Startup Therapy

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss whether your startup really needs full time employees. One of the common mistakes made by startup companies is that they hire a bunch of people full time for a job that can be done by one or they hire one person and make them do multiple things. In this episode, let’s really find out what is full time employment and how do you really make the most out of it?Sign up for the Startups Newsletterhttps://www.startups.com/newsletterResources: Startup Therapy Podcast  https://www.startups.com/begin Join our Network of Top Founders  Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan What to Listen For 00:00 Intro 03:08 History on paying full time and per hour 04:55 Raising funds to pay for a team 07:02 What is full time employment? 09:20 Buying someone’s hours 12:52 Hiring people you don’t need 15:35 Full time contribution 19:01 The high performing people 22:30 Hiring one person for multiple jobs  26:53 Full time will be a thing of the past

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss getting your first success and how you can treat it as if it’s your last. You’re there, you finally made it – so you think you can replicate that success? The probability of remaking that success is probably low and you can’t base your future success on something that you’ve done before, so what can you do to change this mindset?Sign up for the Startups Newsletterhttps://www.startups.com/newsletterResources: Startup Therapy Podcast  https://www.startups.com/begin Join our Network of Top Founders  Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan What to Listen For 00:00 Intro 01:43 What if this is your last success? 05:16 Future success is not equal to past success 07:05 Your mindset probably needs to change 09:06 What would you tell your younger self? 12:35 Mentality of older founders 14:49 Bet of future success 17:07 Compounding probabilities 20:22 Stay in certainty 23:31 How much would be a lot? 26:35 Treat this as if it’s your last

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss about the deaths of your startup and how many times do you come back from the grave? Starting a business is actually just a series of recovering from deaths, and that’s okay – but when does it actually start getting better and when would be the time where you realize that you should stop?Sign up for the Startups Newsletterhttps://www.startups.com/newsletterResources: Startup Therapy Podcast  https://www.startups.com/begin Join our Network of Top Founders  Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan What to Listen For 00:00 Intro 01:31 It’s a series of recovering from deaths 04:24 We assume it’s supposed to work 05:27 Momentum to move forward 06:23 The walking dead 08:36 Hearing “no’s” 13:16 You’ll never know if this is the end  15:15 Are you doing this because you’re afraid of failure? 17:57 You have more downside than upside 21:57 Success is not in short increments 23:25 The world is in defense mode right now 26:12 Try to not die  30:04

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss how you should share your wealth with family members? Are you the type of person who’s always one call away to your family or friends whenever they need money? They always say it’s going to be a “loan” but have they already paid you back? FInd out in today’s episode how you can actually build a financial relationship with your family!Sign up for the Startups Newsletterhttps://www.startups.com/newsletterResources: Startup Therapy Podcast  https://www.startups.com/begin Join our Network of Top Founders  Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan What to Listen For 00:00 Intro 02:50 We want to share our success 06:40 You don’t owe anyone anything 09:46 It never ends 16:12 People can get manipulative when they need something 18:15 Suddenly you’re an A-hole 20:40 It’s never a loan 30:00 “I don’t want to have a financial relationship with you…” 33:18 It’s a personal decision

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss why some founders tend to go on the “fake growth” route. Some Startup companies may look like they are soaring and scaling real fast but in reality, these Startups are spending more than they are getting back from revenue. So how can you identify if you, as a founder, are going the real growth route or the fake growth route?Sign up for the Startups Newsletterhttps://www.startups.com/newsletterResources: Startup Therapy Podcast  https://www.startups.com/begin Join our Network of Top Founders  Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan What to Listen For 00:00 Intro 02:20 Fake Growth vs. Revenue 05:20 Some people are raising the same money as you, but in a different story 06:54 Why momentum is attractive to investors? 08:18 Staffing  11:45 If your fake growth becomes successful, you’re a hero 17:48 When everything was going the right direction until it wasn’t 19:24 It’s like a Ponzi scheme 24:09 The employee and the stockholders 27:50 Fou

