Time Management Hacks Vol. 1

Two weeks ago I had a call with Ben Rubin, an adviser and friend who has been helping us through the fundraising process at Kindara. We talked about time management and then I had a long-ass Friday where it seemed like I didn't get much done. The next Monday morning I decided to start tracking what I was spending my time on in minute detail. I made a google spreadsheet and added in each block of time and what I was doing during that block. This has proved extremely valuable. It has allowed me to:

See how many hours per week I was working (around 55 which is too much),
See why certain things are not moving as fast as I'd like them to be moving at Kindara, and
Become very aware of what I was spending my time on, thus improving my choice of activities and productivity at those activities.
Develop a mental map of which activities I enjoy (making spreadsheets!) and which activities I hate (damn you email!), and
Correlate my overall sense of well-being and happiness to what I spend my time doing, or in other words, answer the question: what should I do right now to feel a sense of accomplishment today, next week and next year?

Super valuable stuff. Here are my results breakdown from Week 1...

Business, Staying Organized, Time ManagementWill SacksNovember 27, 2013

How to Raise Money for Your Startup in Ten Steps

We are about to close another round of funding at Kindara. Having been through this a couple times now, here's my advice on how to close funding for your startup in ten steps: Step 1: Get your story straight and your materials together. At a minimum you'll need a pitch deck, an executive summary, and some sort of product demo. Get all this stuff together and make sure it looks good. I personally think design communicates almost as much as content.

Step 2: Test your pitch and your materials to see if they are any good. Use your friends, advisers & team members. This step serves two purposes: first it allows you to change and improve your pitch, and second it allows you to practice pitching. When pitching, it's important that you appear excited and confident, and use words that effectively tell the story of your product and company....