Mercedes Bent

  • FMB 15: How Founders Choose Investors

    This is an extension of my #FMB “Founders are Made, not Born: How Founders Become Learning Animals” series. Originals based on research at Stanford: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, and Part VII. Extensions: Parts 7, 8,9, 10,11, 12, 13, 14. During fundraises, founders often ask how to choose investors. I’ve met 1,000+ of investors and been part of dozens of boards.…

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  • FMB 14: The Anatomy of a “Why Now”

    See the original linkedin post. This is an extension of my #FMB “Founders are Made, not Born: How Founders Become Learning Animals” series. Originals based on research at Stanford: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, and Part VII. Extensions: Parts 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13. One of…

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  • Founders must be Chief Judges of Talent (FMB Part 13)

    Founders wear many hats. One role I consistently see less well understood is that they’re the “Chief Judge of Talent” for their startup. This C-suite “role” is possibly the most important role a founder needs to embody. It requires founders to have a strong nose for triple-A talent. Not B+, not A-, but A++. Not…

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  • Great Pitches are an Energy Transfer (FMB Part 12)

    This is an extension of my #FMB “Founders are Made, not Born: How Founders Become Learning Animals” series. Originals based on research at Stanford: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, and Part VII. Extensions: Parts 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. After listening to thousands of pitches, a few common themes stand out about great ones: The common knowledge that great fundraisers have…

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  • Product Market Fit is not a One-Way Door (FMB Part 11)

    This is an extension of my #FMB “Founders are Made, not Born: How Founders Become Learning Animals” series, based on my Stanford Masters of Education research. Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, and Part VII. Extensions: Parts 7, 8, 9, 10. Last year in June of 2023 I wrote about product market fit not being a one-way door. In…

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  • Creating Defensibility: Monopolizing your Supply Side (Part 10)

    This is an extension of my #FMB “Founders are Made, not Born: How Founders Become Learning Animals” series, based on my Stanford Masters of Education research. Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, and Part VII. Extensions: Parts 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. Whether we’re talking about developers, gig workers, content creators, trading supply, etc, there are better and…

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  • FMB: Running board meetings (Part 9)

    This is a continuation of my Founders are Made, not Born series. Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, and Part VII. Extensions: Parts 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. Three times in the past week I found myself sharing best practices with founders about how to run optimal board meetings. One was a seed stage founder who is preparing for their first board…

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  • Founders are Made not Born: Crafting Advisors is a Skill

    This was first published in Business Insider — read it here. #FMB “Founders are Made, not Born: How Founders Become Learning Animals” series Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, and Part VII. Extensions: Parts 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. Being a founder can be a lonely occupation. Every day you’re asked to make decisions that have enormous implications for the company you’re trying to…

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  • #FMB: How to Choose a Startup Idea

    #FMB: Founders are Made, not Born. my #FMB “Founders are Made, not Born: How Founders Become Learning Animals” series Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, and Part VII. Extensions: Parts 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. Every few days I find myself on calls with exceptional people who are in-between roles and taking time to evaluate new ventures they might start (oh yes, quite…

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  • Founders are Made, Not Born: How Founders Become Learning Animals (Part I)

    Part I: Founders need squads This is the “Founders are Made, not Born: How Founders Become Learning Animals” series, based on my Stanford Masters of Education research about founders & learning. Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI. Silicon Valley has long exalted a singular classic founder story that supposedly spells success. It goes something like…

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