How to Identify Your Target Customers
The clock is ticking on our 20-minute business model. Today's task: Describing potential customers for the new business - in five minutes or less. Read story
HERDING GAZELLES 
Karl Stark and Bill Stewart
The 20-Minute Business Model
Can you put your entire business model down on paper in 20 minutes? Author Ash Maurya shows us how. Read story
4 Things to Consider Before Selling to a Private Equity Group
Private equity groups have money to spend. But would they be a good buyer for your business? Here are four things to consider if a PEG comes knocking. Read story
Why You're Not Entitled to Your Idea
These tips will help you convince an investor that you're the one unique individual or team to turn your idea into a full-fledged business. Read story
What's the ROI on Your Company?
Before you approach an investor to fund your growth strategy, make sure you are able to articulate what they will receive in return. Read story
2 Reasons to Avoid Venture Capital
Many growth company CEOs believe they need to raise venture capital to achieve success. Here are two reasons to reconsider. Read story
Choosing the Right VC is More Important Than Any Hire You'll Ever Make
Puretech Ventures' David Steinberg talks about building a successful partnership with a VC firm. Read story
Keep Your Friends Close & Your Customers Closer
Letting customer relationships stagnate is dangerous for your long-term health. Here are three ways to let your customers know you care. Read story
6 Steps to Getting More Stuff Done
Technology's great, but it can distract us to the point where productivity suffers. Here's how to minimize the disruptions. Read story
How Do You Create an Entrepreneurial Mind-set?
Creating a nimble culture begins with good communication about your core values and encouraging entrepreneurialism at every turn. Read story
Financing Tricks from Inc. 500 Companies
Most of the rapidly growing private companies in this year's Inc. 500 funded their growth through personal savings and cash flow. Here's how. Read story
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Why Your Idea Isn't Worth Anything
Seasoned investors say that nine times out of 10, an entrepreneur is too busy focusing on the "idea" to think through the business model. Read story
5 Ways to Become an Invaluable Business Partner
Building strong business relationships is vital to the success of your business. Here's how to become the person your customers or partners can't do without. Read story
Global Expansion Do's & Don'ts
Global expansion is not for the faint of heart. But there's a way to improve your chances of building successful international operations. Read story
How We Made the Inc. 500 List - Again
Avondale Strategic Partners was named to the Inc. 500 list for the second year in a row. Here's the story of how we managed our growth. Read story
6 Signs Your Market is Maturing
Every growth market must eventually mature. When that happens, will you know how to evolve your strategy to succeed? Read story
5 Steps to a Successful Start-up
David Klein, CEO of CommonBond, is building his new company with an eye for value creation and growth. Here are five things he's doing that others should emu... Read story
3 Ways to Win the RFP Rat Race
If your sales force is spending a lot of time on RFPs, but not bringing in a lot of new business, then you might need to consider new investments in your bus... Read story
5 Steps for Building an Innovation Pipeline
If your business has problems turning ideas into business growth, you may need to create an internal team charged with bringing new products to new markets. Read story
Don't Make That Investment Yet. Here's Why
About to enter a new market or make a major investment in an existing one? A mistake could be costly. You may need to adopt a test-and-learn strategy first. Read story
3 Steps to More Insightful Thinking
It's easy to fall back on 'group think' to address business challenges. But if you really want to generate game-changing ideas, you need a different approach. Read story
5 Actions of Power Networkers
You can make the most out of meet-and-greet opportunities if you balance a little advance planning with the flexibility required to forge new and unexpected ... Read story
4 Ways to Successfully Mix Business & Pleasure
There's nothing wrong with pitching business to your friends as long as you follow these unwritten rules of engagement. Read story
5 Signs That You're an Entrepreneur at Heart
You might be surprised how many "entrepreneurs" are not at the helm of a growing business but rather are among the employees helping to build it. Read story
3 Non-Financial "Gifts" for Your Sales Team
Growing sales is not about motivational efforts or higher commissions for your sales force. The best incentive is to invest in your business model and your b... Read story
3 Ways Hunger Drives Success
Is your team hungry enough to help you build and grow your business? Here are three areas where no one should ever be satisfied with the status quo. Read story
Don't Ignore These 4 Start-up Lessons
A start-up can spring from an innovative idea, but founders often overlook key elements that can turn an idea into at nightmare. Read story
Why You Don't Need Salespeople
Imagine a world in which you were able to fire all of your salespeople and still achieve consistent revenue growth. How would you pull it off? Read story
One CEO's Quest for VC Funding
Jeff Gordy, CEO of Z2 Systems, learned two important lessons while looking for growth capital. Read story
3 Ways to Get More Time Out of Less
You can achieve more in a constrained market without running your employees into the ground. These three steps will get your team focused on the work that re... Read story
6 Questions to Tune Up Your Growth Engine
Is your business model firing on all cylinders? These questions will help you determine if your business needs a few tweaks to keep humming along smoothly. Read story
How Fast Should You Try to Grow?
Does your business need a tune-up before you put the pedal to the metal? Answering three key questions can help you to decide how aggressively you should pur... Read story
5 Steps to Scaling Beyond the Founder
Most entrepreneurs are directly involved in nurturing customer relationships. But once the business grows beyond a few key clients you'll need new growth tac... Read story
Build a Winning Private Equity Partnership
If you're seeking outside funding to fuel growth, make sure you find an investor that's in sync with your business objectives - and brings more than just mon... Read story
What You Need to Know About Private Equity
If you're a growing company looking for funding from angel, venture, or other private equity investors, understanding their objectives will help you find the... Read story
3 Steps to Innovate Like Google
By leveraging the Alchemy of Growth 's Three Horizons Model, companies of any size can begin driving innovation throughout their organization. Read story
Knowing When It's Time to Pivot
If your growth has slowed it may be time to pivot to a new business model. Read story
Become the Next McDonald's: 3 Steps
Can you scale your business like McDonald's did? Here are three steps to take during the journey. Read story
Grow Bigger, Better, Faster: 6 Lessons
In rereading Built to Last by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras, it's surprising how many great lessons the book has for CEOs of growing companies. Read story
'Why' Is the Magic Word
To solve your biggest business problems use The Lean Startup philosophy of asking five "whys" to reveal the root cause. Read story
