Startup Therapy: Recent Episodes

Startups.com

The "No BS" version of how startups are really built, taught by actual startup Founders who have lived through all of it. Hosts Wil Schroter and Ryan Rutan talk candidly about the intense struggles Founders face both personally and professionally as they try to turn their idea into something that will change the world.

In today's Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss why a lower valuation exit can offer founders more advantageous financial outcomes than a higher valuation exit. This happens because of things like how much of the company's ownership each founder still has and what investors are expecting from their investments. As startups grow and get more funding, founders might end up owning less of the company. So even if an exit seems worth more on paper, the actual money each founder gets can be less due to having a smaller piece of the pie. Let’s delve into the maze of startup exits, exploring the delicate interplay between exit values, ownership, and the real-world implications.

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Startup Therapy Podcast
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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:28 Navigating funding & exit strategies
05:59 Optionality
09:23 Outcomes can vary depending on the funding path chosen
13:46 Founder fatigue
17:53 What are preferences?
25:34 Protect your downside first

In today's Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss why you shouldn’t fear the AI revolution that’s coming. Founders shouldn't fear changes in technology because embracing advancements can bring various advantages. These changes often lead to improved efficiency, streamlined processes, and better decision-making. Adapting to technological shifts enables founders to stay competitive, innovate, and explore new opportunities, ultimately fostering growth and success.

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Startup Therapy Podcast
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Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan

What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
01:44 Technology is always changing
03:51 What happens when a revolution comes around?
07:23 Why are we afraid of this?
12:12 Become better tool operators
17:40 Is displacement a bad thing?
24:57 Not embracing the future can destroy you
28:26 Be on the right side of change
30:57 Change is scary
33:25 AI taking decisions for us
38:06 Are people lazy by nature?
42:24 The negative effects of technology

In today's Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss why you shouldn’t let investors become your customers. When you prioritize investor demands over customer needs in pursuit of additional funding, you risk losing touch with your market's true requirements. This could lead to developing products or services that don't align with customer expectations, potentially resulting in poor adoption and revenue generation. Over time, prioritizing investor preferences over customer feedback could erode customer trust and loyalty, negatively impacting your long-term business sustainability.

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Resources:

Startup Therapy Podcast
https://www.startups.com/begin
Join our Network of Top Founders
Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan

What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
01:12 Optimizing for what investors want
02:13 Two types of investor feedback
03:47 Being in the capital raising business
04:53 What happens when you pitch to investors vs. provide to customers
06:10 “You’re just as vulnerable at the beginning of fundraising as you are at the end of fundraising…”
07:44 The investors don’t matter to the business
09:10 Jumping on trend for the money
16:37 Investors have a different game that they’re playing
18:15 Investor Optics vs. Customer Value
22:11 Navigating investor expectations and customer demands

In today's Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss what happens when founders stay out of the game for too long. Startup founders can't afford lengthy breaks from the game because the skills and mindset crucial for entrepreneurship can weaken over time. Startups demand ongoing learning and adaptability due to their rapid evolution. But here's the burning question: Can you still come back strong after a break, ready to tackle the dynamic challenges of the startup world?

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Startup Therapy Podcast
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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
01:17 When you’re not relevant anymore
03:58 The startup muscle
05:54 Challenges in re-entering the game
08:27 The difference between taking a rest and quasi-retiring
10:08 Too soon or too late?
12:51 Relationships and relevancy
15:17 You lose relevance, relationships, and your mind
18:37 Pitfalls of taking a break
22:51 Don’t stay out of the game too long

In today's Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss if your dreams as a founder is an illusion. The dream seems so valuable because it's something you don't have right now. But it's essential to play test your goals and ask yourself if you'd truly enjoy it once you achieve them. Sometimes, the journey and the process of pursuing a startup are more important than the final outcome, so it's crucial to think about whether the sacrifices are really worth it for your long-term happiness and sense of purpose.

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Resources:

Startup Therapy Podcast
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Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan

What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
02:08 What if your startup dream is bullsh*t?
03:11 Investing in something uncertain
07:59 Did you test-drive it?
09:45 The cost of being wrong
19:33 Assessing risk in a startup
25:53 It’s valuable now because you don’t have it
27:48 Recalibrate your goals

In today's Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss the topic of building a “big business”. Scaling rapidly can lead to market dominance and attract investors, but it also involves higher resource demands and potential pitfalls. On the other hand, building a profitable and sustainable business may allow for steady growth, reduced risks, and long-term viability. By reevaluating goals and priorities, founders may discover the benefits of a steady and enduring approach that aligns with their vision and values. So what’s it going to be? Are you going to go big or go home? Or are you going to go steady and go long?

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Startup Therapy Podcast
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Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan

What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
01:24 You don’t need to make a “big business”
06:13 Who is this big enough business for?
09:51 Building a profitable business is much easier to achieve
13:01 Focus on your actual goal
15:35 The path to freedom
19:23 When people belittle more money
24:02 Think about sustainability instead
26:23 The probability to build a big business is insanely small
28:23 Dimes vs. Dollars businesses
31:46 The dangers of aiming too high
34:01 Goals and metrics when it comes to scaling a business
40:13 Problem-solving and resource efficiency in startups
43:02 Stop pleasing investors

In today's Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss how all problems are not the end of the world for founders. While running a startup can be challenging and bring various obstacles, not every problem leads to failure or signifies the end. Startup founders often encounter a range of difficulties, including financial setbacks, operational hurdles, or competition. However, with resilience, adaptability, and problem-solving skills, founders can navigate these challenges, learn from them, and continue to grow their businesses. It's important for founders to maintain a positive mindset, seek support from mentors and networks, and view problems as opportunities for growth and improvement.

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Resources:

Startup Therapy Podcast
https://www.startups.com/begin
Join our Network of Top Founders
Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan

What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:38 Not all problems are apocalyptic
03:12 Startup problem vs. True “end of the world” problem
11:33 Externalizing the problem normalizes it
12:34 Why categorize your problems by levels?
15:53 Don’t overprioritize one problem and ignore the others
16:53 Stop making everything a level 10
20:40 You will never run out of problems
27:30 Time will come problems won’t even faze you

In today's Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss why you should stop listening to investors. While investors can provide valuable insights and expertise, founders should exercise caution when relying too heavily on their advice. Investors often prioritize financial returns and short-term gains, whereas founders have a deep understanding of their vision and long-term goals. Over-reliance on investor advice may compromise the original vision and unique value proposition of the business, hindering its potential for growth and innovation. Founders should carefully evaluate and consider investor advice while staying true to their own vision and strategic direction.

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Resources:

Startup Therapy Podcast
https://www.startups.com/begin
Join our Network of Top Founders
Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan

What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
02:19 Investors are not fortune tellers
06:42 They just speculate everything
08:11 What one investor says doesn’t represent all the investors
09:13 Investing in a certain industry doesn’t make them an expert
10:31 Match their advice with their experience
12:45 If you want advice, go to experts
15:35 A well-intended advice can still derail you
16:27 Even if it’s a strong opinion, it doesn’t mean it’s right
21:20 Get a lot of feedback but consider the source
23:04 Checkbooks = writing checks, not giving advice
24:22 Investors can give bad assumptions, so don’t treat them like gospel
28:33 A positive feedback might actually mean “no”
30:09 Nobody can turn the wheel other than you

In today's Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss if you can actually build a startup in less than 40 hours a week. Building a successful startup typically requires a significant investment of time and effort. While it's theoretically possible to work on a startup for less than 40 hours a week, it may significantly impact the chances of success. Building a startup is not just one job; it involves planning, research, product development, marketing, and networking. By committing more hours initially, founders can accelerate the growth and development of their startup, potentially leading to a point where they can work fewer hours in the future. Ultimately, the time invested in the early stages can significantly influence the trajectory and potential success of a startup.

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Resources:

Startup Therapy Podcast
https://www.startups.com/begin
Join our Network of Top Founders
Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan

What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
02:16 Time is the only resource you got
05:05 It’s now survival mode
06:21 Why would you start this if you don’t want to put yourself in completely?
08:15 Focus all your energy on one thing
09:25 In a startup, 40 hours is not enough
10:27 You can work less in the future if you work more now
13:43 Time commitment to the business
15:52 When things need to get done, they need to be done
18:43 It depends on how many people will get affected
20:03 It just needs to take time in the beginning
25:07 For startups, everything is variable
27:22 Experience is not a formula for success

In today's Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss whether bootstrapped startups are less valuable than venture-funded startups. The value of a startup isn't only determined by its funding source. While venture-funded startups may have more money and support initially, bootstrapped startups can still be valuable and successful. Bootstrapping often leads to efficient operations, as founders have to focus on making money and becoming profitable without relying on outside investments. In the end, the value of a startup depends on things like its potential in the market, how much it's growing, how well its product fits the market, and the skills of its team, regardless of how it's funded.

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Resources:

Startup Therapy Podcast
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Join our Network of Top Founders
Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan

What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
02:44 What do founders feel when they are not funded?
03:47 There are only a few companies that get venture funded
06:44 If you don’t raise VC, who cares?
08:52 What happens after you get the funding?
13:32 Getting funded = smaller options
17:39 Who are you creating value for?
22:32 Bootstrapping is okay
25:53 The optionality of bootstrapping
27:34 Creativity and resourcefulness from bootstrapping
28:49 Don’t let your startup be valuable to someone other than you
29:54 Bootstrapping a business that won’t generate profit right away
35:08 Patience is an incredible asset

In today's Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss why founders don’t like to ask for help. Founders sometimes hold back from asking for help because they worry about losing control, looking weak, burdening others, or feeling like they have to do everything themselves. However, it's actually really important for founders to push past these concerns and ask for help. Getting guidance and support from experienced folks can give them awesome insights, expertise, and connections that can speed up their growth and success. It lets founders tap into different perspectives, learn from other people's experiences, and access resources that can help them tackle challenges and make smarter choices.

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Resources:

Startup Therapy Podcast
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Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan

What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
03:58 You could learn something if you just ask for help
06:32 Why founders find it hard to ask for help
08:57 When there’s literally no one else but you
10:32 Unique problem vs. a problem other founders experienced already
15:15 How do you know it’s good advice?
20:31 Asking for help is not a weakness
22:40 Difference between getting advice and experience feedback
24:43 When you’re “too busy” to ask for help
29:10 The advice should be timely
30:23 Ask someone who knows the topic for a long time

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss if founders should worry about quiet quitting. This may sound like a new term to a lot of founders BUT this has been around for many ages now and we should be alarmed about it. So how can you see if your team is actually checked in or out of work?

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Startup Therapy Podcast
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Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan

What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:17 When did this start?
01:50 What is quiet quitting?
02:55 How working from home changed how we operate
04:14 This is nothing new
05:56 Internet in an office is a distraction
10:56 How to know if your team is checked in or checked out
13:40 Good players never shut up
17:23 There’s a pattern of behavior
19:50 Micro KPIs
22:41 Everything is measurable

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss what will happen to the founder when the Startup company goes down. When a company starts to wind down, you might be shocked how everything maps back to the founder, from office leases to subscriptions, and now all of a sudden these company liabilities become your personal liabilities. How can you avoid this from happening to you?

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Startup Therapy Podcast
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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
02:50 You’re stuck with the liabilities
08:27 Who pays the wind-down entity?
10:58 Filing for personal bankruptcy
14:14 Everything maps back to you
16:48 Adding more liabilities
19:37 Creditors will follow you
21:18 Can you sign under the company’s name?
23:59 How safe are you inside the corporate veil?
28:52 Buying the good stuff only
32:15 Typical timeframe for winding down a company
33:42 The personal liability is the scariest part
36:32 Be mindful of what you sign and don’t keep adding liabilities
38:09 Treat those liabilities as your own
40:05 You can renegotiate
41:36 No long term agreements

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss when a founder’s focus starts to shift from managing externally to managing internally. When a company grows, there’s a huge possibility that as a founder your focus might change from managing customers and shipping products to hiring staff and doing reports – which could lead to a stall in your skills and growth as a founder. So as you motivate your people, keep motivating yourself as well!

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Startup Therapy Podcast
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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
01:24 From leading externally to managing internally
02:39 Offense vs. defense
04:35 When focus shift internally
07:00 Staying safe in a growing company
08:35 Measurement of performance is important
11:24 Being okay with not focusing externally
14:00 Leaders providing incentives
16:39 How to avoid having unmotivated staff
18:50 Leadership vs. management

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss if founders deserved their wins and successes or did they just get lucky? Sometimes, founders feel guilty of their own success to the point that they don’t want to reward themselves and enjoy their hard-earned money. Most of the time, these founders hear people say “You’re just lucky!” disregarding the years and years of their hard work. But always remember that for you every win you earned and deserved your wins.

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Startup Therapy Podcast
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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
02:14 Good luck vs. good fortune
08:16 The process doesn’t really feel lucky
09:48 You should share your luck
12:11 Guilt investments
16:50 Enjoy your money
20:36 No one will share in your losses

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss what happens to founders during the tough times. When things are going well, when you just got funded, and when you’re finally getting that high revenue, everybody loves you. But when things go south, no one is around. Sure, you feel emotionally betrayed at this point because you trusted them right? But is there a way you can avoid this in the beginning?

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Startup Therapy Podcast
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Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan

What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
02:51 No one will love you during the bad times
03:59 Raising capital is like the first date
05:43 Creating more liabilities
07:25 You haven’t proven anything yet
09:45 People will surround you because you have money
13:49 Staffing up is your most ignorant time
22:44 Feeling emotionally betrayed
23:35 Fake metrics & early projections
27:11 We get fooled during the good times
29:32 Nobody wants to lead when things get tough
30:51 Your team’s values get measured during bad times
34:45 The character of a founder

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss what founders are entitled to when their business takes off. There is danger in expecting too much from our Startup, when we think we should get additional funding because the business is growing, when we think that business growth will merit us more opportunities. Reality check: things don't work this way. Things take time to grow and every growth is exponentially different.

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Startup Therapy Podcast
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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:20 You’re entitled to nothing
02:29 From being optimistic to being hubris
06:19 Why did I not get funded?
08:07 The path outside of funding
09:33 Success doesn’t happen quickly
12:25 The short-term mentality
14:45 Providing value first
16:19 Create realistic expectations
18:40 Enabling or accelerative?
21:13 Startup exit
23:46 What are you & not entitled to?
26:28 We’re conditioned to getting a reward after work
27:34 Maintain an appropriate level of optimism
29:53 Believe in yourself but have humility
34:17 Startups are built on beliefs and blind optimism
37:20 We use other founders as a baseline
40:26 Do I need additional funding?
44:53 We’re too focused on crossing the finish line

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss whether you need to raise a huge capital in order to have a successful Startup. How much money do you actually need to scale your business? Do you need to raise money quickly in order to scale up quickly? The thing is, having lots of capital does not mean success right away. There are some cases where Startups raised a lot of money in the beginning but ended up getting bankrupt. You see, it’s not all about having a lot of financial resources. You gotta have skills, connection, and the right amount of luck too!

