In this podcast episode, Lance Schafer and Jonathan discuss Lance's experience in the tech scene, the differences between Canadian and American cultures, and the growth and hiring strategies of Lotlinx, a company Lance was involved with. Lance shares his approach to goal-setting using RPMs (Result, Purpose, and Massive Action) and highlights the importance of culture fit in hiring. They also delve into topics such as technical debt, scalability of sales channels, and customer-centric development. Lance emphasizes the need to stay ahead of market trends and prioritize long-term benefits.

Portfolio entrepreneur, tech leader, and mentor. Lance Schafer has started, grown and sold multiple companies. Founding the national auto trading brand LemonFree and today GM at LotLinx. With more than two decades of experience as an Entrepreneur in digital media, business management, and start-ups, Lance has a true passion for disruptive technology that is results-oriented. In his role as a mentor and as a Senior Leader, he's helped companies cut through the clutter and jargon that surrounds digital media delivering substantial results that are innovative, repeatable, and highly successful.

What We Discuss:

[00:00:00] Lance discusses the concept of RPMS (Result, Purpose, Massive Action) and its origin from a Tony Robbins conference.

[00:01:05] Discussion about the differences in risk-taking and willingness to fail between US and Canadian tech cultures.

[00:08:37] Lance shares his experience with slow hiring in the past and the shift to hiring quickly and embracing a growth mindset at Lotlinx.

[00:10:48] Discussion on the importance of cultural fit when hiring and how it affects both the company and the individual.

[00:16:11] Talking about the tension between speed and accuracy in a development environment and how it is addressed in their company.

[00:20:47] Sharing about their experience with scaling up a company and the difficulties in finding talent that understands the unique challenges of a scale-up environment.

[00:21:51] Discussion on the market trends and challenges related to tracking data attribution in the tech industry.

[00:23:00] Exploration of the difficulties in scaling up a company and the need for efficient hiring and execution strategies.

[00:31:00] Insights into the ongoing efforts to develop and nurture sales channels in the automotive industry, given its vast size and potential for growth.

[00:32:24] Discussion on the misconceptions around technical debt and how code complexity and familiarity play a role.

[00:36:37] Exploring the definition of tech debt and its impact on the organization, including the challenge of identifying what constitutes tech debt.

[00:41:34] Examining the bias of new CMOs towards their preferred marketing stack and the potential impact on the company's technology infrastructure.

[00:43:12] Discussion on the significance of having a reliable tech stack and the challenges of migrating to a new one.

[00:47:11] Analogous to the real estate world, the conversation explores the trend of switching to different CRMs and the challenges it poses for companies.

[00:51:53] The concept of RPMs (Result, Purpose, Massive Action) is introduced as a method for setting goals and aligning efforts towards achieving desired outcomes.

[00:53:14] Lance discusses the significance of setting goals and understanding why they matter in order to prioritize actions effectively.

[00:54:31] Talking about the challenge of deciding what not to do, as there are more things that one can't do compared to what they can do.

[00:55:21] Lance emphasizes the importance of purpose in driving goals, stating that goals are indications of living one's purpose and connecting to it.

Episode Resources:

Website | Lotlinx