Reggie Bradford

Time management.  A simple term, but in the fury of a startup, your days can quickly become more about time mismanagement.  Here are a few of the time demands I face, and my approach to them.

Staff Meetings:
I have a staff meeting every Monday, then meet with department heads as-needed.  My philosophy has always been to drive decision-making as far down the chain as possible, then hold those people accountable.  I don’t like to mettle.  The worst thing you can do is delegate to somebody, then try to micromanage.  I definitely run a tight schedule during meetings.  Things are happening fast, and I’m impatient when it comes to making sure everybody’s time is maximized.  I make sure all the issues and opinions are vetted, but no, I don’t love sitting through 3 or 4-hour meetings.

Board Meetings:
We have 6 board meetings a year, usually 4 in person and 2 calls.  There’s a substantial amount of prep work our team needs to do for them.  Our board is becoming more qualitative vs. quantitative, so they’re making sure we’re on top of our game and understand where the market is.  They want to know about strategy; where we see challenges, where the blind spots are, the competitive landscape, how we grow faster, any acquisitions opportunities that might make sense, etc.  I personally love board member involvement.  They’re some of the most connected and respected people that we have in our arsenal, so absolutely I am maximizing our access to them.

Media and Appearances:
I love doing interviews.  When you’re set to do a Bloomberg interview that’s supposed to last 3 minutes, you think, “That’s a lifetime.”  But once you’re into it, it goes by in 5 seconds.  Doing interviews is like learning to ride a bike, the more you practice, the sooner you’re comfortable with it.  Just be yourself, because there shouldn’t be anybody who knows more about what you’re doing than you.  You’re an expert on your subject matter, and you’re helping both the reporter and their viewers/readers.

Conferences and Seminars:
Things are moving so fast in our space it’s mostly impossible to give the same presentation at every conference you’re invited to.  But I do have a basic framework on the company, the vision, the assets, the platform message, etc. that I build everything else on.  We have a diverse customer mix, from CPG to automotive to retail to consumer electronics, and they all use our platform differently, so we’ll tailor the message to each audience.

Travel:
I love traveling.  I hate being in the office.  Of course, I hate being away from my family too, so there’s a love/hate thing going on there.  But I like being out with the customers where the activity is happening, seeing what’s going on in the market.  I love my staff in Atlanta, but sometimes when you stay in the corporate headquarters, you get too shielded.

If you open remote offices, make sure you hire people that don’t need a lot of handholding and that have proven themselves.  Part of my summer vacation, as it were, was to visit some of our new offices like NYC and Dallas.  I’ll do a couple of weeks in CA, Chicago and Cincinnati as we get those up and running.  It’s important for me to work out of those offices and spend some time harnessing their passion and smarts.  We’re just starting to scratch the surface of that.

Personal Business:
I definitely don’t feel guilty when I take time to handle personal business.  I serve on a few rewarding non-profit boards.  It’s an advisory kind of thing, so it’s not a time management threat for me.  I’m starting to do more speaking to students, which I really like.  It keeps me young to be around young people like that who are filled with so many ideas and such optimism.

My mind is always churning, which is typical of entrepreneurs.  I never have trouble falling asleep, but I will wake up from time to time thinking about stuff.  I get a lot of my best ideas when I’m on the elliptical at 5:30 in the morning, so my staff will usually see a flurry of emails around that time.  But although the mind’s churning, I try to maintain an even keel.  I’ve always had mentors tell me not to get too excited about the highs or too down about the lows.  The truth is, I’m probably a little paranoid by nature, so I’m always looking to keep us on the balls of our feet.

On Your Own?
If you’re just getting started and don’t have a staff to delegate to, time management becomes even more challenging.  In that situation, you’ve got to figure out what your personal strengths are.  Focus your time on those tasks, then find advisors or contractors to compliment your weaknesses.  Focus on where you can add the most value to the effort, because it doesn’t do the effort much good letting valuable months tick by while you try to teach yourself to do everything.

You may have started your company because you wanted to be more in control of your time.  That’s a good one.  While it’s a noble thing to try to achieve, your perfect work/life balance is going to be elusive, especially if your company really takes off.  In the beginning, I started out with that work/life balance mission.  At first, I was doing pretty good.  But as Vitrue’s rapid growth kicked in, there was just so much to do.  A company happens in phases, and we’re in a phase right now where we’re surging forward, making my original vision a bit tougher.

