Shamsiya invested in a food truck business with a family friend in 2015. Things seemed to be going great until one day her friend called her up and told her he dissolved the business and sold the truck without consulting her! 

She tells us some of her biggest learnings from the experience - like having hard conversations, getting things in writing, being experienced in your industry and taking responsibility for your part in any situation. 

Show Notes:

2:00 - Shamsiya talks about investing in a food truck with a family friend

5:15 - They expand the business to start an NGO to educate children in poor communities 

8:00 - Shamsiya’s friend dissolved the business without telling her 

13:42 - Despite everything Shamsiya explains why she wasn’t angry at her friend

15:15 - Shamsiya shares what she learned - no legal contracts, no clearly defined roles, inexperienced in the industry 

22:30 - the importance of cultivating the right mindset

Links:

Failure Decoded Instagram
failuredecoded.com

Your Hosts:

Shamsiya
Instagram
LinkedIn

Rachel
LinkedIn
Twitter
Instagram

Networking is essential for entrepreneurs, but let’s be real…it can feel awkward. 

In this episode we give you actionable tips you can use to meet new people and build genuine connection. Because you never know where your next customer, employee, investor or business partner might come from!    

Show Notes:

0:42 - Intro

2:28 - How to find events and niche groups to join

4:25 - Start networking now. Don’t wait until you need something because it takes time

9:30 - Be more interested than interesting

11:35 - Perfect your story/elevator pitch 

13:36 - Breaking into a group conversation 

16:15 - Volunteer at events

18: 30 - Informational Interviews

20:20 - How to craft a cold email that will get a response

Links:
Failure Decoded Instagram
failuredecoded.com 

Your Hosts:

Shamsiya
Instagram
LinkedIn

Rachel
LinkedIn
Twitter
Instagram

Building an MVP or prototype can save you from yourself! Want an easy way to avoid failure? Find product market fit before investing too much into an idea.  Susahosh is a software engineer and the Founder of Metaii, a dev shop based in Toronto. He tells us when it comes to developing an MVP it’s crucial to build for functionality at the beginning, even if it means sacrificing style. Before starting his own business he worked for BlackBerry (called RIM at the time). Get his take on why BlackBerry failed so spectacularly.

Links:

Metaii
Rewardly
Brightly Boxed 

Your Hosts:

Shamsiya
Instagram
LinkedIn

Rachel
LinkedIn
Twitter
Instagram

He lost two businesses and his girlfriend! Emery Bishop, Founder of Space Age, talks about some of his biggest mistakes, from giving up too much equity to investors to partnering with a co-founder who tried to steal the company. Get his advice for avoiding some of the common mistakes new entrepreneurs make.   

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Links:

Space Age
Emery's Twitter
Failure Decoded Instagram
Failure Decoded

Your Hosts:

Shamsiya
Instagram
LinkedIn

Rachel
LinkedIn
Twitter
Instagram

Welcome to the intro episode of Failure Decoded! Your hosts Rachel and Shamsiya will explain why they created a podcast about failure and what you can expect to learn from tuning in. 

They also break down a TedTalk by Eat, Pray, Love author Elizabeth Gilbert. Elizabeth lost her confidence after the success of Eat, Pray, Love and thought about giving up writing. She describes how extreme success can feel just as disorientating as extreme failure. So how do you find the middle ground? Tune in to find out.

Your Hosts:

Shamsiya
Instagram
LinkedIn

Rachel
LinkedIn
Twitter
Instagram