Encourage Leadership: A picture of a man wearing a gray suit with a white collared shirt and orange tie. He is visible from his mid-chest up to his chin. His hands are straightening his tie and jacket. The words "Follow me" show in the lower left of the picture.

How to act like a VC-backed startup (#11: Encourage leadership at all levels)

Dave Labowitz Leadership, Scale

“Encourage leadership at all levels” is the eleventh part of a twelve-part series. It’s a deep look behind the scenes of the “business playbook” that makes VC-backed companies successful and how to apply these lessons to your business. If you’re looking for the introduction to the series and first article, please click here. If you’re looking for other articles in …

Seven icons of a person in a circle, representing people and businesses. They are connected with lines, forming a network. One of the icons is orange, representing you. This image is symbolic of a startup ecosystem, of which you are a part.

How to act like a VC-backed startup (#10: Engage in your local startup ecosystem)

Dave Labowitz Scale

“Engage in your local startup ecosystem” is the tenth part of a twelve-part series. It’s a deep look behind the scenes of the “business playbook” that makes VC-backed companies successful and how to apply these lessons to your business. If you’re looking for the introduction to the series and first article, please click here. If you’re looking for other articles …

a picture of a notebook sitting on a wooden table. The notebook is open, with a pen sitting in the binding's crease between pages. This image is to suggest people document things better.

How to act like a VC-backed startup (#9: Create copious documentation)

Dave Labowitz Scale

“Create copious documentation” is the ninth part of a twelve-part series. It’s a deep look behind the scenes of the “business playbook” that makes VC-backed companies successful and how to apply these lessons to your business. If you’re looking for the introduction to the series and first article, please click here. If you’re looking for other articles in the series, …

A picture of bar chart, with the bars in black. They're growing up and to the right. There is a silhouette of a man, carrying a briefcase, climbing up the bars as if they were steps. There is a blueish, cartoon-style city skyline in the background. This image is here to represent a career path.

How to act like a VC-backed startup (#8: Build career paths for your team)

Dave Labowitz Scale

“Build career paths for your team” is the eighth part of a twelve-part series. It’s a deep look behind the scenes of the “business playbook” that makes VC-backed companies successful and how to apply these lessons to your business. If you’re looking for the introduction to the series and first article, please click here. If you’re looking for other articles …

A bar chart that is growing steadily up and to the right. There's a cartoon man carrying a briefcase climbing the bars like stairs. There is a red trendline showing the growth curve across the bars. This image is to represent the challenges of scalability.

How to act like a VC-backed startup (#7: Build scalability into your business)

Dave Labowitz Scale

Build scalability into your business is the seventh part of a twelve-part series. It’s a deep look behind the scenes of the “business playbook” that makes VC-backed companies successful and how to apply these lessons to your business.  If you’re looking for the introduction to the series and first article, please click here. If you’re looking for other articles in …

A picture of a Scrabble board with the word lifelong intersected by the word learning. By investing in your team you can make a cultural commitment to lifelong learning in your business.

How to act like a VC-backed startup (#6: Invest in your team)

Dave Labowitz Scale

Invest in your team is the sixth part of a twelve-part series. It’s a deep look behind the scenes of the “business playbook” that makes VC-backed companies successful and how to apply these lessons to your business.  If you’re looking for the introduction to the series and first article, please click here. If you’re looking for other articles in the …

A picture of three stacks of gold coins, each with a green seedling growing out of the top of the stack. The stacks grow from left to right. The left stack is the shortest, the right the tallest. The image is meant to represent how to capitalize your business for growth.

How to act like a VC-backed startup (#5: Fund your business adequately)

Dave Labowitz Scale

Fund your business adequately is the fifth part of a twelve-part series. It’s a deep look behind the scenes of the “business playbook” that makes VC-backed companies successful and how to apply these lessons to your business.  If you’re looking for the introduction to the series and first article, please click here. If you’re looking for other articles in the …

An overhead picture of a desk with four arms fist-bumping in the middle of it. The fist bump symbolizes culture.

How & why to act like a VC-backed startup (#4: Prioritize company culture)

Dave Labowitz Scale

This is the fourth part of a twelve-part series. It’s a deep look behind the scenes of the “business playbook” that makes VC-backed companies successful and how to apply these lessons to your business.  If you’re looking for the introduction to the series and first article, please click here. If you’re looking for other articles in the series, links are …

A picture of a man, visible from the neck to the waist. He's wearing a black suit jacket and white button-down shirt. His hand is extended toward the camera, reaching for a handshake. This is meant to symbolize keeping your focus on sales.

How & why to act like a VC-backed startup (#3: Focus on sales)

Dave Labowitz Scale

This is the third part of a twelve-part series. It’s a deep look behind the scenes of the “business playbook” that makes VC-backed companies successful and how to apply these lessons to your business.  If you’re looking for the introduction to the series and first article, please click here. If you’re looking for other articles in the series, links are …

A picture of a venture-backed company's dashboard report sitting on a desk. To the left is a laptop, and overlapping the lower righthand corner of the report is a notebook. Whomever is looking at the report is taking notes in the notebook with one hand with the other hovering over the laptop.

How & why to act like a venture-backed startup (#2: Focus obsessively on your numbers)

Dave Labowitz Scale

This is the second part of a twelve-part series. It’s a deep look behind the scenes of the “business playbook” that makes venture-backed companies successful and how to apply these lessons to your business.  If you’re looking for the introduction to the series and first article, please click here. If you’re looking for other articles in the series, links are …