Time Thieves:
When it comes to time-wasters, I wouldn’t call my biggest challenge a waste of time, just something I haven’t gotten right yet.  Vitrue’s been getting a lot of attention lately.  With that comes an incredible amount of inquiries; people who want to partner with us, app developers, entrepreneurs with an idea, lawyers, people who want to sell us real estate services, investment types, friends, people looking for employment, etc.  I’m one of those guys who hates to disappoint people, so I’ll end up filling my schedule with people who want to see me.  These are people who want to meet with me, as opposed to me getting with the people I need to meet with.  If I’m not careful, my whole schedule could be nothing but mentoring.  It’s not that I don’t enjoy that.  It’s one of the reasons I enjoy writing this blog.  But I have to do a much better job of managing it.  You’ve got to make hay while the sun is shining…and the sun is definitely shining.

Family:
This is a time management area where a lot of entrepreneurs mess up.  Never getting to be with your family because you’re working so hard for them is an ironic mistake.  I try to make it to as many of the kids’ events as possible.  I can’t do them all…that’s impossible with 6 kids.  But on Saturdays especially, my wife Holly and I will divide and conquer.  She goes to some events while I go to others.  We’ve literally had Saturdays where there are 3 or 4 games or events going on, but we do the best we can.

I do not feel like the world or the business will collapse if I take a day or two off.  When I’m on vacation, I’ll get on email for a couple of hours in the morning then dedicate 4 hours with the kids at the beach.  When they go down for a nap, I can either grab a nap as well or get back on email, which is what I usually do.  I don’t take away from family vacation time.  Depending on their age, the kids understand my schedule and responsibilities to varying degrees.  For them, it’s still “normal” to have dad at their events.  One personal rule I have is to never be on the phone when I walk in the door.  I don’t want the kids to ever feel like they’re second or “on hold.”

Holly is the perfect partner; supportive, understanding, and a great sounding board.  That’s not to say she stays in the weeds of the details of the company (she doesn’t even have a Facebook page), but she gets it.  The thing that makes the biggest impression on me though, is that she’s excited to see me excited, enthused and energized.  Which is ideal, because given where Vitrue stands right now, I’m all three of those things.

The amounts of money you’ll need when you’re in startup mode are smaller than what you’ll need when you’re ready to expand and grow. At the initial startup stage, investors are writing lots of small check to various ventures like yours, hedging their bets, planting seeds and waiting to see which of those seeds yield something.

With your initial startup funding in hand, you now have a short lead-time, usually just 6-9 months, to show that what you’re doing is viable. It’s a constrained, chaotic race to achieve credibility. Once you’ve got a defined value product platform, customers, revenue, growth, and profitability to show for the startup investment given to you, then it becomes about getting more money so you can scale up.

It pains some entrepreneurs greatly to give up any share of their company. In their minds, the goal is to get the money they need, while keeping as much of the company as they possibly can. I’d say worry less about that, and worry more about getting what you need to move things to the next level.

Many an entrepreneur has been willing to let their idea die on the vine rather than do what was necessary to get proper funding, consoling themselves by calling it a matter of “principle.” Me, I’d rather have a smaller piece of a big pie than a bigger piece of no pie. Instead of worrying about share dilution, I worry about what it’s going to cost me if I can’t move the ball forward. It’s fine to want to profit from your idea and work, but pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered.

Your investors are going to sit on your board of directors, so when you’re raising capital, you want to have several sources at the table to choose from, giving you leverage in both how the board is made up and how it operates.

Having 2 or 3 VC’s vying to fund you gives you the luxury of looking at the backers’ character and integrity so you can make sure they’re a good fit for you and what you’re trying to do. The board needs to be in alignment, with a common vision, everyone understanding the goals and desired outcome. Growing a business is hard enough without a board full of people with individual agendas.

That said, I do tend to play by my gut. I don’t wait for the “perfect” investor or situation before I pull the trigger. Things are never going to be perfect so if that’s the kind of situation you require before you’re willing to move forward, you’re in for a lot of frustration.

You’ve probably heard it a million times: most business startups fail because of a lack of working capital. Cash is the lifeblood of any startup. You don’t want too little funding, but by the same token, you don’t want too much either. How do you know how much you need? It’s both an art and science. First, you have to determine how long your runway is. In other words, how much time and room do you need to get this thing safely up off the ground? How many months can you last with X amount of money?

