Startup F***Ups: Recent Episodes

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Electric vehicles promise a cleaner environment in the future but the effectiveness depends on people deciding to own an Electric Vehicle (EV).

Currently the biggest challenge for this to happen is the infrastructure, as there are not enough chargers and drivers worry where they will find a charger, in comparison with fuel stations which are plenty.

Sarah-Marie fell in love with entrepreneurship and when she decided to follow this path decided to pursue Entrepreneurship studies where she found her partner and together they decided to solve the EV scarcity challenge. 

They realized that the majority of the time privately owned EV chargers are unused the majority of the time as people charge their cars overnight so the natural thing was to connect EV charger owners with EV owners that needed to charge their vehicles.

This brilliant approach to solve the challenge, attracted investors, backers, partners, and even first users to the platform, to what it seemed as a high potential startup.

Their business model depended on people traveling from different places and needing to charge their vehicles so when the first lockdown was lifted they were optimistic to say the travel would come back to normal.

As we now know this is not what happened and when the second lockdown and travel restrictions came into place in most of Europe, they had to make a forced pivot towards a new business model, even with everything going according to plan.

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll in businesses, as many founders have been forced to close, pivot, change their path. Her story is filled with inspiring insights that could help other founders facing similar challenges.

What she shared: 

-  The key role of asking for help from mentors 

-  The challenges she faced while pivoting 

-  How she managed to overcome the emotional hardships

-  Her insights in realizing you’re not alone facing struggles

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During the 80s independent radios or pirate radios were having a big moment, especially because the FM broadcasting technology was starting to play a role in how radio was transmitted.

At that time Don fell in love with independent radio so much he started working to provide services to those radio stations once they got legalized by the regulators.

He faced competitors, government institutions that opposed him, organizations that went against him, and lastly he lost the contract he had worked hard for ten years to get.

But something was not right, he had done everything the right way to get it and his instinct told him something was off.

After several conversations the outcome completely changed for him and in this process people were sent to jail, organizations against him got invalidated, and he was set on to build a successful venture.

The tenacity and resilience it took to overcome every challenge he faced is admirable, it is clear the path he traveled was filled with stress but his will and passion enabled him to create the future he envisioned.

Currently Don is an Active Listener Coach and as the CEO of TalkBack and CoachTalk he helps organizations facilitate internal communications by focusing on listening to the people involved.

What he shared:

• The importance of doing things the right way

• How success might change from what you imagine

• The passion, tenacity, and resilience it takes to become an agent of change

• His views on how to enjoy work and life

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Applaud was a bookings platform for the music industry that seek to help musicians with the negotiation, payments, and contact for the live events and after several setbacks and challenges the app was ready and launched in March 2020.

Luke, Applaud's founder, is a violinist who decided to become an entrepreneur with the goal of empowering musicians through technology. His startup, was seeking to solve the pains musicians have while dealing with the bookings negotiation, contact, and payments, through an app that puts musicians in the center.

His initial goal was to reach 40 bookings per week for musicians, accomplish word of mouth for his easy way to book musicians, and later on tackle international markets, but many setbacks and challenges like having to rewrite the code and not having the right team set him back.

Sadly, after the app was launched in March 2020 music bookings came to a halt due to lockdown measures seeking to slow down the pandemic. With a loan to pay back and to put food on the table Luke was into a difficult situation that pushed him to pivot towards a new business model that focused on writing press releases for musicians. His ability to quickly pivot was key to overcome the big challenge that the pandemic proposed to the music events industry, giving him the possibility to start finding some gas for his new project TuneRelease.

What he shared:

• How important it is to align your values with your co-founders

• The key of finding mentor’s that challenge your ideas

• His path and challenges to pivot in the difficult situation he was

• The secret he found for startups to improve their processes

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Trusting the process can help you navigate challenges.

Diania is an Entrepreneur passionate about financial independence and her startup is the first large event for the FIRE movement.

She got inspired by reading the blog from Mr Money Mustache and decided she wanted to inspire a community of people concerned about their personal finances.

So even though she was no expert event planner, she saw there was a missing gap for large events focused on financial independence and started working to create the EconoMe conference.

A place to bring people together where human interaction would lead to a growing community for the FIRE movement.

Through her journey she chose the wrong partners, invested resources in marketing without seeing return over her investment, and faced a worldwide lockdown and a hit to the live event industry like we’ve never seen before.

