The Grassy Road

Stop focusing on your startup valuation!

It never ceases to amaze me how hung up entrepreneurs get on the valuation of their startup as they raise money. It came up in a coaching session again yesterday. In the abstract yes, valuation matters. It tells you how much of your company you are going to sell in order to raise money. It sets a baseline for you which you will (hopefully) exceed on your next raise. It's a validation that your work has value. But it is NOT a measure of pride, or ego, or size. Your [...]

By Penny Herscher|2020-06-17T11:18:17-07:00June 17, 2020|Leadership|Comments Off

How boards must change

“The full weight of responsibility for change rests with those who control the institutions” – White Fragility:Why it’s so hard for white people to talk about Racism by Robin DiAngelo Our institutions in the US are led predominantly by men. Women would simply not have the rights we cherish today, such as the right to vote, if the majority of men in power had not supported them. Companies have been paying attention to gender diversity among employees for some years now. It’s been talked about at length but it was not until California [...]

By Penny Herscher|2020-06-16T17:45:50-07:00June 16, 2020|Boards|Comments Off

I know why my Grandmother drank gin at breakfast

It is day 60 of our shelter in place. Everything seems calm in Cupertino, California. Companies have quickly and successfully transitioned to working from home. Jack Dorsey has said Twitter employees can work from home forever, friends are posting gorgeous pictures of their new lives on Facebook and for the first time in more than 10 years there is very little traffic on 101 at 5pm. But inside the California ranch houses there is a seething going on, a desperation at the role we find ourselves in in the pandemic. [...]

By Penny Herscher|2020-05-17T07:45:11-07:00May 16, 2020|My Personal Journey|Comments Off

Women Board Directors and Chairs – Why do the numbers remain so low and how we can change them!

I was recently honored to be named board chair at Lumentum, a terrific public company in the technology space. As I thought about my new responsibility, I became curious as to how many other companies have women board chairs and unfortunately what I found was not good. First, for context, consider the number of women on boards in the US. While the number of women directors has increased marginally in the last few years, women still make up less than 23% of the S&P 500 directors**. The situation is no [...]

By Penny Herscher|2019-10-22T16:12:47-07:00October 8, 2019|Boards|Comments Off

Is 2019 a turning point for women executives?

On International Women's Day today I find myself asking could it be that the momentum is finally building to escape velocity? Escape from a world where the majority of corporate power is held by white men? It feels like it. The new California legislation requiring the boards of companies who have their headquarters in California to have women on their boards may or may not be constitutional but for the first time it is absolutely forcing the conversation. I've been raising this issue for many years now and for the [...]

By Penny Herscher|2019-03-08T15:50:39-08:00March 8, 2019|Equality|Comments Off

Talk in Powerpoint not in Word!

It's tough to listen when you just want someone to get to the point. People talk too much for many reasons: nerves, wanting to be recognized or heard, wanting to look knowledgable or sometimes even because they enjoy talking, have lots of thoughts in their head and want to get them out. If you are with friends in a restaurant and they enjoy your style - who cares? But in the office talking too much will work against you because you'll suck up other people's time which they will, eventually, [...]

By Penny Herscher|2019-03-07T08:49:00-08:00March 5, 2019|Career Advice|Comments Off

What impression are you leaving once you leave?

It can be a strain to be aware of your actions 24/7 but as a leader it is critical. You leave an impression every time you interact with anyone, and if you are a busy person you may be leaving the impression in a few seconds. Think about when you enter a meeting room, realize you are in the wrong room and leave. What did you say? Did you come across as simply having read the wrong room on your calendar, or as a disorganized ditz. How about when you [...]

By Penny Herscher|2019-01-04T09:56:57-08:00January 3, 2019|Leadership|Comments Off

Don’t argue in front of your customer!

We've all been there. You're in a meeting with a prospect or customer and someone on your team says the wrong thing. You're infuriated and your knee jerk reaction is to correct your teammate in front of the customer. Or get angry with your teammate. Not a good idea. This can happen when you take a junior engineer into a meeting and she feels she has to tell the customer everything that's wrong with the product. Or a senior executive who commits you to a schedule you know you can't [...]

By Penny Herscher|2019-01-04T09:57:25-08:00December 7, 2018|Leadership|Comments Off

Startup or large corporate – which is best for you?

Everyone has an opinion of whether you should work for big companies or small, startup or corporate, but the answer is very personal. I was coaching a group earlier this week and the question came up as "I am working for a startup but everyone is telling me I should go work for a big corporate now for my resume - what do you think?" I believe there is no right way, no right answer. But there are dimensions to consider as you map out your next step. Are you [...]

By Penny Herscher|2019-01-04T09:57:47-08:00November 16, 2018|Career Advice|Comments Off

So you want to raise money – chose your investor carefully

At least once a week I take a call, or a coffee, with an entrepreneur who wants advice on how to raise money. We talk about her product and market, the stage of her business, how good is her story and what her vision is. And then we talk about the tactics of raising money. How to get a warm intro to reputable investors, how to think about angel vs. seed vs. venture, how much to raise, what a strong pitch looks like - the usual tactical coaching. Yesterday I [...]

By Penny Herscher|2019-01-04T09:59:20-08:00October 27, 2018|Career Advice|Comments Off