In this episode, Alan Macek & Geoff Mowatt, Partners at the law firm, DLA Piper shares:

• What patents are (provisional, non-provisional, patent pending)
• How businesses can determine if they have something patentable
• How patents can help or hurt businesses

ProfitLed host, Melissa Kwan, Alan, and Geoff also discusses:

• What are some common misconceptions about patents?
• How can a business determine if they have something that is patentable?
• What’s the process for filing for a patent and what does it cost?
• When should companies start thinking about patents?

DLA Piper is a global law firm capable of taking care of the most important legal needs of clients wherever they do business.

Show notes:

• Find show notes of each episode on ProfitLed.fm. 

Connect with our host:

• Follow Melissa on LinkedIn where she shares stories & lessons from her founder journey weekly.
• Connect with Melissa at melissakwan.com and subscribe to  'your founder next door', Melissa's weekly newsletter on what it's like to build a company without an abundance of resources and friends in high places.
• Follow @themelissakwan on Instagram and YouTube where she shares short videos of business advice and other truth-bomb sound bites.

This podcast was brought to you by eWebinar:

Find out how you can turn pre-recorded videos into interactive experiences with chat so you can run your demos, onboarding calls, and training sessions on autopilot, 24/7, without being there. Hop into a demo at eWebinar.com, no salesperson required.

In this episode, Miguel Fernandez, Cofounder & CEO at Capchase shares:

• What it's really like running a venture backed unicorn
• What non-dilutive capital is and who it's designed for
• How you can qualify in 48 hours so you don't have to raise more capital

Capchase is the most flexible, non-dilutive funding for your subscription-based or SaaS business.

ProfitLed host, Melissa Kwan and Miguel also discusses:

• The failed ventures that enabled the founding of Capchase.
• What’s the hardest thing about running a venture backed company?
• How do you stay nimble and move quickly as your company gets larger?
• What are your thoughts on startups raising venture capital vs. other financing options?
• What kind of companies are best suited for non-dilutive funding?
• What are the minimum requirements to get funding from Capchase?
• What are the steps to get approval and how long does it take?
• How is funding structured and what is the payback period?

Show notes:

• Find show notes of each episode on ProfitLed.fm. 

Connect with our host:

• Follow Melissa on LinkedIn where she shares stories & lessons from her founder journey weekly.
• Connect with Melissa at melissakwan.com and subscribe to  'your founder next door', Melissa's weekly newsletter on what it's like to build a company without an abundance of resources and friends in high places.
• Follow @themelissakwan on Instagram and YouTube where she shares short videos of business advice and other truth-bomb sound bites.

This podcast was brought to you by eWebinar:

Find out how you can turn pre-recorded videos into interactive experiences with chat so you can run your demos, onboarding calls, and training sessions on autopilot, 24/7, without being there. Hop into a demo at eWebinar.com, no salesperson required.

In this first ProfitLed Office Hours episode, Meaghan Burns from Dunyasi Ventures connects with host, Melissa Kwan, to discuss questions like:

• How are you building your company around your life?
• What's your advice on how non-technical founders can find cofounders?
• What has been your biggest challenge building your company on the road as a digital nomad?
• Do you hire developers direct or through an agency?
• How did you transition from founder to CEO?
• How did you structure your business so your team can also have flexibility?
• How did you stay motivated through the hard times in your previous startup?

Fellow bootstrapped founders are invited on ProfitLed Office Hours to discuss or ask anything they want around building their company.

Show notes:

• Find show notes of each episode on ProfitLed.fm. 

Connect with our host:

• Follow Melissa on LinkedIn where she shares stories & lessons from her founder journey weekly.
• Connect with Melissa at melissakwan.com and subscribe to  'your founder next door', Melissa's weekly newsletter on what it's like to build a company without an abundance of resources and friends in high places.
• Follow @themelissakwan on Instagram and YouTube where she shares short videos of business advice and other truth-bomb sound bites.

