In this episode, Steli and Hiten share how they choose the people they surround themselves with. They discuss the difference between being a maker and a manager as it relates to either starting a company vs. scaling a company. Hiten considers himself a manager and has found that he works best with people who are makers. Steli likes to lead in his professional life, but considers himself more of a follower in his personal life. Tune in as Steli and Hiten explain the importance of self-awareness and self-acceptance when it comes to pursuing the right people who can complement you.

00:07 – Today’s episode is about the strategies Hiten and Steli use to choose the people they surround themselves with

02:22 – Hiten’s co-founder Neil has his own mindset in that he can accomplish what he has set his mind to, but he does not like managing people

04:40 – Steli has two switches: one where he is completely surrounded by people and one where he just wants to be alone

08:35 – Steli did not consciously choose his friends, but found that they represent the things that he wants to be

09:44 – On the professional side, Hiten says there few people who can get things done on their own

10:47 – Organizations that start from just one person grow into something big

13:21 – It comes back to self-awareness and self-acceptance

16:59 – If you are thinking that you want to do their job, you are a maker

17:48 – Steli says ask yourself to think of someone you want to spend your time with and how you can make time for that person

3 Key Points:

It is important to find people who can complement your weaknesses and strengths.

Steli Efti:

Hi everyone, this is Steli Efti.

Hiten Shah:

And this is Hiten Shah.

Steli Efti:

And in today's episode of "The Startup Chat " we're going to talk about how the two  of us, the strategies we use to choose the people we surround ourselves with. So,  if you've been a longtime listener of the Startup Chat , you know that both Hiten and  I have talked about how we choose the people in our lives and how we  build kind of our network and how we hand-picked our friends.

When a frog is placed in boiling water, it quickly jumps out because it has felt the heat. But, when it is placed in the water before it is boiling, the frog adjusts to the heat and it is too late before it realizes that it is boiling. This holds true for entrepreneurs who focus on customer acquisition and NOT on their retention and churn. You need to understand why customers are leaving you as EARLY ON as possible in order to adjust and make changes. For this episode, Steli and Hiten talk about how to make the most of a customer cancellation and the importance of preventing cancellation from Day 1.

00:07 – Today’s episode is about what to do when your customers are cancelling

02:37 – Smaller businesses might be losing money so they have to cancel

05:26 – The goal with the first few customers that are cancelling is to learn from them, not primarily to stop them from cancelling

09:23 – It should be easy enough for them to cancel and provide you that feedback for why they are cancelling

11:03 – When you have reached a larger scale, what would be the best way to elicit feedback?

11:27 – A phone call is still the best way

12:45 – A lot of the development of a product comes from the feedback of cancelling customers

The Startup Chat has evolved since 2 years ago, when Steli and Hiten first began this project. They’ve tweaked their structure, hit highs and lows, and have even received crazy encouragement and feedback from listeners in-person! In today’s episode, Steli and Hiten share their thoughts about the podcast, why they’re committed to it, and what they want to achieve for its future. They also want YOU to share your story and hear what you have to say about the podcast.

00:11 – Today’s episode is about how Hiten and Steli feel about the podcast

06:15 – Investing in finding the right person takes a lot of time

07:17 – One of the tweaks they made resulted in more emails on their website

08:44 – Hiten wants to get more feedback and engagement from listeners

11:22 – Steli says he gets more strong responses from people he meets in other countries

11:56 – Steli says one entrepreneur flew to Mexico City and waited at the airport for 5 hours so he can take Steli to his hotel

14:20 – Steli likes to hear that they were able to help someone get through a rough patch

3 Key Points:

Steli and Hiten are humbled by the fact that YOU tune in and they want to continue to impact their audience for the good.

Steli:

Hi, everyone. This is Steli.

Hiten:

This is Hiten. On today's episode, first of all, we're being casual. We didn't use  our last names.

Steli:

Yes, yes.

Hiten:

I think it's because of what we're talking about. On this episode of The Startup  Chat,

If you have ever felt like your life is a blur, do not worry as you are in good company. In today’s episode, Hiten shares why the “blur feeling” is a GOOD thing and the experiences and ideas that have led him to think this way. Steli also shares how he feels about the notion of dwelling in the past and how you can pack MORE LIFE into your days. Is your life a blur? Maybe it should be.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

00:55 – Today’s episode is about Hiten’s two quotes that he sent to Steli: “Every week is a blur” and “If it’s not a blur, you’re not moving fast enough”

01:05 – Steli tweeted the two quotes and posted it on Facebook and got an enormous response from followers

04:20 – Steli posted the first quote just as it is, to make it sound ambiguous

06:10 – If something has happened in the past, it’s already in the past

07:32 – Hiten is entertained when he is busy

08:29 – The feeling of being in a blur means things are in motion and there is progress

11:32 – Episode 139 is about doing post-mortems

12:21 – Most people would use the word busy, but Hiten refers to it as entertainment

13:36 – Pack more LIFE into your days

3 Key Points:

The feeling of being in a blur means you are getting things done in a short amount of time.

