Jeff Epstein, the founder of Onboard.io, joins A.J. to discuss how he restarted his entrepreneurial journey after finding a problem that he personally relates to. They discuss his lessons from his previous business and he explains why business is better this time around. 

Tune in to learn different aspects of what it takes to be more intentional when starting a business including how to select a great business partner and why you should have a clear data gathering vision. 

About our Guest: 

Jeff Epstein is the founder of Onboard.io. Onboard.io is a solution that streamlines the customer onboarding process by integrating many different onboarding tools in one package. Previously, he founded Get Ambassador. 

According to him, what makes Onboard.io a more successful and enjoyable journey for him is that he relates to the problem! 

On today’s episode: 

Who is Jeff Epstein? - 00:43 

• Having a remote team and using flexible scheduling - 02:10 
• The most intentional he has been about building a company (and what that means)- 03:38
• Buying a business for all the wrong reasons in 2007 - 05:43
• How having an internet business used to be more than a decade ago (an expensive learning experience) - 08:30
• Most business partnerships don’t work out, so make sure you do this.- 10:33
• Sharing responsibilities with a partner instead of doing everything yourself- 12:30
• The main reason they lost customers (and how they turned that around).- 14:43
• Knowing that there is a huge opportunity but hesitating to start a business - 17:05
• Why starting a company that fixes a pain YOU’VE experienced is a whole other ball game - 19:26 
• How having a clear vision of why and how you gather data makes you more effective. 21:47
• Will Jeff be creating a channel program for Oboard.io? - 24:03 
• Going from getting ZERO personal time to establishing a healthy work-life balance - 25:33
• How he’s structuring his company to give himself and his team a better balance. - 28:42
• How he was blown away by the possibility that you can actually love your job - 29:57 
• Using bad experiences to create better businesses - 35:17 

Key Takeaways: 

• Being intentional about building a business is all about anticipating possible challenges and figuring them out before they happen. Being intentional includes anticipating both personal and business challenges that the work may present. 
• Most business partnerships don’t work out. When establishing a business partnership, it is important to align expectations. 
• One of the main reasons you might be losing clients is because they may not be getting a taste of your product. 
• Building a company that fixes a problem you know inside out is much easier than building a company where you are disconnected from the problem and don’t feel, yourself, the pain of the problem. 
• Overworking yourself to make your business succeed can exert a heavy toll on your personal life. Part of the sustainability of a business relies on having a healthy work-life balance. Allowing for remote work and flexible hours are one way to promote a healthier work culture. 
• Don’t fret if you’ve had unfavorable business experiences. Rather, keep iterating. Use every experience as a stepping stone to the next. 

Building a company where you’ve EXPERIENCED the problem: 

20:02 “When I’m speaking to investors and other folk and they say ‘why this time’ and then I say listen,  in the most honest way I can answer, this is actually a problem that I understand. I built a company in a problem that I didn’t really understand...this is a lot easier that I actually felt pain.”

How do you relate to the problem your company works on solving? Have you personally experienced that problem?  

Tell us in the comments, and don’t forget to say hello if you would like to share your entrepreneurship story on our podcast. 

Connect with Jeff Epstein:

• LinkedIn: @epsteinjeffery
• Twitter: @jeff_epstein
• Instagram: @jeff_epstein
• Onboard.io:  https://onboard.io/ 

Connect with A.J.Lawrence:

• Website: ajlawrence.com
• Email: [email protected] 
• Instagram: @ajlawrence
• LinkedIn: A.J. Lawrence
• Twitter: @ajlawrence
• Medium: @a.j.lawrence

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