Table of Contents
Introduction 1
1 Coming From Where I’m From 3
Triple Threat 6
2 The Difference 16
Focus 25
3 Bootstrapping versus Raising Capital 28
Professional Services to Startup 28
On the Bootstrapping Process 31
Repeatable and Predictable Revenue, Regardless 38
Money Can’t Be the Only Motivation 39
4 Idea to Product: Building a Startup 42
Starting With Funding 42
Starting Without Funding 43
What Not to Do When Starting a Company 44
You’ll Never Get Going Unless 45
5 Building a Team 49
Hiring and Finding Freelancers and Others 49
Out of the Gate 57
Contingency versus Retained Recruiters 59
Get Out of the Way 62
6 I Hear You, But I Need Capital 67
Financing Terminology 68
Preparing to Raise 70
What Legal Documents Should I Use? 71
7 Raising a Pre-Seed $400,000 79
Pre-Seed, Better Known as a Friends-and-Family Round 79
The Pitch 85
8 Accelerators and Pitch Competitions? Bang or Bust 89
9 Raising My Seed Round 98
10 Product Market Fit 103
Sales: Remember Predictable, Repeatable Revenue? 103
11 Raising a Series A 107
12 Holy Crap—A Pandemic! 113
Prioritizing Mental Well-Being 116
13 The Murder of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and BLM 119
The Talk I Had With My Team 123
The Role of Philanthropy in Creating Equity 125
Systemic Issues Facing Black-Led Technology Companies 126
14 My Hopes, and Losing an Icon 129
The Role Technology Plays 129
On Building Generational Wealth 132
Appendix 137
Glossary 139
Rate Sheet 145
Online Resources 149
About the Author 151
Index 153
