Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast Feel the Boot

In this episode of 'Feel the Boot,' host Lance Cottrell delves into the strategic importance of targeting a niche market for startup success. He guides early-stage founders through the crucial process of focusing on specific customer segments that resonate with their products, illustrating how this can significantly improve customer acquisition and product development. Lance shares practical strategies for selecting a target niche, such as engaging early adopters, leveraging small communities, and identifying underserved markets. This approach not only helps in establishing a strong market presence but also lays the foundation for scaling into broader markets. Tune in to gain invaluable insights into effectively narrowing your focus for better startup execution.

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“Are you fundable?” tool https://ftb.bz/fundable

The freemium business model is popular, but is it right for your startup? In this video, I break down how freemium works, common mistakes founders make, and why it often leads to revenue problems. We’ll also explore an alternative approach—the reverse freemium model—that could be a better fit for your business.

Ideal for early-stage founders, this video provides valuable insights and practical advice on setting up a successful freemium model, complete with real-world examples and suggestions for effective customer engagement.

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How to Pivot Your Startup Before You Launch 🚀 Pre-Pivot Strategies for Entrepreneurs

In this episode of Feel the Boot, host Lance Cottrell dives into the concept of pre-pivoting for startups. Avoid the common pitfalls and wasted resources of traditional pivots by learning how to identify potential problems before building your product. Lance shares three effective ways to foresee issues, focusing on customer conversations, systematic testing of assumptions, and conducting a pre-mortem. Perfect for early-stage founders looking to navigate the complex journey of launching a successful business.

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In this episode of Feel the Boot, host Lance Cottrell delves into the concept of 'secret sauce' for startups. Learn why identifying and protecting your unique differentiator is crucial for attracting investors and maintaining a competitive edge. Cottrell shares insights on developing a valuable and defensible secret sauce, using trade secrets and patents, and the importance of articulating it effectively in your pitch deck. This video is a must-watch for early-stage founders seeking to innovate and secure their business's future.

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In this episode of 'Feel the Boot,' I address a common frustration among startup founders: investors who show strong interest but delay their commitment. I explain the reasons behind this behavior, such as risk minimization and strategic leverage, and provides actionable techniques for founders to expedite investor commitments. Key strategies discussed include structuring funding rounds in tranches, leveraging social proof, and utilizing time-critical events to encourage quicker investments.

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Startup Failure Analysis 🔎 Key Lessons from Abby Sugar

In this episode of Feel the Boot, host Lance Cottrell delves into the startup journey of Abby Sugar, the impressive founder of PlayOut Apparel, a gender-equal apparel brand. Despite the brand's promising concept and innovative approach, it ultimately failed. Abby bravely shares her experiences and the unique challenges she faced, providing valuable insights for early-stage founders. Topics covered include founder mental health, team dynamics, investor relations, and the impact of external market factors. This in-depth conversation offers actionable lessons for anyone navigating the complex world of startups.

Abby Sugar’s Bio:

Having worked as a writer, editor, and independent personal trainer, Abby Sugar is a lifelong learner and taught herself about fashion, business and startups after studying English Literature in college. Abby is a graduate of Barnard College, Columbia University, and studied abroad at Hertford College, Oxford University.

To Abby, learning is everything, and her life motto is f*cking figure it out – so she set out to build the brand that she and her cofounders wish existed when they were younger. As an outgoing, unapologetically queer startup founder, she strives to be a leading voice in and for the LGBTQ+ community. Abby founded Play Out Apparel in 2018 with her cofounder, Grey Leifer. As Play Out's CEO, Abby:

- Graduated from the Founder Institute as a Select Portfolio Company

- Raised $750K in pre-seed from mission-aligned investors and secured loan opportunities

- Won $20K from the National Business Inclusion Consortium’s pitch competition and $10K from Alibaba and HelloAlice (chosen as 1 of 50 winners from 12,000 applicants!), as well as winning other pitch competitions

- Shared her story in the New York Times and Forbes

After an incredible journey, Abby closed Play Out Apparel in 2024 to pursue other opportunities as a startup founder, consultant, and investor.

Abby was named to the Forbes Next 1000 List in 2021, she speaks on podcasts, international panels, and gives frequent interviews about startups, fashion, diversity and inclusion, and topics important to LGBTQ+ individuals.

Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to Multitudinous Musings, Abby's monthly Substack Newsletter, where she shares general educational articles about startups and investing, longform journalism, and poetry/literature that she reads - it's also known as Sugar's Recommended Reading. https://abbysugar.substack.com

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/abbysugar/

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/a.n.other.sugar

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🚀 Why Startups Fail: Top 10 Mistakes to Avoid 🚀

🎥 In this podcast, I dive into the common pitfalls that cause most startups to fail within their first few years. Based on my decades of experience in the startup ecosystem, I share invaluable insights and practical tips to help you navigate these challenges effectively.

👉 What You'll Learn:

Market Needs: Understand how to validate the real demand for your product.

Running Out of Cash: Strategies to prevent running out of cash before hitting your key milestones.

Gaps in the Team: Tips on assembling a team that can pivot and adapt as needed.

Competition: How to stand out in a crowded market.

Pricing Mistakes: Aligning your pricing with the value you deliver.

Prototype to 1.0 Transition: Avoiding the pitfalls of technical debt.

Timing Your Launch: Identifying the perfect market entry point.

Maintaining Focus: Keeping your startup on track amidst potential distractions.

Go-to-Market Strategies: Ensuring you can reach your customers cost-effectively.

Co-founder Dynamics: Preventing conflicts that could derail your venture.

💡 Bonus Insight: Learn about "zombie corporations" and how to avoid becoming one.

🔗 Stay Connected:

📘 Read the full article for a deeper dive into each topic: [Link to article]

💬 Join our community discussion below and share your startup experiences and questions.

👍 Like, Subscribe, and 🔔 Ring the bell for more insights from Lance.

🌟 Whether you're a budding entrepreneur or a seasoned founder, this video is your guide to avoiding common startup mistakes and steering your venture toward success. Let's get your startup on the path to thriving, not just surviving!

#StartupAdvice #Entrepreneurship #BusinessStrategy #LanceCottrell #StartupSuccess

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In this episode of 'Feel the Boot,' Lance Cottrell shares essential advice on crafting an effective elevator pitch to capture the interest of potential investors or partners quickly, stressing the importance of brevity, clarity, and engaging storytelling. He emphasizes that the goal of an elevator pitch is to spark interest for further conversation, not immediate commitment. Drawing from his experience and common mistakes observed, Lance provides practical tips on avoiding overly rehearsed or jargon-heavy pitches, suggesting instead to focus on conveying the unique value proposition plainly and compellingly. He highlights the versatility of elevator pitches across various contexts, from investment pitches to hiring and product sales. Throughout, Lance shares examples to illustrate key points, including how to structure a pitch, the significance of opening questions, and the importance of practicing pitches to ensure they are understood and engaging.

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00:00 Introduction to Crafting an Impactful Elevator Pitch

00:59 The Essence and Purpose of an Elevator Pitch

02:12 Applying Elevator Pitches Beyond Investment

02:45 Common Mistakes in Crafting Elevator Pitches

04:15 Effective Strategies for Engaging Elevator Pitches

07:28 Crafting Your Elevator Pitch: A Step-by-Step Guide

10:46 The Importance of Practice and Feedback

This podcast is tailored for startup founders looking to enhance their negotiation skills. It emphasizes the importance of negotiation in various aspects of running a business, including dealing with investors, vendors, customers, employees, and co-founders. I know that many founders may lack experience or feel conflict-averse, so here I share practical advice and strategies to turn negotiations from potential conflicts into win-win situations. In the episode I discuss understanding everyone’s needs and priorities, adopting a collaborative and creative approach, and aiming for equitable outcomes to facilitate ongoing positive relationships.

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Book Suggestions:

Never Split the Difference https://amzn.to/3VTix4S

Negotiate Anything https://amzn.to/4azwQA4

00:00 Negotiation Skills for Startup Founders

01:40 Negotiation Challenges and Strategies

03:26 Diving Deeper into Negotiation Tactics

06:21 Framing Discussions and Preparing for Negotiations

08:13 Adopting a Healthy Negotiation Philosophy

10:00 Creativity in Negotiation: Finding Win-Win Solutions

12:01 Conclusion

In this episode of Feel the Boot, host Lance Cottrell delves into the significance of understanding and presenting your startup's market size to investors through the concepts of Total Addressable Market (TAM), Serviceable Available Market (SAM), and Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM). He emphasizes the importance of achieving a plausible market opportunity, critiquing the TAM, SAM, SOM methodology for its arbitrariness and complexity, and suggests a more dynamic approach through a bottom-up analysis. Cottrell walks through hypothetical examples to demonstrate how startups can realistically project their growth and market potential. He also covers common pitfalls in market size estimation and offers insights on how to conduct effective market research, ultimately guiding founders toward a more credible and compelling representation of their market opportunity to investors.

