🎙 Inventive Journey | Real Stories From the Startup Survival Club

Be really clear on what your goals are in this situation. I think we did it well, even some of the groups that I have worked with over the years. Being clear on what the goals are and what the responsibilities are amongst people really helps.

Take every opportunity. Don't even hesitate about it just do it. Of course, you want to think about it. But, from what I have learned: when you hesitate when there is an opportunity in front of you, it really slows you down, especially with a startup. One of the pros of a startup is you can move at a certain pace. You can quickly change your model. And adapt faster than most businesses. If you see...

It's along that product-market fit. You've got to get out there and take advantage of every introduction that you can get. Talk to those potential customers or those potential people who are not customers. They may just be someone who knows something about the domain or has tried or seen it before. Get out there and take advantage of every introduction you can get and have those talks and learn fr...

Surround yourself with people who are going to challenge what you are saying in a positive way. But also that you can learn from. Before I moved to Austin I did not have a wide network of people that I could leverage from a connection, network, or from an intelligence standpoint. Nor did I have people who would challenge my ideas. Not in a bad way just why do you think this? Why do you think this...

The best way to get the highest evaluation for your business and sell your business for maximum value is proprietary. The fourth P is proprietary. This is the number one value driver. This can take you from a five multiple to an eight multiple to a ten multiple to a fifteen multiple. This is all proprietary. Why am I saying you should start with this? Because if you get this wrong, then you can pr...

Start. Do it. Just do it. Figure out what your risk tolerances are, leave everything else behind. Give yourself a period of time. Do it. Just do it. Once you put it out there, people are going to rally. It's amazing.

I call it a discovery task list. What we do is we take inventory of everything you do for a week. Then we figure out is this something that you can delete? What happens if we just don't do it? How much effect does it really have on the business as far as ROI vs people's perceived value? Then the second thing we ask is, can I delegate this? And the question that we must ask ourselves for each one o...

It might be boring but planning before you start is a big key to success and then obviously executing on your business plan. But first, you need to write it down.

Do it. Do that thing you need to do. I mean, you have that idea go chase it down. Go learn what you need to learn to get it done and get it done.

Start. I think people really struggle to get started. I will say that action is the most important thing. If you are thinking about an idea and you can't quite decide, you just gotta go. And you have to go fast. You are going to bump into walls and say, oh, ok, we are going this direction now and, that's all normal. Startups are not normal. I think that's something a lot of people struggle to unde...

Talk to maybe another business owner. Just because you talk to someone does not mean you have to hire them. If someone wanted to contact me and has questions, that would be fine. I would not mind talking to them. Just ask, ask around, ask people you know. Or, if you have emails for a virtual assistant, shoot them an email and ask them questions. If they are good enough and, classy enough they will...

Try to surround yourself with people who believe in you. So in that same example that I mentioned, that was my biggest mistake and biggest learning. My wife was absolutely amazing. She was a rock and, she was picking me up off the ground when I was in the corner crying and rocking back and forth when the project was going south. She was like, no, you've got to keep going this is just a part of the...

Always make sure that you are establishing your relationships. Always say to people what can I do for you? And Never burn a bridge even if people are wrong. Wrong things have happened to me, and it does not matter.

Get a coach and or mentor. You probably think it is self-serving saying getting a coach. It may be a little self-serving, but it's also speaking from experience because I have benefited tremendously through the years from having tremendous coaches but, also have had some mentors. If you not in a place where you can hire a coach look up people in your industry, look up people who are doing what you...

I would say be fearless it really does take that. I have talked to so many people. I was coaching football for my son, just the little league football. One of my assistant coaches, a great guy still good friends to this day, came up to me and says I have an idea that I know will make me a millionaire. I was like, well, awesome, what is it? And he said I am not going to tell you you will go do it....

First, I would try and make sure they are ready to do it in the first place. I don't necessarily take my own council right here but, particularly for a younger entrepreneur, you got to put in your time. I mentioned earlier that I considered my 10-year at Deloitte an apprenticeship. That's really what it was. I didn't roll out of bed at 25 and start Kalypso. I put in a decade learning the industry,...

In my experience, this is why the bottleneck of so many businesses is the CEO. It's because they are not making decisions, opportunities are being lost, and everything else is falling behind. They within themselves are not showing up as the CEO in their business. And that is why I am such a firm believer that your business growth can't outgrow your inner growth. If you really want to not just perf...

Surround yourself with really good advisers. I know that's said really well but let's talk more about how to pick advisers. I would say that as a founder to find your philosophy for how you are going to grow your company. How you are going to treat the people you are going to support. Find the advisers who are experienced in the area where you have a gap. Go to accelerated programs. Go to your loc...

Just do the research. You know so many people who have an idea get excited, and they automatically turn to marketing. They start spending money on marketing. I would strongly suggest you do the research. Identify if your product or service has competition or is it innovative? Look and see what other people are doing. What niche do you fit into? Where do your customers hang out at? Those are just s...

Listen. Find a problem. We were in a hospital once when I broke my back. It was a family and doctor-owned hospital. It was family so, my wife and daughter were there and, my daughter was ten at the time. She said hey I would like a milkshake. They said we don't have any milkshakes. So They called down, and they had a chef at this kitchen. So they made her a milkshake. The next day they had milksha...

I am going to steal something that I have never forgotten that I learned 35-40 years ago. People today may not be familiar with it. It's called the entrepreneur credo. One major line in the entrepreneur credo, in fact, it may be the first thing is, never fall in love with your company it is a thing, not a person.

Never ever trust your family. You are alone in this game. Your family is going to be overcoming themselves when they promise anything. Just because they over emotional, they are not rational. If you do that, then it's going to fire back. My one piece of advice is you are alone in this game. Don't count on anyone. No one is there to help you. If you plan that way, then you will go a long way.

Try it out and experience it for yourself. Really put yourself in the shoes of the next generation of shoppers. I feel that it typically costs a shopper an hour of their day to visit any one store. Even if they decide to go to that store, they have to decide whether or not it's worth the trip.

Start small and measure everything. There are so many people when they are starting a business that gets sort of turned one way or another of how they should be spending their money. If you can't measure it, you don't know what's working.

Look at it as a continuing journey. There is not a start into it. It's something that you learn every day. You get better at it every day. I equate it to sports because I played sports. In business, athletically, you don't have to lose. Your mind can just get sharper and sharper. I know now based on my experience in having made decisions. The decisions I could have made better earlier in my career...