Of course, you’ve heard of, “early bird gets the worm”, and there is a lot of truth in that. Successful people are normally early risers. In fact, today’s top leaders in every industry are up by 8am. In a monastery, monks are up by 4am, and they are meditating by 5am. In Zen Buddhism, life happenings are just waves. The earlier one gets up for meditation, the calmer the mind is and less disturbed by the waves. Even if your job allows you to walk in whenever be up 2 hours prior to work so allow yourself a calmer morning and to take charge of the flow of the day. 

We live in changing times where times move fast so waking up can help you prepare for it. 
Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba Group wakes up at 6am.
Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple wakes up at 3:45am. 
Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon and the richest person on earth wakes up by 7-8am. 
Li Ka Shing, the richest man in Hong Kong wakes up by 6am. 
Jack Dorsey, serial entrepreneur is up by 5am. 
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla is up by 7am. 
Richard Branson wakes up at 5:45am. 
Oprah Winfrey wakes up by 6:20am. 

Okay, you get the point, every successful person wakes up early. There might be science behind this, waking up early helps with our mood, willpower, and metabolism. After a good night of sleep, early risers experience better prefrontal power which is related to creativity and willpower. Hence, the best time to be creative is in the morning. Morning is when the willpower is strong and the best decisions are made. According to studies, as the day goes on, the subjects were more likely to make unthoughtful choices. Maybe this is why executives wake up early to make mindful choices. 
It turns out that our biological clock works best when we rise with the sun. The suprachiasmatic nucleus, which is located right above the point in the brain where the optic nerve fibers cross is responsible for keeping time. Due to its location, it is able to receive the cues it needs from light in the environment to keep track of time. So your mind and body actually work best when it is waking up to the sunrise. 
Our hormones also work with the biological clock. The hormones responsible for metabolism rise and fall throughout the day. So waking up early could also help with sticking with a diet, and since waking up early also helps with decision making, not only is it good for metabolism, it also helps to resist the urge of binge eating. 
There are 86,400 seconds in a day, the earlier you wake up, the more time you’d have. Time is one of those things that shouldn't be wasted as you can't get any of those missed seconds, minutes, or hours back. To build the habit of getting up early, try setting the clock 15 minutes earlier each day until you are up by sunrise. 
Waking up early allows you to set the tone for the day playing offense instead of playing defense. It also allows for the time for you to eat a nutritious breakfast instead of rushing out the door. 

