Feel the Boot

Investors form their first judgment about you before you've said a word about your product. At the early stage they bet on the founder, not the idea, which makes the signal you send long before the pitch one of the most important things you can control. In episode 133, Lance Cottrell sits down with Christine Blosdale, the Expert Authority Coach, to turn personal branding into something practical f...

The friends and family round is how most founders raise their first capital — but it's also where the most relationships get damaged. If you don't structure it right, you can accidentally screw over the people trying to help you, torpedo your next funding round, and make every family gathering awkward for years. In this episode, I break down exactly how to talk to your friends and family about inv...

Most founders are doing "random acts of marketing" — a little LinkedIn, some ads, a blog here and there. Trying to be everywhere, succeeding nowhere. Javier Lozano Jr. was the CMO at Wrapmate during their run from ~$1M to over $20M in revenue and a $16M raise. His fix was counterintuitive: do less. Find the one channel showing signals, go all in, and master it before adding anything else. In this...

Most technical founders think their product will do the talking. It won't. Shayna Rattler-Davis has spent 15+ years helping leaders at companies like IBM, L'Oréal, and dozens of STEM startups learn how to show up with credibility in high-stakes environments. She hosts The Influence Economy Podcast (top 3% globally) and works with technical founders who are brilliant at building but struggle the mo...

Former hockey enforcer Dave Burnett took punches for a living, then helped build Achievers.com (sold for $110M), watched his own business go to zero twice, and came back both times. In this episode, we dig into why founders with non-traditional backgrounds often outperform the textbook startup playbook, how to make sure AI models actually know your startup exists, and a time management system buil...

Most founders think fundraising fails because of "bad luck." Usually, it fails because of simple physics. Fundraising is a sales funnel. If you have a structural leak at the top, no amount of "slick" pitching will produce a check at the bottom. In this episode, we pop the hood on pre-seed fundraising to look at the four filters your startup must pass before you even think about building a deck. St...

If your first interaction with an investor is asking for money, you have already lost. Cold pitching investors has a success rate of nearly 0%. Warm introductions have a success rate of over 50%. The gap between those two numbers is where most fundraising rounds die. Most founders think they are stuck because they don't have a rich uncle or a deep network. The reality is: You just have the wrong p...

🛑 Stop Networking! Build Trust and Community to Fund Your Startup | David Homan Are you an introverted founder struggling to raise capital? Do you find most networking events to be a waste of time and purely transactional? Super connector, author, and composer David Homan reveals the systematic, high-integrity approach to connection that actually opens doors to investors, partners, and key adviso...

The 6 Startup Pitches Every Founder Needs   Most founders only create one pitch deck, and it costs them investors.   In this video, I’ll show you the  six pitches every startup founder needs  to win funding. From your 3-minute competition pitch to your self-guided deck for investors to read on their own, each version has a specific purpose. Skip one, and you risk losing the dea...

Founder/Market Fit: Your Startup’s Early-Stage Advantage     Stop guessing about “Founder–Market Fit.” In this episode I break down how investors spot it at the pre-seed stage— and what to do if you don’t have it yet.   When founders enter a market they’ve never lived, credibility gaps, weak insight, and scarce access can stall everything from customer discovery to fundraising. I’ll...

Are you outsourcing your thinking to ChatGPT? That’s a fast track to sabotaging your startup.   In this episode, I share two real conversations I had with founders who said they got their market size numbers from ChatGPT. That is a red flag for any investor. The problem is not that they used AI. The problem is that they didn’t understand what the answer meant or where it came from.   I w...

Most founders don’t fail because of a bad idea. They fail because fear, doubt, and hesitation stop them before they ever really start.   In this episode of  Feel the Boot , I sit down with internationally recognized mindset coach David Neagle to talk about what keeps talented people stuck, and how to break free.   We explore: Why so many founders never launch The mindset shift that...

Unlocking Startup Growth: Fundraising Strategies and Resilience Tips with Paulo Andrez   What separates the startups that raise capital and scale… from those that stall out?   In this episode of  Feel the Boot , I sit down with Paulo Andrez—angel investor, serial founder, and startup turnaround specialist—to talk about the real challenges early-stage founders face.   We dig int...