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The episode explaining why angels and VCs need such big exits https://ftb.bz/92V

00:00 Unlocking the Secrets of Market Size in Your Startup Pitch

00:33 Welcome to Feel the Boot: Navigating the Startup Journey

01:09 Why Market Size Matters to Investors

02:29 Decoding TAM, SAM, and SOM: The Basics

04:09 Common Mistakes in Market Size Presentation

05:39 A Real-World Example: The Acme Clothing Company

08:19 Bottom-Up Analysis: A More Accurate Approach

09:36 Finding the Data: Tips for Accurate Market Analysis

14:56 Presenting Your Market Size: A Strategic Timeline Approach

20:49 Conclusion and Next Steps

Testing Startup Ideas and Assumptions ⚖️ John Li of PickFu Interview

In this interview, John Li, the co-founder of startup PickFu, discusses the innovative concept of his company as a digital focus group for businesses. He walks us through their transition from a physical product to a software solution after observing a growing need for unbiased design feedback. John also shares interesting customer success stories attributing to their product's efficiency. He emphasizes on the importance of regular testing in business and discusses their company's decision to employ a fully remote work model, the challenges faced, the tools used, and the benefaction of current technology to their work. Towards the end, John yields advice for aspiring entrepreneurs on testing and patience in realizing a startup's success.

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Follow John on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnli

Find PickFu at https://PickFu.com

PickFu.com discount code FEELTHEBOOT for 50% off your first paid test.

Guest Bio:

John Li is the co-founder of PickFu, a consumer research platform for getting instant feedback from target audiences. Thousands of global brands rely on PickFu to help them make better data-driven decisions about their products and marketing. John is passionate about building systems that help others succeed. He has degrees in computer science from UC Berkeley and the University of Washington. John and his family live in the San Francisco area, where he shuttles his kids around in his dream car (a minivan).

In this discussion, Michael Regnier, founder of Sales Design & Delivery, shares vital insights into sales strategy tailored for startup founders, particularly those with a technical background. He explains that a company's sales strategy must encompass every aspect of the go-to-market message, including the target audience and the route to reach them. Smith articulates the importance of defining value propositions, pricing, and delivery models while underlining the necessity of iteration. He emphasizes the need to think from the customer's perspective and pitches the idea of 'if I were you selling'. Smith discusses adopting a sales strategy that proves one's belief in their product, building credibility for the customers. He also covers key points like avoiding paralysis and the significance of designing and delivering the sales process in a controlled manner for effective market feedback.

Mike Regnier has been an executive sales manager for small companies for twenty-five years and has helped many entrepreneurs "crack the code" in unlocking their rapid and sustained growth.  As a result of his successful exits, he was encouraged by several Private Equity and VC groups to create Sales Design & Delivery, his sales-scaling consulting firm, in 2012 and has been helping small companies achieve their potential ever since.

In this milestone episode, host Lance Cottrell dives deep into several critical topics inspired by his recent heart attack. First, he compares a heart attack with a financial crisis in a startup, emphasizing the need for recognizing early warning signs and taking immediate actions. He discusses how to identify critical situations where your venture is at risk and how to handle them effectively while sharing his personal experiences with his own startup. Then, he talks about the need to reassess one's priorities and the importance of aligning personal goals with the way we spend our time. He urges all founders to question their inherited societal goals and reflect on their passions. Lastly, as a public service announcement, he shares early warning signs for heart attacks and strokes, drawing parallels between them and potential dangers facing startups. He ends by stressing the urgency of immediate medical attention and action in such health crises.

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US Government Subsidized Health Insurance https://www.healthcare.gov/

The 10x rule 🌟 Why better is not enough

Having a superior solution is not good enough.

The special barriers startups face force you to build at least ten times better products.

Why Your Startup Needs to Be 10x Better

In this episode of 'Feel the Boot', host Lance Cottrell breaks down why startups need to be substantially better than their competition, particularly in the B2B context.

He explains the elements such as the high cost of switching, the immaturity of a startup product, and the typical risk of a startup failing, that force a startup to deliver a solution ten times better than the competitors.

