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One of the greatest challenges for startup teams is scaling because usually there's not a blueprint to follow, people are learning their function as they go, and everyone is wearing multiple hats. There can be lots of trial and error, lots of missteps, and lots of valuable time and money squandered as companies scale. Matt Blumberg and his team understand the scaling challenges--they've been there, and it took them nearly 20 years to scale and achieve a successful exit. Along the way they learned what worked and what didn't work, and they share their lessons learned in Startup CXO.
Unlike other business books, Startup CXO is designed to help each functional leader understand how their function scales, what to anticipate as they scale, and what things to avoid. Beyond providing function-specific advice, tools, and tactics, Startup CXO is a resource for each team member to learn about the other functions, understand other functional challenges, and get greater clarity on how to collaborate effectively with the other functional leads.
CEOs, Board members, and investors have a book they can consult to pinpoint areas of weakness and learn how to turn those into strengths. Startup CXO has in-depth chapters covering the nine most common functions in startups: finance, people, marketing, sales, customers, business development, product, operations, and privacy. Each functional section has a "CEO to CEO Advice" summary from Blumberg on what great looks like for that CXO, signs your CXO isn't scaling, and how to engage with your CXO.
Startup CXO also has a section on the future of executive work, fractional and interim roles. Written by leading practitioners in the newly emergent fractional executive world, each function is covered with useful tips on how to be a successful fractional executive as well as what to look for and how to manage fractional executives.
Startup CXO is an amazing resource for CEOs but also for functional leaders and professionals at any stage of their career."
--Scott Dorsey, Managing Partner, High Alpha
List of contents
Foreword xvii
Part One: Introduction 1
Matt Blumberg
Introduction 2
Chapter 1: The Nature of a CXO's Role 9
Chapter 2: Scaling a CXO 12
Part Two: Finance and Administration 15
Jack Sinclair
Chief Financial Officer 16
Chapter 3: In the Beginning: Laying the CFO Foundation 19
Chapter 4: Fundraising 22
Chapter 5: Size of Opportunity 25
Chapter 6: Financial Plan 27
Chapter 7: Unit Economics and KPIs 30
Chapter 8: Investor Ecosystem Research 32
Chapter 9: Pricing and Valuation 34
Chapter 10: Due Diligence and Corporate Documentation 37
Chapter 11: Using External Counsel 40
Chapter 12: Operational Accounting 42
Chapter 13: Treasury and Cash Management 49
Chapter 14: Building an In-House Accounting Team 52
Chapter 15: International Operations 55
Chapter 16: Strategic Finance 58
Chapter 17: Other Areas to Partner With 67
Chapter 18: High Impact Areas for the Startup CFO as Partner 71
Chapter 19: Board and Shareholder Management 77
Chapter 20: Equity 80
Chapter 21: Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) 85
Chapter 22: Bonus Section: WhatWe Used for Our Internal Systems WhenWe Started Bolster 91
Chapter 23: CEO-to-CEO Advice About the Finance Role 97
Matt Blumberg
Part Three: People and Human Resources 101
Cathy Hawley
Chief People Officer 102
Chapter 24: Values and Culture 105
Chapter 25: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) 111
Chapter 26: Building Your Team 113
Chapter 27: Organizational Design and Operating Systems 118
Chapter 28: Team Development 124
Chapter 29: Leadership Development 127
Chapter 30: Talent and Performance Management 130
Chapter 31: Career Pathing 132
Chapter 32: Role-Specific Learning and Development 134
Chapter 33: Employee Engagement 136
Chapter 34: Rewards and Recognition 138
Chapter 35: Reductions in Force 140
Chapter 36: Recruiting 142
Chapter 37: Onboarding 149
Chapter 38: Compensation 152
Chapter 39: People Operations 154
Chapter 40: Systems 164
Chapter 41: CEO-to-CEO Advice About the People/HR Role 167
Matt Blumberg
Part Four: Marketing 173
Nick Badgett and Holly Enneking
Chief Marketing Officer 174
Chapter 42: Where to Start 177
Chapter 43: Generating Demand for Sales 181
Chapter 44: Supporting the Company Culture 186
Chapter 45: Breaking Down Marketing's Functions 191
Chapter 46: Events 204
Chapter 47: Content and Communications 212
Chapter 48: Product Marketing 218
Chapter 49: Marketing Operations 223
Chapter 50: Sales Development 226
Chapter 51: Marketing as a Partner/Collaborating with the Rest of the C-suite 233
Chapter 52: Building a Marketing Machine (Scaleup) 236
Chapter 53: CEO-to-CEO Advice About the Marketing Role 243
Matt Blumberg
Part Five: Sales 249
Anita Absey
Chief Revenue Officer 250
Chapter 54: In the Beginning: From Prospect to Customer 251
Chapter 55: Hiring the Right People 254
Chapter 56: Profile of Successful Salespeople 257
Chapter 57: Some Myth Busting 260
Chapter 58: Compensating Sales Team Members 262
Chapter 59: Pipeline 266
Chapter 60: Scaling the Sales Organization 268
Chapter 61: Scaling Your Team Through Culture 271
Chapter 62: Scaling S
About the author
MATT BLUMBERG is founder and CEO of Bolster, an on-demand executive talent marketplace to help startup CEOs scale their leadership team, themselves, and their board. He was the founder and CEO of Return Path and is the author of
Startup CEO, and the blog,
StartupCEO.com. He lives in New York with his wife and three children.
PETER M. BIRKELAND is a sociologist, author, and writer who helps people turn ideas into books. www.peterbirkeland.com
