often relegating retention efforts to the back burner.

Whether you’re an entrepreneur going out to look for funding in Q1 or a sales person looking to drive higher conversion rates in 2020, pitch decks are paramount to whether you close a round or a sale. Here are our top tips for successful pitching.

Whether you’re a founder at a growing startup thinking about a Series A financing, or an executive team looking to capitalize on the business you’ve built over the last 10 years, there’s one foundational thing you should prioritize this year if you want to take your company to the next level: accurate historical and projected financials.

The number one question posed to us at ScaleHouse by the founders and executive teams we work with is “what is my company worth?” Although we can estimate valuation ranges through methods like discounted cash flow, comparable company and precedent transaction analysis, what a company may be worth (and to whom!) is highly nuanced. Markets and buyers are in constant flux. Rather than worrying about the valuation of your business today, we encourage firms to focus on growth via the following four strategies that historically drive higher valuations, regardless of market fluctuations.

Are you dreaming of your summer break? Counting down to unplugging from it all? What if we worked in companies we didn’t need to take a summer vacation or holiday from? What if we didn’t push ourselves to the brink of mental exhaustion with the expectation we’d be able to recharge over a long weekend or a week off? If we are physically unable to work (i.e., illness, injury) the expectation is we’ll log off for the day or until we’re well enough to work. But what if it’s our mental wellness that’s out of whack? What are the expectations then?

I’ve read a fair number of articles on growth over the course of my career and I can tell you, firsthand, how easy it is to get distracted by the newest, shiniest bauble of advice. Just like the latest tech device or a cool new app, it’s easy to grab on to new ideas and hope for the best— without really having an understanding of how impactful a new strategy or tip or trick might truly be.