Posts by Kim Browne
7 ways to handle growth when it starts feeling expensive
There is a specific kind of anxiety that hits when your startup finally starts growing and your bank balance drops faster than ever. Revenue is up. Users are signing up. Investors are asking for updates. And yet your burn rate is creeping into territory that makes you open your banking app at midnight. You wanted…
Read More5 signs your imposter syndrome is actually useful
You close your laptop after a 14 hour day and instead of feeling proud, you feel behind. You read another founder’s LinkedIn post about their oversubscribed round and wonder if you somehow fooled your customers into paying you. You hit revenue milestones and still think, “Any minute now, someone’s going to realize I have no…
Read More7 financial habits founders should build before they hire a CFO
You probably did not start your company because you love spreadsheets. You started it because you saw a problem, felt a pull toward freedom, or wanted to build something that mattered. But at some point, every founder has the same uncomfortable realization: if you do not understand your numbers, your numbers will eventually control you.…
Read More9 unspoken rules of early-stage fundraising nobody writes about
You can memorize every fundraising blog post on the internet and still feel blindsided the first time you actually raise money. The pitch deck templates look clean. The Twitter threads make it sound formulaic. But when you are in the middle of it, juggling customer calls, runway anxiety, and investors who say “maybe” for three…
Read More7 signs your startup culture is quietly killing momentum
You hit your numbers last quarter. The product works. Investors are not panicking. On paper, things look fine. But inside the company, something feels heavier than it should. Decisions drag. Energy dips. Small problems turn into week-long Slack threads. You start wondering if it is just the normal chaos of early-stage life or something deeper.…
Read MoreThe 7 financial red flags experienced investors notice instantly
You can feel it in the room. You are walking an investor through your deck, explaining growth, vision, market size. They nod along, ask a few questions, flip to your financials slide, and something shifts. The energy tightens. The follow-up questions get sharper. The tone changes. Most founders assume investors obsess over flashy revenue numbers.…
Read More5 differences between being frugal and being afraid as a founder
You tell yourself you are being disciplined. You are watching burn, negotiating every SaaS subscription, pushing hires out another quarter. That is what responsible founders do, right? But sometimes, late at night when you are updating your runway spreadsheet for the third time that week, a quieter question creeps in: am I being smart with…
Read MoreWhy Lifelong Learning Is Becoming a Non-Negotiable Career Advantage
The world is moving quickly. With new tech constantly being developed, the exchange of information is becoming faster every day. Of course, this unprecedented access to information leeches into our daily life, and even our work. When looking for a job, it’s no longer enough to have a qualification and experience. Now, employees need to…
Read MoreHow to Style a Cropped Trench Coat for a Polished Everyday Outfit – Fashion Jackson
Earlier this month, I wrote about how a trench coat can be an unsung hero of winter outerwear for a number of reasons. Today, I’m continuing to show the trench coat love but in a… shorter, more spring-forward, way. Meet my latest jacket obsession, this cropped trench coat from ZARA. Even though the groundhog predicted…
Read MoreWhat are the Fundamentals of a Successful 100% Remote Business?
Studies have consistently found that remote-first businesses often outperform in-office businesses across a range of areas, including cost savings, productivity, and employee satisfaction. Remote businesses also make good business sense for their owners, with significantly lower overhead costs and access to a global, top-tier talent pool. Yet these advantages don’t guarantee that every remote business…
Read More7 meeting mistakes that instantly signal rookie founder
You can have traction, you can have revenue, and you can even have a decent deck. But if you run meetings poorly, people quietly downgrade you. Investors notice it on Zoom. Senior hires notice it in your all hands. Even early customers feel it in a sales call. Meetings are one of the fastest pattern…
Read MoreThe 5 questions smart founders ask before chasing growth
You feel it the moment a competitor announces their seed round. Or when a Twitter thread goes viral about someone hitting 50K MRR in 12 months. Suddenly, steady progress feels slow. Sustainable feels boring. Growth at all costs starts whispering in your ear. Most founders do not fail because they lack ambition. They fail because…
Read More