Do you think about whenever you wake up? No. Your mind already knows what you will be doing for the day. Your mind is formed by the habits every morning. 
Habits play a very important role in our life. Habits can control most of your life outcome. You become controlled by your habits, but of course, you can always change the situation and be the organizer of your day. Shaping habits could be very hard, but everything is possible is you are persistent and you are ready to spend time to form new habits. 
It takes about 21 days to form a new habit. It might be long, but it is definitely worth it. If you can form good habits to support yourself and help you succeed in goal, it will be worthwhile. 
Here are 5 tips on forming habits:
1. Make "micro quotas" and "macro goals"
In a fascinating study on motivation, researchers found abstract thinking to be an effective method to help with discipline. In the most basic sense, "dreaming big" is a pretty good advice after all. There are a lot of researches around self-determination theory which show that creating intrinsic motivators (being motivated to do things internally, not through punishments or rewards) is an essential process of building habits that stick. It is important to find a way to balance this desire to dream big with your day-to-day chores, which often do not result in quick dramatic changes. 
The answer is to create what "micro quotas" and "macro goals." Your goals should be the big picture items that you wish to someday accomplish, but your quotas, are the minimum amounts of work that you must get done every single day to make the bigger goal a reality. Quotas make each day approachable, and your goals become achievable because of this. 
Nathan Barry, a writer, has made a great case study of the use of these quotas as someone who forced himself to write 1000 words per day come hell or high water. The result was three self-published books resulting in thousands of dollars in sales. 
2. Create behavior chains
Creating sticky habits is far easier when we make use of our current routines, instead of trying to fight them. The concept of if-then planning is built around environmental "triggers" that we can use to let us know that it is time to act on our habit. For example, create an environment that is a trigger for you to get to work. A coworking space might just be perfect for that. As you arrive at a coworking space, it triggers the habit to work. 
3. Eliminate excessive options
It might be boring to not have too many choices in life, but there could be great power in it. One's brain is only capable of making so many choices per day and eliminating choices could help with decision making according to a research by Kathleen Vohs and her colleagues. 
President Barack Obama was a great example for this study. He stated in an interview, "I am trying to pare down decisions. I don't want to make too many decisions about what I'm eating or wearing. Because I have too many other decisions to make."
So, being boring might be great in maintaining a habitual life. Cut out unnecessary choices to live a more effective disciplined life. 
4. Process plan (but don't fantasize) 
The step that many people skip when they fantasize about building a certain habit is they never clearly answer why they want the change to occur. It may seem like a small detail, but it plays a huge role in keeping motivation for change up over the course of changing habits. BUT research shows us that excessive fantasizing about results can be extremely detrimental to the stickiness of any habit. It is time to set the expectations realistic. 
5. Stick to Your Habits
It is really hard to make the new habit stays most of the time. Ever told yourself you would be at the gym in the new year and never stuck to that habit?
Ramit Sethi found a solution to his own gym problem by simply finding where things will slip. 
"When I sat down to analyze why I wasn't going to the gym, I realized: my closet was in another room. That meant I had to walk out in the cold to put on my clothes. It was easier to just stay in bed. Once I realized this, I folded my clothes and shoes the night before. When I woke up the next morning, I would roll over and see my gym clothes sitting on the floor. The result? My gym attendance soared by over 300%. 
Find the failing factor to make your habits stick. 

​Make sure to make your new habits stick this year! 

Every year, millions of “startups” are founded around the world. A handful of those will be lucky enough to take on funding, hire talented employees, and eventually go public or get acquired.   

While there are an infinite number of details that go into making this dream a reality, one critical detail is setting up your company’s cap table. Before you do, you’ll want to familiarize yourself with key terms around equity and basic cap table structure.

A cap table is a company’s record of ownership percentages; the cap table changes over time as a result of different financing events and company growth. Historically, the cap table has been tracked in Excel. Today, there are software platforms (like Carta) that can automate the management and compliance checks associated with your cap table. Leveraging software will help ensure accuracy, cut down on maintenance time, minimize expensive legal fees, and ensure you have proper historical data as you grow.

As a startup founder, these are 5 key milestones that will impact your cap table from founding to IPO:

1. Founder’s Stock - The initial names on a company’s cap table are it’s founders. At the outset, the value of founder’s stock is generally close to nothing, but if the value of the company increases quickly founders will need the proper documents in place to ensure tax compliance. If there are co-founders, important conversations on ownership percentages will need to occur to make sure that everyone is in agreement on equity stakes prior to raising capital or hiring employees.
2. Early Investors - Raising capital with early investors will give you the runway you need to start working towards a Series A. Many startups choose to do this via a SAFE Agreement or Convertible Note. Both of these options will eventually convert to stock when the company goes through an equity round. This stock conversion will be a painful process if the cap table is not set-up properly.
3. Employees - Options have become an expected and necessary perk of working for an early stage company. If you want to bring in top-tier talent, but can’t compete with the high salaries offered by more established companies, you can add options to your compensation plan. Once you’ve added employees to your cap table, there are a lot of details that need to be tracked: the number of shares allocated to an employee option pool, vesting schedules, and post-termination exercis e windows, to name several.
4. Compliance - Now that you have the founders, investors, and employees on your cap table, there are reporting requirements you’ll need to make sure you’re compliant with: ​
a. 409a Valuation - This sets the fair market value (FMV) of your company. It’s required by the IRS annually if you’re issuing common shares. The 409a valuation has to be performed by a 3rd party valuation service, and ensures that your options are being issued at a fair value, saving employees from tax penalties.
b. Expense Reporting (or Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 718) - ASC 718 is an accounting standard for expensing stock-based compensation issued to employees. These reports will become very important when going through due diligence for an M&A or IPO.
c. 10% Shareholder - There are specific requirements around issuing equity to an employee who owns 10% or more of the total voting power across all classes of stock in a company.
d. Rule 701 - This section of the Securities Act of 1933 allows private companies to issue options without complying with federal registration requirements. However, there are specific disclosures if the equity awards exceed $5M in a 12-month period.
e. ISO/NSO Split - You cannot issue more than $100,000 in Incentive Stock Options (ISOs) to any one employee during a calendar year. If you do, the options that exceed the limit need to be issued as Nonstatutory Stock Options (NSOs). ​
5. M&A or IPO - If you’ve made it to the point where you’re considering an M&A transaction or an IPO, the last thing you want standing in your way is inaccurate or missing cap table information. There are strict due diligence processes, involving multiple parties, when preparing for these events. Having clear documentation of your capitalization history will allow you to quickly respond to questions, and ensure these events are seamless.