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Startup Therapy Podcast
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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
02:56 The best companies raised capital
07:32 Where does scaling quickly come from?
10:40 Lots of capital is not equal to sure success
15:32 You can’t create artificial growth
18:15 Betting someone else’s money
20:58 The walking dead of the funded
28:06 Seeing things from the bootstrap side to the funded side

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss how founders sometimes think that they’ve reached that billion dollar moment in their Startup and then end up being disappointed by the result. Now, the billion dollar question is - how many shots do we actually have? The thing is, we really won’t know when that moment happens so we just have to keep going and continue trying, gathering information as we move forward, because if we can only be right once, at least we are fully equipped once we get to that point.

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Resources:

Startup Therapy Podcast
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Join our Network of Top Founders
Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan

What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:08 That one hockey stick moment
01:40 When it doesn’t change the way you expected it to happen
03:36 How many shots do you have?
07:56 Every shot comes with information
09:42 You’ll never see that moment coming
12:36 Just stay and keep trying
14:32 You have a decade
17:39 What if you're only right once?
22:16 It doesn’t have to be a mega hit

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss why it’s important to teach kids about entrepreneurship. You know what they say - better to start them young. Teaching about how to become a founder to kids as young as 10 years old will be an eye-opening experience. At this age, kids still have that pure mindset where they think they can do anything, and it’s important to nurture that. Planting the seed early on will bear fruit that will also be able to teach the future generations.

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Startup Therapy Podcast
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Join our Network of Top Founders
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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:29 What if we teach kids to be founders?
02:20 10 year olds are like a relatively complete processor
04:17 Kids have a business idea
05:36 They don’t know they can’t do it yet
07:59 Explore your interests
11:51 There’s a hundred different path
16:29 Opening the pandora’s box of entrepreneurship
18:28 We have one shot in life
21:05 Agency and ownership
24:04 Early experience is important
26:23 Planting the seed on the next generation

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss how founders can survive a failed Startup. For some founders, when they experience failure, they immediately think that it’s the end, that it’s a complete failure. But one thing's for sure though – we will all get over it. Failure has always been a part of the process and it will teach us valuable lessons along the way. And it also gives us the most important ammunition: a chance to start again.

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Startup Therapy Podcast
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Join our Network of Top Founders
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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:28 What happens to the founder after a startup fails?
03:00 No one cares your startup failed
05:05 Everyone is going through the same thing
06:06 And then what?
09:53 You won’t even remember it
13:22 You can just try again
14:56 Losses are momentary
16:59 Your failures can be anecdotes to teach people
18:17 You get a clean slate
21:39 This is not your only chance
23:09 You’re not starting from zero

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss the problem of comparing yourself with other founders. Sometimes, we look at the success of others and immediately think we’re falling behind. We always compare ourselves to others without even realizing that we all had a different head start and were influenced by varied outside factors. Remember, success is a process, and we go through it in different phases.

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Startup Therapy Podcast
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Join our Network of Top Founders
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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:20 How to level up
02:51 Stop comparing yourself with other founders
05:43 The milestones doesn’t end
08:24 We all grow differently
11:20 It might look similar – but it’s totally different
12:47 Sometimes the right decision is not the right direction
14:31 Comparison kills progress
17:30 Even the most successful people still fails
21:04 Stay around for a long time
23:41 You’re only entitled to your own outcome
25:06 All accomplishments are fleeting
28:16 The benchmark paradigm shift
30:33 Focusing on the money
33:58 Comparing your startup with another startup with the same services

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss if startup CEOs can really be considered as CEOs. The CEO title bears a lot of responsibility – it’s a nice title to have alongside your name but the question is, are you qualified to have it? It’s easy to get the title, in fact, anyone can become one but do you have the right qualifications and enough experience to be called a CEO?

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Startup Therapy Podcast
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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
02:16 Just because you have the title, it doesn’t mean you’re qualified
06:12 CEOs need to manage people
09:01 CEOs have experience
13:27 Start-up CEOs can’t be corporate CEOs and vice versa
18:42 There are different types of growth
20:27 Your focus will change when you reach 80 people inflection point
23:34 The CEO job can get dreadful
25:38 The problem with hiring overqualified people than the CEO
27:16 Don’t let other people replace your CEO role entirely
30:00 Anyone can get the title, but you have to earn the job

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss how founders should not feel like they are running out of time – because they’re not. Most young entrepreneurs feel that they should rush things just because others seem to be doing well in life already and they’re feeling left behind. Everyone has their own timeframes and maybe this year is just not your year, and that’s okay, because you still have a lot of time left in your career.

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Resources:

Startup Therapy Podcast
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Join our Network of Top Founders
Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan

What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
01:07 You have so much time in your career
03:12 Be reasonable about given timeframes
05:01 Look at the long view
07:26 The most powerful companies were built over decades
09:01 Don’t allow external opinions to tell you where you should be now
10:48 What you can actually accomplish
12:44 This might not be your decade yet
13:59 Some resources will not be available now but will be in the future
17:02 You have to pace yourself
22:11 Build your pyramid

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss the importance for founders to identify problems early on and why they should do something about it. Survival is the strategy in Startups so founders should be aware of the early signs of problems so that they can find solutions to last longer in this game.

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Startup Therapy Podcast
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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
01:24 Living to fight another day
02:41 Lying with the full intention of making it true
04:29 Survival is the strategy
08:36 Founders should realize the situation first
12:44 Changes can make stay in the game longer
14:39 Down round
19:27 Invest in the reality of a business
22:06 Double up on your winners, and cut pay on your losers
24:24 Doing nothing is death

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss how being a parent made them better founders, and vice versa. There are things that we won’t understand until we experience them ourselves, and in a Startup, there are similar things that we can compare when it comes to leading and being a parent. Once you start teaching your kids good values you can apply those to your company, because as they say, “being a founder is like being a parent, you always stay involved.”

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Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan

What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:23 Does being a parent make you a better founder?
04:50 Teaching your kids to question everything
10:18 Leading with humility
11:36 The answers can change when we ask questions
14:03 Start with what makes you happy
20:08 Just because you have talent, you don’t have to do it
24:27 Give your kids permission to do something else
25:26 Having empathy
29:11 Stay curious

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss one of the most common problems with new businesses - they are afraid to do the wrong thing. In Startup you can’t always be right and have a smooth sailing path in the beginning, you will always have to be wrong and do the wrong things first before knowing what is right. Normalizing a culture of admitting and allowing mistakes will help companies know how they can perform better in the future.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
02:01 Don’t get hung up on a business idea
06:03 It’s alright to admit that you have no idea
07:49 Getting wrong advice from the wrong people
09:02 Push yourself harder to become wrong
11:23 You have to be wrong first to know what right actually looks like
12:29 Stop hiring the wrong people
16:00 People can change because of variable reasons
18:51 Hiring someone according to your own variable
23:39 How to get marketing right?
25:53 Learn to test to be less wrong
27:16 Allow people to fail and be wrong
28:59 There is a difference between being wrong and being negligent
29:55 Humility is the key to good leadership

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss why managers and founders need to pay more attention to small details. Sometimes companies have employees who suddenly start performing poorly. What could be the reason? Whenever there are small problems, there must be a root cause of why it’s happening, so it’s up to the founders to identify what’s causing it.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
03:13 Sometimes there is a bigger problem behind any small issue
04:27 When things look off, it’s because it’s off
07:29 People don’t make excuses when they’re on their game
10:11 Pay attention to the details
18:36 Everyone is not going to be a top performer
19:19 The organization will slowly regress to its slowest mover
23:25 Ask the question, “what do you want to get done?”
25:28 Opening the conversation with “how can I help?”

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss some of the advice that they would tell their younger founder selves. If you could go back in time, what would you tell your past self? Now that you’re wiser and more experienced, there are many things that you wished you would’ve done differently, but those mistakes and lessons that you had along the way is what also made you become the person you are today.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
01:39 Don’t feel rushed and have more patience
05:07 You can do a lot of transformative things in just a few years
07:02 It’s okay to fail
07:58 Cultivating relationships
10:14 Find people who wants you to become a better person
12:00 The “give & get” in relationships
14:10 How relationships ends is how you get remembered
15:56 Just be kind to yourself
16:54 You have the ability to say no
20:14 Learn how to zoom in and out in life
22:22 It’s okay to let go of toxic relationships
24:52 Will your younger self follow this advice?
29:19 The big moments will be a series of big moments
31:29 Success is not final, failure is not fail, it’s the courage to continue that counts
34:37 Focus more on acting like the person you want to be vs. the person others want you to be
38:53 Getting older gives us all the more perspective to offer to others
42:34 Do it your own way
46:26 The most valuable part of the process is learning
49:53 Be in the room
54:09 You don’t have to figure out everything on your own

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss the importance of accountability in a company. A founder should be able to know how to instill accountability in their employees. The two main components to get accountability are ownership and consequences - having these things can make a huge difference in a company’s overall success.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:09 Nobody else wants to be accountable
02:01 Founders always have the higher stakes
04:36 The challenge founders face is to get everyone accountable
06:53 Consequences affect accountability
09:31 Not being accountable does not mean safety
11:25 What happens to a company with no accountability
14:45 Two components to get accountability
18:18 Owning the outcome
19:46 Effects of reward and recognition
23:28 Visibility in a company
26:15 Changing up plans where everyone can adjust
28:55 When founders don’t understand the importance of their accountability
31:05 Excuses are the most powerful solvent that dissolves accountability

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss what makes a good manager. What does it take to become a good manager? Is it a manager that consistently hits the targets and can keep up with the demands of the business? It is someone who showcases good leadership skills and the right mindset? The truth is, one becomes a good manager when they can push the entire team to transform themselves and become exponentially better at what they do.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:41 Most of us hadn’t led a team of managers
03:14 Are you a babysitter
07:03 This is what a good manager does
12:39 Growth versus stability
16:14 Managers should push teammates to transform themselves
19:34 Patience and tolerance
23:33 We want somebody that can make the team 10X better
29:10 How are you making the team exponentially better?

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss why health is an important asset for founders. Sacrifices are often necessary for every business - less time with family, skipping meals, not taking breaks, constantly working overtime and not getting paid enough, etc. In the early stage of the business, these types of sacrifices are ‘deemed’ essential and expected. Years later, stress and anxiety will eat you up and you’ll probably be dealing with a failing body. Yes, sacrifices are necessary but not in exchange for your health.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:16 When do we stop destroying ourselves for our Startup?
07:52 Wearing yourself out without measurable return
16:40 When we feel like we have to make these sacrifices
22:45 Top performers take their health seriously

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about the never ending anxiety we all have. One of the things that makes every founder feel on the edge most of the time is getting anxious over everything, this sense of urgency to get one thing done after another right away. What we don’t realize is instead of rushing through things, sometimes it can be beneficial to our mental health if we just let things take its course. And if we shift our focus on solving the problem and not get anxious about it.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:20 When does anxiety go away?
07:25 It started with a lot of anxiety, created more, and then just stayed
19:19 Fleeting moments without feeling anxious
24:54 Instead of saying, “I feel anxious about this problem…”
29:52 Sometimes, you don’t need to take action

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about when founders actually get paid? In the Startups community, many founders expect immediate returns and instant success. This is because a lot of founders have shown potential and managed to grow their business exponentially in such a short period of time. New founders expect the same outcome to happen to them. The truth is, outside of the community, it takes several years, decades even, to reach significant growth in returns. Not everyone can get rich overnight.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:09 When do founders actually get paid?
05:28 The expectation of a linear path
12:53 Startups.com just celebrated its 10th year anniversary
13:49 We expect success in 18 months
18:45 Why do founders get paid last?

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about overthinking. When you start to focus your attention on something that has not happened yet and it starts to affect your performance, decision-making, and growth, you end up getting anxious. And this growing anxiety will hinder what you are truly capable of achieving. So, stop worrying about the things that didn’t happen and start planning based on what’s happening now.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:41 We spend so much time thinking about what might go wrong
04:41 Investors do care for us in some ways
08:26 One failure won’t destroy you for life
14:45 Customers only care about what you’re doing
17:00 Focus on product quality instead of the competition
21:45 Anxiety in the workplace

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about people losing their jobs. We’ve been talking about it and now it’s happening. People are losing their jobs fast and they are left with little to no option in these trying times. As a founder, what can you do to help? Are you supposed to do something somehow? People are losing their safety of a steady stream of income and the last thing they want to bring with them when they leave is uncertainty and heavy competition. If you still have the means, make it so that the transition is made easier for them.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:29 It’s a hard time for employees
03:58 Our ego is attached to this sense of ownership
09:14 People always remember what they felt during a transaction
13:19 How to properly handle demoting/letting go of people
23:40 A founder’s ego and safety is being threatened also
29:10 Moving employees from full time to part time
37:29 Should you hire more employees now?
41:10 Taking advantage of talents being let go
43:14 Deferred or partially deferred payment

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about putting a freeze on your resources when returns take a downturn. When is it necessary to let go of some employees? When is it an urgent matter to get more funding? Can you possibly get more funding when the Startup isn’t hitting the target? Well, you can definitely weather the storm when you understand that a downturn is tough but it’s a good phase to start cleaning up unnecessary ties and expenditures.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:24 Startup market crash
06:47 The reason investing got so crazy
14:59 We raise money to get to milestone
17:35 When you start seeing lay-offs
20:33 We have to switch to defense

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about where founders should put their focus on. Growth or profit? Can you focus on both? The true measure of a founding team is the success of every bet made and the ability to bounce back from the negative consequences of these bets. You can focus on returns and not see much growth or grow exponentially and invest in hiring more people. Either way, it’s always about achieving your ultimate goal.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:09 Why profit should always be the motive
05:54 You can’t simply mimic successful Startups
12:39 Give yourself enough time to learn everything about the business
21:15 Growth can also be very distracting
26:12 They all look like great when they’re just ideas

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about the cost of raising a capital. Yes, additional funding is a good sign of progress, it’s a sign that the company has potential to grow because people invested money in it. Yes, it is a milestone most founders want to achieve. The downside, however, is that you are no longer alone when making decisions. You are no longer the owner. You become another ‘employee’.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:53 Challenging the common narrative of raising funds
03:32 What are you giving up when you raise funding?
08:57 When the founder doesn’t feel comfortable
13:02 Investors will defend their money first above anything else
17:10 It’s not our company anymore
23:09 The only positive side of raising capital

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about what it’s like for a Startup to stall. We are all so used to the idea that we need to keep creating a momentum for our business to reach goals, to hit target numbers, and possibly please our investors. Yet, many, if not all, Startups stall, growth slows down and revenue is almost non-existent. It’s normal and you gotta learn how to navigate out of these phases to achieve sustainable growth.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:34 How should we handle a stall?
06:02 We naturally stall for a bit
11:59 Investors just love new stats
18:00 Live by the hype, die by the hype
27:58 Companies that were founded as second acts
31:21 How do investors think about the ebbs and flows?
33:50 Once investors see real growth, their opinions change
35:19 When nothing is being expected of you at the moment
38:20 It’s not just growing for the sake of growth
43:57 Building a Startup is a rollercoaster journey
45:26 It depends on why you’re stalled
49:45 Any decision made to satisfy someone else is bad decision
52:24 Do you need funding right now?
55:36 Founders tend to be an expert on a lot of things

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about the possibility of firing your employees for a restart? Let’s put it this way. The people in your team when you started may not be the right people now that your business is growing. The skills that they currently have may no longer fit the roles you need to continuously push your team forward. Everything changes, all things evolve, skills must upgrade. What about your people?

