In our last episode we discussed why using AI as co-founders or coaches is not a good idea.

In this week’s episode, Ben and Derek talk about how you can use AI effectively as an “intern” or assistant to offload time consuming tasks such as research or analysis of competitors, the market or even customer feedback.

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We are frequently asked “How good is the advice you can get from an AI?”. Our answer: AI is a decent assistant but it is definitely NOT a good partner or a good mentor. In fact, the advice you get from AI can be hurting your business or be harmful to founders.

In this week’s episode, Ben and Derek discuss AI’s deficiencies in being a good partner or advisor for entrepreneurs. In the following two episodes we will talk about what AI is actually good at and how founders can use ChatGPT and Claude to be their most efficient self as they grow their company.

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Do you avoid giving bad news, or choose not to engage in conversations that lead to bad feelings or differences in opinion? Being conflict averse is a potentially fatal problem for startup leaders.

In this episode, Ben and Derek give tips on how to find out if you’re conflict-averse and how to overcome it so that you can be a successful entrepreneur and leader.

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While most entrepreneurs are bedrock, many start by dreaming of being an entrepreneur that founds a company that quickly becomes worth a lot of money, perhaps even more than a billion dollars.

In this sprint, Derek and Ben describe the realities and the challenges faced by high-risk entrepreneurs in finding investors for their startups.

We describe the keys to getting funding from angels, being accepted by an accelerator with a good track record and ultimately getting series A funding from a VC. We also go over the numbers of how few entrepreneurs succeed in getting to series A.

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Most entrepreneurs are bedrock. While the chances of success are greater and their upside potential is not constrained by going bedrock, funding options are more constrained.

In this sprint, Derek and Ben describe the frugal and risk minimizing mindset required to be the successful bedrock entrepreneur. The sprint also outlines and describes the different funding mechanisms available to bedrock entrepreneurs, including non-profits.

The accompanying article concludes with how to adapt if your idea does not or cannot receive enough funding to be viable.

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Funding decisions can make or break you as an aspiring entrepreneur, even before you launch. Funding decisions need to be made thoughtfully by every aspiring and practicing entrepreneur.

In this sprint we go over the fundamental strategic decisions that prescribes which of two different paths you will likely be taking in funding your startup, whether it is for-profit or not-for-profit. We lay out how to think through whether you will want to use bedrock or high-risk funding methods to get the funds you will need.

While data shows that 97% of all entrepreneurs go bedrock, many bedrock and high-risk entrepreneurs inadvertently use techniques suited for the alternate strategy, causing unnecessary rejections, wasted time, and sometimes unnecessary failures.

This sprint helps you understand the choice – including for entrepreneurs interested in non-profits.

The two following sprints go into details of how you prepare for one or the other type of funding.

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Every entrepreneur needs to be acutely aware of what other brands their customers invite into their lives, why and how to set themselves apart from other brands.

In this sprint, Ben and Derek walk you through how you get this deeper understanding and can then intentionally make decisions to differentiate your brand in the market.

First, we teach you how to create a visual brand map that will help you developed the detailed knowledge of other brands you’re competing with. Then we walk you through how to pick a great name for your brand.

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Founders need to understand what a brand is and how it is developed and formed. A brand takes time to develop and cannot be fully formed until your core team is in place and you have introduced your product or service broadly.

In this sprint, Ben and Derek challenge you to start thinking about the branding process so that you do not make any naïve missteps along the way.

This is not a one and done exercise, as a brand will develop and evolve as your enterprise forms and its products or services are introduced and evolve.

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Mentors are often life changing for entrepreneurs and founders. But reaching out to someone who you see as a role model but don’t know can be scary.

In this week’s episode, Ben and Derek discuss how you successfully create a relationship with a potential mentor.

This episode prompts to you also listen to Sprint 8, 9 and 10 to learn the basics skills of relationship building.

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Almost all entrepreneurs either over plan or do not plan at all.

In this sprint, Derek and Ben describe specifically what level of planning and anticipation of the future makes most sense for an entrepreneur once they feel their idea has potential.

As the entrepreneur now wants to invest some time and money in working out how to turn the idea into an actual product or service a customer is gladly willing to pay for, they need to make sure the needed money, time and people will be there when needed.

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