Startup Therapy

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss some of the advice that they would tell their younger founder selves. If you could go back in time, what would you tell your past self? Now that you’re wiser and more experienced, there are many things that you wished you would’ve done differently, but those mistakes and lessons that you had along the way is what also made you become the person you are today. 

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https://www.startups.com/newsletter

Resources:

• Startup Therapy Podcast 
• https://www.startups.com/begin
• Join our Network of Top Founders 
• Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan

What to Listen For

• 00:00 Intro
• 01:39 Don’t feel rushed and have more patience
• 05:07 You can do a lot of transformative things in just a few years
• 07:02 It’s okay to fail
• 07:58 Cultivating relationships
• 10:14 Find people who wants you to become a better person
• 12:00 The “give & get” in relationships
• 14:10 How relationships ends is how you get remembered
• 15:56 Just be kind to yourself
• 16:54 You have the ability to say no
• 20:14 Learn how to zoom in and out in life
• 22:22 It’s okay to let go of toxic relationships
• 24:52 Will your younger self follow this advice?
• 29:19 The big moments will be a series of big moments
• 31:29 Success is not final, failure is not fail, it’s the courage to continue that counts
• 34:37 Focus more on acting like the person you want to be vs. the person others want you to be
• 38:53 Getting older gives us all the more perspective to offer to others
• 42:34 Do it your own way
• 46:26 The most valuable part of the process is learning 
• 49:53 Be in the room
• 54:09 You don’t have to figure out everything on your own

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss the importance of accountability in a company. A founder should be able to know how to instill accountability in their employees. The two main components to get accountability are ownership and consequences - having these things can make a huge difference in a company’s overall success.

Sign up for the Startups Newsletter

https://www.startups.com/newsletter

Resources:

• Startup Therapy Podcast 
• https://www.startups.com/begin
• Join our Network of Top Founders 
• Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan

What to Listen For

• 00:00 Intro
• 00:09 Nobody else wants to be accountable
• 02:01 Founders always have the higher stakes
• 04:36 The challenge founders face is to get everyone accountable
• 06:53 Consequences affect accountability
• 09:31 Not being accountable does not mean safety
• 11:25 What happens to a company with no accountability
• 14:45 Two components to get accountability
• 18:18 Owning the outcome 
• 19:46 Effects of reward and recognition
• 23:28 Visibility in a company
• 26:15 Changing up plans where everyone can adjust
• 28:55 When founders don’t understand the importance of their accountability
• 31:05 Excuses are the most powerful solvent that dissolves accountability

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss what makes a good manager. What does it take to become a good manager? Is it a manager that consistently hits the targets and can keep up with the demands of the business? It is someone who showcases good leadership skills and the right mindset? The truth is, one becomes a good manager when they can push the entire team to transform themselves and become exponentially better at what they do. 

Sign up for the Startups Newsletter

https://www.startups.com/newsletter

Resources:

• Startup Therapy Podcast 
• https://www.startups.com/begin
• Join our Network of Top Founders 
• Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan

What to Listen For

• 00:00 Intro
• 00:41 Most of us hadn’t led a team of managers
• 03:14 Are you a babysitter
• 07:03 This is what a good manager does
• 12:39 Growth versus stability
• 16:14 Managers should push teammates to transform themselves
• 19:34 Patience and tolerance
• 23:33 We want somebody that can make the team 10X better
• 29:10 How are you making the team exponentially better?

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss why health is an important asset for founders. Sacrifices are often necessary for every business - less time with family, skipping meals, not taking breaks, constantly working overtime and not getting paid enough, etc. In the early stage of the business, these types of sacrifices are ‘deemed’ essential and expected. Years later, stress and anxiety will eat you up and you’ll probably be dealing with a failing body. Yes, sacrifices are necessary but not in exchange for your health.

Sign up for the Startups Newsletter

https://www.startups.com/newsletter

Resources:

• Startup Therapy Podcast 
• https://www.startups.com/begin
• Join our Network of Top Founders 
• Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan

What to Listen For

• 00:00 Intro
• 00:16 When do we stop destroying ourselves for our Startup?
• 07:52 Wearing yourself out without measurable return
• 16:40 When we feel like we have to make these sacrifices
• 22:45 Top performers take their health seriously

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about the never ending anxiety we all have. One of the things that makes every founder feel on the edge most of the time is getting anxious over everything, this sense of urgency to get one thing done after another right away. What we don’t realize is instead of rushing through things, sometimes it can be beneficial to our mental health if we just let things take its course. And if we shift our focus on solving the problem and not get anxious about it.  