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:19 Every founder has had a reset moment
04:37 The person you hired before may not be the best person now
09:31 What roles will not hire again?
13:18 Directional changes do happen
17:42 The compensation for every role
21:26 Managing is a very different job
24:56 Who should you rehire?
30:36 What roles are the best way to use your resources?

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about being at the peak of our opportunity. In our early years, when we fail to succeed in growing our Startup, it’s okay. We can take a breather, regroup, and then start again. When we’re already in our mid 40’s and 50’s (or older), screwing up comes at a high price. A restart may no longer be possible. On a positive note though, with age, we get to stack up on experience, knowledge, and skills needed for business success.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
000:43 What if we are at the peak of our opportunity?
06:02 That moment when we strike lightning
10:42 Be pragmatic
14:44 Do not mess with your downside
20:54 In our 20s, we don’t consider risks like we would in our later years
25:43 In our older years, we can’t screw up

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about the likelihood of founders taking money off the table. Is it possible? Could be if the company has the potential of exponential growth in a short period of time. Is it doable? Most definitely if the means the company has the resources and manpower to get things done fast. But the possibility of being able to take money off the table is close to zero for most founders. You have to show proof that you can perform and you’re staying for the long run!

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:07 There’s a lot of talk about founder liquidity
03:19 No discussion with investors about taking money off the table
08:37 The upside founders always wanted
15:09 It is not an easy ask
19:48 You should be able to have the conversation of who to ask
23:56 Let’s flip the roles here
26:32 What investors should be mindful of
31:05 Equity represents the future value of the company

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about being leveraged and how it affects Startup growth. Early on, founders tend to believe that choosing an investor is an option. Yes, this is possible for people in the top 5 percent or those that haven been in this route more than once. But if you belong in the other 95%, which most of us are, we don’t get to choose. We get lucky when someone takes interest in investing in our Startup. So wise up and ‘choose’ well!

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Send an email to therapy@startups.com
Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan

What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:33 How much choice do we really have as founders?
02:37 It’s a privilege to be able to choose your investors
08:40 The real point of leverage
13:33 Sometimes time is what you need for leverage
18:21 Creating a healthy work-life balance isn’t simple for founders
25:31 You only get one or two options
27:21 When the money is not worth it
29:47 Are there other options to saying YES?
32:16 Getting investment is easier for second-timers
36:38 Putting your chips on one person
38:31 Have clear goals and expectations
40:50 How we are knowledge leveraged
44:19 Why did you feel the need to have a cofounder?
48:04 Is having a cofounder a necessary requirement?

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about not thinking too much about what other people think. Our emotions are always valid especially when our ideas aren’t appealing enough or when our Startup fails to gain any momentum. We always worry about what other people might think of us and how they will see our failure. But the truth is, no one will remember. No one will care. No one, but you. So, dust it off and start creating a new narrative!

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Send an email to therapy@startups.com
Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan

What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:43 When we go through these moments of failure
05:00 Founders dwell too much on what others think
16:24 No one actually remembers
21:40 Over some time, people will barely remember
26:54 Always create a new narrative
29:52 There is always a way forward
32:57 2 steps at telling a better narrative

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about founders not taking risks. When you get stuck in one place, getting comfortable at where you are at right now and not taking swings because of the fear of missing a hit, then growth becomes a long shot. Successful Startups did not succeed because they fear failure. Success comes when the founder keeps taking swings and managing failure as they come because they’re focused on getting a hit!

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Send an email to therapy@startups.com
Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan

What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:17 Why are we afraid to take big swings?
03:38 Is it a lie when you have the intent to back it up?
09:48 Will you be able to back up your commitment?
13:40 Take a big swing and manage failure
21:03 Doing nothing will only lead to a slow demise
25:09 The other side is you swing and hit

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about founders with no more upside left. Having new investors is good. Stacking up more funds to expand the company is good. Although it can turn dreadful real quick when as a founder you are left with no more room to grow. You get stuck in one spot, doing the same rigorous task day by day without any promising gains at all. Wouldn’t it be better if you get enough funding and still have more control over the decision making and better incentives?

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Send an email to therapy@startups.com
Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan

What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:11 The average founder surprisingly only earns a single digit
08:28 The two separate roles: the founder and the owner
12:24 We keep assuming we’ll get incentives externally
20:08 Politics 101 during board meetings
25:08 We have to rely on consequence

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about the real definition of retirement. Is it going on a vacation one after another in your 60s? Is it pursuing your love for woodwork and making a living out of it? Or perhaps starting another business using your retirement funds? Whatever it may be, what matters the most is you get to do what you love doing but this time with less stress, less pressure, and time isn’t measured.

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Send an email to therapy@startups.com
Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan

What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:35 Things you plan to do upon retirement
09:00 When you don't have something, having it is extra special
17:34 The only reason it becomes special is because you can't do it
23:38 "Responsibility is defined differently in retirement." - Donna
26:14 "I don't think we want to fully retire." Andreas
30:09 "You're never going to retire." Justin
30:50 "Removing that 'need' makes a difference." - Richard
33:09 "Independence to eliminate energy, time, and attention in the majority of things you want to do." - Jack
35:44 "Retirement should allow for a bit more free schedule." - Lindsey
39:57 "There is no real retirement." - Lou
43:00 "Do a little more of what you're doing with less pressure." - Kathryn

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about finding the right advisor. It’s natural for anyone to seek advice from people who we think know more than we do but it doesn’t necessarily mean that what they know is beneficial for founders. Well-meaning people will readily share their knowledge and expertise, and we can all learn from it. Sometimes, it isn’t enough to resolve the issues at hand. Don’t limit your Startup’s potential within your local circle.

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Send an email to therapy@startups.com
Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan

What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:53 Who told you exactly?
09:13 Competitive investors vs. local investors
14:00 Basics in qualifying a local investor
19:02 The hometown hero founder
23:53 What do you expect from a piece of advice?
27:07 Super successful but totally irrelevant advisor
32:12 Go outside of your local circle

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about the real value of urgency. Yes, getting things done right away is good. Managing your time well and completing your tasks ahead of time and knowing the strategies to keep up with competition will help stir the business in the right direction are definitely commendable practices. But, when all of your efforts are countering your real goals and are only causing you anxiety and stress, maybe you should reconsider which priorities are urgent and which ones are pretending to be.

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Send an email to therapy@startups.com
Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan

What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
02:20 How real is urgency in the Startups world?
05:33 Why false narrative around time becomes a problem
13:48 We always feel our peak performance is unreachable
18:52 If it’s urgent, play out the worst case scenario
21:10 Decisions made with “we have to do this based on that”
25:48 If we don’t success now, there's no opportunity to succeed in the future
29:34 Build the business you want to do all day
31:20 Building wealth isn’t constrained to one time capsule

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about aiming for multiple tiny financial successes. This mentality that all your daily sacrifices, struggles, and losses will eventually lead to getting rich, sometimes, is a wishful thinking. Why not work on achieving small but steady financial wins, instead of staying broke for years in the hopes of getting rich all at once?

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Join our Network of Top Founders
Send an email to therapy@startups.com

What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:13 Can you go super liquid every year?
05:29 Digging a hole versus Building ladder concept
11:23 How VC’s actually work
15:54 The “Get rich all at once.” mentality
23:39 Instead of stacking debt, stack on wealth
27:24 What is your base hit approach?

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about faking success. What? Is that even possible? NO, you can’t fake real success. But, YES, in the early stages of your Startup you can run it in a way wherein your success mindset is bent on believing you can make it until you’re finally there - succeeding and thriving.

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Send an email to therapy@startups.com

What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:21 At the early stage, what about our Startup is real?
02:46 The fake office story
13:04 Don’t compare what you do with mature companies
17:19 Take pride and genuine interest in doing every job
21:53 This obsession with an organizational chart
28:15 Credibility has been changed into authenticity

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about consequences. When you started, your words didn’t weigh as much as they do now. Back then, your reach was just a few people. Now that you’ve become a founder, every single word, phrase, and statement you utter has consequences. When you speak, make sure you’re ready for the pros and cons, and eventually, how it will affect your Startup.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:20 Every single word we say has consequences
08:12 Your personal thoughts are not for public consumption
16:06 Also, your personal life matters
22:45 And now, the consequences are amplified
26:39 The different rooms where you freely express your thoughts
32:10 Your frustration pisses off, frustrates, distracts everyone else
35:50 Find a room where you can talk about things you don’t want to talk about openly

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about unhealthy relationships. Nope, this isn’t about love. This is about developing unhealthy relationships with family, friends, and anyone within your social circle because your toxic work life is making everything else toxic. And this is about why you can feel a little guilty for taking some time off but do it anyway.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:26 This very unhealthy relationship with work
09:21 You create this pressure that you gotta do better every time
15:31 Is a little bit of guilt a worthy trade for a better life?
25:07 No one actually cares if you spend too much time in the office
34:14 What drives you to overwork?
41:54 We all are dealing with unhealthy relationships

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about why a business shouldn’t stay a Startup. Sure, Startups get more opportunities to grow and funding offers to expand. But you can’t stay in this phase forever. Grow your business into a company that can run on its own, have a monthly recurring revenue that pays its monthly bills, and produce products that customers want to buy. That’s when you graduate from being a Startup to being a real company!

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:14 We can’t always be a “Startup”
05:40 The goal is to become a real money-making company
09:20 Why do we want to maintain the Startup facade?
16:57 You should graduate from being a freshman
22:12 It’s not the funding that we should be celebrating

How many times has your competition kept you up at night? A new feature here, seed funding there, maybe you’ve even lost a customer or two – but how much of a threat are they, really? In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan share examples of competitor flops, why you should be thankful if your niche has competitors, and why you need to stop being so distracted by what other businesses are doing & focus on making your current customers even happier to work with you,

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What to Listen For

00:00 - How much of a threat is competition, really?
05:31 - Fear causes us to assume the worst, but the worst almost never happens
16:12 - The Fountain & Zenefits examples & why competitor’s time and investment never guarantees competitor success
21:54 - Competition is actually a great sign to start a healthy business & improving upon what exists already is the easiest way to succeed
26:24 - Stop being distracted by competitors & focus on serving your customers

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about dealing with issues at work and at home. As said many times, don’t bring your work problems home the same way you can’t let your personal issues affect your work performance. You can’t deal with issues from both ends because it's unhealthy. Find an outlet where you can express your worries and make sure you get some level of support from your family. It’s the only way not to exhaust yourself.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:46 We don’t want to talk about the battle at home
03:04 Figuring out how to deal with your family issues
06:44 Your health bar gets depleted not just at work
09:14 You assume everybody is doing fine
11:40 First, figure out stuff at home
16:30 Be deliberate in saying you got stuff to do at home
20:13 You can’t be all of anything
21:26 How important it is to have an outlet on both sides
23:44 When the level of support from family depreciates

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about how comparison kills progress. Notice that you are often bound to fail when you start comparing your progress to your competition. What you can do to not fall into this trap is to go back to your goals. Recalibrate yourself, shut every possible distraction down, and focus on what you have envisioned to achieve. You can’t go astray when you know where you want to go.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:09 Is it possible to get ahead with your Startup?
03:32 They’re just ideas
07:03 We are bound by the same progression scale
10:20 Calibrating toward broken measurements
14:20 We assume that the outcome is guaranteed if WE just performed
22:11 The comparison kills the progress
28:05 Go back to what your goals are

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about discarding the 40-hour work week. If you work for 30 hours each week, what would you worry you won’t get done? Now, if you won’t sit eight hours in the office, what will you be able to accomplish? Can you possibly do more somewhere more comfortable than in your office? The answer? YES! You can accomplish so much more without the time constraints.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:08 The 40-hour work week concept
05:19 It only works when you work less hours
09:56 Project costing is super complicated
16:41 Reliance on each other as part of the total outcome
20:03 Is 40-hours the standard work week?
25:25 What hours are we trying to pay for?
31:23 Productivity is treated as an individual effort
37:48 A 40-hour work week doesn’t align with everybody’s lifestyle
40:09 What you worried you won’t get done?
42:41 Take a fresh look at the ‘standard’ work week

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about what happiness means for a founder. In most cases, founders find happiness when they feel safe, when their efforts are validated, and when people appreciate their accomplishments. It doesn’t require much, yet the effort put forth to achieve happiness is basically blood, sweat, tears, and years of hard work.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:29 What does it take to be happy as a founder?
06:47 When you don’t feel safe, it’s hard to behave rationally
11:00 Safety is knowing that you can whether the next storm
15:19 Why do founders always seek validation?
22:22 The next struggle is the preamble to the next validation
25:24 Feeling proud of what you do
32:30 Appreciating people’s accomplishments
36:22 When you feel safe, you can thrive
37:25 Can you use not feeling safe as a positive?
39:50 You learn more about things in the downtime
41:43 The most impactful validations
45:28 Just have fun and follow your happiness
46:43 When you’re juggling too many things all at once
51:00 The goal is what matters
56:14 We are the damn business so let’s take care of ourselves

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about what happens when funding is scarce. Will you seek another investor? Will you go on a fire sale? What other options do you have left? In the world of Startups and the struggles of keeping your business running, the fight is for you not to win. It’s more of a fight for you not to lose!