You also want to manage your image and how you come across. Rightly or wrongly, it does come into play, so there’s no point in my telling you that it doesn’t. As with any venture, you want to create more demand than supply. You want there to be more demand for your opportunity from investors than there are seats at the table. That’s why it’s better to ask for a smaller amount. If you ask for $3 million and can only get $700,000, that makes the opportunity look weak. But if you ask for $300,000 and get $700,000, you look like a hot commodity. Perception is reality.

Although it may be hard right now to imagine a time when you don’t need money, the best time to raise it is when you don’t need it. I’ve raised money when I had to, and I’ve raised money when I didn’t have to, and there’s definitely a difference where leverage is concerned. No matter how much you need, never present yourself like a charity case.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention a couple of startup funding sources I’m not personally in love with, loans and brokers.  Taking out loans and going into debt to launch a business is both popular and pervasive.  It’s also risky and could end badly, causing great damage to both you and your family.

Keep in mind that a loan is not an investment in you or your idea.  It’s not a statement of the validity of your idea or of the lender’s belief in you as a person and a manager.  It’s just a loan.  It has to be paid back, guaranteed, even if you fail.  You are not “partners” with anyone who makes you a loan.  You are simply their customer.

There are plenty of guys who say they’ll raise money or help you find the startup funding you need in exchange for a percentage of the money they raise for you.  At first glance, this might sound like a great deal.  They only make money if they’re successful in raising money for you.  What could go wrong, right?

I’ve personally never worked with them.  But at first glance, it appears you’d be completely at the mercy of this broker’s motivation, or lack thereof.  Sure they’ll only make money if they raise money for you.  But if they don’t find anything, or don’t try very hard, they lose nothing.  You’ve lost time, momentum, and are put back at square one.

I’ve even seen instances where a contract was signed with a broker, the broker failed to find funding, but the money was eventually found from another source.  The broker felt entitled and still demanded a commission even though they weren’t the ones who got the job done.  So if you do insist on using a broker, make sure you have a contract and know exactly what it says.  When you’re looking for startup funding to fuel your baby, you want to put your best foot forward.  Frankly, a broker who is at best a detached third party is not your best foot.

It’s you, your team and your idea that investors want to see anyway.

Next post I’ll wrap up my thoughts on funding in Part 5: how much you’ll need, how to get leverage, and timing your fundraising.

If this is your first startup, it might be a good idea to pair up with an experienced venture partner.  As I mentioned in Startup Funding Part 2: Crowd Funding and Business Plans, investors are backing the people behind an idea as much as they’re backing the idea, if not more.  If you don’t have the experience or credibility to wow venture capitalists, you’ll do yourself a huge favor walking through the door with someone who does.

I can already feel some of you starting to sweat.  Inventors and entrepreneurs cherish their ideas dearly and go into the process braced to defend against any suggestion they give up any control or percentage of their business.  Those guys normally wind up sitting at home with full control and 100% of an idea that never went anywhere.

A willingness to take on a qualified partner can be the key to your startup becoming a reality.  Best to go in with an open mind and assess what a potential partner brings to the table, and be ready to compensate them accordingly.  Personally, I’ve never had the desire to go it alone.  In fact, I’ve always been careful to surround myself with people who are smarter than I am and who can get me to the next level.

So where do you find these partners?  Networking never hurt anybody.  Being introduced to a venture capitalist is always better than sending in business plans cold.  And it’s networking that will help you cross paths with that existing, successful entrepreneur who will want to partner with you and get you in the right doors. Use LinkedIn, attend local events in your area and work hard to find the right people that can help you out.

Incubation is also an option.  There are several successful ventures built around the incubator model across the country. Places like Dog Patch Labs, The Brandery and YCombinator all provide creative options for potential startups. If your company is selected into a program, the incubator will provide access to workspace, advice from proven entrepreneurs and at times capital as well. In addition, some larger venture capital firms also offer incubation options. Be sure to review all of your options, but starting your company at an incubator does have advantages. You get the resources you need to kick-start your idea, while the VC or Incubator can keep a close eye on their investment and advise you as your company grows.

I wouldn’t spend a lot of time trying to get incubated inside of a large, non-venture capital company.  Name one startup that was incubated that way.  They have their core business to run and even if they do agree to take you in, they won’t nearly be the partner you need at such an early stage. If you fail, it’s catastrophic.  The dream dies and people lose their jobs.  For the company, they just go on about their regular business.  You want an incubation environment where people want and need you to succeed.

Next up in Part 4: Whether or not to deal with brokers or take out loans to fund your startup.