In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about what happens when things work for everyone else but not for you. The effort founders put into our Startup is a sacrifice in all forms and shapes, to the extent of spending less time with family, neglecting our health, or even getting a pay cut just to keep the business rolling. Yes, you are the founder but you’ve become a slave to your own business. 

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Resources:

• Startup Therapy Podcast
• https://www.startups.com/begin
• Join our Network of Top Founders 
• Send an email to [email protected] 

What to Listen For

• 00:00 Intro
• 00:11 Things are going great for everyone except for you
• 04:20 Concepts that led to you being a founder
• 07:17 We're essentially mortgaging our goals without realizing it
• 12:36 When we take an investor, the investor becomes our boss
• 15:32 You need to set goals that are unchangeable
• 21:24 There is a threshold where commitment becomes destructive
• 26:12 It’s disruptive when you pick up on things your employees didn’t do

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about changing a person’s personality (or the attempt to do so). It’s one of the factors founders cannot control and it’s silly to keep telling the same person what they should be doing more than once. It’s a waste of energy, a waste of time, and definitely a lost cause. Put your time and effort into someone else!

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Resources:

• Startup Therapy Podcast
• https://www.startups.com/begin
• Join our Network of Top Founders 
• Send an email to [email protected] 

What to Listen For

• 00:00 Intro
• 00:22 Trying to enforce behavioral change in your people
• 04:32 Them being a jerk is just reflection of our bad leadership 
• 08:40 Skills: the things you can do, Personality: the things you can’t do
• 11:59 We keep thinking that we are the solution to the problem
• 16:54 Set an environment with a healthy culture people can mimic
• 20:56 Do not allow performance to outweigh the emotional wellbeing of the business
• 23:03 What would the problem look like if the person isn’t making it worse?
• 27:49 You shouldn’t be telling people to work harder
• 33:39 Ask yourself: Am I parenting or managing?
• 36:35 Personality issues are some of the problems founders can’t control

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about burnout when you’re nearly at the end of your Startup journey. Every sacrifice and risk you’ve taken will become useless if you feel tired and decide to take a break at the most crucial time and that’s when you’re at the last step of closing the deal. The trick is to surround yourself with people who will help you get through this phase. 

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Resources:

• Startup Therapy Podcast
• https://www.startups.com/begin
• Join our Network of Top Founders 
• Send an email to [email protected] 

What to Listen For

• 00:00 Intro
• 00:55 What happens when we’re near the end of the deal?
• 05:53 Startup equity is the most expensive currency one can spend
• 09:31 When you just want to be done with it
• 11:56 What else can you do to motivate yourself?
• 17:54 Being vulnerable at this stage doesn’t allow for a second chance
• 20:21 What happens if you fall apart at the last moment?
• 24:53 Every hardship loses value if you drop everything now
• 28:10 There’s no version of a Startup that doesn’t have a burnout
• 32:01 Don’t go through this process alone 

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about avoiding unpleasant breakups. There always comes a time when you need to part ways with people, friends, staff, even investors. Every bad breakup can seriously damage your reputation in any means possible simply because some harbor vindictive emotions and speak negatively against you. What can you do then to avoid that? 

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Resources:

• Startup Therapy Podcast
• https://www.startups.com/begin
• Join our Network of Top Founders 
• Send an email to [email protected] 

What to Listen For

• 00:00 Intro
• 00:22 How many good stories do you remember of breakups throughout your career?
• 03:55 Your poor actions is what people remember the most
• 06:21 Letting go of people means having more than one conversation
• 12:42 Your reputation takes years to build and takes seconds to destroy
• 17:23 The damage a single blown relationship can do
• 22:41 How handle breakups that usually end well
• 25:10 The need to justify yourself and your actions
• 28:25 It matters if they don’t feel mistreated when the breakup happens
• 34:04 A little touch can change the tone and reignite a soured relationship
• 38:58 We have to be structured and strategic with our words

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about what happens after you sell your Startup. Beyond the big paycheck that will certainly make your life better, is the lingering attachment you have for your company and what becomes of it after you give up ownership and control over it. And what about the employees you’re leaving behind? Will they be well taken care of?

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Resources:

• Startup Therapy Podcast
• https://www.startups.com/begin
• Join our Network of Top Founders 
• Send an email to [email protected] 

What to Listen For

• 00:00 Intro
• 00:40 This fantasy of reaching this level when you want to sell your Startup
• 05:35 When you sell, how is everyone else in the organization affected?
• 08:59 From the one making the decisions to asking permission from someone else
• 14:01 Realizing that you have to step off the trail is a tough pill to swallow
• 17:51 It won’t be the same environment and a lot of people won’t stick around
• 23:26 This is about what to consider when you sell
• 26:02 Investors will only see you as a fall-in-line employee
• 32:08 If things were great, why do we want them to end?
• 39:17 It’s not just you, but the employees within the company 

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about power struggle. A lot of us are used to hearing people telling us what we should and shouldn’t do, what we can and cannot achieve just because these people have tried it or have been in a similar situation. What they don’t realize though is the difference in capacity and skills. What works for them may not work for you, and what works for you didn’t work out for them.