This podcast was brought to you by eWebinar:

Find out how you can turn pre-recorded videos into interactive experiences with chat so you can run your demos, onboarding calls, and training sessions on autopilot, 24/7, without being there. Hop into a demo at eWebinar.com, no salesperson required.

In this episode, Tehsin Bhayani, Founder & CEO of AirMason and Serind Labs shares:

• How he accidentally stumbled upon a great SaaS business by buying a product his friend didn't want for $8000
• How he balanced workload between maintaining his agency and growing AirMason
• What he learned from working with hundreds of founders that he's applying to his business today

AirMason helps HR teams and business leaders save time, engage teams, and retain staff with beautifully designed digital employee handbooks.

ProfitLed host, Melissa Kwan and Tehsin also discusses:

• How did you split time and investment between your agency and AirMason
• How did you come to realize AirMason was an opportunity worth pursuing?
• You guys now have a list of marquee customers like Softbank, Soho House, and P&G, how did you level up to start closing these kinds of deals?
• When were you able to completely move off the agency?
• How did you balance their time and how did that change as the business progressed?
• What's the best advice or framework you have for founders who are looking to transition from service to product?

Show notes:

• Find show notes of each episode on ProfitLed.fm. 

Connect with our host:

• Follow Melissa on LinkedIn where she shares stories & lessons from her founder journey weekly.
• Connect with Melissa at melissakwan.com and subscribe to  'your founder next door', Melissa's weekly newsletter on what it's like to build a company without an abundance of resources and friends in high places.
• Follow @themelissakwan on Instagram and YouTube where she shares short videos of business advice and other truth-bomb sound bites.

This podcast was brought to you by eWebinar:

Find out how you can turn pre-recorded videos into interactive experiences with chat so you can run your demos, onboarding calls, and training sessions on autopilot, 24/7, without being there. Hop into a demo at eWebinar.com, no salesperson required.

In this episode, Zvi Band, Founder at Relatable shares:

• Why it's so hard to get off the venture train once you get on
• Why funded startups need "growth at all costs"
• Personal and professional learnings 2 years after selling his startup for 8-figures

Relatable is the CRM for people who love people, the platform for you to capture, prioritize, remember, and nurture your relationships... authentically.

ProfitLed host, Melissa Kwan and Zvi also discusses:

• What does building a venture-scale company mean and what are the expectations that come with it?
• What were some decisions you made because you took capital?
•  Was your exit the one your investors hoped for?
• What were the most important learnings from this experience and how did you apply them to what you are doing now?
• What advice do you have for founders who already got on the venture train, and want to get off?

Show notes:

• Find show notes of each episode on ProfitLed.fm. 

Connect with our host:

• Follow Melissa on LinkedIn where she shares stories & lessons from her founder journey weekly.
• Connect with Melissa at melissakwan.com and subscribe to  'your founder next door', Melissa's weekly newsletter on what it's like to build a company without an abundance of resources and friends in high places.
• Follow @themelissakwan on Instagram and YouTube where she shares short videos of business advice and other truth-bomb sound bites.

This podcast was brought to you by eWebinar:

Find out how you can turn pre-recorded videos into interactive experiences with chat so you can run your demos, onboarding calls, and training sessions on autopilot, 24/7, without being there. Hop into a demo at eWebinar.com, no salesperson required.

In this episode, Trevor Larson, Cofounder and CEO at Nectar shares:

• The scrappy ways he got PerkNow off the ground and how that became Nectar
• Benefits of bootstrapping vs having too much capital
• Why putting yourself in your customers' shoes is the key to winning their hearts

Nectar is a 360 employee recognition and rewards solution for companies investing in culture.

ProfitLed host, Melissa Kwan and Trevor also discusses:

• What were some things you prioritized and some things you chose not to invest in?
• How did you balance needing to pay yourselves vs investing into the company?
• Looking back, what are some things you would have done differently? 
• How did you arrive at your focus on buyer-centric sales process?
• What feedback have you heard from prospects since designing your sales process around their preferred buying journey?
• What would you say to someone who’s afraid of oversharing info especially to their competitors?
• As a bootstrapped company, how do you recruit and retain talent?