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:33 What do we do when no one wants to give us money
02:04 Is there a heads up when you’re not getting additional funding?
10:33 First, admit that you’re f*cked
16:00 Next, you go on a fire sale
22:13 Investors won’t get their money back but they wont lose more
25:51 What are your remaining options?
28:32 We’re playing not to win, but not to lose

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about celebrating the little successes. Most people focus on hiring more people, settling in a bigger office, or getting additional funding as a form of success. But for most founders, at the early stages of their business, smaller things such as not having to worry about the payroll or how much you can spend using the company card, are a little form of success. It’s about taking away liabilities one at a time.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:14 Misconceptions about success
06:02 When you no longer worry about payrolls
10:01 Happiness and success comes from taking things away
16:28 At the early stage, it’s always close to the line
20:59 Chipping away the little liabilities over time
22:42 Focus on the moments of little success
27:11 We are rewarded for our effort in unexpected ways

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about when is the best time to give up equity. At the early stages of a Startup, founders often seek to partner with a co-founder in the hopes of growing the company. But what founders don’t realize is that it may be too early to look for a partner or too risky to look for one. Selling the equity of your company, when it’s at its lowest value, will only nip down its potential growth.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:14 When is the wrong time to raise a capital?
04:02 The equity is future value of your company
09:29 Is giving up equity the only way?
17:27 The single most expensive investment: meeting your co-founder
20:24 The story of two founders
23:56 What if there’s a law that won’t allow a co-founder in the first year
25:02 Another founder story
29:30 We often blind ourselves to other solutions
31:08 You don’t have to do all in the same race
35:43 Things you can do that won’t make you less vulnerable

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about rising from a failure. Founders take it to heart when their business fails and often think that people will remember them for their failed business. Fact is, people easily move on and forget about the failed business. They won’t care. So, wallow on it as much as you want and then move on. A founder’s path is always open to more job opportunities.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:37 How paralyzing failure can be
04:39 Let’s talk about what losing it all feels like
09:14 When the business goes bankrupt, is your career completely over?
16:15 You’re still around, what do you do next?
20:22 When you think everyone will care all the time
24:01 Founder path lead to more job opportunities

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about taking a break to restart. The biggest fear founders have is what happens to the business when they take a much needed break. The fear that things might go wrong, the right decisions aren’t being made, or there’s simply too much to do that taking a break may sound hilarious. But guess what, with the right people in place, more than half of a founder’s work can be done by someone else.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:29 We don’t believe we are allowed a sabbatical time off
05:25 You’re burned out but you can’t detach yourself from the business
09:37 Founder sabbatical is going away and doing something else entirely
14:09 You should be able to reset and come back with a fresh head
18:55 A sabbatical break has to happen
22:37 Setting the time period and expectations matters
24:30 How can a handful of people take over some of the workload?
27:32 75% of your job can be done by someone else
32:31 You can always come back when something goes wrong
36:50 A forced sabbatical isn’t going to work

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about honest optimism. What if you have this strong conviction that what you’re building will lead to success? What if you have this strong sense of positivity and optimism? Will it be enough to gain people’s trust and continue to pour more money into your company? But what if it’s just blind optimism and you’re not really getting anywhere?

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:22 Forward-looking optimism versus lying
03:28 Are we lying to ourselves when outcomes aren’t as predicted?
06:42 What we’re pitching is potential outcome
09:56 Reasonable expectation and not blind optimism
12:08 Understanding the importance of optimism
18:44 Here’s where it becomes straight up lying
22:28 The consequence of going beyond optimism
26:43 Founders getting caught up in not presenting
28:38 There’s truth in optimism and there’s misaligned intention

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about the 100-hour work week. The adrenaline to overexert and overwork yourself so you can get more things done is a hustle that no founder should be investing into. Here’s why. You can only get things done at your peak hours. No one gets productive a hundred hours a week. It’s an awful burnout.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:45 The Hustle Porn hype: The 100-hours work week
05:21 How many hours a day are your peak hours?
09:25 If you give yourself more hours, you spend more hours
13:15 Why are your work days loaded?
18:54 When you think you’re crushing it
22:30 Oh, you’re crushing it but at what cost?
28:02 The 30-second success story of a founder on social media
31:19 Get out of the habit of ‘how you’re crushing it’
32:28 Those who don’t brag about crushing it are actually the ones getting the work done
35:55 We need to put an end to the hustle porn

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about a founder’s social circle. Wherever you may be, you’ll always meet another founder. Surprisingly, your Startup is helping you build these connections, a space where you can meet and create relationships with people who share the same experience as you and probably have similar views as well. A founder’s space is just the right place to check how far your voice can influence and be heard.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:46 Startups are the social engines for most founders
03:07 Your social circle evaporates when you sell your company
07:37 Our relationships often have consequences
11:39 Understand which relationships are worth maintaining
15:12 Startups create a magnet for interesting people to join your circle
21:12 How far your voice can influence and carry
26:12 What we do creates a social gravity
29:41 Diversity in the founder’s space

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about being the best at what you do. Oftentimes, founders are stuck in the idea that they need to add more features to make their product appealing and saleable. That it’s the added features that will reel in more customers without realizing that the focus should be on the core value of their product - to make sure that we’re doing the core product right and nothing else matters.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:20 We’re lucky if we’re really good at one thing
03:11 If you can’t solve the primary problem, you can’t fix anything else
06:10 What’s the one thing that you’ll have room to add features?
11:06 The cost of doing anything but the one thing
15:28 Nothing matters when you can’t get the core product right
19:26 If your mission is pizza, stick to it
24:01 We’re always going for a market we have to condition
30:59 Being the first to a market doesn’t make you the best
36:45 It’s difficult to beat the best when you’re new in the market

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about moving to a major city. Years ago, when a business needed to expand, they often moved to a big city, brought key employees in, and raised funding to cope with a much higher cost of living. But times have changed. A lot of founders can now settle anywhere without the need to drag their employees and their families around. Remote setup is the new normal, and it’s giving Startups the advantage of growing without emptying the bank.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:25 Everyone started leaving the mega cities
03:32 When you leave a major city and start your business somewhere else
06:16 An expensive city is a liability
12:14 You raise funds just so you can work within a geographic constraints
17:20 Hiring someone elsewhere for a much cheaper salary
23:37 Most people don’t necessarily want to live in an expensive city
28:19 Founders can move around and have the rest of the team settled anywhere else
31:46 Does your team need to be where you are at?
34:36 You can still show up in places when required
39:32 At this point, you don’t have to live in a major city

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about optimism. An optimistic leader creates an optimistic environment. Despite the onslaught of negativities and failures, and success seemingly slipping away, when a Founder remains optimistic, he can always redirect his focus on what to do next.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:24 Blinded optimism keeps founders running
04:49 Whatever you do will be reflected throughout the organization
08:19 Founders do not have the luxury to cry over spilled milk
10:01 Distraction keeps us away from being successful
12:37 You can’t find a customer or investor in one seating
15:51 Focus on small tiny wins that build success
19:16 Building a Startup through optimism
21:32 Optimism should be left in the hands of fate

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about dumb ideas. It’s no surprise that most of the successful Startups today started off as a completely bad idea. As it turns out, when given the time to evolve, the market to mature, and the target audience to be open about it, the dumbest idea can become the most profitable company.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:36 How many successful Startups started as a great idea?
04:26 Founders are stuck in “my idea needs to be better”
06:07 Ideas are a process and it can change a thousand times
09:24 Why is it called Netflix?
11:46 The market matures and the idea matures, we have to give it time
13:07 This concept that the development of an idea is a linear process
16:04 There aren’t a lot of people willing to invest in Startups

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about how some founders can’t flaunt their money. Founders worked for it, sacrificed their health and time, and at some point, even settled for less compensation for the company to grow. They earned it, and yet some people find it appalling just because they don’t have it.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:46 Why is everybody counting our money?
06:09 The fact that they can’t have as much as you have pisses them off
09:17 The compensation gap will continue to increase
10:58 No one will appreciate your years of service
14:14 What people see and what the reality is are too different
19:22 You should not be ashamed of what you’ve earned
20:59 How you present your success can change the perception
25:15 Laylow in all of your personal stuff, don’t expose it
28:19 Is it an indication that things are doing better?

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about what happens when you leave your Startup. You can’t simply assume that you’ll still be compensated for the equity without continuously providing value to the company’s growth. It’s a simplified Math problem. If you don’t work, you don’t get paid. If you’re not adding value, you won’t be compensated.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:49 People that are earning but aren't’ present
03:46 The absentee landlord
07:39 Founders didn’t realize they have an option
10:04 Doing the same work with less of an outcome
12:33 Equity is compensation
16:46 How can you get compensated for staying?
20:44 You continue to work to create value for the equity
23:57 You can’t be compensated for life if you leave
28:07 Can’t be compensated daily if you aren’t contributing daily
31:58 You’ve got two options
34:56 Typical when the company is raising money, it’s already running out of money
37:00 Your contribution depreciates as time passes
40:30 The compensation you get when you stay

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about the kind of culture you as a founder can create within your own organization. Everything you do has implications and if you let instigators of negativity be, you’re allowing a nasty culture to spread.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
01:25 Where do cultural issues stem from?
04:48 Back channeling is worse in remote settings
08:15 This culture of talking ill about the client
11:13 When KPIs push the retention team to bash the clients
15:20 It all starts with one person, identify the ringleader
18:57 It’s easy to create a culture of overwork
23:35 A lack of maturity across the board
26:30 The spotlight is on you and anything you do has implications
28:50 But you still need to take care of your own well-being
30:52 What company culture meant years ago
33:13 You can admit you made a mistake and create a culture out of it
37:09 Founders can have so much impact, but it can be good or evil

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about cofounder breakup. Likened to marriage, having a cofounder requires commitment that comes with consequences when and if the Startup fails and coming up with an action plan when the business turns out to be a total flop.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:33 Cofounders often don’t last
02:07 Cofounders should talk about what to do when things doesn’t work out
05:36 We make a binding contract with someone when the Startup longevity is uncertain
06:57 Founders don’t consider what to do if and when cofounders leave
09:16 Making a commitment at a time we know least about the outcome
14:24 Assumptions you’re making about your cofounder
21:10 Be prepared to deal with fundamentally different decision making
25:48 Plan for divorce but hope for a successful marriage
26:54 Start with a vesting agreement
31:33 Sign a commitment that when not met has consequences

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about taking the slow growth approach. Instead of going full force too fast early on, take the time to understand whether the bets you’re paying back or not and when it’s time to change direction. Don’t follow the narrative that you need to accelerate right away. Follow the circumstances and consequences, and move at the pace that you’re supposed to take.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:32 Dispel the myth about Startups should grow fast
01:57 Why do we feel we have to grow fast?
05:56 The car analogy: why early acceleration amplifies mistakes
08:34 The assumption we often miss is the factor of time
12:37 The best you do are the ones that you didn’t do
14:34 When you start to do too many things at the same time
17:30 Don’t mistake making bets into making good decisions
23:06 We get trapped in that repeatability phase
26:24 All the time we waste is a lot of money
29:59 The cost of accelerating the wrong people

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about founders rushing into building their next Startup. After a successful exit, most founders are overly eager to start their next big idea and land another win. They want to act upon it while they are in the momentum and prove that they aren’t a one-hit wonder.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:36 Is it healthy to jump to the next Startup after you sold the first?
05:06 At some point you’ve already won, don’t rush to the next thing
09:08 Give yourself time to morph into an idea
13:12 The best ideas doesn’t often spring from boredom
17:21 All the best ideas started off small and dumb, but founders don’t think like that
23:03 Stories of founders who succeeded on their second act
27:58 Give yourself time to understand the drive and identify the false motivators
31:11 Take a little time to know the new you post exit

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about liquidation probability. Many Startup founders make the wrong decision to lose interest in what they currently have and start pursuing something else in the hopes of a much bigger outcome, completely skipping the part where they first have to gauge the probability of success.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:13 You should be more concerned about what you don’t own
05:40 The probability of liquidity is so low
09:06 The probability of your Startup getting liquidated and then liquidating the next
12:52 Important numbers: probability, equity that you own, and the value of equity
17:30 When the money you sold for is sitting on a preference
20:02 Probability should change the likelihood that you would sell
22:55 Always go with probabilities over percentage
26:57 We give up what we have and latch onto something with low probability
32:56 You only have so many years of peak earning potential

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about opinions that do not matter when a company sells. A lot of founders are stigmatized for selling their Startups for too little. Too little in a sense that these non-founders only think of the numbers and not the value and work put into building the business. And the glaring truth is that they have never had that much money in their entire life! So their opinions aren’t valid.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:53 To those who said, “That founder sold the company for too little.”
05:38 The lack of self-awareness of people making unnecessary comment
09:42 The unsolicited comment will constantly haunt the founder
13:46 Shooting back at the trolls just brings more trolls
17:49 $2M is $2M, how is that bad?
21:31 You can’t belittle $2M if you don’t have it
23:59 People are just chasing more without a clear objective
28:15 If the amount is relative to the founder’s needs, it’s a winning sale
30:00 Not all founders are able to sell their business
35:32 Founders shouldn’t lose sight of their accomplishment

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about putting every down for a much needed break. No, you can’t say, “I can’t take a break yet.” Or say, “Your hands are tied at the moment.” It’s critical that you take a break in between milestones, unless you want to get stuck on productivity and run dry on creativity.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:24 When will you take a break?
05:08 Find milestones to fit in long-term breaks
10:37 Founders excel at planning but terrible at taking a break
13:41 When your only milestone to take a break is getting sick
18:59 If you recharge, you can do more work
22:48 The golden periods of creativity and analytical productivity
24:10 Get off, reset, and get back on with maximum energy
28:40 Some people aren’t taking PTOs
32:20 The concept of multiplicity
33:52 You’re going to come back as a better version of yourself

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about focusing on what you are trying to achieve before taking action on any big ideas you might have. Some of these ideas don't necessarily lead you to where you want to go. Some, if pursued, just end up in failures and frustrations. Instead, focus on where you want to go and then figure out how you want to get there.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:24 Getting stuck in looking or working on an idea
03:41 Your business idea should align with what you love to do
06:46 Aspirations change as we age
11:00 Making a business out of something you’re good at
17:59 Specific goals makes it easy to map things around it
23:05 Every founder knows what to avoid
27:21 Just stop doing things that make you unhappy
31:29 When you’re using the wrong yardstick to measure growth
35:24 How to get paid for what you enjoy doing

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about how increasing your staff does not necessarily mean growth, but a deliberate liability. Many people just focus on increasing the number of their employees and do not think about the cost of hiring more people. Yes, you need more people to get work done faster. Yes, you need additional minds to pitch in new ideas. But what if your revenue is lower than the liabilities?

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:39 Some people use staff count as a measure of success
03:40 A growing staff is only seen as a progress
07:01 Management strain continues as you add more people
10:48 There’s a diminishing return in every additional hire
14:28 Each new person that comes in is a burden in some form
16:08 Why do we associate hiring people with growth?
20:11 Putting people on payroll is easy, paying the payroll isn’t
24:33 Look at every choice as a possible liability
26:30 What can we do to keep revenue and stay efficient with staffing?
28:32 Getting additional funding to add people and accelerate things
32:13 If the Startup doesn’t work, you’ll regret adding more people

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about the dues founders pay for neglecting their health. Pushing yourself too much, putting your body through so much pressure, and then ignoring the warning signs as they come, you’re unconsciously trading your life for the success of your company. Don’t curse yourself in the process!

