Master Your Mindset: How to Start Believing in Yourself, with Insights from Jothy Rosenberg | The Big Success Podcast

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<v Speaker 1>Okay.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, I want to become a black diamond skier.

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<v Speaker 1>On one ski, an amputee black diamond skier.

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<v Speaker 2>Jothy Rosenberg.

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<v Speaker 2>The guy's had $200 million exits in tech startup, taking you through the five aspects of a tech startup that make it successful.

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<v Speaker 1>My latest book is called Tech Startup Toolkit.

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<v Speaker 1>At one point I needed about $4 million and I raised that much from 83 individual angel investors.

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<v Speaker 1>Steve Jobs, who said the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.

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<v Speaker 1>Keep your focus, keep challenging yourself and keep improving.

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<v Speaker 2>Super sought after keynote speaker.

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<v Speaker 2>Imagine thinking that a disability actually makes you more successful.

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<v Speaker 2>Three steps to it from Jothi Rosenberg.

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<v Speaker 2>So, jothi, all of our listeners want to help define success.

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<v Speaker 2>What's your definition or your version of success?

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<v Speaker 1>Well, I may have a different definition than a lot of people.

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<v Speaker 1>It's not like, oh, selling your company for this much money.

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<v Speaker 1>For me, it's about accomplishment, it's about having.

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<v Speaker 1>If you're really going to get somewhere, I believe you have to do it by having a set of achievable goals that you knock down and each one gets you a step closer to you know what it is you're really trying to achieve, and I learned that long before I did startups.

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<v Speaker 1>I learned that from having a disability and having to overcome it, and that required being very reasonable about the goals you set and then working through those.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it's interesting.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm assuming your definition of success changed during your lifetime?

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<v Speaker 2>Well, sure.

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<v Speaker 1>For example, when I was 16 and I woke up from surgery, having had my right leg amputated, everybody was telling me you can't do this, you can't ski again, you can't.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh, if you try to swim, you'll swim in a circle.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean ridiculous stuff like this.

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<v Speaker 1>But I was 16, and so I had no experience that was going to refute this stupidity.

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<v Speaker 1>And so, for me, when I finally was able to, like you know, stand up again and not be in intense pain, just the idea of being able to take my dog for a walk on crutches was an amazing accomplishment.

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<v Speaker 1>So you're right, my definition definitely changed.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, now, what do you say then?

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<v Speaker 2>Because, like, you've had 200 million plus exits, what is your response when someone says yeah, it's easy for you to say it's not about the money, because you're on the other side of the money spectrum.

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<v Speaker 2>How do you respond to young people when they're thinking, ok, I've never done that yet.

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<v Speaker 2>How do I not focus on the money type thing?

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<v Speaker 2>Okay, so look.

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<v Speaker 1>I think that.

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<v Speaker 1>So in the realm of startups, I think people should define this is just, this is how I do it, so, but I think it's helpful to people if they think, okay, it is a.

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<v Speaker 1>It is a huge success for a startup to do three things.

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<v Speaker 1>First, okay and I know we've talked about five, but really, you know, let's say so you create the startup, you build a team with a great culture and that's not easy, by the way and then you are able to prove product market fit, meaning you have a market that's really a good one and you've got a product and the people in that market want to buy it.

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<v Speaker 1>Now, you still might not have a $100 million exit and you ought to crow like heck about that, because that's more than most people do and so focusing on the money is going to perhaps make you do the wrong sets of things right.

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<v Speaker 1>So that's the problem is that if you're focused on the money to the exclusion of other things, then you may not build a very good culture and culture is the secret to retention and therefore you may not have the right team and you may end up cutting off your nose to spite your face and you won't actually achieve that big dollar exit that you wanted anyway, and so I would recommend that you focus on team culture.

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<v Speaker 1>And how do I get to product market fit?

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<v Speaker 2>Great, we'll dive into that.

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<v Speaker 2>Does that apply across in life, too, though?

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<v Speaker 2>And how do I get to product market fit?

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<v Speaker 2>Great, we'll dive into that.

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<v Speaker 2>Does that apply across in life, too, though?

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<v Speaker 1>The focus on the money can take you away from doing the right things.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, I would agree with that statement.