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Resources:

• Startup Therapy Podcast
• https://www.startups.com/begin
• Join our Network of Top Founders 
• Send an email to [email protected] 

What to Listen For

• 00:00 Intro
• 00:27 The value in having a level of power and control in an agency
• 02:45 When having somebody else determine your destiny wasn't going to work for you
• 11:01 Setting your own path and not allowing anyone to tell you what to do
• 16:36 Stop listening to what everybody else is telling you to do
• 23:31 If you can do it once, you can do it again
• 27:10 What if the investors investing in you aren't what you should be focused on?
• 28:36 Attaining power that wasn’t handed to you gives a sense of inner peace
• 33:43 Set your own terms so other people can set their own
• 37:34 Figure out how to create power for yourself and extend it to the world 

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about regret. Founders are bound to make decisions all the time. These decisions can make or break the Startup, and this is why regret is inevitable. Not all decisions bring a positive outcome, and when the outcome is the opposite of what you had anticipated, it’s part of the risk you’re taking. 

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Resources:

• Startup Therapy Podcast
• https://www.startups.com/begin
• Join our Network of Top Founders 
• Send an email to [email protected] 

What to Listen For

• 00:00 Intro
• 00:33 Can you remember the first time you felt regret during a trade off?
• 05:15 The regret didn’t kick until later
• 07:43 Many of the risks that we’re putting up won’t return
• 11:39 We assume that we can make up for these risks
• 14:09 Don’t use the same pattern whenever you experience something new
• 17:28 When we form habits, we stop thinking about the different outcomes
• 21:32 Myth: No matter what the sacrifice is, you’ll be able to pay it back in the future
• 25:52 Going on a vacation but not really enjoying the vacation
• 27:25 We have to periodically reassess the sacrifices that we make
• 30:53 Founders are experts at manufacturing anxiety

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about how we get blinded by the early signs of growth. When things go well, we tend to think it’s the golden moment and that your Startup is on it’s way to getting big, only to find out a week or a month later that you’re back at step one. Early stage successes become dangerous when we get blinded by them and start making the wrong decisions.

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Resources:

• Startup Therapy Podcast
• https://www.startups.com/begin
• Join our Network of Top Founders 
• Send an email to [email protected] 

What to Listen For

• 00:00 Intro
• 00:20 Early signals that tend to blind us from what we actually should be doing
• 04:54 It becomes dangerous when we start making decisions based on sudden growth
• 08:41 When things go well, it increases our vulnerability to make the wrong decisions
• 14:23 Yes, it’s going well, but you aren’t making any profit
• 19:24 It’s a mentality problem when we get too excited at the early stages
• 23:43 External signals sometimes send the wrong message
• 27:08 Don’t get blinded how well your product is received after launch

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about when is the best time to sell your Startup. It’s a tedious process so you shouldn’t just focus on what’s happening during the negotiations but also the pros and cons after the sale is made. And of course, how much you’re being paid for selling is as important as HOW you’re getting paid. 

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Resources:

• Startup Therapy Podcast
• https://www.startups.com/begin
• Join our Network of Top Founders 
• Send an email to [email protected] 

What to Listen For

• 00:00 Intro
• 00:11 “What happens if I sell too early?”
• 06:36 Buyers are often negotiating to pay for a company’s future value
• 10:17 Whatever cash you’re taking now might be the last cash you’ll ever get in the negotiations
• 15:10 It’s not about how much but HOW you’re getting paid
• 17:58 Myth: The maximum amount the company is worth is equal to how much the founder need
• 27:21 You have to be realistic that you might not be able to sell

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan talk about going back to an office setting. The idea that more work gets done inside the office is no longer as effective as it used to be. An office setting may not be that substantial anymore for Startups. A lot of businesses are being run remotely and by far, they are progressing well.

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Resources:

• Startup Therapy Podcast
• https://www.startups.com/begin
• Join our Network of Top Founders 
• Send an email to [email protected] 

What to Listen For

• 00:00 Intro
• 00:28 What happens when we return to our offices?
• 04:15 In current times, is an office really necessary?
• 08:47 Myth: We need an office to build culture
• 15:59 An office is the least likely way to build friendships
• 23:37 Myth: We need an office to get work done
• 27:20 Office equals work is no longer true
• 30:36 Slack and other project management tools can make collaborations happen
• 35:25 Collaboration versus coordination