Show notes:

• Find show notes of each episode on ProfitLed.fm. 

Connect with our host:

• Follow Melissa on LinkedIn where she shares stories & lessons from her founder journey weekly.
• Connect with Melissa at melissakwan.com and subscribe to  'your founder next door', Melissa's weekly newsletter on what it's like to build a company without an abundance of resources and friends in high places.
• Follow @themelissakwan on Instagram and YouTube where she shares short videos of business advice and other truth-bomb sound bites.

This podcast was brought to you by eWebinar:

Find out how you can turn pre-recorded videos into interactive experiences with chat so you can run your demos, onboarding calls, and training sessions on autopilot, 24/7, without being there. Hop into a demo at eWebinar.com, no salesperson required.

In this episode, Farzad Rashidi, Lead Innovator at Respona shares:

• How to figure out whether SEO is the right acquisition channel for your business
• The process of finding "opportunity" keywords
• The 3-step outreach strategy to consistently earn editorial backlinks to boost rankings

Respona offers an all-in-one link building outreach software that helps companies to raise their ranking on Google by building quality backlinks to their website. 

ProfitLed host, Melissa Kwan and Farzad also discusses:

• What’s the outcome you’re trying to achieve with SEO?
• What skills do you look for in a new hire to run backlink outreach strategy?
• How often do you need to do outreach?
• How much time and effort should one expect to put in before seeing results? 
• How viable is it for a founder with no SEO experience to learn this?

Show notes:

• Find show notes of each episode on ProfitLed.fm. 

Connect with our host:

• Follow Melissa on LinkedIn where she shares stories & lessons from her founder journey weekly.
• Connect with Melissa at melissakwan.com and subscribe to  'your founder next door', Melissa's weekly newsletter on what it's like to build a company without an abundance of resources and friends in high places.
• Follow @themelissakwan on Instagram and YouTube where she shares short videos of business advice and other truth-bomb sound bites.

This podcast was brought to you by eWebinar:

Find out how you can turn pre-recorded videos into interactive experiences with chat so you can run your demos, onboarding calls, and training sessions on autopilot, 24/7, without being there. Hop into a demo at eWebinar.com, no salesperson required.

In this first ever episode, ProfitLed host, Melissa Kwan, shares her own story of bootstrapping, why she felt the need to start this podcast, and why she thinks more spotlight should be given to non-venture backed founders who have forged their own path to success.

Melissa is the Cofounder and CEO of eWebinar, a 3rd time bootstrapped founder who has had the privilege of growing a startup to profitability and acquisition without taking venture capital, something that ultimately gave her the freedom to live the life she wanted to live on her terms.

Along her journey, she saw how the allure and perceived reality of building a venture-backed company drove many  founder friends down a path that turned out not to be true to who they are and what they want.

There is nothing wrong with venture capital, but it’s not for everyone. In fact, it’s only right for a very few.

ProfitLed is a podcast that focuses on growth strategies for bootstrapped entrepreneurs from proven founders and strategists.

Melissa and her guests will explore the truth around how to build a company fully on your own terms and what it’s like to be able to design a life around the way you want to live as a result.

Show notes:

• Find show notes of each episode on ProfitLed.fm. 

Connect with our host:

• Follow Melissa on LinkedIn where she shares stories & lessons from her founder journey weekly.
• Connect with Melissa at melissakwan.com and subscribe to  'your founder next door', Melissa's weekly newsletter on what it's like to build a company without an abundance of resources and friends in high places.
• Follow @themelissakwan on Instagram and YouTube where she shares short videos of business advice and other truth-bomb sound bites.

This podcast was brought to you by eWebinar:

Find out how you can turn pre-recorded videos into interactive experiences with chat so you can run your demos, onboarding calls, and training sessions on autopilot, 24/7, without being there. Hop into a demo at eWebinar.com, no salesperson required.