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<v Speaker 2>Yes, but I'm probably in the minority.

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<v Speaker 2>That's possibly the case especially.

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<v Speaker 2>I've just come back from, uh, italy and croatia and it's amazing just how fast I can see the distinctions in attitude to money, uh, in different parts of the world.

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<v Speaker 2>I think that's a big thing.

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<v Speaker 2>But I need to ask where do you feel you chose success in life?

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<v Speaker 2>Is it as a young man?

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<v Speaker 2>Is it because of when the disability happened?

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<v Speaker 2>Where did success become your standard?

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<v Speaker 2>Well, there really are.

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<v Speaker 1>There are multiple dimensions for me, because I'm not a one dimensional person, so there's a, you know.

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<v Speaker 1>So, for example, I set a goal shortly after I, you know, had figured out crutches and a few other things like that.

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<v Speaker 1>I had a goal of okay, well, I want to become a black diamond skier on one ski, an amputee black diamond skier and that meant that I had to be able to do steep, narrow, bumpy trees, and so I had to figure out how am I going to do this.

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<v Speaker 1>And when I first tried skiing and I had just recovered, so the surgery was in January, and in March, before the snow melted in Michigan I wanted to see how would this be, and they had not yet invented outriggers, the forearm crutches with the skis on the end.

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<v Speaker 1>They hadn't invented them yet, and so I was using good old pointy poles, which don't work very well, because if you try to lean on something that's in the ground and it's, you know it's gone.

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<v Speaker 1>It's gone, it's behind you.

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<v Speaker 1>And the other thing is, is that in skiing we say that you steer with your big toe, not your little toe, and so I have a left leg and so the right turn, steering with your big toe worked kind of felt normal.

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<v Speaker 1>But as soon as I tried the other direction, boom fell down and my parents thought, oh my God, this was a horrible thing to do.

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<v Speaker 1>He's going to be so humiliated.

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<v Speaker 1>And when they came and they said, oh well, let's go home.

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<v Speaker 1>And they said, how did it go today?

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<v Speaker 1>I said, yes, I've got this.

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<v Speaker 1>And they couldn't figure out what was wrong with me and I said, look, I will be able to figure this out.

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<v Speaker 1>I just am going to need to work incredibly hard at it.

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<v Speaker 1>It's probably like how the Olympic athletes feel when they, you know, they're a kid and they say I want to be a gymnast.

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<v Speaker 1>It's like, oh my God.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, what it took was three years later I quit college and became a ski bum at Alta, utah, and I skied 100 days straight, every day.

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<v Speaker 1>And I found a ski instructor who was so excited about the challenge and he got a pair of outriggers they had invented them in that period of time and he built a little cage on the back of his left boot where his right foot in a snow boot would just be, you know, stuck in and we went off and because it was a low snow year, he wasn't very busy and we skied for hours and hours and hours, day after day, and ultimately, the moment of victory was when we went skiing on some you know, amazing runs at Alta.

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<v Speaker 1>And he then said I tell you what I want you to help me teach my carve turning classes.

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<v Speaker 1>And the reason he did that was that he said my carve turning classes are filled with people that keep asking me well, which foot is your weight on?

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<v Speaker 1>And it's an irrelevant question.

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<v Speaker 1>It's an irrelevant question because you're supposed to be turning on your edges.

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<v Speaker 1>And so he said well, they're never going to ask you that question.

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<v Speaker 2>Hey, do you think and this is an interesting thought that I know you've spoken on a couple of times Do you think that the disability or the injury or the amputation actually gave you more drive or more focus than a normal person would have?

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<v Speaker 2>Like, did it take away excuses, or how do you relate to that?

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<v Speaker 1>So you just walked me right into the TED Talk that I gave, right.

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<v Speaker 1>So the TED Talk was basically what was my theory about why people with a disability tend to overachieve, and I believe it's three traits that happen naturally as an effect.

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<v Speaker 1>You know cause and effect of the disability, and it's insecurity plus exceptionalism, plus discipline, exceptionalism plus discipline.

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<v Speaker 1>So real, quickly, insecurity is you know you're disabled and you fall down and you know things are difficult, and so you always have that insecurity.

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<v Speaker 1>Even though it's been 52 years, I still have it right, and it makes you humble.

