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How We Secretly Lose Control of Our Startups
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The Evolution of Entry Level Workers
Assume Everyone Will Leave in Year One
Stop Listening to Investors
Was Mortgaging My Life Worth it?
What's My Startup Worth in an Acquisition?
When Our Ambition is Our Enemy
Are Startups in a "Silent Recession"?
The 5 Types of Startup Funding
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Do Founders Deserve Their Profit?
Michelle Glauser on Diversity and Inclusion
The Utter STUPIDITY of "Risking it All"
Committees Are Where Progress Goes to Die
More Money (Really Means) More Problems
Why Most Founders Don't Get Rich
Investors will be Obsolete
Why is a Founder so Hard to Replace?
We Can't Grow by Saying "No"
Do People Really Want Me to Succeed?
Is the Problem the Player or the Coach?
Will Investors Bail Me Out?
The Value of Actually Getting Paid
Why do Founders Suck at Asking for Help?
Wait a Minute before Giving Away Equity
You Only Think You Work Hard
SMALL is the New Big — Embracing Efficiency in the Age of AI
The 9 Best Growth Agencies for Startups
This is BOOTSTRAPPED — 3 Strategies to Build Your Startup Without Funding
Never Share Your Net Worth
A Steady Hand in the Middle of the Storm
Risk it All vs Steady Paycheck
How About a Startup that Just Makes Money?
How to Recruit a Rockstar Advisor
Why Having Zero Experience is a Huge Asset
My Competitor Got Funded — Am I Screwed?
The Hidden Treasure of Failed Startups
If It Makes Money, It Makes Sense
Why do VCs Keep Giving Failed Founders Money?
$10K Per Month isn't Just Revenue — It's Life Support
The Ridiculous Spectrum of Investor Feedback
Startup CEOs Aren't Really CEOs
Series A, B, C, D, and E Funding: How It Works
Best Pitch Decks Ever: The Most Successful Fundraising Pitches You Need to Know
When to Raise Funds
Why Aren't Investors Responding to Me?
Should I Regret Not Raising Capital?
Unemployment Cases — Why I LOOOOOVE To Win Them So Much.
How Much to Pay Yourself
Heat-Seeking Missile: WePay’s Journey to Product-Market Fit — Interview with Rich Aberman, Co-Founder of Wepay
The R&D technique for startups: Rip off & Duplicate
Why Some Startups Win.
Chapter #1: First Steps To Validate Your Business Idea
Product Users, Not Ideas, Will Determine Your Startup’s Fate
Drop Your Free Tier
Your Advisors Are Probably Wrong
Growth Isn't Always Good
How to Shut Down Gracefully
How Does My Startup Get Acquired?
Can Entrepreneurship Be Taught?
How to Pick the Wrong Co-Founder
Staying Small While Going Big
Investors are NOT on Our Side of the Table
Who am I Really Competing Against?
Why Can't Founders Replace Themselves?
Actually, We Have Plenty of Time
Quitting vs Letting Go
How Startups Actually Get Bought
What if I'm Building the Wrong Product?
Are Founders Driven by Fear or Greed?
Why I'm Either Working or Feeling Guilty
Startup Financial Assumptions
Why Every Kid Should be a Startup Founder
We Only Have to be Right Once
If a Startup Sinks, Founders Go Down With it
Founder Success: We Need a Strict Definition of Personal Success
Is Quiet Quitting a Problem at Startup Companies?
Founder Exits are Hard Work and Good Fortune, Not "Good Luck"
Finalizing Startup Projections
All Founders are Beloved In Good Times
Our Startup Culture of Entitlement
The Bullshit Case for Raising Capital
How do We Manage Our Founder Flaws?
What If my plan for retirement is "never retire"?
Startup Failure is just One Chapter in Founder Life
6 Similarities between Startup Founders and Pro Athletes
All Founders Make Bad Decisions — and That's OK
Startup Board Negotiations: How do I tell the board I need a new deal?
Founder Sacrifice — At What Point Have I Gone Too Far?
Youth Entrepreneurship: Can Middle Schoolers be Founders?
Living the Founder Legend Isn't so Fun
Why Do VC Funded Startups Love "Fake Growth?"
How Should I Share My Wealth with Family?
How Many Deaths Can a Startup Survive?
This is Probably Your Last Success
Why Do We Still Have Full-Time Employees?
The Case Against Full Transparency
Should I Feel Guilty for Failing?
Always Take Money off the Table

Treat Departing Employees like Future Employees

Wil Schroter

Treat Departing Employees like Future Employees

Last week I had a great conversation with a Startups.com employee who was leaving to join another company. During the conversation I repeated the same thing I've told hundreds of departed employees, "This isn't the last time we'll work together, so while I'm sad to see you leave, I'm pumped to team up again later."

Why would we tell someone that's leaving how excited we are to be working together in the future?
Because if we've been in this game long enough, we realize how many of those relationships do in fact come around again... and again... and again.

As Founders, especially veteran ones, we begin to learn that every single person we work with is part of a larger "workforce" of future hires that becomes some of our most reliable talent.

How we leave is how we're remembered

The end of every relationship is often the most memorable part of the highlight reel — especially if it ends poorly. We may remember all the ups and downs of our journey with someone else, but we sure as hell remember if things went off the rails in the end. A bad breakup can zero out years of good will in a relationship.

Not a lot of startup Founders consider this. They often think that the parting words are no more than a friendly handshake or in some cases a "good riddance" sendoff. Both are total fails. Wrapping a relationship with thoughtfulness and a view of the future can fundamentally change the future trajectory and value of that relationship.

Pay it forward

Most of the time when folks are leaving I offer to help them with their career in some way, either by opening up my Rolodex (wow, that's a dated term), or by offering to provide some counsel along the way. It's important to pay it forward, even if it's not necessarily in our best interests now (it rarely is) because it sets the right tone for the relationship.

If we wrap the relationship with a "good luck, see you never!" type of attitude, we break the continuity of the relationship we worked so hard to build. Instead, our focus should be around "how do I keep this going?"

What goes around, comes around

Building a startup and recruiting go hand in hand. If every single time we need to find someone else we have to go back to the well, it's a long, hard road, especially when we restart and are looking for co-founders or early employees.

That's why building a solid list of past relationships is so important. Those same folks now have trust, working history, and a new appreciation for what may have worked so well in the past. There's nothing more valuable than being able to bring back a trusted partner who can just take the ball and run, no questions asked.

It doesn't end there. Those same people become partners of other companies down the road or referrals for future hires. Treating them well isn't only the right thing to do, it makes a ton of business sense.

In Case You Missed It

Why We Embrace Employee Turnover This week we had one of our best team members leave to join another startup. We couldn't be happier that he's gone.

What’s the Cost of a Toxic Employee (podcast) Nearly every startup deals with a "toxic employee." And every minute we wait to address the issue, we create an even bigger organizational challenge that will be way too hard to tackle down the road.

Can I Go Back to Having a Boss? After being a Founder, the thought of becoming the employee once again may feel like a monumental step backward. But being an employee again does have its advantages.

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