Ep. 069 – An Interview with Brenden Fitzgerald, Part 3

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SIB-Blog-3As an entrepreneur who has spent substantial time in the crowdfunding space, Brenden Fitzgerald has a few thoughts for listeners about growing a community, building collaborations and exploring partnerships as a means of creating a successful campaign.

In this final installment of this three-part interview, host Tom Ryan and co-host Jason Pyles also chat with Brenden about his favorite startup resources, balancing priorities, time management, and what it means to be a “slasher” entrepreneur. Continue reading →

Cash Doesn’t Equal Customers, Part 2

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Image source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/76657755@N04/

Image source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/76657755@N04/

I’ve coached a wide variety of businesses, and it’s not uncommon for entrepreneurs to reach out to me directly when they need help. In my current Kauffman Foundation Entrepreneur-in-Residence role, I’m often contacted by companies looking at the possibility of bringing in some form of outside funding. One day, out of the blue, I was contacted on LinkedIn by a small educational technology company in my home region of Western North Carolina.

After talking with the founders, a husband-and-wife team, I realized the company had good potential for growth. They have great products, they had done their homework, good traction, and they were both dedicated to making their company succeed. But everything wasn’t perfect. They wanted to grow the company, and they needed money to pay for that growth. Continue reading →

Ep. 068 – An Interview with Brenden Fitzgerald, Part 2

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SIB-Blog-2In his role as a serial entrepreneur, Brenden Fitzgerald has spent a lot of time building community, connecting with influencers and mastering the fine art of raising money through crowdsoucing.

In part two of this interview, host Tom Ryan and Brenden discuss these challenges, as well as managing outsourced talent and courting technical co-founders, all while creating solid products for the market. As always, Tom is joined by co-host Jason Pyles. Continue reading →

Ep. 067 – An Interview with Brenden Fitzgerald, Part 1

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SIB-Blog-1 In today’s episode, serial entrepreneur and GoWorx founder Brenden Fitzgerald returns to the show to talk about his new app-based venture Taggd.

Brenden and host Tom Ryan discuss how the app came to be, lessons learned in the development, and Brenden’s process for working with collaborators.

As always, Tom is joined by co-host Jason Pyles. Continue reading →

Cash Doesn’t Equal Customers, Part 1

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Image source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/76657755@N04/

Image source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/76657755@N04/

One of the biggest mistakes early stage companies make is confusing the need for more customers with the need for more cash. It’s a very common misconception, and one I encounter all the time as a business coach. It often happens when the founders hit a wall with the company’s growth, and the only solution they can see for getting to the next stage is raising more money for things like bigger space, more staff or more equipment.

I’ll sit down with these entrepreneurs and managers to talk about their long-term strategies and growth plans, and I hear something like this: “We’ve got a great product. It’s going to change the world. But we just can’t get it off the ground, so we need a bunch of money so we can buy all the things we need to be successful.” Continue reading →

Ep. 066 – The Pros and Cons of ABC’s “Shark Tank” Reality TV Show

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Shark TankWith the high-drama of a business pitch and razor-sharp commentary by celebrity-level investors, it’s no surprise that Shark Tank is a popular show among entrepreneurs. It’s good reality TV, but how does it stack up against the real-world process of pitching a business to investors?

As it turns out, host and business coach Tom Ryan has advised two companies that got pretty far into the Shark Tank selection process. In this episode, Tom shares his thoughts on this entertainingly vicious show with co-host Jason Pyles. Continue reading →

Growing A Business Through Capital and Traction, Part 2

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SIBP-1While securing financial, knowledge and relationship capital is the biggest and most immediate challenge most entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses face, it is by no means the only challenge. A close second is gaining traction.

What exactly is traction? It’s basically all the things that help you sell more of your products or services. The more traction you have, the more momentum your business has. The more momentum your business has, the more viable it is and attractive it becomes to outside investors.

For an early stage company, gaining traction is really about building your sales. There are other kinds of traction that will become important later on, but for a business that’s just starting out, traction and sales are effectively the same thing. And there’s a good reason that these two concepts are connected. Cash is king. Continue reading →

Ep. 065 – Interview with Joel Robertson, co-founder of HalfSizeMe.com, Part 3

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SIB-Blog-1As HalfSizeMe.com has grown, they’ve found themselves with an unexpected problem: Not wanting to grow too much. As co-founder Joel Robertson explains, part of the appeal of their business is the personal, somewhat exclusive relationships they build with their clients. Growing too quickly could mean losing that connection. As a result, HalfSizeMe.com’s biggest priority is sustainable retention rather than rapid growth.

In this episode, host Tom Ryan and co-host Jason Pyles wrap up their conversation with Joel about the next steps for growing HalfSizeMe.com, while retaining the strong, individual connections they’ve developed with their clients. Continue reading →

Ep. 064 – Interview with Joel Robertson, co-founder of HalfSizeMe.com, Part 2

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SIB-Blog-5As an online-centric weight-management, health and fitness business, HalfSizeMe.com faces many unique challenges. From creating compelling products and services, to solving the riddle of subscriber growth and retention, founders and digital entrepreneurs Joel and Heather Robertson have innovated their way through some tough times.

In this episode, host Tom Ryan continues his conversation with Joel about the challenges HalfSizeMe.com has faced, and the lessons learned as the business has taken shape. Continue reading →

Growing A Business Through Capital and Traction, Part 1

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SIBP-3Every small business, startup and entrepreneur I’ve worked with has run into the same two challenges as they have grown. These factors come into play regardless of the market, the industry, the nature of the business, and the business model. What are they? The need for outside capital, and the need to gain more traction.

To put this in non-business terms: Every business eventually needs more resources to support their growth; and they need the ability to sell more of their stuff. Let’s break these concepts down a little.

Capital is the number one priority for growing your business. Too often, it’s thought of as a one-trick pony. Capital isn’t simply a financial investment. Capital can also be knowledge and key relationships, for instance. That kind of capital can be much more valuable than someone just writing you a check. Continue reading →