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<v Speaker 1>And, by the way, these exact same things apply in the startup world, which is very interesting.

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<v Speaker 1>So, being humble, and then this exceptionalism, which is accomplishments.

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<v Speaker 1>It's I set a goal, goal, goal, goal, and I accomplish them and wow, suddenly I'm skiing past people that are standing at the top of a steep slope, scared out of their minds, and I go flying past them and you know, zip down, and I know what they're thinking.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, and that's exceptionalism, and discipline is just what it sounds like.

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<v Speaker 1>It comes naturally to you know, sort of keep your focus, keep you know, keep challenging yourself and you know and keep improving, and that's.

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<v Speaker 1>It's those three things, and I think the disability did focus me in a way that enabled me to overachieve.

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<v Speaker 2>So let's go back to that TED Talk, the book.

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<v Speaker 2>The TED Talk who Says I Can't you make us think by saying it's not a question, it's a statement?

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<v Speaker 2>Can you explain that more to me and to the listeners?

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<v Speaker 1>Well, you put all the emphasis on says who says I can't, and you make a fist.

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<v Speaker 1>What I'm saying with it is that it came from all these people saying you can't ski, you can't swim straight, you can't ride a bike.

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<v Speaker 1>And then when I discover that they're wrong and I prove them wrong, then it's basically Well, you know who says I can't, with an exclamation point instead of a question.

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<v Speaker 1>And it's funny because you know I talk to kids a lot and they're only in fifth grade and they think that a sentence that starts with who has to have a question mark, and they get in this argument with me and I say well, you're going to have to tell the teacher that there's an exception to every rule, apparently.

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<v Speaker 2>So, going back to insecurity, exceptionalism, discipline is that your formula for success, or is there more to it than that?

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<v Speaker 1>uh, well, I I think it is my formula for success, um, I've I've leaned on it very heavily my whole life, um, and I've applied it in, you know, the major areas are, you know, the athletics world, um, where I I still do the Alcatraz swim every year.

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<v Speaker 1>This coming year 2025, will be my 30th time swimming from Alcatraz Island to San Francisco.

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<v Speaker 1>I'll be 68 when I do that the next time.

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<v Speaker 1>I've biked from Boston to New York City four times on one leg with one lung, and, of course, the skiing I talked about.

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<v Speaker 1>And so that's one dimension.

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<v Speaker 1>Another is the startup world, and so many difficult things have happened.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean running out of money and where am I going to get payroll, and so many difficult things, but everything's put in perspective because of what I've been through, and so it's sort of relative.

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<v Speaker 1>And then there's the speaking and writing books.

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<v Speaker 1>Speaking and writing books you know, my latest book is in the startup, you know world, called Tech Startup Toolkit.

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<v Speaker 1>That is, it's really all my books are written, because they're the book I wish I'd had when I was in that situation.

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<v Speaker 1>So I'm writing it for the next generation that's coming along, you know.

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<v Speaker 2>And I know that feeling.

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<v Speaker 2>I mean people are like hang on, you've done 18 books, so you're going to stop.

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<v Speaker 2>Now I'm like no, because every couple of years, I learn something new that I think everyone should be able to get knowledge to and makes it easier.

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<v Speaker 2>Buddy, I want to ask let's go into that startup thing.

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<v Speaker 2>Let's start with the failure side of it, though, because failure can teach success, and I think you've been often quoted saying the failures taught you more than the big exits did.

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<v Speaker 2>What causes failure of a startup?

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<v Speaker 2>Let's start there.

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<v Speaker 2>What are the main reasons startups fail?

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<v Speaker 1>All right.

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<v Speaker 1>So the sort of standard reaction that everybody has is extremely simplistic, which is well, they fail because they run out of money.

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<v Speaker 1>But then the question is well, why did they run out of money?

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<v Speaker 1>And the main reason that startups run out of money and in the truest sense, the truest sense time is money for startups, because you've got from somewhere.

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<v Speaker 1>Unless you're rich and you've got so much money, you can self-fund it indefinitely, but that's, of course, extremely rare, and so you probably are raising money from somewhere and there's a limited amount of it, and so you've got to be right.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, you have to be extremely sharp on what should I be doing today?