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Startup Fundraising Facilitators 🐍 Surviving the Pit of Serpents!

You might want to ask for help when you need to raise capital.

Take care, most of those people are useless or actively harmful.

Quoth the AI describing this episode:

In this episode, Lance Cottrell, an experienced startup advisor, shares insights on the challenges of fundraising, focusing on the role of fundraising facilitators in the process. He offers a candid look at the pitfalls of working with unskilled or unethical fundraisers. The episode provides crucial pointers about operational red flags and underlines the importance of maintaining realistic valuations. Additionally, it explains the logistics of fee models and advises on how successful fundraising can be approached. Moreover, it includes a brief discussion on the regulations surrounding fundraising and the need for facilitators to be registered. The episode concludes with advice on selecting the correct people to work with and setting adequate standards for partners.

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🤯 Exposing the top reasons for fast angel investment rejections

Investors only take a few seconds to decide if a startup is worth a serious look.

These eight factors lead to most of the fast NOs ☠️

In this episode, I discuss the screening process for companies seeking funding from angels and VC.

Out of over a hundred applicants to my angel group, we only select about 20 for detailed consideration.

We drop the rest after only a few moments' consideration.

A handful of reasons dominate why investors eliminate companies in under a minute.

If you can avoid those traps, you can force investors to take the time to understand your startup.

At worst, you will get feedback to improve your business and your pitch.

At best, you will get the funding you need to grow.

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Watch the video on valuation methodologies https://ftb.bz/66V

Startup Privacy Policies 🥷 What you need to know about GDPR, CCPA and beyond!

In this interview, Sabir Ibrahim, an attorney and entrepreneur, provides valuable insights on the implications of privacy and privacy policies for startups.

He emphasizes the importance of privacy laws, particularly highlighting the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and explains that these laws apply to all companies, regardless of their size.

Sabir advises startups to prioritize privacy policies, starting with a comprehensive privacy policy that includes information about data collection, usage, and sharing.

He also recommends engaging an attorney to ensure compliance with relevant regulations.

Sabir highlights the potential risks and consequences of non-compliance with privacy laws, such as regulatory enforcement actions and lawsuits.

He suggests implementing a plan for data privacy as companies grow, including the concept of privacy by design.

The discussion also explores the relevance of privacy issues in specific sectors, such as Medtech, Fintech, and AI applications, mentioning the need to consider industry-specific regulations.

The interview concludes by emphasizing the importance of engaging legal counsel, budgeting for legal expenses related to privacy policy creation and compliance, and treating privacy compliance as an investment rather than a cost.

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00:00 Introduction to Sabir Ibrahim

02:24 Evolution of privacy laws and regulations

04:43 Implications of privacy laws for startups

07:14 FTC enforcement actions on smaller companies

08:08 Importance of starting with a privacy policy

08:58 Key elements of a privacy policy

11:15 Considerations for international users and GDPR

14:22 Key data privacy laws to be aware of: GDPR and CCPA

17:54 Planning operations to ensure compliance

19:28 Privacy by design and value proposition

23:43 Privacy concerns in specific verticals

25:54 My Health, My Data Act and regulatory gaps

32:22 Cost considerations for early-stage startups

37:48 Privacy compliance on a limited budget

38:34 Avoiding conflicts in privacy-related terms

Sabir Ibrahim’s Bio:

During his 15-year career as an attorney and technology entrepreneur, Sabir has advised clients ranging from pre-seed startups to Fortune 50 companies on a variety of issues within the intersection of law and technology. He is a former associate at the law firm of Greenberg Traurig, a former corporate counsel at Amazon, and a former senior counsel at Roku. He also founded and managed an IT managed services provider that served professional services firms in California, Oregon, and Texas.

Sabir received his BSE in Computer Science from the University of Michigan College of Engineering. He received his JD from the University of Michigan Law School, where he was an article editor of the Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review.

Sabir is licensed to practice in California and before the USPTO. He is a Certified Information Privacy Professional.

His website is: https://www.optimedge.legal

You can also find him at:

https://linkedin.com/in/sabir-ibrahim-a9505b1

https://medium.com/@optimedgelegal

https://youtube.com/@optimedgelegal

https://tiktok.com/@optimedgelegal

https://instagram.com/optimedgelegal

You’re delivering your pitch deck ask slide wrong! What you should say instead.

