Eric Engelmann

Battle over, SAFEs won. When it comes to the first $ into a startup, nobody is using convertible notes anymore.

How I present the P&L Plan to the board. -Context: prior year -Map to ARR: include waterfall on same slide -No games: include following year tops down model -Common-sized: % of revenue for easier review -Quarterly: no hiding back-loaded growth

MIT asked 153 execs with enormous AI budgets what they actually want from an AI partner. They didn’t want "cutting-edge AI" for the sake of it - nor some "revolutionary platform." They just asked for someone who: a) understands their actual workflows b) can guide effective implementation Literally internalize this chart:

Ten years ago the leading Republicans in the United States including then Senator Marco Rubio were hitting then President Barack Obama over “The perception that Obama has rolled out the red carpet for Putin” newsweek.com/obama-putin-me… A decade later Trump literally did it

Founders: Discovery call red flags checklist: 🚩 No clear pain metrics 🚩 Can't name decision maker 🚩 No similar tool spend 🚩 No timeline pressure 🚩 Won't share budget range Any 2 flags = unqualified. Save your time.

@VanessaLMcNeal @MooneyMillions @cfsalads @ycombinator @NicRothStudio @snaadt @ChrisAndrewLo @DMACC_bears @TheDealtHand @1MillionCupsDSM @joeguna @1MCMidwest @1MCGrandIsland @CoffeeZabuni @VentureNetIowa @ChrisSnider @DrakeUniversity @alexmyers83 @Nicole4ABI @IowaABI @DrVDV @erikjdominguez1 @LoveDSM @DSMpartnership @MikeO_CIRAS @IowaStateU @CIRAS_ISU @GeraldBeranek @IARadioMan @iowarocknroll @hatsprotocol @nounsdao @cdixon @RaidGuild @coinbase @seedclub @podsdotmedia @ethereum @carllippert @rachellekeck @GrandViewUniv @LolasFineSauce @spwalsh1590 @818iowa @DerreckStratton @nbagleague @DSMHBA @IASkilledTrades @abenasankofa EP100 🎙️🎞️ Brad Feld BradFeld.YouDontNeedThisPodcast.com Whatta wild way to wrap Season 2! Thanks again to @bfeld and to ALL who made this creative season such a gift. #YDNTP

People who cheat on their spouses are more likely to cheat at work, too. Evidence: Marital infidelity predicts 2-3x greater odds of professional misconduct among CEOs, financial advisors, and police officers. Integrity is not a 9-5 job. Character counts in every part of life.

Everyone working in a STEM field should read this - ‘writing is thinking’ nature.com/articles/s4422…

If you voted for this, remove all the Jesus shit from your bio immediately.

Laughing in front of cages designed to hold migrants and refugees, many of whom came to this country fleeing extreme violence and poverty, and hoping to raise their children in a more compassionate country. And many of whom followed all the legal procedures to enter the country. And remember, 93% have no record of any violent crimes. This facility, then, is comparable to the internment camps for Japanese Americans during the Second World War. But let's call it what it is: a concentration camp. Jesus wept.

Thanks @BENovator - this was a lot of fun. Iowa’s startup ecosystem has made some important strides in the last decade, and so many people and orgs have contributed to it. But there’s also so much more to do! Excited to see where the future takes us!

Pretty much the worst thing to do is happening: instead of brain draining the world now the best startups will happen outside of the United States Colossal blunder at the dawn of the age of intelligence

Engineers-turned-PMs keep making the same psychological error in stakeholder meetings. They assume corporate environments reward merit the same way engineering teams do. After studying this pattern for years, I've identified the core disconnect that nobody discusses:

Warning ⚠️: According to the Nature Index, Harvard is the only US institution in the global top 10 for research output. If its infrastructure is dismantled, the entire top 10 will be Chinese.

I still think it's weird that so many people are like "I was radicalized by policy mistakes the government made in 2020. So in 2024 I voted for the guy who was president in 2020."

Every single headline that says "Trump backs down from his instincts" leads markets to rally. Perhaps that tells us something about the value of his instincts.

startups: free pilots are a net negative free pilots are a net negative free pilots are a net negative

Every successful start-up had a Magical Sales Rep in the early days: * often from a non-traditional background * >really< got the product, + every use case * knew how use the product to >truly< solve prospects' problems * clever enough to work around big gaps * part evangelist

Founders: Here's how to structure pilots that actually close: - Max 30 days - 3 mandatory training sessions - Weekly usage metrics reviews - 2 required use cases completed - Success criteria defined up front Charge 25% of annual fee for the pilot. No more endless trials.