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<v Speaker 1>What is the next thing I have to do?

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<v Speaker 1>And one of those you know big, huge, huge barriers, and I already mentioned it once in this episode is the product market fit.

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<v Speaker 2>Okay, but there's a lot of steps to get to product market fit let's let's go back into those steps, because when you talk about the big opportunity finding the big opportunity what are some of the key aspects to that that people should focus in on for their startup, whether it's tech or non-tech?

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, so presumably, if you are thinking of doing a startup, most people have some knowledge of a market and maybe the problems in that market, and that, because you know it so well, you've got an idea for how to fix that problem.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, that is the ideal scenario for you know, taking you know what you know and saying I'm going to change the world with my idea and I'm going to do it by building a company that delivers that solution to the market.

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<v Speaker 1>That's perfect.

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<v Speaker 1>But you have to make sure that you're not thinking too broadly of a market, because you can really use up all your resources.

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<v Speaker 1>So you've got to define a very narrow market.

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<v Speaker 1>Even though you look over there, you know over there somewhere, and you say, well, well, wait a minute, I could satisfy that market too, you have to put your blinders on, because that's the only way to be very efficient with all your dollars.

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<v Speaker 1>You want to be in a narrow enough market where everybody in it kind of has the same role in their company, and you're going to be talking to a lot of different companies I'm not counting consumer products right now in my thought process and they all go to the same meetings and they all read the same things, and so you can be very efficient.

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<v Speaker 1>And so, how big is that market?

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<v Speaker 1>Is it big enough, you know?

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<v Speaker 1>And that's important, and if it's not, then this might not work.

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<v Speaker 2>Jothy, how do you get people?

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<v Speaker 2>How do you like?

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<v Speaker 2>Naturally, I think you have a natural ability at this stage to think big.

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<v Speaker 2>I remember as a kid having to read I think it was called the Magic of Thinking Big, I'm not sure if you remember I think it was.

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<v Speaker 2>David Schwartz wrote that.

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<v Speaker 2>How do you help someone that's they want to start their own business, but they're just thinking small, they're just thinking, well, I just need to replace my income.

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<v Speaker 2>How do we get them to go to that big opportunity mindset?

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<v Speaker 1>I think they need to be thinking about in terms of the problem statement.

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<v Speaker 1>Who's got this problem?

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<v Speaker 1>And I mean, you know, okay.

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<v Speaker 1>So maybe we should say that if you really want from the start, you really want to just build a lifestyle business and that's all you want, well, okay, there's nothing really wrong with that.

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<v Speaker 1>That may be your definition of success.

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<v Speaker 1>Most people, I think, get excited about solving a big problem so it's got to be a big problem and then have the discipline to say, okay, well, I'm not going to try to boil the ocean, I'm going to try to solve that problem for this really tiny market, but I know that as soon as I've done that, I've got these other markets that are going to come online next and next and next.

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<v Speaker 2>Then it turns in your teaching to raising money quickly and I like the term quickly in there, because I think that's really important aspect of the success, as you mentioned just before, time is money for a startup.

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<v Speaker 2>You're burning it real fast.

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<v Speaker 2>What are some of the key factors we have to consider to do that, to get that capital raise so I think people I try to you know lay out in my book.

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<v Speaker 1>You could start small and you could say I'm going to do a friends and family raise.

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<v Speaker 1>You can.

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<v Speaker 1>You know you can probably get realistically $500,000, not too difficult, difficultly and probably quickly, like in a month, you know.

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<v Speaker 1>You just you talk to all your family and you know families can be quite large when you start thinking about the full extent of several generations.

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<v Speaker 1>And then you know maybe you haven't got enough yet to talk to venture capitalists.

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<v Speaker 1>So you go and find and I've explained how to find angel investors and it's really not hard because they're all out there on the web and you can start searching by what they like to invest in and you can actually now, thanks to COVID, you can do a pitch session to them through Zoom and I ended up raising.

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<v Speaker 1>At one point I needed about $4 million and I raised that much from 83 individual angel investors and that means I talked to 10 times that many to actually get the money I needed.

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<v Speaker 1>So it was a lot of people.

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<v Speaker 2>I think that point is really important, jothi, because I think a lot of people go to raise money.

