Every day people approach company leaders with problems in need of a quick fix. “The team is going to miss its deadline if we don’t do something about it” they’ll say, or “we just had some some really bad customer feedback and we need to make good. What do you…

As a startup founder, shutting down your business will be one of the hardest decisions you’ll ever have to make. However sometimes it’s also the smartest option. Especially if you’re able to close things down gracefully, give folks a good severance package and potentially return some unused funds to investors…

As the technology landscape continues to evolve, so does the field of design. The rise of industrialization and automation has led to a shift from traditional craft skills to more assembly-based work. With the development of AI, we are seeing the possibility of even more automation in design. This raises…

Most people massively over complicate the concept of “strategy”. Ultimately a strategy is the general approach you are going to take in order to deliver your company mission/goals. Having a clear strategy is important as it allows people to decide between competing approaches, markets, customer segments, activities and product features…

I’ve been visiting Japan for the past 10+ years, so friends often tap me up for recommendations. It happens so often that I created my own Tokyo guide, which I’m happy to share with anybody who asks. Recently a friend of mine asked for recommendations on LinkedIn, and another friend…

I have an Evernote folder with over 400 ideas for blog posts I’ve not got round to writing (and probably never will). Some are just one or two sentence ideas. Others are little more than a list of notes. Some are a stream of consciousness, while a few are almost…

The end of the year is a natural time for self reflection. It’s an opportunity to take stock and consider the accomplishments you made over the past 12 months. The big things are usually obvious. You made these hires, you worked on these projects, you shipped these features and, if…

As a newly minted Venture Partner I’ve seen a few hundred pitches and pitch decks the past 12 months. While this is nothing compared with some of my peers, I’ve noticed a few clear patterns start to emerge. Patterns which, if founders were better prepared, would significantly increase their chances…

There was a time, not so long ago, when you could expect a polite acknowledgement of a job application, an explanation of the process and steps involved, and feedback if you weren’t successful. These days, ghosting candidates seems to be the norm. Hiring managers will claim that they are inundated…