FOUNDERS, MAKE SURE TO INVEST YOUR ENERGY AND RESILIENCE SELECTIVELY

PSA to Founders. I just got off a call with a brilliant Founder. They're working with a difficult client but agreed to the deal because they needed the money.

You may become aware of a bad deal before or after signing an agreement. Many founders have experienced a situation (or multiple situations) when they hit a wall and had to decide whether or not to do a bad deal to pay bills.

Unfortunately, you may be the best at what you do and have found yourself compromising because of a situation that had to do with life - and nothing to do with the deal itself.

Beware of investing your resilience & energy to chase deals or do business with partners, clients, or alliances that want to win at your expense.

First and foremost, work with a trusted lawyer. If you can't afford a lawyer in the immediate future, pay close attention to the other party's ACTIONS and what they DON'T SAY.

Of course, you want to avoid a scenario like this. But if you have to do a less favorable deal knowingly, make sure it's a short-term move to get you out of a short-term tough spot. Investing your energy, time, and capital with bad actors as a long-term play - to accelerate or scale your business - NEVER works out. Don't set long-term growth plans for your company around this deal.