Learn the right and wrong thing to ask for.

How to handle hard questions during your ask.

I was listening to several founders deliver their pitches. Most of them did their “ask” wrong and seriously damaged their chances of success.

In this episode, look at their mistakes and how they could improve this critical step in their pitches.

You need to understand the whole angel and VC investment process. You pitch to get the next meeting, not for an immediate investment in your startup.

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Escape the Startup Paradox 😬 MVP Without VC

Can’t Build Your Product Without Funding

But Can’t Get Funding Without a Product

In the newest episode of Feel the Boot, we're diving headfirst into the world of product development sans angel investment.

I provide strategies for startups to navigate the challenges of raising funding pre-MVP.

Consider the paradox that most startups face: they need money to build their product, but struggle to obtain funding without a product.

I lay out three strategies to overcome this challenge.

The first is to build a cheaper version of the product by using off-the-shelf tools and proving its success.

The second strategy is to validate the business by conducting interviews, surveys, and gathering evidence of customer interest.

The third strategy is to explore alternative funding sources beyond traditional equity investors like: friends and family, grants, partnerships, or bootstrapping.

By following one or more of these strategies, you can find alternative ways to build your minimum viable product (MVP), enabling you to progress towards your business objectives.

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Branding is far more than just a logo and color scheme.

Learn how to leverage both positioning and branding in your startup buisiness

In today's fiercely competitive business landscape, effective branding and positioning strategies are crucial for startups to stand out from the crowd. However, many founders underestimate the true scope and importance of these concepts. In this interview, we heard valuable insights from branding and positioning expert Mara Rada, shedding light on why these elements are vital for emerging companies. By understanding the multi-faceted nature of branding and the emotional factors that drive purchasing decisions, founders can create stronger connections with their target audience, ultimately leading to long-term growth and success.

In the interview, Mara mentioned a few resources that will help founders learn more about branding and positioning:

-       42Courses.com has many lessons on these and related topics.

-       Anything written by George Tannenbaum formerly with Ogilvy, and R/GA https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgetannenbaum/

-       Anything written by Manoj Jacob Creative Director at Crayons. Formerly at Ogilvy, DDB Mudra, Soho Square, & Havas https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobwriter/

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Mara Rada is a feral thinker, a brand whisperer, and a category positioner. She helps companies create the beast brands of the future without selling their souls. She has worked with some of the world's most remarkable startups, Fortune 500 corporations, and the world’s best advertising agencies (Ogilvy). She is also a veteran public speaker and keynote presenter who talks about topics such as brand naming, category design, perceptual positioning, and nin-cliche-istic branding. She is the founder of FERAL, a strategic consultancy that specializes in untamed thinking and identity commercialization. Mara is not a guru and detests the word. Maybe as much as the dreaded “digital transformation”. But she sure knows how to transform lemons.

https://LinkedIn.com/in/mararada

https://ThinkFeral.com

How to create an angel investment portfolio for maximum returns.

Learn what drives the returns for your angel investments.

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Angel Investing 101 series: https://ftb.bz/angel

In episode, I delve into the economics of angel investing, emphasizing the need for a significant number of investments to increase the chances of success. Research shows that most angel investments result in losses or minimal returns, but a small percentage can yield substantial profits. To improve the likelihood of hitting those winners, you should make at least 20 angel investments. Diversification across different sectors is also crucial to mitigate risks associated with market fluctuations and sector-specific downturns.

I then discuss the importance of planning an investment budget. Startups typically prefer pre-seed investments of at least $25,000 to avoid numerous small investments on their cap table. For investors with smaller check sizes, you might explore options like crowdfunding or syndicates. Syndicates involve a lead investor selecting an investment, while crowdfunding platforms allow for lower minimum investment requirements, enabling diversification through multiple smaller investments.

Non-monetary Startup Rewards and Recognitions.

Eight employee incentives that work better than cash.

In this episode of "Feel the Boot: The Science of Startups," I, discuss seven highly effective motivators and rewards for employees that founders can use to attract and retain top talent. These motivators include having a strong vision, giving employees equity, providing public recognition, delegation and employee empowerment, giving personal attention, tailoring rewards to the individual, and unique “wow” rewards. I emphasize the importance of understanding what motivates individual employees, as what works for one may not work for another. I share two examples of "wow rewards" that have had a significant impact on employees, such as handmade plaques and giving solid gold coins to employees who have put in a "gold medal performance."