While proper cap table management and compliance practices are crucial to the financing, hiring, and future of your company, cap table management should never distract you from focusing on your company’s vision. Make sure you have the proper legal, administrative processes, and platforms in place now to help navigate avoidable mistakes and potentially expensive accounting reconciliations in the future.

{Disclaimer: I work for Carta, an ownership management company that automates cap table management and compliance. I am not a legal or financial advisor. I speak with hundreds of early stage companies every month about their equity structures, and how Carta can help maintain accuracy and compliance. This article is based on information I’ve gathered in my time at Carta, and in those conversations. If you’d like to know more, you can schedule a demo of Carta with me here.}

The world is changing at a rapid pace. This is filling up our world with competition and challenges as an entrepreneur. Launching a new venture means overcoming obstacles and challenges. It is a huge learning curve and hopefully, you can also grow as a person every step of the way.
At first, launching a new venture might seem daunting, and depending on the type of business you are establishing, you might face specific challenges for your business. However, some challenges around new businesses are universal such as laws, persistence, and some of the topics in this blog post.

1. Validate your idea
If your startup aims to sell a widget that the world has never seen, make sure the world, in fact, needs your widget. Perhaps it doesn’t exist yet because no one actually needs it. If it is needed, then make sure the world is willing to pay for it or there is some way of monetizing. It is your job as an entrepreneur to figure out the market for your new venture. Don’t waste your time building something that no one wants. With the 21st century, it is easier than ever to figure out what your customers want. Market research doesn’t need to be expensive. You could start by asking your friends, but make sure they are friends who are brutally honest. Listening to feedbacks isn’t easy so prepare yourself. Another way to find people to validate your idea is to run some ads and provide some incentives for people to fill out your survey or answer your questions.
Validating your idea is super important, so make sure to put down your ego in order to build a product that the world needs.  


2. Go beyond the business plan
Launching a new business plan is more than preparing a business plan. While writing a business plan is probably helpful, the real value is not having the most perfect plan to adapt to every situation, but to just research and think about your new venture in a systematic way. The act of planning helps to think things through thoroughly as well as study and research if you are not sure of the facts. There are some entrepreneurs out there who wrote their plan at least 19 times, and that is very unnecessary as it would only lead to overthinking instead of doing.


3. Know the market
Ask questions, conduct research or gain experience to help you learn your new venture’s market inside and out. Stop being in your echo chamber and living inside your mind. Gain some perspectives so you know what your market needs. You need to understand the critical metrics of your market.


4. Choose the right business structure
It is critical to select the appropriate structure for your new venture from the very beginning because it could have legal and tax implications. The structure you choose could also ensure the success of future decisions such as raising capital or exiting the business.

5. Build the right team
Perhaps the most critical step in the evolution of your startup is assembling a team that works well together and can deliver what is necessary for your new venture. Your teammates need to share your vision and values as well as be productive together. Decision making is based on values and vision and whenever there is a disagreement, that should be ultimate way to make the right decision for the company.

Launching a new venture is more than passion. It is important to build a minimal viable product, know your market, build the right team, and work hard in launching your new venture. Hopefully, it will be a worthwhile journey for you. Good luck! ​