Sign up for the Startups Newsletter

https://www.startups.com/newsletter

Resources:

• Startup Therapy Podcast 
• https://www.startups.com/begin
• Join our Network of Top Founders 
• Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan

What to Listen For

• 00:00 Intro
• 00:20 When does anxiety go away?
• 07:25 It started with a lot of anxiety, created more, and then just stayed
• 19:19 Fleeting moments without feeling anxious
• 24:54 Instead of saying, “I feel anxious about this problem…”
• 29:52 Sometimes, you don’t need to take action

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about when founders actually get paid? In the Startups community, many founders expect immediate returns and instant success. This is because a lot of founders have shown potential and managed to grow their business exponentially in such a short period of time. New founders expect the same outcome to happen to them. The truth is, outside of the community, it takes several years, decades even, to reach significant growth in returns. Not everyone can get rich overnight.   

Sign up for the Startups Newsletter

https://www.startups.com/newsletter

Resources:

• Startup Therapy Podcast 
• https://www.startups.com/begin
• Join our Network of Top Founders 
• Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan

What to Listen For

• 00:00 Intro
• 00:09 When do founders actually get paid?
• 05:28 The expectation of a linear path
• 12:53 Startups.com just celebrated its 10th year anniversary
• 13:49 We expect success in 18 months
• 18:45 Why do founders get paid last?

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about overthinking. When you start to focus your attention on something that has not happened yet and it starts to affect your performance, decision-making, and growth, you end up getting anxious. And this growing anxiety will hinder what you are truly capable of achieving. So, stop worrying about the things that didn’t happen and start planning based on what’s happening now. 

Sign up for the Startups Newsletter

https://www.startups.com/newsletter

Resources:

• Startup Therapy Podcast 
• https://www.startups.com/begin
• Join our Network of Top Founders 
• Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan

What to Listen For

• 00:00 Intro
• 00:41 We spend so much time thinking about what might go wrong
• 04:41 Investors do care for us in some ways
• 08:26 One failure won’t destroy you for life
• 14:45 Customers only care about what you’re doing
• 17:00 Focus on product quality instead of the competition
• 21:45 Anxiety in the workplace 

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about people losing their jobs. We’ve been talking about it and now it’s happening. People are losing their jobs fast and they are left with little to no option in these trying times. As a founder, what can you do to help? Are you supposed to do something somehow? People are losing their safety of a steady stream of income and the last thing they want to bring with them when they leave is uncertainty and heavy competition. If you still have the means, make it so that the transition is made easier for them. 

Sign up for the Startups Newsletter

https://www.startups.com/newsletter

Resources:

• Startup Therapy Podcast 
• https://www.startups.com/begin
• Join our Network of Top Founders 
• Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan

What to Listen For

• 00:00 Intro
• 00:29 It’s a hard time for employees 
• 03:58 Our ego is attached to this sense of ownership
• 09:14 People always remember what they felt during a transaction
• 13:19 How to properly handle demoting/letting go of people
• 23:40 A founder’s ego and safety is being threatened also 
• 29:10 Moving employees from full time to part time
• 37:29 Should you hire more employees now?
• 41:10 Taking advantage of talents being let go
• 43:14 Deferred or partially deferred payment 

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about putting a freeze on your resources when returns take a downturn. When is it necessary to let go of some employees? When is it an urgent matter to get more funding? Can you possibly get more funding when the Startup isn’t hitting the target? Well, you can definitely weather the storm when you understand that a downturn is tough but it’s a good phase to start cleaning up unnecessary ties and expenditures.   

Sign up for the Startups Newsletter

https://www.startups.com/newsletter

Resources:

• Startup Therapy Podcast 
• https://www.startups.com/begin
• Join our Network of Top Founders 
• Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan

What to Listen For

• 00:00 Intro
• 00:24 Startup market crash
• 06:47 The reason investing got so crazy
• 14:59 We raise money to get to milestone
• 17:35 When you start seeing lay-offs
• 20:33 We have to switch to defense 

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about where founders should put their focus on. Growth or profit? Can you focus on both? The true measure of a founding team is the success of every bet made and the ability to bounce back from the negative consequences of these bets. You can focus on returns and not see much growth or grow exponentially and invest in hiring more people. Either way, it’s always about achieving your ultimate goal.   

Sign up for the Startups Newsletter

https://www.startups.com/newsletter

Resources:

• Startup Therapy Podcast 
• https://www.startups.com/begin
• Join our Network of Top Founders 
• Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan

What to Listen For

• 00:00 Intro
• 00:09 Why profit should always be the motive
• 05:54 You can’t simply mimic successful Startups
• 12:39 Give yourself enough time to learn everything about the business
• 21:15 Growth can also be very distracting
• 26:12 They all look like great when they’re just ideas