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<v Speaker 2>They speak to 10 people and they're like, yeah, I'm not going to be able to raise the money.

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<v Speaker 2>You got to speak to hundreds and hundreds to raise money.

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<v Speaker 1>Yes, you do, and, but the good news is that the angels have found ways to aggregate themselves into groups, and so you find these angel groups and they probably have 50 or 100 or even more people there, and ultimately unless it's a very unusual angel group that's organized a fund where you're going to actually get money out of one fund from this group, but that's not normal.

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<v Speaker 1>But that's not normal.

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<v Speaker 1>Normal is one person screens you and says I want you to come to this month's pitch meeting and that might be 10 people are going to go ahead and sort of open it up to everybody.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, you might get 10 people out of that one group, but you might get zero out of another group.

00:23:44.080 --> 00:24:01.179
<v Speaker 1>So you have to talk to a lot of groups and then, ultimately, there's going to be a one-on-one with each of the people within that firm I'm sorry, that group, it's not a firm, that group to get them to like you and invest in you.

00:24:01.179 --> 00:24:10.226
<v Speaker 1>It's a lot more efficient, however, than the process of getting venture capital firms to invest in you.

00:24:10.226 --> 00:24:11.867
<v Speaker 1>That's a much higher bar.

00:24:20.569 --> 00:24:22.534
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, Getting one company versus 83 individuals.

00:24:22.534 --> 00:24:24.798
<v Speaker 2>It's much, much easier to get 83 individuals than it is one large organization.

00:24:24.798 --> 00:24:27.564
<v Speaker 2>So step three in your teaching is about product market fit.

00:24:27.564 --> 00:24:46.215
<v Speaker 2>Now, you've touched on this already, but what are some of the major aspects that people should focus in on and I'm going to make sure they all read your book as well, but let's touch on that to get them started the most common sequence of events is in getting to product market fit, is that?

00:24:46.237 --> 00:24:58.583
<v Speaker 1>so you've got your market defined and you've figured out how big it is and and what are the kinds of people's titles that you're going to be going after.

00:24:58.583 --> 00:25:06.483
<v Speaker 1>And now you're out prospecting and talking about your solution.

00:25:06.483 --> 00:25:12.710
<v Speaker 1>And the goal at this first step is to see if you can find a lighthouse customer.

00:25:12.710 --> 00:25:26.281
<v Speaker 1>One who is solving the problem is so important to them that they're willing to invest in someone that is coming forward with a solution.

00:25:26.281 --> 00:25:29.112
<v Speaker 1>And they're going to test whether that's true or not.

00:25:29.112 --> 00:25:41.324
<v Speaker 1>And one of the things they're going to help you do is define your minimum viable product, because they're going to tell you oh well, you have to.

00:25:41.324 --> 00:25:49.144
<v Speaker 1>I like your little prototype, but it's going to have to have this and this and this in it before it's going to really work for me.

00:25:49.144 --> 00:25:57.221
<v Speaker 1>And you're counting on the fact that they're representative of the others in that market that they're in.

00:25:57.221 --> 00:26:13.243
<v Speaker 1>So you go back and forth a few times and they say this is good, when you productize this and it's ready to go, I'm going to be a customer.

00:26:16.231 --> 00:26:34.160
<v Speaker 1>And now the last step is okay, you've got to prove to yourself that they're not a one-off and, of course, you probably, while you're working with them, you've probably been out talking with others too to get a head start on.

00:26:34.160 --> 00:26:38.028
<v Speaker 1>Do I have an opportunity here?

00:26:38.028 --> 00:26:49.778
<v Speaker 1>Am I going to be able to get multiple people to buy this, able to get multiple people to buy this?

00:26:49.778 --> 00:26:51.560
<v Speaker 1>And that may tweak your MVP, your minimum viable product, as well.

00:26:51.560 --> 00:26:59.538
<v Speaker 1>And it's this iterative process and I don't want to scare anybody, but sometimes you think you've got product market fit.

00:26:59.538 --> 00:27:02.261
<v Speaker 1>I've thought it several times.

00:27:02.261 --> 00:27:05.086
<v Speaker 1>I had my Lighthouse customer.

00:27:05.086 --> 00:27:06.569
<v Speaker 1>I had my MVP.