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss the myths behind founder’s success stories. Whenever we hear a story of somebody else’s win most likely we find it inspiring, right? And after hearing this zero to hero story we then decide that we want to be like them someday. But are you sure about that? And are you really willing to go through the pain that they had to live through just to be where they are now?Sign up for the Startups Newsletterhttps://www.startups.com/newsletterResources: Startup Therapy Podcast  https://www.startups.com/begin Join our Network of Top Founders  Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan What to Listen For 00:00 Intro 04:00 The myths of success stories 08:27 It’s not a fun story if you were to live it 10:40 “We didn’t see it coming, it just happened!” 12:09 You don’t know where you are in the arc 13:50 Is your story really contiguous? 15:01 The misses gets ignored just because it became a success 17:11 Stop comparing 19:26 We don’t acknowledge the pa

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss the importance of teaching entrepreneurship to middle school students. There are tons of benefits when you teach young children about entrepreneurship. Kids are naturally curious and creative, and you can nurture these skills through entrepreneurship. Not only do you raise children with better critical thinking skills, but you’ll also raise problem solvers. Sign up for the Startups Newsletterhttps://www.startups.com/newsletterResources: Startup Therapy Podcast  https://www.startups.com/begin Join our Network of Top Founders  Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan What to Listen For 00:00 Intro 00:31 Teaching entrepreneurship in middle school 06:43 Think more like a child 10:20 Ask why and what if 14:01 Kids are taught to view failure as failure 16:01 Building a pitch deck 18:22 Kids running their own meetings with less barriers 22:25 Ownership of their product and idea 26:02 If no one wants to join your idea, do it alone

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss how much sacrifice as a founder is too much? How much are you willing to give up in your life just to become a successful founder? You might think now that the return on investment of all the time you spent working instead of doing the things you will never get back will be worth it in the long run but think again – are you willing to pay that price?Sign up for the Startups Newsletterhttps://www.startups.com/newsletterResources: Startup Therapy Podcast  https://www.startups.com/begin Join our Network of Top Founders  Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan What to Listen For 00:00 Intro 01:32 Why are we scared to talk about the downsides? 06:37 Don’t sacrifice the moments that you’ll never get back 08:10 The first casualty is your health 10:53 Young founders don’t even know how the adult life looked like 13:31 How much is too much? 15:23 It will cost you a lot 19:57 Everytime you sacrifice something, you don’t get them back 21:55 Lim

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss how founders can talk with the board about their compensation. If you’re a founder and your company is earning a lot of money but you can’t even touch the profit – then maybe it’s time to have that conversation with the board. But how can you even do this without being turned down?Sign up for the Startups Newsletterhttps://www.startups.com/newsletterResources: Startup Therapy Podcast  https://www.startups.com/begin Join our Network of Top Founders  Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan What to Listen For 00:00 Intro 02:47 How to have this conversation? 04:50 Situations when you need to change the deal 08:54 Reset expectations 10:29 Make it a binary decision 12:28 When there’s still a glimmer of hope 15:07 The business will become what it needs to be 17:04 When you can’t touch your profit 19:45 Figure out where you’re going to take your binary decision to 23:30 The levers that we need to pull 29:43 The board meeting should be nothin

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss why founders should stop thinking that failure is forever. Sometimes, when we experience hard times in our lives, we feel like this will never get better again – but that’s not true. Your whole life is a book with different chapters and each has its own challenges and you will get over them. Once you finish a bad chapter, just quickly get started on to the next one, because remember, failure is just one chapter in your life.Sign up for the Startups Newsletterhttps://www.startups.com/newsletterResources: Startup Therapy Podcast  https://www.startups.com/begin Join our Network of Top Founders  Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan What to Listen For 00:00 Intro 01:38 We keep projecting bad things into the future 02:27 Things can only fail at a finite number of times 04:05 Lay-offs 05:50 This pain won’t last forever 07:54 It’s just one chapter 11:22 You will barely even remember it 13:09 Start the next chapter as fast as possible 16:1