Pre-Sell Before You Build: Avoid Costly Startup Mistakes — with David Hirschfeld   Most startups fail because they build something no one wants. In this episode of Feel the Boot , I talk with David Hirschfeld , founder of Tekyz and creator of the Launch First method, about how to flip the script and pre-sell your product before you build it .   We explore how high-fidelity mockups , earl...

Avoid These Startup Finance Mistakes — Insights from a Fractional CFO   Most founders ignore finance until it becomes a problem—don’t be that founder.   In this episode of  Feel the Boot , I sit down with  Josh Aharonoff , a fractional CFO who works with fast-growing startups to get their financials investor-ready. We talk about  common finance mistakes, when to hire help,...

🔥 Your Pitch is Losing Investors in the First 5 Seconds—Here’s How to Fix It!   Most founders waste the most critical part of their pitch—the opening. Investors remember the first and last things you say. But instead of making an impact, most founders start with:   “Hi, I’m [name], CEO of [company]…”   🚨 That’s a HUGE mistake.   In this episode of Feel the Boot , I show you h...

What’s stopping you from starting your dream business? For most people, it’s fear. Fear of failure, financial loss, looking foolish—or even fear of success. In this episode, we break down the most common fears entrepreneurs face and share actionable strategies to overcome them.   Learn how to: ✅ Do the research that calms fear of the unknown. ✅ Test your idea with quick, low-cost experiment...

Why Startup Plans Fail (and Why That’s Okay)   Welcome to Feel the Boot, the science of startups! In this episode, host I share three insightful sayings about planning and their relevance to startups. Using quotes from Dwight D. Eisenhower, Helmuth von Moltke, and Mike Tyson, I discuss the importance of planning and adaptability when facing unexpected challenges. Learn how to navigate the twi...

Building Products Right: Essential Advice for Early-Stage Founders by Chad Perry 🚀   Building a tech product as a non-technical founder can feel like a daunting challenge. Should you hire a developer? Outsource? What about mockups, tech stacks, and budgets? 😰   In this episode of  Feel the Boot , I sit down with fractional CTO Chad Perry, who’s worked with countless earl...

In this episode of Feel the Boot , I sit down with leadership expert Emily Hawkins to tackle one of the biggest challenges founders face: effective team management. 🚀 Whether you’re a new founder or a seasoned entrepreneur, this conversation dives deep into the soft skills that are often overlooked but are crucial for scaling your business.   Emily shares her journey from a corporate career...

In this episode of 'Feel the Boot,' host Lance Cottrell delves into the strategic importance of targeting a niche market for startup success. He guides early-stage founders through the crucial process of focusing on specific customer segments that resonate with their products, illustrating how this can significantly improve customer acquisition and product development. Lance shares practical strat...

The freemium business model is popular, but is it right for your startup? In this video, I break down how freemium works, common mistakes founders make, and why it often leads to revenue problems. We’ll also explore an alternative approach—the reverse freemium model—that could be a better fit for your business.   Ideal for early-stage founders, this video provides valuable insights and practi...

How to Pivot Your Startup Before You Launch 🚀 Pre-Pivot Strategies for Entrepreneurs   In this episode of Feel the Boot, host Lance Cottrell dives into the concept of pre-pivoting for startups. Avoid the common pitfalls and wasted resources of traditional pivots by learning how to identify potential problems before building your product. Lance shares three effective ways to foresee issues, f...

In this episode of Feel the Boot, host Lance Cottrell delves into the concept of 'secret sauce' for startups. Learn why identifying and protecting your unique differentiator is crucial for attracting investors and maintaining a competitive edge. Cottrell shares insights on developing a valuable and defensible secret sauce, using trade secrets and patents, and the importance of articulating it effe...

In this episode of 'Feel the Boot,' I address a common frustration among startup founders: investors who show strong interest but delay their commitment. I explain the reasons behind this behavior, such as risk minimization and strategic leverage, and provides actionable techniques for founders to expedite investor commitments. Key strategies discussed include structuring funding rounds in tranche...