Entrepreneurial Instincts to Starting a Business

Most of my advisory work is with middle-market companies. They generally have revenues between fifty and one hundred million annually. However, I do like to work with an occasional start-up. I find that it keeps me sharp and in contact with the basic ideas behind any business. There is something immediate and even raw about a start-up environment. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that the team is making something out of very little. Perhaps it is the fact that the team focuses primarily on the business of the business and is just beginning to encounter the challenges of the business of business.

I see many start-ups and only work with one at a time. Over the years, I have developed a set of filters to help me choose which ones to work with. It might surprise you to learn that those filters do not focus on the business of the business - I have worked with companies in a wide range of industries - but on the senior team and my estimates of their ability to learn and grow along with their company.