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:43 When you’re running your life too fast, you’re sacrificing your health
07:50 Processing all of life by not processing it
14:26 Because your body can adapt to anything, you shrug off any symptom
18:07 Early in our careers, we’re not aware of these problems
21:38 Founders rarely have a support structure
25:09 We're responsible for the conditions that created the liabilities
27:18 It’s difficult to admit you’re wrong when you made the bad decision
29:44 A lot of founders have had a massive panic attack at 37
32:28 When you’re deteriorating, why aren’t you doing something about it?
35:31 Your family can help spot the warning signs, but they won’t be
39:14 At your age, how much stamina do you still have?
40:53 How to avoid destroying yourself as your Startup grows
43:21 We assume that we’re the only ones going through it

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about what happens when things work for everyone else but not for you. The effort founders put into our Startup is a sacrifice in all forms and shapes, to the extent of spending less time with family, neglecting our health, or even getting a pay cut just to keep the business rolling. Yes, you are the founder but you’ve become a slave to your own business.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:11 Things are going great for everyone except for you
04:20 Concepts that led to you being a founder
07:17 We're essentially mortgaging our goals without realizing it
12:36 When we take an investor, the investor becomes our boss
15:32 You need to set goals that are unchangeable
21:24 There is a threshold where commitment becomes destructive
26:12 It’s disruptive when you pick up on things your employees didn’t do

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about changing a person’s personality (or the attempt to do so). It’s one of the factors founders cannot control and it’s silly to keep telling the same person what they should be doing more than once. It’s a waste of energy, a waste of time, and definitely a lost cause. Put your time and effort into someone else!

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:22 Trying to enforce behavioral change in your people
04:32 Them being a jerk is just reflection of our bad leadership
08:40 Skills: the things you can do, Personality: the things you can’t do
11:59 We keep thinking that we are the solution to the problem
16:54 Set an environment with a healthy culture people can mimic
20:56 Do not allow performance to outweigh the emotional wellbeing of the business
23:03 What would the problem look like if the person isn’t making it worse?
27:49 You shouldn’t be telling people to work harder
33:39 Ask yourself: Am I parenting or managing?
36:35 Personality issues are some of the problems founders can’t control

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about burnout when you’re nearly at the end of your Startup journey. Every sacrifice and risk you’ve taken will become useless if you feel tired and decide to take a break at the most crucial time and that’s when you’re at the last step of closing the deal. The trick is to surround yourself with people who will help you get through this phase.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:55 What happens when we’re near the end of the deal?
05:53 Startup equity is the most expensive currency one can spend
09:31 When you just want to be done with it
11:56 What else can you do to motivate yourself?
17:54 Being vulnerable at this stage doesn’t allow for a second chance
20:21 What happens if you fall apart at the last moment?
24:53 Every hardship loses value if you drop everything now
28:10 There’s no version of a Startup that doesn’t have a burnout
32:01 Don’t go through this process alone

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about avoiding unpleasant breakups. There always comes a time when you need to part ways with people, friends, staff, even investors. Every bad breakup can seriously damage your reputation in any means possible simply because some harbor vindictive emotions and speak negatively against you. What can you do then to avoid that?

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:22 How many good stories do you remember of breakups throughout your career?
03:55 Your poor actions is what people remember the most
06:21 Letting go of people means having more than one conversation
12:42 Your reputation takes years to build and takes seconds to destroy
17:23 The damage a single blown relationship can do
22:41 How handle breakups that usually end well
25:10 The need to justify yourself and your actions
28:25 It matters if they don’t feel mistreated when the breakup happens
34:04 A little touch can change the tone and reignite a soured relationship
38:58 We have to be structured and strategic with our words

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about what happens after you sell your Startup. Beyond the big paycheck that will certainly make your life better, is the lingering attachment you have for your company and what becomes of it after you give up ownership and control over it. And what about the employees you’re leaving behind? Will they be well taken care of?

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:40 This fantasy of reaching this level when you want to sell your Startup
05:35 When you sell, how is everyone else in the organization affected?
08:59 From the one making the decisions to asking permission from someone else
14:01 Realizing that you have to step off the trail is a tough pill to swallow
17:51 It won’t be the same environment and a lot of people won’t stick around
23:26 This is about what to consider when you sell
26:02 Investors will only see you as a fall-in-line employee
32:08 If things were great, why do we want them to end?
39:17 It’s not just you, but the employees within the company

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about power struggle. A lot of us are used to hearing people telling us what we should and shouldn’t do, what we can and cannot achieve just because these people have tried it or have been in a similar situation. What they don’t realize though is the difference in capacity and skills. What works for them may not work for you, and what works for you didn’t work out for them.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:27 The value in having a level of power and control in an agency
02:45 When having somebody else determine your destiny wasn't going to work for you
11:01 Setting your own path and not allowing anyone to tell you what to do
16:36 Stop listening to what everybody else is telling you to do
23:31 If you can do it once, you can do it again
27:10 What if the investors investing in you aren't what you should be focused on?
28:36 Attaining power that wasn’t handed to you gives a sense of inner peace
33:43 Set your own terms so other people can set their own
37:34 Figure out how to create power for yourself and extend it to the world

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about regret. Founders are bound to make decisions all the time. These decisions can make or break the Startup, and this is why regret is inevitable. Not all decisions bring a positive outcome, and when the outcome is the opposite of what you had anticipated, it’s part of the risk you’re taking.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:33 Can you remember the first time you felt regret during a trade off?
05:15 The regret didn’t kick until later
07:43 Many of the risks that we’re putting up won’t return
11:39 We assume that we can make up for these risks
14:09 Don’t use the same pattern whenever you experience something new
17:28 When we form habits, we stop thinking about the different outcomes
21:32 Myth: No matter what the sacrifice is, you’ll be able to pay it back in the future
25:52 Going on a vacation but not really enjoying the vacation
27:25 We have to periodically reassess the sacrifices that we make
30:53 Founders are experts at manufacturing anxiety

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about how we get blinded by the early signs of growth. When things go well, we tend to think it’s the golden moment and that your Startup is on it’s way to getting big, only to find out a week or a month later that you’re back at step one. Early stage successes become dangerous when we get blinded by them and start making the wrong decisions.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:20 Early signals that tend to blind us from what we actually should be doing
04:54 It becomes dangerous when we start making decisions based on sudden growth
08:41 When things go well, it increases our vulnerability to make the wrong decisions
14:23 Yes, it’s going well, but you aren’t making any profit
19:24 It’s a mentality problem when we get too excited at the early stages
23:43 External signals sometimes send the wrong message
27:08 Don’t get blinded how well your product is received after launch

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about when is the best time to sell your Startup. It’s a tedious process so you shouldn’t just focus on what’s happening during the negotiations but also the pros and cons after the sale is made. And of course, how much you’re being paid for selling is as important as HOW you’re getting paid.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:11 “What happens if I sell too early?”
06:36 Buyers are often negotiating to pay for a company’s future value
10:17 Whatever cash you’re taking now might be the last cash you’ll ever get in the negotiations
15:10 It’s not about how much but HOW you’re getting paid
17:58 Myth: The maximum amount the company is worth is equal to how much the founder need
27:21 You have to be realistic that you might not be able to sell

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about going back to an office setting. The idea that more work gets done inside the office is no longer as effective as it used to be. An office setting may not be that substantial anymore for Startups. A lot of businesses are being run remotely and by far, they are progressing well.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:28 What happens when we return to our offices?
04:15 In current times, is an office really necessary?
08:47 Myth: We need an office to build culture
15:59 An office is the least likely way to build friendships
23:37 Myth: We need an office to get work done
27:20 Office equals work is no longer true
30:36 Slack and other project management tools can make collaborations happen
35:25 Collaboration versus coordination

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about the notion that your current success will be the same for every Startup you build. While you’re in the momentum and when new ideas come in, you’re most likely tempted to venture into another Startup. Right? But, take a pause there and consider the odds of your success.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:25 The notion that your current success will be lifetime
04:59 We think about our startup success the way people tend to think about career success
08:05 Sometimes, founders are just done and want to sell fast
14:36 We optimize for cost and revenue over time but unwilling to invest time when it’s over
18:28 We love to assume the outcome in that next hand and just carry forward
22:56 Stick around and work on every angle to achieve exponential liftoff
26:41 Pay attention to what you have in your hand at the moment
30:07 Successful Startups achieve success due to a ton of factors lining up at the same time

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about founders allowing open discussion of socio-political issues inside the workplace. Over the years, societal and political issues are topics that can either encourage healthy discussions and debates within the team or instigate friction and divide within the company. The question is, HOW do we talk about these issues?

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:25 Socio-political issues in a workplace
03:02 It’s important how and where we talk about these issues
05:55 Areas where we can start to have more productive conversations
10:51 Focus has a cost and it’s not that simple
14:44 Some socio-political issues are directly impacting people’s focus 11:39
18:03 Not all founders really care about other people’s issues outside of work
20:28 There are a lot of people in power that just don't understand these issues
25:43 Why this idea of just oppressing everything is just a broken hammer
32:00 Issues aside, what are the employees trying to accomplish?
36:34 Not everyone wants to be pulled into these discussions

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan ask, is it too early to get an advisor? Many Startup companies invest in an advisor to tap into connections that can possibly help raise additional capital. Yet, this investment does not promise successful returns because some introductions don’t end with the results founders are hoping for. The anticipated business meetings are never set.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:28 How often were you asked to be a business advisor?
03:55 What's the guarantee that they want to know you?
07:08 If getting an advisor is just for raising the capital
09:31 One-sided conversations: what’s the biggest thing you can have getting an advisor
12:10 What if you make the introductions and nothing comes of it?
16:18 Ponder first if it’s the right time to invest in an investor
18:46 When people know more than you do, they just seem like geniuses
22:37 You can’t qualify an advice on a topic you’ve never understood
28:58 A good advisor will tell you what questions you should be asking
35:25 Advisors aren’t that bought in and won’t fully care

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about at what cost Startups are built on. What people often see is it’s all about raising money and getting external financial support, that additional funds are more than enough to keep the business going. But what people don’t see is the physical, mental, and emotional health that are being spent alongside a bloating debt.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:24 The true currency spent when building a Startup
05:10 What are the personal costs for the founders?
09:05 Raising more money doesn’t make things any easier
19:31 Our Startups pull our health on different directions
23:58 Founders slowly lose connection with close relationships
29:00 Are you doing better than before you started your business?
33:13 If you’re well-being is failing, your Startup success won’t amount much

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about imaginary debt. A lot of founders are tied to this idea that employees will commit the same level of sacrifice as they would for the company. And that people will appreciate what they do and stick around no matter what happens. But it’s all an illusion. No one can actually match a founder’s willingness to sacrifice everything for the Startup.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:48 When you feel indebted to the people in your team
06:26 Your team’s sacrifice is exponentially different from yours
09:43 Everyone else is going to be looking out for themselves
13:23 Founders find it difficult to get out of unhealthy situations
17:26 There is a point at which feeling indebted has a limit
20:28 No one actually takes care of the founders
25:27 The endless “I can’t” that binds the founders
29:11 Creating your own phantom conversations
30:09 You have zero right to expect that your sacrifices will be appreciated
34:39 Massive loyalty dissolves when a better offer comes
38:31 How to break free from the imaginary shackles

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about the most dreaded outcome - a failing Startup. When a business fails, founders often wallow over how people react and what they can say about the situation. The adverse reactions don’t matter. What should matter is who stays to help pull you out of the rubble.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:19 Understanding how founders feel when a Startup fails
05:44 When you can’t deal with how people will process the failure
10:22 The Steve Jobs interview and dealing with criticisms
12:05 Do the people you’re concerned about actually have a voice in the situation?
17:14 Only founders who failed can sympathize with you
21:47 Surround yourself with people who knows what you’re going through
25:45 As a founder, how do you reach out?
29:58 When one founder is down, other founders should empathize and help

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about the pressures of leading a Startup team. It’s a Founder’s job to make difficult and unpopular decisions, even unconventional ones, which may merit the team's unfavorable reactions. Over time, these unpopular decisions make a Founder less likable. So then, at what point will being likable still matter?

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:30 As we lead, how important is it that we're liked?
05:29 Making fundamentally unpopular decisions to grow
11:56 When we’re starting, we build good relationships with people
16:00 You’re a cool boss but you aren’t invited in team lunches
19:23 The expectation for you to say ‘Yes’ all the time
21:47 What about when decisions don’t map back to you?
23:23 Even if you aren’t liked, you have to be respected
28:39 Everyone loves you, but you’re doing a bad job
32:43 Make difficult decisions but still empathize
37:22 As the organization grows, there will be more people not connected to you
39:39 Things you can do to seed some goodwill

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about admitting you made a mistake. Oftentimes, it becomes difficult for leaders, including founders to admit that they’ve made the wrong decision or chose the wrong option. It’s the kind of vulnerability that no one wants to show. But if leaders can’t admit that they are wrong, no one else in the organization will.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:09 Founders fundamentally mess up and that’s okay
04:54 The longer you admit that something’s wrong, the worse it gets
10:32 COVID pushed organizations to strategically respond to the situation
16:26 Make people understand why you made a mistake
20:49 If founders can’t admit that “I messed up”, no one else will
23:25 When something goes wrong, it matters how you talk about it
28:23 Vulnerability comes with issues, but comes with benefits as well

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about the qualifications of becoming a founder. It turns out; anyone can become a founder. Having the idea and vision for your Startup is easy, but building a business out of nothing, dealing with potential issues and challenges, and getting started aren’t as easy.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:49 Congratulations on our 100th episode!
02:31 Recalling the early episodes
04:19 The topics are more focused on the Founders
08:43 Who is qualified to be a founder?
13:31 You have to be a guru when you start a business
16:50 Don’t be all things to your Startup
18:27 95% of all Startups is guesswork
22:57 Your expectations should include the iterative process
26:52 There’s just so much we haven’t seen
28:43 Unless you’ve been part of a fundraising process, you won’t understand how it works
33:25 Get third-party perspective
34:30 There's no parody in consequence

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about selling a founder’s vision. The real struggle lies in convincing people that your vision, your idea can solve an existing problem. Startups often fail when the customers who are supposed to benefit from the product do not understand how it can serve their needs.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:51 Back at a time when people ask: “What the hell is an internet?”
06:15 It won’t matter what you’re selling if the approach isn’t relevant
08:50 Ask yourself: “What problem are you solving?”
14:57 Founders often fail to set the problem that could potentially solve itself
19:14 Looking back into a business proposal that addressed an unrelatable problem
22:53 It’s essential to consider who you’re talking to when presenting your vision
26:49 The people you bring in will have a major definition of the company’s future
28:46 Be ready to explain how your vision will benefit others
31:25 If you can’t clearly define the problem, you can’t move forward
36:26 Do not assume that people can easily connect the dots

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about planning for a downside strategy. Having a downside strategy allows for open conversations to conclude effective upside plans and address issues level-headedly. It’s a clear and sound path for founders to clean up a failing Startup.