Steli Efti:

Hey, everybody, this is Steli Efti.

Hiten Shah:

And this is Hiten Shah. Today on The Startup Chat, we're going to talk, I  guess, about something inspired by the last conversation we had.

Steli Efti:

Yep.

Hiten Shah:

Steli was so inspired, before we started he tweeted it. So, obviously, we have to  do a episode about it. Steli, I'm going to let you do the reveal.

Steli Efti:

Yeah. So, the quote was ... We called each other up. Before we record the  episode, oftentimes, we just go, "How's it going? How was your week?" Hiten's response to  my question, "How's it going? How was your week?", was, "Steli, every week is a  blur." I laughed and then Hiten said, "If it's not a blur,

Now that you have started your business, it is now time to grow it. Growing your business is dependent on how much money you are making from your current customer base. Listen in as Steli and Hiten talk about how to increase your customer lifetime value by either raising your prices or offering your current customers more value. They also discuss the importance of reaching your pricing ceiling and the importance of holding onto your customers for the long haul.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

00:05 – Today’s episode is about the different ways to increase your customer lifetime value

02:28 – Get more money from existing customers by selling more to them than you already are

03:15 – Based on experience, Hiten has met and seen companies that have ridiculously high prices, but these companies are rare

04:44 – It is your fault when you charge too low, even though you know you could have increased it

06:21 – In a previous episode, Hiten and Steli talked about how to cultivate a bias towards action

07:33 – The goal is to get to a point where it starts to have a negative effect because that will be your ceiling

08:35 – The third thing is to keep your customers longer and make them use your product more by lowering your churn and improving your usage

10:25 – This should be the first thing that businesses resolve, especially those involved in SaaS

12:42 – The three things are connected because they are all quantifiable

3 Key Points:

If you want to increase your revenue, find a way to get more money from your existing customers.

Steli Efti:

Hey everybody, this is Steli Efti.

Hiten Shah:

And this is Hiten Shah.

Steli Efti:

And in today's episode of The Startup Chat we're going to talk about different ways  for you to increase you're customer lifetime value.

Do you ever feel that things aren’t moving forward or aren’t moving fast enough? If so, this episode is for you. In today’s episode, Steli and Hiten talk about how to cultivate a bias towards ACTION. Accomplishing your tasks and learning how to take better and faster action starts from just doing it—just start moving! Listen as Steli and Hiten shares tips on how they became action-oriented people and why Einstein was right when he said “nothing in the universe happens until something moves”.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

00:05 – Today’s episode is about how to cultivate a bias towards action

04:24 – For Hiten, it is a spark or a motivation to do the action

05:54 – Steli knows that he is not the main driver for the action, but has people in his life that can make it happen

06:27 – When travelling, Steli finds friends who will organize the trip so that he can just join in

07:11 – Steli and Hiten have people around them that take care of things and they play the support role

10:38 – Pain is a much stronger motivator than pleasure

12:32 – Steli says there was a time when he did not take action because he was not inspired to do things

13:03 – Steli now has an internal mantra to act even when he does not feel like it, and he has accomplished a lot more because of it

14:13 – People don’t take action because they get paralyzed without even knowing it

14:52 – Steli says the trick is to make sure that you address the problem of why you are resisting doing the important things

15:14 – Steli shares how he was not as action-oriented as he is, today

15:51 – Steli realized that the only way to generate results was by taking action

16:40 – Steli learned that he needs to create results first, and study the data later

21:46 – “You need to know where you need to go”

22:05 – Steli shares Albert Einstein’s quote, “Nothing in the universe happens until something moves”

3 Key Points:

Cultivating a bias towards action starts from actually doing it.

In today’s episode, Steli and Hiten talk about how to be productive when you are working on a remote team. Steli and Hiten share their thoughts about the importance of discipline and motivation for individuals working in remote teams as well as the importance of building a positive company culture. They also tackle the systems that need to be improved to make remote work more efficient and the future potential of companies opting in for the remote work environment in the future.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

00:05 – Today’s episode is about how to be productive when you are working on a remote team

00:42 – Episode 92 was about how to build your remote team

01:44 – Steli asks Hiten, what are the best practices you’ve seen with remote teams?

