International expansion: get on the ground (and make a fool of yourself)
The only way to understand a new market is to go there. Learn the language, hire great locals, and expect to get things wrong.
Blog
Thoughts on getting things done.
Litmus tests: are your teams set up well or badly?
Three quick tests to tell if your teams are organised well or badly — before the problems become obvious.
Organizing by function creates overhead you don't need
Functional org structures look clean on paper. In practice they create bottlenecks, unclear ownership, and a lot of wasted meetings.
Setting up teams to get sh** done: the 80% Rule
Introducing the 80% Rule: each team should be able to deliver 80% of its mission without depending on anyone else.
Picking a name for your business
A practical guide to choosing a business name — what matters, what doesn't, and a checklist to avoid the obvious mistakes.
My favourite hiring tips
Hiring for a new venture is different. Small teams need people who've done it before, can explain it clearly, and wear multiple hats without complaint.
Six easy pieces: the essentials of setting up a new venture
Six principles for setting up a new venture properly: founders, autonomy, people, relationships, space, and governance.
Org for new ventures matters. A lot.
Organisation is the most under-rated factor in new venture success. Get it wrong early and you're building on sand.
This is a blog about new ventures
What this blog is about, and why 'new ventures' is a more interesting problem than startups or scale-ups alone.