Because of the work I do coaching and advising startups I am sometimes asked “What’s The Most Important Skill for A Founder to Have?” I think that often people expect me to say something about technical know-how or “market-smarts” or financial acumen. All of those are important, to be sure. But after having seen more than 100 startups as a mentor at Creative Destruction Labs and after having …

Iain Christie: I am here again with Salar Javid. This is the second article that we have written together, and it is a continuation of our previous one. In that article we talked about the idea that the mining industry has some interesting parallels to the space business. Particularly when it comes to attracting investment to a business that is long-term exploratory and capital intensive.

The authors discuss the underperformance of the space sector in attracting investment, likening it to the mining industry. They explore parallels in capital structures, risk management, and the importance of transparency following historical events like the Bre-X scandal. The conversation emphasizes learning from mining's evolution to enhance investor confidence in space.

This column is a follow up to the column I recently wrote on the topic of risk in the space sector.  Specifically, that column was on the topic of execution risk. This is also a follow up to columns I have previously written on the topic of complexity. That’s because I think the two topics are actually related.

Whether they like it or not, Founders tend to spend a lot of time trying to raise money. After establishing that they want or need the money, the next question they always confront is how much they are worth. Or more specifically, what value can they set on their company and their equity in it – to sell that equity to an investor. This is known as …

Yes, you read the title correctly. In this column I am going to assert that in business, anyway, there really are no "right " decisions.

One of the most important jobs of a founder of startup business – well of any business is what I refer to as the process of separating the Merely Urgent from the Truly Important. Which is a statement that might require a bit of explanation.  So, in this column I want to talk about what I mean by that and why it matters.

Leadership is the art of influencing human behaviour so as to achieve the mission in the manner desired by the leader. That is the definition of leadership that I learned at the age of 13 as an Air Cadet (it was the Canadian Forces standard definition at the time). I have never needed another.

If you have ever tried to raise money for a business, you will be familiar with the term “Lead Investor.” If you have not had that pleasure, you might not be.

I introduced the concept of complexity a couple of columns ago. In the last column I talked about the effect it can have on organizational culture when it is not recognized or handled well. In this final column on the subject, I want to talk about what can be done when you are faced with a complex project.