02:25 – In a physical office, there is a lot of structure and this can lead to productivity

04:20 – Steli shares a quote: “People would never associate discipline with freedom, but the only way to freedom is discipline”

05:11 – Without discipline, you won’t be able to do the things that you want to do in life

06:10 – Hiten says discipline and motivation go together

06:48 – If you can’t manage your own time by yourself, working in a remote team is impossible

07:18 – If you want to learn how to manage your time, do a timebox, plan it into your calendar and create your own structure

08:07 – Use alarms or write a to-do list early in the morning

09:34 – Interaction is not the same with remote and office teams

10:37 – There are people who might feel down without the human interaction at work

13:29 – “If you had to write down the personality of the company, what would it be?”

15:28 – Hiten says it is still too early to say as it was only a year ago that tools were created specifically for remote teams

21:27 – How does office politics work in remote teams?

22:53 – Hiten says office politics are reduced in a remote environment

In today’s episode, Steli and Hiten talk about generating customer insights. Customer feedback is what you need to be able to build a better product and adjust for the objections that you get from customers—both those who have purchased from you and those who have not. Steli shares the different ways you can get customer feedback and identifies how to get the MOST value from these interactions. Hiten also gives you advice on how you can get your departments interacting with clients to better your product and processes.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

00:05 – Today’s episode is about generating customer insights

09:45 – If you have Twitter, use it—it’s an easy way to get answers by asking questions

10:41 – Steli says a recipe for success is to fall in love with your customer

15:15 – Hiten tells their customers to be open about what they don’t like about the product

19:48 – When interacting with customers, it’s not about the positive things they are saying

3 Key Points:

Make sure that customer relations are built into your schedule.

Steli: Hey everyone, this is Steli Efti.

Hiten: And this is Hiten Shah.

Steli: In today's episode of The Startup Chat, we're going to talk about sheer ways that you and your team can get closer to you...

In today’s episode, Steli and Hiten talk about the process of killing features in your product. Steli and Hiten discuss the difficulty tied to killing a feature, but how it can be necessary to simplify your product. Since killing a feature can affect your current clients, they also discuss how to handle this transaction in a way that builds trust. Tune in to find out when it’s time for you to kill a feature, why Hiten believes killing a feature is an brand building opportunity with customers, and how to prevent the need to kill a feature in the first place.  

00:05 – Today’s episode is about how to kill features in your product

03:43 – An easy way to get over the emotional aspect is to check what is and isn't being utilized by your user base

06:23 – Hiten says that as a project manager, you have to look at data constantly and consistently

06:58 – Hiten uses Google Analytics to check his data

07:16 – Steli thinks knowledge is NOT what is lacking in people when it comes to killing a feature

09:46 – Hiten says removing a feature can be likened to breaking up a relationship

11:41 – There are no good or bad reasons in killing features, but it means you are building less into a product

12:30 – You have to assess the usage of a feature and all the other features of your product

13:20 – Killing a feature will help make the product simpler, easier to use, and more valuable for your customers

3 Key Points:

An easy way to kill a feature is be objective about it—is it being used or not?

In today’s episode, Steli and Hiten talk about one of the dilemmas almost all entrepreneurs experience – the art of following up. All our business dealings are in need of that constant follow through; but surprisingly enough, people can lose hope and just stop asking for what they need. One reason for quitting is that fear of rejection. Listen as Steli shares the value of showing up, following up, and following through as well as his list of rules for mastering the art of the follow up.

00:04 – Today’s episode is about The Art of Follow Up

01:37 – Ironically, it’s not the type of advice Steli is most interested in giving right now

01:56 – The core principles stay the same

07:41 – You need to realize that fear is normal and conquering that fear is what will help you succeed

08:07 – There is real value and power in overcoming fear

08:32 – Keep it as clean, simple, and as short as possible

14:39 – Hiten looks forward to Steli’s book

3 Key Points:

Consistently following up with clients brings the best results for entrepreneurs.

Steli Efti:

Hey everyone. This is Steli Efti.

Hiten Shah:

And this is Hiten Shah. And today, on The Startup Chat, we're gonna talk about  the art of the follow-up. And this is one of those episodes where I know  Steli's better than me at this. And the reason for that is that I'm very  good at responding when someone comes at me and e-mails me. But, I know this  about myself, I'm not as good as I'd like to be about following up with  people. So I'm eager to learn. I'm a sponge here. I'm gonna probably ask you some crazy questions, but bring it on. What's the deal? How do you follow up?  Obviously, I know why you should follow-up. I get it.