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:29 Dealing with downsides forces difficult conversations
05:33 Downside strategies are a big part of any Startup
11:05 What is your tolerance for tough decisions?
18:14 Duration and severity of a downside
21:30 Know how to deal with a failing business
26:27 Establishing a threshold can make a difference
29:40 “When we worry about things, we tend to scale up to the biggest worry.” - Wil
32:10 Having a downside strategy allows for a powerful upside strategy
36:09 Build detailed downside strategies and be open to conversations

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about the correlation between money and happiness. Being successful and having a lot of money doesn’t equate to genuine happiness. More often than not, it’s a fleeting distraction from other issues that require attention. Money can only give you exhilarating yet passing moments.

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Resources:

Startup Therapy Podcast
https://www.startups.com/begin

What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:10 Once you have money, are you truly happy?
04:15 With or without money, there’s always an issue to resolve
07:10 Wealth can only take care of the pain, but not buy real happiness
10:22 Money distracts you but can’t fix you
13:52 When the excitement fades, what else is left?
17:55 Spend time on your yourself, don’t get stuck on an outcome
21:48 At the end of the day, you’re still the same person
24:09 Analogy on the happiness of pursuit
27:10 Every milestone reached is often a fleeting moment

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about finding the right cofounder. It remains a challenge for Startup founders to find a business partner that doesn’t just have the best ideas, both should also see eye to eye when it comes to company growth and career goals.

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Resources:

Startup Therapy Podcast
https://www.startups.com/begin

What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:35 Are you working with the right cofounder?
05:21 Not everyone is cut to be a founder
10:06 The consequences of committing to the wrong person
12:13 Signs that the partnership isn’t working
16:12 When there is friendship but lacking work partnership
23:17 It’s not about perfection, there are shortcomings too
26:41 You can’t test your cofounder until sh*t happens
32:24 Questions to ask when looking for a cofounder
36:06 How to prepare for a new partnership
38:36 Getting into an amicable breakup through conversations
42:08 Present terms that are beneficial for both party
46:52 It doesn’t benefit you yo blowup on someone

In this Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan ask how much is too much when it comes to Founder transparency? Why many inner workings of your company should be on a need-to-know basis, how being a leader can mean holding your emotional cards close to your chest, and when being completely open can be too much.

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In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about the disadvantages of having wealth. People are drawn to Founders who are successful, who have money to spare. Most of the time, people, including family, expect you to settle their financial issues just because you have the money. It reaches a point where you’re expected to spend your money and not expect anything in return. The toxicity is just too much when it happens too often.

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Resources:

Startup Therapy Podcast
https://www.startups.com/begin

What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:26 Relationships and wealth
05:38 When people is all about wanting something from you
07:51 Some family members expect more from you
13:38 Founders are being judged by their wealth
16:41 Once you give something, you’re expected to give more
19:10 People tend to want to have your money too
23:24 Either way, you’ll be judged by how much cash you have
26:32 Assumptions are made when you have the means and resources
29:45 People with money can’t just give away what they have
33:29 The calls are now about financial matters, no more sincere connections
36:31 Everyone just wants to take from you but not willing to give back

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about commitment. There is a limit to the expectation you can set on others, and that your passion and commitment may not be as intense for the rest of your team. There are certain aspects of your Startup that you’ve got to shoulder on your own. After all, a founder’s superpower is the intensity of his commitment.

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Resources:

Startup Therapy Podcast
https://www.startups.com/begin

What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:26 What is founder commitment?
03:53 The insane level of expectation founders have
07:22 Startup downside: letting go of people
12:00 Even with commitment, some people aren’t willing to deal with the downside
15:15 Not everyone shares the same expectation within the organization
19:02 Don’t set high expectations for other people
24:58 You can’t manipulate people into sharing your dream
25:57 Commitment is a founder’s superpower
27:16 There are certain things only founders should worry about

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about the ugly truth about comparing your success to other businesses. When founders meet, the first person to speak often sets the tone of the conversation; many don’t even want to dig deep into the hardships one must endure to attain success. And is money the only metric for growth?

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Resources:

https://www.startups.com/begin

What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:25 Drawing comparisons against other founders
03:03 The focus is often on the negative instead of what’s working
06:58 Comparing your performance to others just doesn't’ make sense
11:11 We often see the outcome but not the amount of work done
13:50 How do you perceive where you need to go?
17:04 At what point can you say, “I’m good”?
20:36 When a company grows, the focus shifts internally
23:05 Growth just for the sake of growth isn’t always true
26:12 Doing well with the things you really care about
28:50 Quit glossing over to avoid tough conversations
31:22 When things go down, which parts will matter?

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about getting rich without selling your business. They discuss how getting too focused on getting rich causes missed opportunities, is selling your Startup necessary, the cash stacking effect, and spending money you haven’t earned yet.

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Resources:

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:09 Myth: Build big things to get rich
03:55 You miss other avenues for growth when you’re too focused on getting rich
05:31 The cash stacking effect
11:44 Getting regular pay versus never getting paid while running a startup
13:22 Planning to spend money you haven’t earned
16:52 “Aim for the likelihood of the outcome, not the size.” - Ryan Rutan
19:11 The broken idea of how to become rich
23:07 When did you start to feel rich?
28:26 Do you need to sell to get rich?
29:19 If there isn’t a need to, don’t sell

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about getting through a Startup failure. While your mind can make it seem bigger than it is, most people won’t remember when a business shuts down, and that processing your emotions include assessing your failure to get back up!

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Resources:

https://www.startups.com/begin

What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:10 What does failure really look like?
04:57 This is how people think about failure
09:21 When you’re focused on not failing instead of succeeding
11:19 Unpacking two filters of Startup failure
15:45 Your Startup failure isn’t as big as you think it is
20:58 What happens when you freak out
22:31 Over time, people forget about a company shutdown
26:34 Process the emotions, but get back up!
29:32 Unpack and assess your failure to manage it

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about the hard part of being a founder - nobody understands what you do. Founders need people they can talk to about their job, someone mentally and emotionally willing to support their journey, and why the lack of support can hold them back.

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Resources:

https://www.startups.com/begin

What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:12 Does anybody actually understand what founders do?
03:13 “Communication is the burden of the sender.”
04:52 Imagine being a founder is a job interview
08:25 Americans tend to ask people what they do
10:08 Only founders understand their fellow founders
13:23 It’s different when you cause everyone to lose their jobs
17:13 When you don’t get the support that you need
20:55 This is where founders are held up
25:12 Keep people who truly understand what you do

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about the cost of ambition. They discuss the levels in which aspiration is achieved, how starting a business involves: a series of unique conditions, the three basic levers of ambitions, and the uncertainty of the returns a founder has to consider.

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Resources:

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:21 There are things that you may not achieve at all
03:25 Not having something sometimes doesn’t matter
05:52 It’s not just ambitions, it involves a series of conditions to reach a certain threshold
11:44 “There are levels to which ambition alone can achieve.”
15:39 The cost of ambition becomes more than just our time
21:42 You know the cost, but what about the returns of your ambition?
26:45 Once you achieve something, how much are you willing to work for the next
32:17 The three basic levers of ambition

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about the truth about Startup shutdowns. Shutdown cycles always happen to Startup businesses, several bad decisions don’t mean a complete failure, and second chances can happen when you’ve asked the critical Why’s.

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Resources:

https://www.startups.com/begin

What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:59 Startup shutdown is always part of the process
07:05 Shutdowns had been happening even before COVID
12:15 When you assume you’re a failure because of several bad decisions
14:27 How bad was the mindset?
16:47 What was the turning point?
19:56 Rising back after a 48-hour downtime
24:59 Do-overs are what defines some of the great companies
28:46 Tips on how to restart a Startup
34:06 The looming danger when you can’t ask all the critical “Why?”
35:54 It starts with seeing a version 2 of the business to restart

In today’s episode of Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about when it’s too late to launch a Startup. How gained experience equips founders to get through Startup challenges, the liabilities and the stakes involved when founders start late, why our 20’s is the golden decade to test and fail.

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Resources:

https://www.startups.com/begin

What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:22 When is it too late to launch a Startup?
04:42 Deciding an end-point to your career
07:20 Our 20’s is a one-time get-out-of-jail free card
11:55 Gained experiences in building a Startup is the baseline of future endeavors
18:20 Missing important family moments
22:49 Mishaps will happen but the experience will get you through
25:09 Understanding the consequences of knowing the pattern from start to finish
28:45 You’re less employable at your peak age
31:47 Not all founders started at their 20’s
34:44 Starting in your 40’s is the most challenging times
37:00 50’s is the most expensive stage for founders
41:58 One of the challenges is, if not now, when?
43:09 Why young founders pivot so much
45:45 Passion and mastery produces different outcomes

In today’s episode of Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about the emotional toll on Founders when they sell their business, how to spend time when the Startup is gone, losing authority and level of importance, if there’s a way to prepare to become an ‘exited’ Founder.

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Resources:

https://www.startups.com/begin

What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:25 Some of the potential downsides when selling a Startup
03:38 How much our Startup is tied to our sense of purpose
09:18 Concentration of excitement and purpose
13:21 That feeling of being needed
17:30 The horrible feeling of never being able to do it again
20:20 When you become an “ex” or “former” CEO
26:23 Without a business, how will you spend 16 hours a day?
30:40 Equating work hours to family time
34:12 Preparing to become an ‘exited’ founder

In today’s episode of Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about the impact of Founders feeling uncomfortable about sharing their emotions, why you are being put in the wrong light, unpacking emotions to show vulnerability, and the difference between problems and emotions.

Listen in for more tips on being an approachable Founder!

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Resources:

https://www.startups.com/begin

What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:44 Founders not feeling comfortable sharing their emotions
04:41 The pride and ego tide into the business
09:55 Why focus on other aspects of your business
13:30 How to unpack emotions and do something about it
21:15 Our problems and emotions are two separate things
26:10 Most founders keep their vulnerabilities
28:14 How being open impacts founder-team relationship
32:19 When everyone around puts you in the wrong light

In today’s episode of Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about using passion to pursue a business, how to differentiate novelty from passion, why founder burnout is common, and why identifying your theme is important before starting a business.

Listen in to test if you're passionate enough to start a business!

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:59 What moment turned into a passion?
05:02 Mistaking novelty as passion
08:42 The problem with purpose we all run into
14:14 When there’s no curiosity and passion, your role changes
17:13 Strategic planning: when growth is the only business metric
22:58 Find a theme that you’re passionate about
31:54 The energy in the early days can fade

In today’s episode of Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Elliot talk about the benefits of a hard reset for a Startup, letting go of liabilities in exchange for a fresh start, and identifying priorities when going through a hard reset.

Listen in to know why a Startup reset can sometimes help save a business!

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:47 Benefits of a Startup's hard reset
04:16 Outsourcing based on what may happen
08:19 Part of a hard reset is getting fresh talents to join the team
12:27 With a rest, what does the staff look like?
15:12 Take inventory of the stuff that didn't work
18:20 Businesses walking away from monthly liabilities
22:06 Shred expenses and cut old agreements to reset
25:51 Sometimes, a start over is best to be profitable
27:51 If you're thoughtful, can build a more nimble business
30:01 Some hard events push for a reset, for decisions to be made

In today’s episode of Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about why founders need to belong in a therapy group, the benefits of voicing out your worries as an individual, and setting goals for yourself, not just your Startup.

Listen in to know how founders can effectively unload personal struggles!

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:58 How lonely are founders?
04:06 The things that founders can't share
10:22 Founders Group at Startups.com
14:37 How does trust develop within the founders group?
21:11 A group can't converse when they have differing ideas
28:35 Empathy for the members is equally important
33:03 The three questions to ask in every session
33:42 What keeps you up at night?
39:27 What do you need help with?
44:52 How can the community here support you?
47:51 Then, the founders talk about their goals
51:23 The point of a clarity call
52:35 Do you justify that every other goal is important, but yours?
54:43 When trust is established, the group can accomplish anything
56:06 Email us or visit groups.startups.com

In today’s episode of Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Elliot talk about how founders struggle to negotiate their compensation, what should happen in cap table discussions, and why founders should rethink how they get paid.

Listen in to get an idea how founders benefit more from their company!

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What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
00:50 What's going through your head?
02:21 When it isn't worth it anymore
06:02 The cap table discussion
09:26 When the thing you're most excited about is gone
11:46 Don't disincentivize employees by cramming them down
18:00 Have a conversation with investors to set the process you need to adhere to
21:25 Negotiate comp packages based on milestones
23:27 Founders should rethink how they get paid
25:12 What will make you keep working in the company?

In today’s episode of Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Elliot talk about spending a decade to build a business from scratch, how past success can’t dictate the next success, and why nothing matters until the end goal is reached.

Listen in to learn how founders grow an idea into a successful Startup!

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What to Listen For

00:00 Welcome back to the Startup Therapy Podcast!
00:55 How long does it take to reach success?
02:28 The incubator project in 2001
03:39 The split in focus with multiple projects
07:54 How long will it take to prove a good idea?
10:33 Commit time to grow your company
12:03 Every idea is a bad idea unless you act on it
15:59 A problem you are willing to invest in
17:42 The early high-five indicators
18:55 What will a decade cost you?
22:03 "Don't work on something you don't care about." - Elliot Schneier
24:13 Focus and the right idea lead to success
27:04 Past success doesn't guarantee the next success
30:15 How do you explain commitment to new hires
31:22 Nothing matters until you reach the finish line

In today’s episode of Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss why founders should separate themselves from their Startups, the lack of predecessors to guide young founders, what else to focus on besides building the business, and maintaining individuality.

Listen in to learn about individuality and separation from your Startup!

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What to Focus on to Get a Hit

[00:00:32] Are we a separate entity from our Startup?
[00:05:58] For founders, everything should have been right
[00:10:04] There's a pattern to follow, young founders don't have that
[00:11:24] There's a company that you do, it's not who you are
[00:16:01] It actually isn't validation, it's a relief
[00:18:14] Self-inflicted prison: you get stuck in your Startup
[00:20:06] It's not always about how your Startup is doing
[00:23:30] What do you do when you're not building your Startup?
[00:23:30] What can we do for other founders?
[00:26:33] Why is it affecting you at a personal level?
[00:29:14] Your Startup is not who you are

Our focus in today’s episode is listening to what investors are actually saying. Wil and Elliot discuss the direct and indirect ways investors say ‘No’, the passive-aggressive questions, when founders become annoying, and how investors should behave.

Listen in to learn how to translate what your investor is saying!