Overcoming those hardships and bringing 250 people together to listen from 9 experts was no easy task, but that achievement helped her shift the perspective from a $40k loss into a $40k investment.

What she shared: 

• The importance of finding the early visionaries that support you

• How to start with no audience through organic growth

• Why you should find a co-founder that allows you to grow and shift together

• Her mindset to approach the hardest challenges 

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Sometimes our F***ups push us to achieve greater goals.

Mariana is a long-time successful entrepreneur who has always thought outside the box, gone against the norm and defied the standards.

Her fashion accessories business was booming when a change of management dramatically affected her business profitability.

Thanks to her entrepreneurial spirit, she was able to face this hardship and stand up against the new management, resulting in a termination of contract for her major store locations.

This F***Up forced her to rethink her business and she quickly switched to a different strategy that led her store to become a successful venture focused on women empowerment. 

When she realized her community was one of her biggest assets, she found that her business was not only a store selling fashion accessories but it was a vehicle to empower women through unique experiences.

Mariana has become a strong and inspiring leader in the entrepreneurial scene and the communities she has created around the world.

She recently published her book “Say YES ask questions later” where you can read more about her story.

What she shared: 

• How being aware of the business environment helps face inevitable changes

• The importance of using your why to make powerful connections

• The great value of community empowerment 

• Why asking for help is part of a growth mindset 

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Wilbert is a top SAP Consultant owns a large consulting firm with offices in 6 countries. When entrepreneurs achieve success, they either get too comfortable to innovate and stop growing, or they take the risk to explore new markets. In Wilbert’s case, he took the risks. Even though his intrapreneurial project didn’t have the expected outcomes, he learned a great deal from that experience and has never stopped creating new opportunities for his business. But always keeping the core business safe allowing the business to sustain through changes and unexpected outcomes. In this episode of Startup F***ps, he will open up about the strategies that didn’t work and the lessons he learned even when the project didn’t succeed. 

What he shared: 

• How the core values of your business are so critical for the decision-making process 

• The role of emotional intelligence to building new business opportunities

• How the emotional decision process is less accurate than the informed decision process 

• What happens when you invest time and resources without validating the market needs

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Zapaer felt that entrepreneurship is like jumping out fo a plane and building the parachute on the way down and he crashed.

In this episode, he shares the challenges he faced while leading one of Montreal's top FDM 3D printing service providers.⁣ He founded Z3D to provide clients with a seamless 3D printing experience.⁣It got ranked constantly among the top service providers for Montreal, Quebec City, and Ottawa.⁣

He had to face a challenge many founders don't acknowledge until it happens, and it ultimately killed his business.⁣

Canada's tax rules played a huge role in how the business was impacted when it had to face the challenge of losing the unique revenue stream that supported the business.

Since businesses are naturally uncertain, it is really important to have strategies to mitigate potential risks that every stage of your business.

He shared with us:

• How the best way of managing uncertainty is through strategy

• The challenge that many founders face and most don't acknowledge (The one that killed the business)

• The need for healthy stress coping mechanisms ⁣

• His first mover advantages on a new industry

Filled with details form the 3D printing this episode is packed with insights that can help founders.

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Corina realized that it was time for her to consider her well-being a top priority after having to face several challenges.

In this episode, you will hear the story of a woman who worked hard to keep her bakery afloat in a foreign environment.

As many other entrepreneurs, she found herself being a slave in her own business. She experienced burnout for so long that she forgot the importance of taking care of herself first.

Although her business didn’t have a happy ending, this journey led her to pursue mindfulness and help people find inner peace through meditation, healthy meals, and a renewed mindset.

What she shared: 

• How her values guided her from the beginning
• The life-changing event that led her to finally make the right choice for herself
• Why sleeping is so underrated and yet so important, especially for business owners
• The importance of having a support system

Listening to Corina’s experience will encourage you to take a moment and think about your own well-being. After all, you are your business’ most important asset.

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Can you imagine being grateful for a project that didn’t go as expected? Andi and Wessel have an amazing story to share with you. 

They worked hard on a minimum viable product they were very proud of seeking to change the tattoo industry, only to realize that it would turn out to be something completely different. 

In this very first episode of Startup F***ps, they reveal how they turned a failed project into a business. 

What they shared: 

• The Signs you have the right business partner 

• Why you need to make sure your partnerships are as committed as you are before you jump into an agreement. 

• The importance of having an experimentation mindset and do what you love while you help others solve their problems 

Techless MVP exercise: https://youtu.be/SLH6URmvQRM