A week of wins - i dont think i've said that before.

1. The Knowledge shop full applications are now coming through to be Alpha Testers. Before, it was really more expression of interest, with people sending in name and email address. I have since then sent out an email with more information and a larger application form. 30 people expressed interest, and I have 4 people fully applied already. So it looks like i will make it to five, but would be good to have a few more too.

To everybody who applied so far - thank you so much. You are all amazing. Will do a bigger shout out for you next week.

2. The NYC Entrepreneur's coworking meetup group. Hit a major milestoe. From zero nine days ago, we now have 65 members! We also held our first event yesterday, and i got to meet 7 incredible founders from across the world, who happened to be in NYC. All building such different businesses.

I said, i'd link through to them so here goes:

Next meet up is November 30th, come join. It would be great to see you in person.

Also thank you to Trends.co for launching the fab new events section on their site. Attended the first Manhattan event last night, and met even more incredible people. Looking forward to the next one.

So, i launched and more importantly told people about it! It's on various different Slack groups i belong to, although i think i forgot Chief after everything - must rectify that!

Also - i launched an NYC coworking meetup group. I felt like i could use the energy, and hopefully it would be a great new way to meet new people too.

So - did people respond??? YES THEY DID

We have registrations! I think we will fill both the 5 slots for the Alpha programme, and have another 5 for the coworking meetup.

Just looked at the stats actually for the meetup, and have 8 people already signed up. I know two people from Day One, but not the others, so should be good.

Shout out to Skippy - for believing in me, your comment out of the blue meant so much. Know that i love what you are doing, and am 100% cheering you on.

Also - remember that putting stuff out into the either - makes things happen.

I am now connected to one of the people overseeing the Techstars NYC newsletter, who said they would publish my future meetups (it goes to 15k people 😁), and also another VC reached out about one of their portfolio companies.

Exciting times!!!

Wondered why I have been a little MIA recently? Those following my podcast will know I came down with Shingles - ouch ouch ouch!

Luckily I am out the other side. So after a little R&R, and a lot of self-talk, I am excited to say that I made it Linkedin official and opened The Knowledge Shop up for it's first Alpha testers.

Now just need to keep sucking up the fear, and tell more people in my network about it - think Chief, Day One etc.

To get there, repeating a lot the following mantra’s:

Richard Branson - Screw it let’s do it

Reid Hoffman “If you're not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you've launched too late”

So, does this sound like you (or somebody you know)?

Then apply today.

To start, we’ll just have 5 spaces (and they are free), so we can all learn together and begin making the world that bit better one startup at a time!

So if you are an entrepreneur, or somebody who is and might benefit from some extra encouragement / resources, visit www.theknowledge.shop and fill in the initial form. We’ll be in touch with a more complete

Clearly not a lot of progress since Sunday - but coming slowly out of the drug haze, which is just as well as I am at another airport, heading back home for a girly weekend with my mum.

Despite being ill, struggling with lack of progress.

Imposter Syndrome

Thank you to Jessica for recommending Deep Work: the importance of not being reactive, and really adding value. The example provided being, do you want to write a load of emails, or a book?

https://www.shortform.com/summary/deep-work-summary-cal-newport?

Goals and targets for accountability:

1. 2 in person meetings a week. For energy!

2. Startup work is Wednesday aftie to Friday.

Short and sweet - this week has been tough - hence the delayed publication.

Struck down by shingles, so basically spent the week rattling from all the drugs and pain killers. Hopefully coming out the other side now though.

That said, I did speak / catch up with some other female founders before I was struck down. Such inspirations to hear about their startup journeys, and the struggles they have faced

Yet - their resilience, and belief in their mission is truly inspiring. I need to surround myself with more people like this to keep me on track.

So - please check out:

https://larklove.com/ - Beautiful, plant-based intimate care for your bootylicious body

Awkward Essentials - the world's first after sex clean up sponge

In fact let’s keep the love going, with a few other fab female founded startups where I know the founders, and who are doing amazing things:

https://www.denimrush.com/ - Custom handprinted and made to order clothing, showcasing your and your brands personality.

https://www.mysticmondays.com/ - Tarot cards - your everyday magic starts here

https://spritztea.com/ - Softly sparkling craft tea infusions.

So - although I think it is safe to say that minimal TKS progress was made this week, I hope this helps raise the profile of a few more founders, changing the world in their own way.

Ps - when things did get a little tough this week, I Googled to find some websites to try to perk me up and found some video clips and jokes that made me smile.

Definitely recommend doing the same, if you ever find yourself either under the weather like I was, or feeling down for any reason - business or personal.

So I hope that these make you smile too.

Best Dad jokes - https://www.countryliving.com/life/a27452412/best-dad-jokes/

Home alone “Iron in the basement”- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UWCZIzU4EM

Finding Nemo “Natural blue” and so many other funny scenes. (And always remember to just keep swimming” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOnPbNfKcds

My personal favourite however will forever always be…..

“What’s brown and sticky”???

Answer - “A stick”

And with that, see you in a few days…..

Three key areas discussed this week, instead of soundbites and a deep dive.