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How to quickly eliminate the losers,

and identify companies worthy of further due diligence.

As an angel investor, you will need to look at many startups.

This guide provides a framework for quickly analyzing deals to see if digging deeper is worth your time.

This is part of a series on Angel Investing https://ftb.bz/Angel

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Make a Quick First Cut

Is the Company Angel Investable?

Competition

Valuation

Problem/Solution Validation

Business Economics

Defensibility

Intellectual Property

Need for Additional Funding

What is There?

Churn

Assumption Validation

Is This Possible?

(bonus) Team

Non-Dilutive Fundraising 💰 SBIR Grants for Innovation

Get cash for your startup without giving up ownership.

Government grants can fund your development from idea to MVP and beyond.

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In this interview, Caroline Arzoo, Director of Partnerships at OmniSync, and I discusses the different options for funding a startup. She emphasizes that federal grants and contracts can be a great alternative to conventional angel and VC investment. However, she notes that the application process can be difficult, with over 80% of people who apply for federal funding on their own getting rejected for non-compliance. To help founders access non-dilutive funding, OmniSync has created an AI-powered platform that simplifies the process of finding and applying for federal funding.

In addition to federal grants and contracts, Caroline also suggests considering crowdfunding and pitch competitions as creative funding avenues.

She highlights the importance of community, transparency, and being open to change in order to navigate the complexities of growing a startup.

We also also touch on the emotional toll of the founder journey and the importance of building a support system.

Caroline Arzoo Bio:

Caroline Arzoo is a passionate advocate of innovation, supporting early-stage founders through her community-building work at OmniSync Inc and as a mentor for Founder Institute. A graduate of UC Santa Barbara’s Technology Management program, Caroline has supported hundreds of early-stage startups in accessing non-dilutive capital from the federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.


In addition to her work supporting founders, Caroline also works to empower and build innovation ecosystems, partnering with universities, small business development centers, accelerators, and more to support their entrepreneurial initiatives.

Find her on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolinearzoo/

Check out OmniSync’s grant application tools at https://www.turbosbir.com/

Your earliest investors are probably unsophisticated.

You must help them understand how startup investing works.

When you are at the idea stage, almost no angel or VC investors will back you, but people who know and care about you might.

Unfortunately, this is usually all new and very confusing to them.

You must ensure they understand what they are doing and paint a realistic picture of the possible outcomes.

This video is for you, the founder. It explains your options for structuring the deal and how to communicate with them about this opportunity.

I created another video to share with your potential investors that tells them what they need to know. https://ftb.bz/friends-and-family-explainer

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💸Get Angel Investor Dealflow

You need to look at a lot of startups to find good investments

Learn several ways to uncover quality startups

Our Angel Investing 101 series teaches new Angel Investors how to invest in startups.

This episode focuses on Angel Investor dealflow. You need to source a lot of potential deals to identify those few worthy of investment.

Where to list yourself as an angel investors:

https://LinkedIn.com/

https://signal.nfx.com/

https://www.angellist.com/

https://www.crunchbase.com/hub/angel-investors

Syndicate sites:

https://AngelList.com

https://TheSyndicate.com

Crowd Funding Sites:

https://Wefunder.com

https://Republic.com

https://Seedinvest.com

https://Fundable.com

https://StartEngine.com

https://MicroVentures.com

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Who decides what between the board and shareholders?

How to handle the BoD and Shareholder meetings as a founder.

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Get access to office hours and Boot Prints: https://ftb.bz/Join

In this episode, I explain the board of directors and shareholders roles and responsibilities.

Some votes require both groups to approve. Others are specific to the BoD or shareholders.

Running shareholder and board meetings as a startup is easier than you think.

Having those meetings is essential, even if you are the only participant!

VCs destroy more startups than they make unicorns

Learn how to identify and avoid that trap

The reason is the “marginal dollar problem”

Understanding that will help you choose whether to accept venture capital investment with open eyes.

Read the blog: https://ftb.bz/85B

Watch the video: https://ftb.bz/85V

Join Boot Prints for access to free office hours: https://ftb.bz/Join

Meet other founders in the Founders Alliance: https://ftb.bz/Alliance

How to Start Angel Investing 💰

What you need to know to start investing in early-stage startup companies

Best practices for new angel investors

This is the second in a series of videos on angel investing.

