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?

Contact ProfitLed

• Tweet us at @profitledfm.
• Find show notes of each episode on ProfitLed.fm.

Connect with our host

• Follow Melissa Kwan on LinkedIn where she share stories & lessons from her founder journey weekly.
• Subscribe to 'your founder next door', Melissa's bi-monthly newsletter on how 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.

Learn more at ewebinar.com and find out how you can turn pre-recorded videos into automated webinars that perform better than a live webinar.

Thanks for listening!

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?

Contact ProfitLed

• Tweet us at @profitledfm.
• Find show notes of each episode on ProfitLed.fm.

Connect with our host

• Follow Melissa Kwan on LinkedIn where she share stories & lessons from her founder journey weekly.
• Subscribe to 'your founder next door', Melissa's bi-monthly newsletter on how 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.

Learn more at ewebinar.com and find out how you can turn pre-recorded videos into automated webinars that perform better than a live webinar.

Thanks for listening!

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?

Contact ProfitLed

• Tweet us at @profitledfm.
• Find show notes of each episode on ProfitLed.fm.

Connect with our host

• Follow Melissa Kwan on LinkedIn where she share stories & lessons from her founder journey weekly.
• Subscribe to 'your founder next door', Melissa's bi-monthly newsletter on how 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.

Learn more at ewebinar.com and find out how you can turn pre-recorded videos into automated webinars that perform better than a live webinar.

Thanks for listening!

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.

Contact ProfitLed

• Tweet us at @profitledfm.
• Find show notes of each episode on ProfitLed.fm.

Connect with our host

• Follow Melissa Kwan on LinkedIn where she share stories & lessons from her founder journey weekly.
• Subscribe to 'your founder next door', Melissa's bi-monthly newsletter on how 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.

Learn more at ewebinar.com and find out how you can turn pre-recorded videos into automated webinars that perform better than a live webinar.

Thanks for listening!