Running your own business is complicated. There are literally hundreds of things to keep track of, and new challenges arise daily. To increase the probability of success, Founders have to be experts in their field and know the ins and outs of everything – from finances to HR.
As a serial entrepreneur who’s worked with numerous VCs, ran my own VC fund and invested in 100s of companies and dozens of funds, and sat in pretty much every chair at the proverbial company round table, what I’ve learned is running a business is hard and details make all the difference. A growing business means that the original lean team of Founders now includes an R&D department, a marketing budget, health care considerations, and investors (besides Uncle Joe). That spreadsheet you were using to keep track of it all has gone from being a valuable tool to a liability. Inevitably, things will fall through the cracks, creating a costly clean-up exercise in a high-leverage moment like a financing or exit.
From first-hand experience, I’ve learned that when you don’t pay attention to the details, you make mistakes, and mistakes are costly. I’ve experienced this personally, and it has cost me millions! Avoiding these mistakes is why you are forced to spend an inordinate amount of time working on and thinking through issues that are not related to why you actually started your business.
In my first few years as a founder, I spent a lot of time focused on and worried about capital allocation. I knew this part of the business was critical, and I needed to fully understand the allocation equation – especially when it came to the cost of equity. Though sometimes not clear in the moment, errors in equity allocation are painful! So, I looked around for technology that could help me crack this code. I was searching for a collaborative and transparent platform that could help me with this equity scenario planning, as well as things like managing stock options, board resolutions, due diligence data rooms, audit-related items, taxes, etc. I did not find a platform to my satisfaction; that’s why we created Mantle.
Mantle is a next-generation platform for company ownership – your “AI-powered Co-Pilot.” It’ll help you keep on top of your company ownership with the ease a Founder would expect and the sophistication a professional would require.
Mantle offers a dual advantage: streamlining operations to give Founders back some time and mental bandwidth to focus on their core business and protecting the company from costly mistakes that could have enterprise-wide repercussions. By automating tasks and optimizing processes, the technology eases the mental burden for Founders and Operators, enabling them to dedicate their efforts to innovation and growth. At the same time, its robust safeguards mitigate the potential for mistakes, ensuring the company’s reputation remains intact.
Here, check it out:
Mantle analyzes your company’s documents automatically, providing you with the most important information in a single, organized dashboard.
You can ask Mantle’s AI chatbot what you need, and it will deliver immediately in an easy-to-understand, visual response.
Mantle can take care of the small (yet critical) tasks for you. Just tell it what needs to be done, and it’ll take it off your hands and past the finish line.
That’s just a taste of Mantle; it’s full of great features, and we’re already working on more. No matter how complex your business gets, Mantle will be there to keep you focused on building your future.
Also, if you’re at a VC, PE firm, or a Family Office, Mantle can be a real game-changer for you as well. No more digging through hundreds of emails trying to remember the details and timings on the dozens of portfolio companies you’re involved with. You’ve been promising yourself you’d get organized… and with Mantle, now you can.
I’m proud of what we are building as a team and excited to share it with people who, like me, want something simple to use that grows with them over time. To find out more, sign up, or receive a demo, click here.