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What to Focus on to Get a Hit

[00:00:40] Why founders can't understand their investors?
[00:02:24] The NO's that sound 'Yes'
[00:06:18] Venture Community vs Angel Investors
[00:07:11] From an analyst to a partner
[00:09:38] Is it a yes or a no?
[00:10:35] Understanding the user pipeline and deal flow
[00:12:27] What happens when you press on investors
[00:15:45] When investors are interested, they'll blow you up
[00:17:55] Time kills deals
[00:19:34] If it's not a resounding Yes, it's probably a No
[00:22:04] The tendency to annoy investors when you can't take the hint
[00:25:12] Show investors a drastic demand in the product
[00:28:08] How should investors behave?
[00:34:28] Always make a statement in a question
[00:36:47] Education on a fairly complicated space
[00:38:20] The passive-aggressive questions
[00:42:00] Investors saying 'maybe'
[00:45:10] Investors should be definitive in saying 'No'

Our focus in today’s episode is how to get a hit on your business. Wil converses with Sam Parr, Co-Founder and CEO of The Hustle, a massively successful email newsletter to help entrepreneurs make smart business decisions fast by providing information in an easy to consume format.

Wil and Sam look back at the early stages of their Startups, how to gauge financial security, why an early start is an accelerant, tough conversations with investors, and incredible stories of successful Startup businesses.

Listen and learn how to get your first million!

What to Focus on to Get a Hit

[00:00:07] Welcome to the show, Sam Parr!
[00:01:18] The early days of the Hustle
[00:03:35] The gap between expectations and reality
[00:05:57] When you get your first million dollars
[00:07:37] The perks of balling out
[00:09:41] Business impacts the capitalist society
[00:12:31] Doing things that aren't just about safety
[00:13:42] Emotional instability, compounding level of anxiety
[00:15:07] Possibilities changes your worldview
[00:17:42] Success doesn't often equate to happiness
[00:19:21] What are the goals?
[00:22:27] What was your number for security?
[00:25:16] How agency and non-funded businesses grow
[00:28:24] Genuine appreciation for the hustle, for the grind
[00:31:54] A Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
[00:35:22] We're built to get stuff done
[00:36:33] Remove the timeframe, fulfill your obligations
[00:38:59] Tough conversations with investors
[00:41:13] Victim mentality to get out of a bad deal
[00:42:06] The untold hustle stories
[00:44:32] Massive capital gains versus annual cash flow
[00:46:09] Stories of small operations minting profits
[00:50:28] What can you make that can last 50 years?
[00:53:31] When early success becomes an accelerant
[00:56:41] Four years from now, a 50 million net worth?
[00:58:55] If you're good at setting up a startup
[01:01:00] Hiring a person to stir the business
[01:04:00] The perks of financial stability
[01:06:45] What to focus on to get a hit

Our focus in today’s episode is transparency of founders about their startups. Wil converses with Andrew Warner, an internet, startup entrepreneur and founder of Mixergy.com. On Mixergy, proven entrepreneurs are invited to teach how they built their startups.

Wil and Andrew define the lines between genuine curiosity and transactional conversations in building relationships, how topics and answers have consequences, and getting people to open up about themselves by sharing a little bit of yours.

Listen to how transparency can affect business relationships.

Episode Resources

Mixergy.com - “Learn from Proven Entrepreneurs”

What to Listen For

[00:00:12] Who is Andrew Warner?
[00:02:02] Why aren't founders more transparent about their startups?
[00:02:48] Why do I have to talk about the loser stuff?
[00:05:23] A little bit of a personal backstory.
[00:08:15] Being open to others about your vulnerability.
[00:12:24] Everything has always worked until you fail.
[00:14:07] Nobody wants to hear how well you are doing.
[00:15:08] If you do not have the tools of being vulnerable.
[00:16:16] People are always craving to be transparent of some things and hide others.
[00:19:01] The moment you're vulnerable, you become less defensive.
[00:20:45] What are some areas you don't feel talking about publicly?
[00:23:09] When one openly becomes honest and vulnerable, everyone becomes honest and vulnerable.
[00:26:48] Be genuinely curious to get people to open up.
[00:28:34] Do you need to share a little bit to get some during interviews?
[00:30:38] Ask a double-barrel question to give some room for sensitivity.
[00:32:00] Being vulnerable makes building relationships faster.
[00:34:52] Transactional relationships won't help build real connections.
[00:38:33] Actually listen and give leading questions to actually connect.
[00:39:44] When people sit with you more and more, they value your time.
[00:44:34] Incapability of small talk, possibly a fatal flaw.
[00:46:49] How to disarm someone so full of himself.
[00:52:32] Ask very personal questions to further relationships.
[00:57:51] The topics and answers that have consequences.
[00:59:16] Look for topics that people do not need to defend.
[01:01:46] Be prepared for backfires.
[01:04:18] Do you wish you can take back what you've overshared?
[01:08:30] Tell people if you're uncomfortable sharing something.
[01:09:20] We connect with people with their flaws, it makes us human.

For Startups, what exactly do we owe our employees and to what extent?

In this episode of the Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil Schroter & Elliot Schneier redefines the unwritten social contract between employers and employees, the problems that arise when issues remain unheard, and how transparency has changed the leadership approach of Startups.

Listen in to hear why transparent leadership builds valuable trust!

Episode Resources:

Send us your questions - Therapy@Startups.com
Email coaching@startups.com for Startups Coaching sessions

What To Listen For:

[00:01:14] There's a lot that employees rightfully feel they are owed.
[00:03:03] Some employee journeys are their first journey and founders should at least explain to them what they don't know.
[00:07:00] Most major problems are always mapped back to someone who wasn't heard.
[00:10:23] It's easier to just tell people what to do when a problem arises, but taking time to listen to employees builds so much trust both ways.
[00:13:05] The paranoia about the concept of communicating in a transparent way.
[00:17:43] Transparency and honesty can be an adequate form of compensation.
[00:19:07] Bringing the staff into conversations, makes them feel like teammates instead of cogs.
[00:24:03] If you can't attach humility to your leadership, you really start to lose credibility.
[00:27:47] Old school draconian type of work environment isn't getting you the top talents anymore.
[00:31:43] Listening style of leadership is more natural than the learned-style approach.
[00:35:02] Now, people feel comfortable enough to converse organizationally with leaders.
[00:37:33] "Do it because I said so," is a very weak argument.
[00:38:42] That social contract that we owe has created more human relationships, a metric of happiness.
[00:40:49] The more opportunity to have less problems amongst everyone, it's easier to lead a company.

[00:43:30] Don't hesitate to reach out to us at coaching@startups.com.

Are you working yourself into the ground without making much progress, if any?

In this episode of the Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil Schroter & Elliot Schneier break down the failure of their company AffordIt, what actually happens when you run out of VC money, and when you should drop the ego & focus on doing what’s best for your mental health instead.

Listen in to hear what our VC’s did when we ran out of money!

Episode Resources:

Send us your questions - Therapy@Startups.com
Sign up for the Startups Newsletter - https://www.startups.com/newsletter

What To Listen For:

[00:00:12] - Welcome Elliot!
[00:01:12] - The failure of AffordIt
[00:02:42] - What happens when you run out of money from your captial raise?
[00:05:19] - Obtaining VC in hard economic times
[00:07:35] - What happens if you take on investors and don't become a unicorn?
[00:10:12] - How to fail gracefully & maintain relationships
[00:11:12] - Is it the investor's job to call when to fold the business?
[00:13:08] - What we wished our investors would have done
[00:15:35] - The importance of mental health in leadership and why no one cared at the time
[00:18:04] - If investors won't advise you in critical moments, who will?
[00:22:34] - The group that shatters your ego as a Founder the most
[00:28:12] - AffordIt's breaking point
[00:31:10] - The perfect person to tell you you're done
[00:32:32] - Not sure if it's time for you to fold the tents or have a question? Email us at Therapy@Startups.com
[00:36:57] - You don't have to run out of money to fold the tent

Do you really need an advisory board?

In this episode of Startup Therapy, Ryan Rutan and Wil Schroter talk about why an advisory board is important, how to build your own board of advisors, and creating connections that will lead you to endless opportunities.

Listen in for tips on getting advisors to expand your Startup network.

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What To Listen For:

[00:00:58] The Advisory Board
[00:02:03] Why is an Advisory Board important?
[00:06:02] How do you decide who joins the Advisory Board?
[00:07:44] The Board members are interchangeable.
[00:13:03] Advisers aren't that hard to get.
[00:15:06] How to ask someone to be in the Advisory Board?
[00:18:53] Don't get worked up on the number, get worked up on the quality.
[00:21:17] These people must have perennial advice.
[00:24:40] Connect to people who might be helpful to you and the business. Build a network.
[00:25:53] Even if you lack credibility, connections can get you where you need to be.
[00:27:16] One person can give you the answer and fast forward everything.
[00:31:08] "If you want to get advice, raise capital. And if you want to, raise capital, try to get advice."

Want to get your best employees to stick around?

In this episode of Startup Therapy, Ryan Rutan and Wil Schroter talk about how contribution outweighs years of service, capabilities dictate career progression, and why Startups enable accelerated career growth.

Listen in for tips on expanding careers without the hierarchy.

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What To Listen For:

[00:02:20] Hierarchy isn't necessary for people on the team to grow.
[00:06:34] We want as flat of an organization as possible.
[00:10:05] What happens when you move to another company
[00:11:50] Growth essentially needs to be unpacked.
[00:15:31] Cash needs to align with contribution.
[00:20:09] Opportunity wherein you can't go to another company because you pay the most in your current position.
[00:22:54] Understand what's motivating folks to stay.
[00:28:28] The reflection of your progression is through your capabilities.
[00:30:27] Position progression shouldn't have anything to do with managing people.
[00:33:33] Don't look at the years of experience, anyone can level up.
[00:36:19] Measure employee value by contributions, not by time employed.
[00:39:26] In smaller companies you can get your hands on stuff you couldn't touch before.
[00:42:45] People can outgrow the company, or grow faster than the company's growth.
[00:44:55] Title progression is not bound by who's ahead of you.

Have you planned your retirement?

In this episode of Startup Therapy, Ryan Rutan and Wil Schroter discuss why retirement goals should start now, how early testing changes your plans, and what objectives to set immediately.

Tune in for more retirement opportunities in your Startup game.

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What To Listen For:

[00:01:06] Retirement is this day and age isn't what it used to be.
[00:03:00] This concept of retirement. The work many of us do just doesn't have the same kind of drudgery that it used that retirement is the safety net from pain.
[00:05:00] It's about spending some more time doing things that you are already doing.
[00:07:56] Our startups should be helping us to get to our goals without necessarily having to sell.
[00:09:11] Deferred living: You can work on a startup for decades and not have it sell, and if you didn't design it towards that every day enjoyment.
[00:11:00] Retirement should be the things that you want to do. And the question is, how much of it can I do right now?
[00:12:50] Ease into it, figure out that one thing you want to do.
[00:18:30] It's like popping a bubble. If you just pop the bubble on whatever that dream is and it's still interesting, okay there's something there worth stressing for.
[00:22:05] With retirement, we would have endless choices of what to. But can you spend 16 hours a day with something that isn't a job.
[00:25:00] For any major life event transition, you should be testing, you should be preparing yourself.
[00:26:20] Retirement should be something that you're constantly chipping away at, by creating more opportunities to spend the time the way you want it.
[00:28:00] If we look at retirement as a gateway, we can't retire. The ability to play tests is there, there's no reason you can't be doing these things.
[00:30:18] I don't think there are a lot of hobbies that activate us the way our jobs do.
[00:32:34] Do you really think that top performing professional athletes were still playing because they need the money? It wasn't retirement because they achieved financial success, they had satisfied themselves.
[00:34:14] There's a huge difference between wanting to retire and wanting to not do something you're already doing.
[00:34:55] The ultimate goal of retirement is that nothing changes, because all along we deliberately planned to get more and more time to do things we want to do.
[00:37:00] Instead of waiting for this amazing moment that can change it all, change a number of things year end, year out, eventually the things you want to do during retirement are already in place.

Does "No" mean never? Not exactly.

Today on the Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil & Ryan discuss why saying "No" is just as much discipline as it is a luxury, how to build your confidence in saying "No", and when saying "No" can actually grow your business.

Whatever you do, don't say "No" to this episode!

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Do you have safety assets for your next milestone bet?

In this episode of Startup Therapy, Ryan Rutan and Wil Schroter discuss the difference between personal and business safety, an optimized approach to running a Startup, and creating a safety net for every milestone.

Listen in and learn how base-level stability can fundamentally change a business.

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What To Listen For:

[00:00:33] How can I feel safe from Startup scam?
[00:02:10] Safety can be achieved at a much lower threshold. Now that I am safe, how do I become rich?
[00:06:22] Personal safety vs Business safety
[00:09:40] Optimizing approach to building a Startup
[00:12:06] What safety looks like as a milestone?
[00:13:40] Safety means you can weather a storm. What is a storm to you?
[00:17:03] Startup narrative: What safety really is and how important is it for businesses?
[00:19:31] Having a safety net allows you to do things you couldn't do.
[00:21:11] Establish real, specific milestones
[00:23:45] The safety that businesses should be looking for.
[00:25:49] Isolate your milestones, put your bet on something that doesn't impact your safety.
[00:27:00] Create base-level stability for the business.
[00:29:17] How focusing on getting to that safe point can fundamentally change the business.
[00:32:43] Once you're safe, becoming rich becomes a luxury goal.
[00:34:00] What do you need to be safe enough to make really big bets?
[00:36:18] Figure out exactly what safety looks like.

Eager to prove that your business idea is the next big thing?

In this episode of Startup Therapy, Ryan Rutan and Wil Schroter discuss how to get more out of short-term goals, finding validation for Startup growth, and why funding doesn’t equal success.

Listen in and learn how to optimize probability for the best possible outcome!

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What To Listen For:

[00:00:36] At what point was not aiming big enough the problem?
[00:03:01] Trying to hypothesize how big it could possibly be when you don't even know if it works when it's still small?
[00:07:49] You could start with one broken argument that says, well, it's going to take the same amount of time to build…
[00:13:37] You don't just set one goal and you kind of hang out until you hit that one goal.
[00:21:15] It now has to be a giant business to somehow have some sense for validation.
[00:22:08] You probably also don't need the funding to do a good job in that market.
[00:29:26] Make it work in a microcosm and then make it work somewhere else.

Reputation: we all have an understanding of the long term & lasting impacts it has on your standing as a Founder, but how do we cultivate our reputation?

Today we discuss why reputation is so important, how your resume & reputation are two very different things, and what the cost incurred if we don't take our reputations seriously.

Remember, your reputation is very hard to build & very easy to destroy - so listen up!

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As a Founder, running a Startup is inherently stressful, right? Wrong!

Today we discuss why self-imposed stress is often unproductive and imagined, a few tactics to try that will help you leave Startup stress at work, and how to be more present when you are home.

Listen in to learn how to relax!

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Why is it that as Founders, we feel like we must constantly be chasing something - otherwise we don't feel satisfied?

But sometimes happiness isn't just about reaching milestones & crossing finish lines, so today we talk about why you're probably running from your fears, unpack our own flawed logic behind not taking a moment to celebrate our own successes, and you can take that much needed moment to breathe for yourself.

Listen in to find peace within Startup chaos!

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Is it better to live as a Startup Founder in a major city?

