Venkatesh RaoPrincipal at Ribbonfarm Consulting
Bio

I am usually available for one-off calls within about 3-4 days, unless I'm traveling. Please do NOT connect for advice on fundraising or introductions to investors.


Recent Answers


Quite simply, no. A copywriter cannot do this for you. In addition, your use of the words "us" and "our" is a red flag for me. The entire team together ALSO cannot craft this story.

It may feel good to use we/us language to signal that you are a team, but the stories that emerge that way are typically "design by committee" exercises in business vision/strategy. One person -- a founder, preferably the CEO -- needs to dictatorially define the vision and the why and persuade others to his/her way of thinking. Maybe not in long-form copy. Maybe in the form of a keynote address with slides. But the person offering the why has to truly own the story.

A copywriter can help you cast the story into a form suitable for an About page, but that's secondary. If you don't have a single dictatorial visionary who can tell the story, you have far bigger problems than a website About page.


E-Myth offers a good model for businesses that fit the "machine" metaphor well, but does not work as well for businesses that are better described by a "people over process" organic metaphor. For the latter kind of business, even if you can afford it, the wrong first hire is far worse than no hire. E-Myth is dangerously biased towards highly legible business models where the machine can be automated using a mix of process and training for interchangeable people. If you are building a business model that needs unique rather than interchangeable people at this stage of growth, E-Myth is the wrong model for you.

Date before marriage, and make sure the person is The One. Then consider finances.

Your "fear" is not something to just get over. It is a valid signal that you should pay attention to. If your revenue volatility is so high that you cannot smooth it out with savings/credit to pay an employee, perhaps you should not hire one. It's a huge level-up in terms of complexity of running the business.

Beyond this, there are no general answers. All "machine" businesses (a la E-Myth) are alike, but every non-machine business is non-machine-like in its own unique way.


None.

There are two basic reasons to get business insurance.

First, if you're making enough money that you're worth suing. That does not apply in this case.

Second, if your clients require you to have insurance before accepting you as a vendor for certain services. Most large companies will require service vendors to fulfill certain liability requirements. But for a SaaS offering, especially if the pricing model is a low subscription, you won't trigger the conditions that have their purchasing department demanding you get insurance. It applies more to vendors who are either offering personalized services (like consultants) or service providers who bill very large dollar amounts.

So get insurance when you first start making pots of money OR when a first large enterprise client makes it a condition of working with you. Don't waste money before that.


Contact on Clarity

$ 6.67/ min

4.89 Rating
Schedule a Call

Send Message

Stats

3

Answers

22

Calls


Access Startup Experts

Connect with over 20,000 Startup Experts to answer your questions.

Learn More

Copyright © 2024 Startups.com LLC. All rights reserved.