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss what it would be like if you want to work forever. For founders, a lot of us might wonder if this would be something you’d like to do for a long time. But here’s a thought – is your Startup a work you love doing or does it feel like a work that you feel forced to do every day? If your answer to the last question is yes, then you might have to rethink if you’re willing to do it forever or find something that you would want to do for the rest of your life.Sign up for the Startups Newsletterhttps://www.startups.com/newsletterResources: Startup Therapy Podcast  https://www.startups.com/begin Join our Network of Top Founders  Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan What to Listen For 00:00 Intro 01:51 How long should you be working? 03:17 Founders can create their destiny 05:26 You need a break 08:54 Loving what you do 11:09 Alignment of what you love to do and what you actually do 12:58 Chip off things you don't want to do 14:30 Figure o

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss if founders should worry about quiet quitting. This may sound like a new term to a lot of founders BUT this has been around for many ages now and we should be alarmed about it. So how can you see if your team is actually checked in or out of work?Sign up for the Startups Newsletterhttps://www.startups.com/newsletterResources: Startup Therapy Podcast  https://www.startups.com/begin Join our Network of Top Founders  Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan What to Listen For 00:00 Intro 00:17 When did this start? 01:50 What is quiet quitting? 02:55 How working from home changed how we operate 04:14 This is nothing new 05:56 Internet in an office is a distraction 10:56 How to know if your team is checked in or checked out 13:40 Good players never shut up 17:23 There’s a pattern of behavior 19:50 Micro KPIs 22:41 Everything is measurable

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss what will happen to the founder when the Startup company goes down. When a company starts to wind down, you might be shocked how everything maps back to the founder, from office leases to subscriptions, and now all of a sudden these company liabilities become your personal liabilities. How can you avoid this from happening to you?Sign up for the Startups Newsletterhttps://www.startups.com/newsletterResources: Startup Therapy Podcast  https://www.startups.com/begin Join our Network of Top Founders  Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan What to Listen For 00:00 Intro 02:50 You’re stuck with the liabilities 08:27 Who pays the wind-down entity? 10:58 Filing for personal bankruptcy 14:14 Everything maps back to you 16:48 Adding more liabilities 19:37 Creditors will follow you  21:18 Can you sign under the company’s name? 23:59 How safe are you inside the corporate veil? 28:52 Buying the good stuff only  32:15 Typical timeframe for windi

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss when a founder’s focus starts to shift from managing externally to managing internally. When a company grows, there’s a huge possibility that as a founder your focus might change from managing customers and shipping products to hiring staff and doing reports – which could lead to a stall in your skills and growth as a founder. So as you motivate your people, keep motivating yourself as well!Sign up for the Startups Newsletterhttps://www.startups.com/newsletterResources: Startup Therapy Podcast  https://www.startups.com/begin Join our Network of Top Founders  Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan What to Listen For 00:00 Intro 01:24 From leading externally to managing internally 02:39 Offense vs. defense 04:35 When focus shift internally 07:00 Staying safe in a growing company 08:35 Measurement of performance is important 11:24 Being okay with not focusing externally 14:00 Leaders providing incentives 16:39 How to avoid having unmot

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss if founders deserved their wins and successes or did they just get lucky? Sometimes, founders feel guilty of their own success to the point that they don’t want to reward themselves and enjoy their hard-earned money. Most of the time, these founders hear people say “You’re just lucky!” disregarding the years and years of their hard work. But always remember that for you every win you earned and deserved your wins. Sign up for the Startups Newsletterhttps://www.startups.com/newsletterResources: Startup Therapy Podcast  https://www.startups.com/begin Join our Network of Top Founders  Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan What to Listen For 00:00 Intro 02:14 Good luck vs. good fortune 08:16 The process doesn’t really feel lucky 09:48 You should share your luck 12:11 Guilt investments 16:50 Enjoy your money 20:36 No one will share in your losses