It explains the best way to begin as a new angel investor, and some critical pitfalls to avoid.

Read the blog: https://ftb.bz/84B

Watch the Video https://ftb.bz/84V  

Subscribe to Boot Prints https://ftb.bz/join

Here’s the episode on dangerous investment terms https://youtu.be/LCCXSS2ubn8

Merch! https://ftb.bz/merch

Angel Investing 101 💰

What is angel investing?

How to invest in pre-IPO companies

Angel investors put their own money into early-stage startup companies.

This is the first in a series of episodes on becoming an effective angel investor / venture capitalist

Read the article: https://ftb.bz/83B

Watch the Video: https://ftb.bz/83V

Signup for the mailing list and office hours: https://ftb.bz/join

📉Startup Funding in a Bear Market

Adapt your fundraising strategy to succeed in a downturn

Raise angel investment and venture capital in challenging times

When the economy is rough, investors become cautious.

Learn how to position your company to survive these times and appeal to angel and VC investors.

Read the article https://ftb.bz/82B

Watch the Video https://ftb.bz/82V

Founders Alliance https://ftb.bz/Alliance

Mailing list for office hours https://ftb.bz/join

My worst day as a founder 😭 how we pivoted, survived, and eventually thrived

Startup Stories: angel investor quits, acquisition falls through, & personal tragedy

What to expect as a founder.

Creating and growing a company can be an incredible experience, but you will have days that seriously suck. You will probably experience situations that challenge your determination to carry on.

Because I frequently talk about how challenging launching a startup can be, I want to share my worst day as a founder. I hope it helps prepare you for some of the trials you will experience on your journey.

Read the article https://ftb.bz/81B

Watch the video https://ftb.bz/81V

Founders Alliance https://ftb.bz/Alliance

Mailing list for office hours https://ftb.bz/join

Fire the Founder? 🔥 Take the initiative and replace yourself as CEO

Startup typically outgrow their founding CEO

It’s better find your replacement then be replaced

My board of directors wanted to replace me as CEO. This episode explains how I handled that with fantastic results.

If you recruit the new CEO, you can find someone you want to work with, and who will respect you.

They can help drive the company’s success and give you the exit you want.

Read the article https://ftb.bz/80B

Watch the video https://ftb.bz/80V

Founders Alliance https://ftb.bz/Alliance

Mailing list for office hours https://ftb.bz/join

Cofounder Vesting 😭 Handling founder shares when things go wrong

Stock vesting can save you in multi-cofounder startups

Investors may require founder vesting before investing

This episode looks at the issue of founder vesting through the lens of a fictitious company founded by Iron Man, The Hulk, Thor and Loki.

Read the article https://ftb.bz/79B

Watch the video https://ftb.bz/79V

Founders Alliance https://ftb.bz/Alliance

Mailing list for office hours https://ftb.bz/join

Term Sheet Red Flags ☠️ Venture Capital

Abusive terms cause dilution, loss of control, & sabotage future deals

Learn what they mean and when to push back

Read the article https://ftb.bz/78B

Watch the video https://ftb.bz/78V

Founders Alliance https://ftb.bz/Alliance

Mailing list for office hours https://ftb.bz/join

Article on pre-revenue startup valuations: https://ftb.bz/66B

Article on why high valuations can be bad: https://ftb.bz/70B

Here are the standard term sheets I mentioned:

Y Combinator https://ftb.bz/Y-Com-TS

National Venture Capital Association https://ftb.bz/NVCA-TS

Angel Capital Association https://ftb.bz/ACA-TS

Have you ever tried to deliver a pitch deck or other presentation, and the technology just won’t cooperate? Either your computer won’t talk to their projector, or there is some issue with the PowerPoint.

How can you handle these situations in a way that leaves you looking as good or better than you would have if everything had gone perfectly?

Video: https://ftb.bz/77V

Article: https://ftb.bz/77B

Join: https://ftb.bz/Join

Get more from your investor updates

What to include and an easy template

Get the template here: https://ftb.bz/investor-update-template

Watch the Video: https://ftb.bz/76V

Get the podcast: https://ftb.bz/Podcast

Visit the website: https://ftb.bz/

Join the mailing list: https://ftb.bz/Join

A regular investor update email is the best way to keep existing and prospective investors in the loop on your startup’s progress.

Use it to ask for investments, introductions, advice, assistance, and more.