00:27:06.569 --> 00:27:23.878
<v Speaker 1>I worked with this customer for a long time and they actually paid me money and I then couldn't make repeat sales, which means I didn't have product market fit.

00:27:24.660 --> 00:27:30.943
<v Speaker 2>I had one customer fit quality content and serve you better with even more podcasts.

00:27:30.943 --> 00:27:32.085
<v Speaker 2>So please hit that subscribe button.

00:27:32.085 --> 00:27:45.718
<v Speaker 2>It only takes a second.

00:27:45.718 --> 00:27:47.221
<v Speaker 2>It makes a huge difference.

00:27:47.221 --> 00:27:53.244
<v Speaker 2>If you support us, we're going to support your success and help you achieve big success together.

00:27:53.244 --> 00:28:00.345
<v Speaker 2>Yeah yeah, if you're defining the market as one customer, it was an amazing product, so let's talk about that.

00:28:00.345 --> 00:28:06.707
<v Speaker 2>Then, building the whole company, the go-to-market strategy what are the top two or three things I got to really focus in on there?

00:28:07.454 --> 00:28:40.438
<v Speaker 1>So the next step you're leading into is go-to-market, and that involves, of course, you're now pretty confident with your product, market fit, fit and you need all the things in your company to all be fully functional so that you can go out and find leads and you can turn those into customers and you know, you have the whole thing laid out.

00:28:40.438 --> 00:28:54.257
<v Speaker 1>So you know your marketing has to be set up this is the outbound marketing, I don't mean product management and they have to be set up to be generating leads for sales, to fill the funnel.

00:28:54.257 --> 00:28:57.787
<v Speaker 1>So you want to fill the funnel with you know, and so marketing has to.

00:28:57.787 --> 00:29:03.853
<v Speaker 1>You have to have people there that know how to do this and you know that doesn't need to be a big team.

00:29:03.853 --> 00:29:05.096
<v Speaker 1>That could be one person.

00:29:05.257 --> 00:29:09.115
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it could be an agency, it could be one team, could be all that sort of stuff.

00:29:09.115 --> 00:29:12.728
<v Speaker 2>So the go-to-market really kicks off with the marketing.

00:29:12.728 --> 00:29:19.381
<v Speaker 2>What else has got to be considered there before we get to the point five of attract and retain the best people?

00:29:20.803 --> 00:30:00.521
<v Speaker 1>So you're going to have to have at least one salesperson who's ready to, you know, use a very sales is a very process driven part of your company and a good salesperson is meticulous about following that process and they're trying to turn a large number of leads in a big, fat end of the funnel into a customer that buys it, and along the way they're going to need to talk to engineering and say they're not going to buy it unless there is one change.

00:30:00.521 --> 00:30:10.459
<v Speaker 1>And this is a dance because you want to make sure you're careful not to, you know, customize your product for each customer, but it's in the early days.

00:30:10.459 --> 00:30:11.824
<v Speaker 1>You may end up doing some of that.

00:30:12.204 --> 00:30:13.048
<v Speaker 2>Got it, got it.

00:30:13.048 --> 00:30:16.117
<v Speaker 2>So talk to me then about that whole culture thing.

00:30:16.117 --> 00:30:22.741
<v Speaker 2>You've mentioned it a few times, but attracting and retaining talent, how do you build a great culture?

00:30:22.741 --> 00:30:25.811
<v Speaker 2>And I guess, how do you build a great culture?

00:30:25.832 --> 00:30:30.856
<v Speaker 1>And I guess, how would you define a great culture the way?

00:30:30.856 --> 00:30:36.469
<v Speaker 1>Well, first of all, the way I start building a great team, because that is the first step to, you know, to having a great culture.

00:30:36.469 --> 00:30:38.881
<v Speaker 1>It's so, it feeds on itself.

00:30:38.881 --> 00:30:44.942
<v Speaker 1>So great people create a great environment, which you know is going to attract other great people.

00:30:44.942 --> 00:30:50.186
<v Speaker 1>But the way I start is I say I hire no strangers in the first 25 people.

00:30:50.186 --> 00:31:07.950
<v Speaker 1>What I mean by that is that the first people I bring in are people I know and I've worked with before, and once I've got a few of them, then the people that they know and that they trust and that they've worked with before are on a list of people that we want to really look at first.

