21 Hats Podcast

This week, in episode 124, Shawn Busse, Liz Picarazzi, and Hans Schrei debate the merits and risks of taking outside capital. Clearly, it makes sense for some businesses. But what are the right circumstances? What are the alternatives? And what do you need to understand before going to the dance? For example, what are the dynamics of the entrepreneur-investor relationship? Are the entrepreneurs hoping the investors will bestow an opportunity upon them? Or is it actually the entrepreneurs who have an opportunity to offer? And who pays for the coffee? Plus: What do you do on those days when no one seems to be following your lead and the entrepreneurial loneliness sets in?

This week, Gene Marks and Loren Feldman talk about what business owners can do to protect themselves in the current environment of rising rents and increased volatility. Plus: What explains the recent boom in startups? And will it last? And what the Fed’s rate hikes mean for businesses. Also: you can’t just set your website and forget it.

This week, in episode 124, Karen Clark Cole, Jay Goltz, and Sarah Segal talk about hiring an HR person. First, how do you handle HR issues before you can afford HR people? Is software the answer? At what size does a business need a full-time person? Do you hire someone who has experience but who might not be used to getting his or her hands dirty? Or do you hire someone you can mold to fit the culture of your business? Jay, who likes to say the entrepreneur is often the worst person to interview candidates, is currently interviewing candidates to be his head of HR, and he’s a little surprised at how few resumes he’s been getting. Plus: Sarah’s looking for office space and not finding much that would be acceptable. And how are Karen and Sarah doing now that, technically, they have been employees in their own businesses for a year?

Signed by Governor Newsom on Labor Day, California’s new fast food law creates committees, among other things, to set an industry-wide minimum wage. The plan sparked lots of outrage, but Gene Marks explains why he thinks it’s worth a try. He also notes that it could well be coming to a state near you. Plus: Gene also makes the business case for paid parental leave while also raising some interesting questions, including this one: If you offer paid leave to new parents, is that fair to employees who don’t have children? Gene also explains why he says buying Salesforce’s new small-business CRM is like ordering a salad at McDonald’s.

This week, in a special bonus episode, Jason Fried talks about why things got crazy at software maker Basecamp and what it has meant for the business. As you may recall, in the spring of 2021, Fried, CEO and co-owner, issued a blog post edict eliminating a slew of benefits, shutting down a committee that had been attempting to address diversity issues, and barring discussion of all social or political issues on work forums. The email produced a backlash that culminated in a third of the company’s 60-some employees choosing to leave. The rupture was especially stunning coming at Basecamp, which has since re-branded by returning to its original name, 37signals, and which has long had a reputation for treating employees well, including offering remote work long before it was commonplace. When the story broke, some business owners applauded Fried for taking a stand. Others wondered how any policy that resulted in the departure of a third of a company’s employees could be worthy of praise.

Show notes:

Here’s the blog post Jason Fried sent out announcing the policy changes: https://world.hey.com/jason/changes-at-basecamp-7f32afc5

Here’s a story that recounted the backlash as it was happening: https://www.theverge.com/2021/5/3/22418208/basecamp-all-hands-meeting-employee-resignations-buyouts-implosion

Jason Fried is author or co-author of several books, including, “It Doesn’t Have to Be Crazy at Work.” https://basecamp.com/books/calm

This week, in episode 123 and in light of reports that half of the U.S. workforce has “quietly quit” their jobs, Shawn Busse, Paul Downs, and William Vanderbloemen talk about the latest rage: Is quiet quitting something new? Is it just a media creation? Have Shawn, Paul, and William experienced it in their businesses? And who’s to blame? Plus, the three owners explain how they hire for engagement and how they’ve changed their hiring processes in response to the pandemic and the labor shortage. For example, Paul explains why, in this brave new world, he continues to flip conventional wisdom on its head: Instead of hiring slow and firing fast, he’s been hiring fast and firing slow. And he says it’s working.

How much control do you need? How much risk can you handle? This week, Ami Kassar, a small business finance expert, recalls feeling inadequate when he saw other entrepreneurs raising lots of money and going for broke (and sometimes getting there). He began to realize that there are different entrepreneurial personality types, and he’s developed a survey that can help you understand your own entrepreneurial instincts. The founder of MultiFunding also discusses how willing banks are to lend right now, what businesses should do to prepare for a downturn, why it’s important to manage your EIDL loan carefully, and whether it ever makes sense to turn to an alternative lender.

This week, in episode 122, Hans Schrei and Sarah Segal talk about what it takes to break into Costco. How do you get on their shelves? If you do get there, how do you make sure your product will fly off of those shelves? And if you succeed, will you have the financing you’ll need to ramp up production? Along the way, Sarah offers some tips on enlisting Costco influencers, and Hans explains the inner workings of Wunderkeks’ equity crowdfunding campaign, where you can invest as little as $150 and where the company hopes to raise $1 million. Plus: Sarah responds to a smart listener’s suggestion of how to avoid getting ghosted by potential clients after preparing elaborate and expensive proposals.

Show notes:
Here’s Wunderkeks’ investing pitch on Republic: https://republic.com/wunderkeks

Here’s the episode where we introduced Hans and Wunderkeks: https://21hats.com/wunderkeks-has-two-daddies/

And here’s the episode where Sarah talked about being ghosted by potential clients: https://21hats.com/trash-rats-and-garbage-juice-a-case-study-in-pr/

This week, in part because Loren’s on vacation, we’re offering a replay of an episode we recorded more than two years ago. It was one of our early episodes, and it was recorded shortly after George Floyd was murdered. In the episode, Karen Clark Cole, William Vanderbloemen, and Dana White talked about how they viewed their responsibilities as business leaders at such a fraught moment. What, if anything, were they saying to their customers? What were they saying to their employees? It started as a conversation, but Dana took the lead quickly and powerfully. She talked about what it’s been like to so often be the lone Black voice in the room. She talked about what it’s like for African-American employees to come to work and wonder where their company and their colleagues stand. She drew a line in the sand. “Why is it hard,” she asked? “You’re either over here, or you’re over there.” Even if you’ve already heard this episode, we recommend listening again—especially given that business leaders are again being asked where they stand on social and political issues, whether it’s about race or abortion or the climate or democracy. If you haven’t already heard the episode, we doubt you will soon forget it.

This week, in episode 121, Shawn Busse, Jay Goltz, and Liz Picarazzi discuss their succession options and—if they could go back in time—what advice they would give their early-stage selves. Liz would tell herself to get some help with administrative tasks, Shawn would tell himself to find a mentor (although he’s not sure he would have listened to the advice), and Jay would tell himself that there’s an obvious solution to the chaos caused by fast growth. Plus: How Liz changed the narrative after Citibin’s bout with bad publicity. And we have suggestions for a listener who asks: How do you know when it’s time to quit the day job?