Startup Therapy

Latest Episodes:

What does Founder Success "Feel" Like? Dec 13, 2021

Show notes

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.

Sign up for the Startups Newsletter

https://www.startups.com/newsletter

Resources:

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

Let's Kill the 40 Hour Work Week Dec 06, 2021

Show notes

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.

Sign up for the Startups Newsletter

https://www.startups.com/newsletter

Resources:

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

Minimum Viable Happiness Nov 29, 2021

Show notes

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.

Sign up for the Startups Newsletter

https://www.startups.com/newsletter

Resources:

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

The Funding of "No Man's Land" Nov 22, 2021

Show notes

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!

Sign up for the Startups Newsletter

https://www.startups.com/newsletter

Resources:

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

What does Founder "Success" Feel Like? Nov 15, 2021

Show notes

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.

Sign up for the Startups Newsletter

https://www.startups.com/newsletter

Resources:

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

The Risk of Trading Vulnerability for Opportunity Nov 08, 2021

Show notes

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.

Sign up for the Startups Newsletter

https://www.startups.com/newsletter

Resources:

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

Failure in Startups is not Absolute Nov 01, 2021

Show notes

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.

Sign up for the Startups Newsletter

https://www.startups.com/newsletter

Resources:

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

Can a Founder take a Sabbatical? Oct 25, 2021

Show notes

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.

Sign up for the Startups Newsletter

https://www.startups.com/newsletter

Resources:

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

Am I Lying or Just Being Optimistic? Oct 18, 2021

Show notes

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?

Sign up for the Startups Newsletter

https://www.startups.com/newsletter

Resources:

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

Stop Glorifying "Hustle Porn" Oct 11, 2021

Show notes

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.

Sign up for the Startups Newsletter

https://www.startups.com/newsletter

Resources:

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

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected