Today, on the 6 year anniversary since we launched Suzy, I learned that only 20 of the 3,067 startups funded in 2018 reached Series D funding; very much a barometer for scale & market impact. That is only 0.7%.

Even though I wholeheartedly believe we are just getting started at Suzy I did want to share the core business strategies that have gotten us to where 3,047 out of 3,067 did not:

- Put the customer first ... always. Never ever let a minor legal issue, financial terms, or small details get in the way of building lasting customer relationships... sign the MSA live to see another day and over-deliver. The day you win a customer is the minute you start to lose them. This culture needs to permeate throughout the org or you are dead in the water.

- Put women in leadership positions: this deserves its own post, but to quote the Grateful Dead Man smart, Woman smarter

- Identify rising stars, spend time with them, understand what makes them feel alive, and be invested in their journey... most importantly promote them with reckless abandon

- Promote based on merit, not tenure

- Start every year with the question If I were dropped in to this business from another planet to achieve this year's goals is this the structure and team I would want? if the answer is no.., make changes. You will always need to make changes.

- Fire a**holes the moment they reveal themselves

- Invest in brand. The same reason mom buys Tide at Walmart is why your customer will buy from you. Its because they know and trust your brand

- Content is the exercise of marketing. You won't notice a difference after one week or month, but if you create and share content every day your brand will be fit for battle

- Never be content with your product. Look everyday for the nooks and crannies where you can constantly improve and ship better versions.

- Get your hands dirty. Now more than ever in the age of AI you need your hands on keyboard. Anyone that tells you otherwise has never truly built something. Don't try to solve every problem with a new hire or a new tool. Try to fix it yourself and inspire your teams to do the same.

- Be transparent with your org about where you are vs your goals and where you are heading. Don't hide issues or embellish momentum. People just want to hear the truth.

- Be data-driven and have data flowing throughout your org in a way that makes it easy for every team to do more of what's working and less of what's not.

- Choose your investors carefully.

- Keep a level head. Things are never as bad or good as you think they are in the moment. Just keep truckin' and never quit.