Agile Racecar: Software, Magic, and Life

Chances are you've heard about Agile before but you don't know what the heck it is - even if you think you do . Chances are: if I say "Agile", you think "methodology" if I say "Agile process", you think "Scrum" if I say "Scrum", you think "daily standup meetings" if I say "XP", you think "Pair Programming if I say "Requirements", you think "PRD" The problem with the above word/phrase associations is that they establish an incorrect image in your mind about the essence of XP, Scrum and Agile. It is this image that determines in the end whether you succeed or fail when you attempt any Agile method; in fact, it is this image that decides if you'll ever seriously attempt to use an Agile method to build software. No wonder that Agile methods often get such a bad rap from smart, well-intentioned, successful software develope...

Last week at Agile Entrepreneurs, an entrepreneur asked the inevitable question of valuation and equity you need to give up in return for VC funding. As the other entrepreneurs in the room chimed in with the expected answer, the analogy hit me. Getting funding from a VC is like getting married. No matter who you marry, you give up 50%. And while every man dreams of marrying a hot bombshell, who he ends up with has a lot to do with who he is and how good he looks. That pretty much sums up the terms you're likely to get from VCs: The amount of equity you need to give up is fairly constant, irrespective of the amount of money you raise. And the amount of money you're able to raise depends on your leverage. Moral: Focus on making yourself (and your company) more attractive, i.e. building value. There's not much else you control when in comes to negotiating with VCs.