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss what happens to founders during the tough times. When things are going well, when you just got funded, and when you’re finally getting that high revenue, everybody loves you. But when things go south, no one is around. Sure, you feel emotionally betrayed at this point because you trusted them right? But is there a way you can avoid this in the beginning?Sign up for the Startups Newsletterhttps://www.startups.com/newsletterResources: Startup Therapy Podcast  https://www.startups.com/begin Join our Network of Top Founders  Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan What to Listen For 00:00 Intro 02:51 No one will love you during the bad times 03:59 Raising capital is like the first date 05:43 Creating more liabilities 07:25 You haven’t proven anything yet 09:45 People will surround you because you have money 13:49 Staffing up is your most ignorant time 22:44 Feeling emotionally betrayed 23:35 Fake metrics & early projections 27:11 We

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss what founders are entitled to when their business takes off. There is danger in expecting too much from our Startup, when we think we should get additional funding because the business is growing, when we think that business growth will merit us more opportunities. Reality check: things don't work this way. Things take time to grow and every growth is exponentially different. Sign up for the Startups Newsletterhttps://www.startups.com/newsletterResources: Startup Therapy Podcast  https://www.startups.com/begin Join our Network of Top Founders  Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan What to Listen For 00:00 Intro 00:20 You’re entitled to nothing 02:29 From being optimistic to being hubris 06:19 Why did I not get funded? 08:07 The path outside of funding 09:33 Success doesn’t happen quickly 12:25 The short-term mentality 14:45 Providing value first 16:19 Create realistic expectations 18:40 Enabling or accelerative? 21:13 Startup exit

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss whether you need to raise a huge capital in order to have a successful Startup. How much money do you actually need to scale your business? Do you need to raise money quickly in order to scale up quickly? The thing is, having lots of capital does not mean success right away. There are some cases where Startups raised a lot of money in the beginning but ended up getting bankrupt. You see, it’s not all about having a lot of financial resources. You gotta have skills, connection, and the right amount of luck too!Sign up for the Startups Newsletterhttps://www.startups.com/newsletterResources: Startup Therapy Podcast  https://www.startups.com/begin Join our Network of Top Founders  Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan What to Listen For 00:00 Intro 02:56 The best companies raised capital 07:32 Where does scaling quickly come from? 10:40 Lots of capital is not equal to sure success 15:32 You can’t create artificial growth 18:15 Betting

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss how founders sometimes think that they’ve reached that billion dollar moment in their Startup and then end up being disappointed by the result. Now, the billion dollar question is - how many shots do we actually have? The thing is, we really won’t know when that moment happens so we just have to keep going and continue trying, gathering information as we move forward, because if we can only be right once, at least we are fully equipped once we get to that point. Sign up for the Startups Newsletterhttps://www.startups.com/newsletterResources: Startup Therapy Podcast  https://www.startups.com/begin Join our Network of Top Founders  Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan What to Listen For 00:00 Intro 00:08 That one hockey stick moment 01:40 When it doesn’t change the way you expected it to happen 03:36 How many shots do you have? 07:56 Every shot comes with information 09:42 You’ll never see that moment coming 12:36 Just stay and keep

In today’s Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss why it’s important to teach kids about entrepreneurship. You know what they say - better to start them young. Teaching about how to become a founder to kids as young as 10 years old will be an eye-opening experience. At this age, kids still have that pure mindset where they think they can do anything, and it’s important to nurture that. Planting the seed early on will bear fruit that will also be able to teach the future generations.Sign up for the Startups Newsletterhttps://www.startups.com/newsletterResources: Startup Therapy Podcast  https://www.startups.com/begin Join our Network of Top Founders  Check in with us on LinkedIn | Wil Schroter | Ryan Rutan What to Listen For 00:00 Intro 00:29 What if we teach kids to be founders? 02:20 10 year olds are like a relatively complete processor 04:17 Kids have a business idea 05:36 They don’t know they can’t do it yet 07:59 Explore your interests 11:51 There’s a hundred different path 16:29 Opening the pan