00:31:08.310 --> 00:31:15.279
<v Speaker 1>So in the first 25 people, I'm not going out to job boards or Indeed.

00:31:15.279 --> 00:31:40.263
<v Speaker 1>I'm working our network really hard and it works amazingly well because now everything is so efficient, because everybody trusts everybody else, everybody knows what they're supposed to do, they're doing their job and it's a machine that's going to hum.

00:31:40.263 --> 00:31:50.438
<v Speaker 1>And if they've worked at a startup before, they know that you're going to bob and weave a little bit as you learn about the market and as long as you communicate with them.

00:31:50.438 --> 00:32:10.327
<v Speaker 1>And that's the second part of a great culture is that you, the leader, are going to talk to them openly about what's going on, including difficulties, and on a weekly basis, and you're going to keep doing that until at least the company is 100 people.

00:32:10.327 --> 00:32:12.583
<v Speaker 1>You've got to keep that communication.

00:32:13.715 --> 00:32:18.203
<v Speaker 1>You're the source of the culture, you're your values, your attitudes.

00:32:18.203 --> 00:32:31.946
<v Speaker 1>And one more thing you've got to have a philosophy of hire slowly, fire quickly, so you're making sure you're getting all the good people in and whatnot.

00:32:31.946 --> 00:32:39.769
<v Speaker 1>And then if there's a mistake and I call it flipping somebody, flip the bozo a bit.

00:32:39.769 --> 00:32:51.698
<v Speaker 1>And if you've got one of your trusted people comes to you and says, hey, listen, this guy's not working out, I will do.

00:32:51.698 --> 00:32:55.487
<v Speaker 1>You know I don't go through like anybody else.

00:32:55.487 --> 00:33:02.128
<v Speaker 1>You know I personally go to that person and say, listen, it's not working out, I'm really sorry.

00:33:02.128 --> 00:33:11.980
<v Speaker 1>I'm going to walk you to the door and you can come back on the weekend and get the rest of your stuff and you're going to get, you know, n weeks of severance.

00:33:11.980 --> 00:33:23.119
<v Speaker 1>But you have to do that fast because everybody's watching how you handle when somebody is dragging down the whole team.

00:33:24.000 --> 00:33:29.169
<v Speaker 2>You know, jolly, we could talk on this stuff for hours how you handle when somebody is dragging down the whole team.

00:33:29.169 --> 00:33:32.615
<v Speaker 2>You know, charlie, we could talk on this stuff for hours, but I know we got to mind the time here.

00:33:32.615 --> 00:33:37.159
<v Speaker 2>Let me ask you, then, a final question.

00:33:37.159 --> 00:33:38.101
<v Speaker 2>The best advice or best, quote you ever got.

00:33:38.121 --> 00:33:45.644
<v Speaker 1>On the subject of success, the quote I put in the front of my book is Steve Jobs, who said I actually have it written down.

00:33:45.644 --> 00:33:46.779
<v Speaker 1>I want to make sure I get it right.

00:33:46.779 --> 00:33:54.228
<v Speaker 1>He said the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.

00:33:54.228 --> 00:33:54.929
<v Speaker 1>Yeah.

00:33:55.715 --> 00:33:56.618
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I love that one.

00:33:56.618 --> 00:34:03.106
<v Speaker 2>I love that one, and he was definitely a crazy man, the same as you, me and the rest of us on this success path.

00:34:03.106 --> 00:34:05.101
<v Speaker 2>Hey, you're on the Big Success Podcast.

00:34:05.101 --> 00:34:06.003
<v Speaker 2>I'm Brad Sugars.

00:34:06.003 --> 00:34:13.284
<v Speaker 2>Check the show notes for all things, jothy, and make sure you read, study, and we'll be back next week with more of your success.

00:34:15.155 --> 00:34:20.780
<v Speaker 3>You've been listening to the Big Success Podcast with the number one business coach in the world, Brad Sugars.

00:34:20.780 --> 00:34:30.347
<v Speaker 3>To learn more about how to achieve business and personal success, as well as how to level up or listen to past episodes, visit wwwbradsugarscom.