A lot of psychology / mindset stuff from my life, which I believe can apply directly to startup life too. If you struggle with imposter syndrome, and that manifests itself in delayed decision making etc, then how can it not??

So, taking these three aspects in turn and in combination, it is so apparent how much mindset contributes to either making progress or the lack thereof. The more we can do to boost happiness and self-confidence etc, the more progress we will all make.

I am therefore looking to incorporate ways to address these in the knowledge shop MVP. More to come on that front. But sign ups are now open.

So a day late, but i have a good reason.

Yesterday was "The pitch" final for the accelerator i have been talking about. Funnily enough, it was a crazy few days leading up to it and an even crazier morning. After the event ran for 3 hours, i was perhaps unsurprisingly a little drained!

However, what i did do, was record a clip before i pitched, and then did a retrospective afterwards. So that's what you are listening to today. A two-parter if you will. (assuming it works).

Part 1 - background and the 60 second pitch i had to deliver.

Part 2 - how it went... spoiler, i didn't win, but what i learnt and how the whole process has helped me.

It helped provide accountability, and achieve progress - prototypes, updated website and branding.

In other news - shoutouts and recommendations

It’s autumn! (No pumpkin spice in this household 😝

Let’s dive in…..

Quick bites:

How I make the show:

For New podcast artwork:

Save Money - Founder perks / promo codes discounts:

Deep Dive: Asking permission / Justification

But… did Mark Zuckerburg and Brian Chesky have founder market fit? Were they social media or travel execs? Or were they just curious and their own customers?

Don’t underestimate the value that an outsider brings, with out of the box thinking.

How I handled this / reminded myself i can do this?

Whilst suffering serious self doubt, like a beacon I listened to the Zero to One podcast, and an interview with the CEO of Eventbrite - Julia Hartz (with no tech / founder market fit background). And I quote…..

“You don’t have to be a crazy entrepreneur to do something. You don’t need a label”.

You don’t have to have a background to doing something: Just dig in and start. Don’t wait for permission.

If you have skills in critical thinking, are a fast learner and passionate about the problem - that’s all you need.

Now I feel so much better again. I need to keep this on replay to remind myself, I am not here to ask permission. I am here to do and make a difference. I am here to do me and hopefully help the world as a result.

Resources

Photo editing - Photopea

Zero to one podcast - Julia Hartz of Eventbrite

Canva - podcast templates

Perks:

This episode was recorded in front of a live studio audience - another way of saying, I am recording this at Heathrow, en route back to New York. It was this, or from a toilet cubicle and the queue for them was too long.

Please forgive the background music - and likely random conversations - but needs must, otherwise no episode - and after all, I always said this was going to be “real”

Let’s Start:

Thank you’s:

Accountability

Feeling tired

Accepting help

Deepdive - Lessons from Israel

Said differently, how can you create real life case studies to normalise / learn from

Israel has an incredible startup scene. Many reasons. This isn’t about politics, more a chance to think about attitudes, how the fates collided and what you can take from this, to help with your own startup journey.

Links / Resources

Go buy your candle - crystals, scents and calm. We all need founder wellness support https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/HoneyandSageuk

Israel's startup scene - https://www.startupnationcentral.org/

Another whirlwind in the life of a startup founder.

In no particular order this episode covers....

Quick thoughts:

Deepdive:

The realization that I am the only person driving TKS forward hit hard this week.

Feeling very overwhelmed, with serious imposter syndrome - my idea isn’t good enough. I know it’s really important, I don’t want others to feel like they can’t start, give up their dreams or struggle unnecessarily, because they can’t get the help you need or feel like they have to do it alone!

So def feeling like my credibility and reputation are on the line, now that the video pitch is live, and it is me talking. It's now become even more personal. Embarrassed it’s not good enough

Struggling too, as my vote numbers although i think good, are clearly much lower than other peoples (they've been giving us updates of who the current leaders are)

So….

I need to remind myself, that i'm at the beginning of my founder journey, and some of them are pretty established (in comparison) businesses, with customers, social media followings etc. Doesn't make it easy to hear though. 

Combined with the low podcast numbers, i was feeling a little “… are you there god, it’s me Margaret” - from an old children's book i used to read by Judy Blume. Is anybody listening?

However, then things started to turn - and this is how....

1. I listened to the Masters of Scale podcast with Reid Hoffman (founder of LinkedIn). He interviewed  the founder of Compass, talking about how he kept getting back up and using setbacks to create momentum. 

2. Don't underestimate the importance of talking. Just sharing what I was feeling with somebody in a non-judgemental way, and getting "stuff - mostly the ramblings above", out of my head really helped.

3. The positive feedback from the votes people submitted. For you, that could be having a folder where you keep nice emails, slack's etc that  people have written to you. There is always something.

So - in closing - it was a tough, very vulnerable week, but I got through it.

To vote - here you go...(closing Sept 30th) - https://city-spark.co.uk/home/vote-now/

To rate / share the podcast with people you think would benefit, that would be amazing. - 

Here's Judy Blume - https://www.amazon.com/Are-You-There-God-Margaret/dp/148140993X