In this episode of Startup Therapy, Ryan Rutan and Wil Schroter discuss working from home, where to locate a company, and their experiences living in different areas.

Tune in to hear the benefits and setbacks of being in a major city.

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What To Listen For:

[00:00:33] What are the pros and cons of being in a big city at this point?
- The pros are things like networking locally and easily socializing, the cons are lack of space and the costs are higher.
[00:17:52] How has working from home currently changing how people live and work.
- People will see how easy it is to move and live in different locations.
[00:21:39] What’s the benefit of moving to a place with cheaper housing?
- You can get a palace with is much nicer than cramped city living.
[00:32:26] What about the importance of socialization?
- Socialization is done outside of working together.

Can downsizing your Startup be the right move for you?

In this episode of Startup Therapy, Ryan Rutan and Wil Schroter speak on the appropriate sizing of businesses, understanding the health of a business, and the importance of communicating these changes with your team.

Listen in to foster the longevity of your business.

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Do you have tactics that can be deployed to help manage during a crisis?

In this episode of Startup Therapy, Ryan Rutan and Wil Schroer talk on the crisis’ they’ve dealt with in the past, what works in managing during those instances, and beneficial communication tactics.

Tune in learn how to best communicate amidst chaos!

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What To Listen For:

[00:00:19] Their experience with going through crisis’
[00:08:00] What happens after a crisis
[00:10:23] How they dealt with the 2000 - 2008 financial crisis
[00:12:25] Zirtual financial mismanagement
[00:15:10] Lessons learned from handling crisis’
[00:30:22] On problematic communication during a crisis
[00:35:25] Get everybody on the same side of the table

Do you feel like the recession is bringing your Startup to a standstill?

In this episode of Startup Therapy, Ryan Rutan and Wil Schroer discuss how to make this recession beneficial for your business, how to delegate and refocus, and why you should buy-in during the recession.

Listen in and learn how to optimize and weather the storm!

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Does bringing on an investor mean you’re hiring you’re own boss?

In this episode of Startup Therapy, Ryan Rutan and Wil Schroter discuss, what happens once we close the deal with investors, the nature of the relationship between the investors and the Founders, and the decision of hiring your own boss.

Tune in to understand how having investors could alter your business mode.

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Have you thought about the inevitability of an employee leaving your Startup?

On this episode of Startup Therapy, Ryan Rutan and Wil Schroter discuss how former employees can be either an asset or a liability, learning to not take an employee leaving personally, and extending yourself to help them in their career path even after they leave.

Listen in and learn how to encourage a happy send-off culture!

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Shouldn’t we still have health, happiness, and comfort while trying to grow a Startup?

On this episode of Startup Therapy, Ryan Rutan and Wil Schroter discuss why it’s important to focus on quality of life as a Founder, giving yourself permission to enjoy and take care of yourself, and the power of quality of life as a form of compensation.

Tune in and learn to take quality of life seriously!

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What if we determined that what we're doing now is the thing we want to be doing for the rest of our lives?

On this episode of Startup Therapy, Ryan Rutan and Wil Schroter discuss the fulfillment of finishing, the dynamic of passion within mastery, and the habit of deferred living.

Listen in and learn to take advantage of the moment!

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Are you aware that how you respond to difficult situations affects whether or not the best solutions will be created?

On this episode of Startup Therapy, Ryan Rutan and Wil Schroter discuss emotional intelligence, how your EQ affects business health, and why it’s important as a Founder to be self-aware that your personality influences the organization.

Listen in to learn why emotional intelligence is important!

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Do you know what it looks like to pace yourself for the long run as a Founder?

On today’s episode of Startup Therapy, Ryan Rutan and Wil Schroter talk about how to set your pace, how sprinting is an easy trap to fall into, and what happens when you push yourself too hard.

Remember, it’s a marathon - not a sprint!

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As parents and potential parents, what should we be teaching kids about Startup companies?

On today’s episode of Startup Therapy, Ryan Rutan and Wil Schroter talk about how entrepreneurship is not taught formally, the benefit of teaching it at a young age, and how ownership of ideas is important to a child’s intellectual growth.

Tune in to learn what can be done to nurture the entrepreneurial spirit in children.

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When is it okay for a Founder to be open with their team and business partners about their personal problems?

On this episode of Startup Therapy, Wil Schroter & Ryan Rutan open up about their past & current struggles with anxiety, health issues, and being overly critical with themselves and their Startups.

Listen in to hear how we’ve come to learn to deal with our flaws in a healthy and productive manner, it can be done!

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Starting a company is hard, growing a Startup is slow, and frankly there aren't many Super Bowl type moments. Don't get discouraged, instead celebrate the small wins because the small wins daily lead to success over time.

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Surely by now we've all seen The Social Network, but how much of a concern is it really if someone tries to steal our idea?

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Running a Startup can be chaotic, we know this, but is it true that problems will go away with time? Not necessarily. Some do, some don't, listen in to learn how & when to align your expectations for the unexpected.

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Starting a Startup is brutal, hard work - at what point do our companies finally start to pay us back?

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The $0 salary, is it the cool & honorable thing to do, or is it completely & utterly ridiculous? We'll find out today on this episode of Startup Therapy.

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On today's episode of Startup Therapy we answer the question: what happens after we achieve the success we've worked so hard to get?

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We talk a lot about how much time we spend on our Startups, but what about doing stuff that's not Startup related? On today's episode of Startup Therapy we discuss why this important - not only for your own sanity, but for the growth of your company.

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On today's episode of Startup Therapy we're going to talk about the often misunderstood "Side Hustle" - why it's important, where it fits into Startup Life, and how to survive it... or when it's time to quit.

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As Founders, the day you incorporate your company you become a manager. Today on Startup Therapy we talk about why management is important, how no one's truly qualified for this role, and if you, as a Founder, even need to be your own manager.

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As Founders, how can we deal with personal hardships that are often a result of our own Startups - while we're still running them? On today's episode of Startup Therapy, we share very personal stories of our own struggles with health and well-being as we built Startups.com

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Ever caught yourself thinking - I don't love my Startup like I used to? Today we talk about similarities between relationships and Startups, why it's okay if the passion really has faded away, and a few actionable things you can do about it to help move on.

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It's a fact, most Startups fail...but we never actually think that could happen to ours, right? In today's episode of Startup Therapy we talk about how to bounce back from failure, why it's not as bad as it sounds, and we share our own stories of past failures.

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The Founder's journey can be a lonely one, but it doesn't have to be. In today's episode of Startup Therapy, we talk about why you should consider hosting Founder Groups, how they're helpful, and how they've helped us with our Startups.

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As Founders, we think we know how our products and businesses will look and function for years to come, but as with time it's nearly impossible to expect the unexpected. In today's episode of the Startup Therapy podcast, we discuss what our Startups looked like in year 1, so you might have a better idea of what to expect in your first year too.

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As a Founder, do you find yourself overwhelmed...and frustrated that things aren't moving forward as fast as you like? Startups are often portrayed as a go big or go home affair, and as Founders it's easy to get caught up chasing monumental goals and forget about the daily actions that will actually get us there.

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As a Founder, do you find yourself feeling isolated, anxious, or alone? We've all heard the phrase, "it's lonely at the top", but as Founders we do far more than hear it...we live it. On today's Startup Therapy, we're going to talk about why loneliness is part of the Founder journey and what we can do to minimize the negative impacts it has on our lives, our families, and our Startups.

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As a Founder, does it feel like every time you walk into a room you're being judged before a single word comes out of your mouth? Do you feel like it's always an uphill battle to be taken seriously? On today's Startup Therapy, we'll look at why it takes so much work to be taken seriously and what we can do to thumb the scales in our favor.

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As Founders we value our freedom, but how much? When was the last time you considered the value, and the cost, of your freedom as a Founder? On today's episode of Startup Therapy, we'll discuss both sides of the Founder Freedom coin - the costs and the benefits.

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As Founders, we know that Startups fail, and we end up moving on, but what happens when a Startup's doing really well but we want to move on anyway? On today's episode we discuss the reasons you may be compelled to quit your own Startup, how to fill the role you leave empty, and what life after quitting might look like.

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As a Founder, I've asked myself...can I ever be an employee again? What happens if I'm forced into reporting to someone else now that I've tasted the freedom of Founderhood. Maybe you have too? On today's Startup Therapy, we'll discuss what happens when you have to stop being a boss and start having one.

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As a Founder, when the business is struggling it can feel that that struggle is linked to your personal life, your personal safety, and you could suffer greatly as a result. On today's Startup Therapy podcast we'll talk about how important it is to isolate feelings of startup peril from those of personal safety, for your good and that of the business.

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As Founders we spend a lot of time thinking about what we want to accomplish, but have you ever sat down and really given thought to using the freedom that comes with being a Founder to say, "Here's some things I NEVER want to do again"? On today's episode, we talk about the power of reducing stress by building a Startup we love, in an environment intentionally designed to avoid the things we loathe.

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Is remote work bullshit? In today's episode of the Startup Therapy podcast were going to talk about when and how remote work & work-from-home policies can really have a positive impact on a Startup.

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Does the idea of building a business worth millions that leaves you, as the Founder, broke seem unfair? On today's episode of the Startup Therapy podcast we'll explore why building something of great value doesn't directly or immediately turn into value for us, as Founders.

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Paying people with equity is a time-honored tradition in cash-starved startup land, however, have you ever stopped to consider the real cost? In today's Startup Therapy podcast we'll talk about the real cost of treating equity like cash when it represents 100% of the future return on your efforts.

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On today's Startup Therapy podcast we're going to discuss why superior managerial skills don't necessarily trump a Founder's passion and knowledge as a company scales, and how to decide what to let go of...and when.

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We all know the value of having a star player on our team or an amazing co-Founder, but what about the opposite? On today's episode of the Startup Therapy podcast, we'll discuss how to handle, identify, and handle toxic teammates before their impact spreads across the organization.

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As Founders, we're all familiar with the concept of an exit plan. In today's Startup Therapy podcast we discuss what you actually CAN plan for, what happens if you don't plan at all, or if you don't actually want to sell.

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When was the last time you asked yourself - "How much should I actually be working?" Probably never because the answer is obvious, 24/7 right? In today's Startup Therapy podcast we're going to dig into the notion that more hours equal more growth. While there's truth to that assumption, we'll explore how to think quality and not quantity when it comes to your weekly punch card.

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Have you ever asked yourself, do I need to raise capital to be successful? In today's episode of Startup Therapy, we'll talk about you why probably don't need to regret NOT raising capital, at least not yet.

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How are you feeling today? Chances are, as a Founder - some version of tired, worn out, mentally foggy, or stressed part of the answer. Today, we're going to dive into burn out. How to see it coming, how to avoid it, and how to recharge when you've gone too far.

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In today's bonus episode, we talk to Steve Blank - the godfather of Silicon Valley

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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As a Founder, when was the last time you felt like you had no idea what you were doing? Today we talk about why feeling like a fraud is actually a very normal part of Founder life.

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Stay longer. Work harder. Sleep less...as startup Founders we've all gone through periods where this felt necessary. Today we'll talk about what you can do to balance life and startup, and why it's actually beneficial for you and your startup to do so.

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As a Founder, you've likely spent years in the build-up to actually starting your company, but how much time did you dedicate to preparing your spouse for the leap into entrepreneurship?

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50-50, even-Steven, when splitting equity equal is best, right? Today on the Startup Therapy podcast we discuss why cutting things right down the middle is rarely fair to start and only gets further out of balance as time goes on.

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Why is it everyone talks about starting companies, but nobody ever tells us how to shut them down? Today on the Startup Therapy podcast we'll cover how to wind down a startup with as much grace as possible.

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What if I told you growth doesn't always make a startup better? Today on the Startup Therapy podcast we're going to talk about why the focus should be making our startups better, not just bigger.

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What if the advice you're getting from the smartest people you know...is wrong?

Today on the Startup Therapy Podcast we'll discuss how to seek advice, how to ensure you're getting the best advice, and how not to fall into the trap of letting other people's experiences dictate your actions.

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Does your startup produce more anxiety than revenue? Does your morning routine consist of running down an endless list of worries? Do you lie awake at night and regret ever starting your business? Today we're going to explore why anxiety is a part of every founder's life.

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As a Founder, should your startup's salary be on par with whatever you were making at your last job? Or should you tough it out and not get paid at all? The answer is probably neither of those options.

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One of the most common questions among Founders is - Do I have to raise money for my startup?

What that question generally means is: "Can you tell me how to raise money and where to find it?"

Sure, every startup could put more money to use but does every startup need funding?

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What if you could be completely broke, on the verge of bankruptcy at home, while still running a thriving business?

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There are endless stories about Founders cashing out on their startups - but what happens to those Founders after the exit? Are they happier for it? If not, then how does that affect the path that current Founders are on? Wil and Ryan dive into real post-mortems of what happens to Founders after they sell their company, and the painful emotional issues that come with life post-exit.

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When we think about "startup exits" we think about "millions and billions". But how life-changing could an exit of as "little" as $250,000 be? A lot more than you might think, which is important because most people are far more likely to get to a $250k exit than millions or billions. Wil and Ryan unpack exactly how $250k could fundamentally change your life and how trying to get to that milestone first could be a more achievable and powerful goal than holding out for the big Willy Wonka ticket.

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A true startup is a meritocracy where big degrees and titles shouldn't determine how capable your team is or how fast each person can grow. We talk about creating an environment where each team member can put their past accomplishments aside and focus exclusively on what they have contributed to the startup today.

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If you find yourself focusing more on not losing than winning then it could be time to fold the tents and pack up camp, but when should you make that call?

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What if instead of focusing our startup around our product or revenue - we started optimizing for our own happiness? What if our work hours gave us more time with our kids or who we worked with were only the people we enjoyed the most? It's possible! The key is thinking about your startup differently by using "personal happiness" as a core tenet of how the company works.

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In the age of "unicorn valuations" and giant funding rounds, the world has lost sight of how valuable a startup can be with even a million dollars of revenue. Ryan and Wil do a detailed walk through of exactly how important a million dollar business can be to a Founder and how dangerous it is to be lead astray by big numbers that have very little personal value to a you as a Founder.

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Many of us play a horrible game of comparison, whereby we compare ourselves to other Founders, other startups, and if we're (un)lucky, the press and social media barrage we see of other people's success. It's all BS. The moment we start comparing ourselves to other people's apparent success, we all lose. In this episode we talk about how to "stay in your own lane" and avoid the fallacy of following false idols in the startup world.

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No one talks about the intense emotional cost of being a startup Founder (so of course we do!) From missing time with your loved ones to putting all of your chips on a single bet (and losing), we talk about the toll this takes on a Founder and what you can do to help alleviate some of this intense stress in your own journey.

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Wil and Ryan debunk the myth that startup Founders can work on multiple ideas at once and just pick the best one to run with. We unpack the issues that come with trying to split your focus and how costly that decision can be.

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