In this episode I share how to craft an update that people will read and will keep them engaged and supportive.

Lance Cottrell has been an active startup advisor and startup mentor for over a decade.

He has helped countless startups navigate the key decisions of their journey, like when to take venture capital investment and negotiating term sheets.

He works with many companies in accelerators like Y Combinator and Founder Institute.

He provides help with startup funding including raising venture capital and angel investment.

He can help you achieve liquidity for your company at a high valuation.

Feel the Boot is a startup vlog of tips and advice for early-stage founders.

Low on cash with no imminent funding?

Here’s how to keep your startup alive

Read this as a blog: https://ftb.bz/75B

Watch the Video: https://ftb.bz/75V

Visit the website: https://ftb.bz/

Join the mailing list: https://ftb.bz/Join

When things get tough and cash is short, you need to manage your startup cash flow to survive. If things are particularly difficult, you might be forced to pivot or sell the company.

Lance Cottrell has been an active startup advisor and startup mentor for over a decade.

He has helped countless startups navigate the key decisions of their journey, like when to take venture capital investment and negotiating term sheets.

He works with many companies in accelerators like Y Combinator and Founder Institute.

He provides help with startup funding including raising venture capital and angel investment.

He can help you achieve liquidity for your company at a high valuation.

Feel the Boot is a startup vlog of tips and advice for early-stage founders.

What is a Cap Table? 🧐 Tracking VC Investments and stock option grants

Understand startup capitalization, preferred stock, and angel investments

Track ownership, options, SAFE, Convertible Notes, and dilution.

Startup equity and cap tables can be confusing to many founders.

The CEO needs to understand startup equity well enough to talk to their lawyers and negotiate with investors. This episode will teach you all you need to know.

Subscribe to Boot Prints: https://ftb.bz/Subscribe

Join Founders Alliance: https://ftb.bz/Join

Read this: https://ftb.bz/74B

Get the video: https://ftb.bz/74V

Lance Cottrell has been an active startup advisor and startup mentor for over a decade.

He has helped countless startups navigate the key decisions of their journey, like when to take venture capital investment and negotiating a termsheet.

His advice and mentoring can supplement or replace startup accelerators or startup incubators like Y Combinator.

He provides help with startup funding including raising venture capital and angel investment.

He can help you achieve liquidity for your company at a high valuation.

Feel the Boot is a startup vlog of tips and advice for early-stage founders.

Startup Survival 🤕 Quit, Pivot, or Persevere

When your startup hits hard times what should you do?

Make this high stakes decision with confidence

When your startup is in a dark place with no path forward, what should you do?

This episode explores how to analyze your options objectively to choose the best option for you and your startup.

Subscribe to Boot Prints: https://ftb.bz/Subscribe

Join Founders Alliance: https://ftb.bz/Join

Read this: https://ftb.bz/73B

Watch the Video: https://ftb.bz/73V

Lance Cottrell has been an active startup advisor and startup mentor for over a decade.

He has helped countless startups navigate the key decisions of their journey, like when to close their startup vs. persevere or pivot.

His advice and mentoring can supplement or replace startup accelerators or startup incubators like Y Combinator.

He provides help with startup funding including raising venture capital and angel investment.

He can help you achieve liquidity for your company at a high valuation.

Feel the Boot is a startup vlog of tips and advice for early-stage founders.

Startups 🧐 business advisor value

Get more value from your startup advisors

How to use mentors more effectively

If you have not recruited your advisors yet, watch this first: https://ftb.bz/68V

The video on Founder Time Management for Strategic Thinking is here: https://ftb.bz/65V

Read the blog: https://ftb.bz/72B

Watch the Video: https://ftb.bz/72V

Join us to access free one-on-one office hours: https://ftb.bz/Join

Meet other entrepreneurs at the Founders Alliance: https://ftb.bz/Alliance

In this episode I share best practices for working with your advisors and mentors.

Advisors should be more than just a pretty face on your pitch deck. You give them equity, so you should maximize their value to you.

Advisors can help you with startup funding, angel investors, venture capital, pitch decks, growth hacking, startup marketing, product sales, PR, mergers and acquisitions, and more.

Lance Cottrell has been an active startup advisor and startup mentor for over a decade.

His advice and mentoring can supplement or replace startup accelerators or startup incubators like Y Combinator.

He provides help with startup funding including raising venture capital and angel investment.

He can help you achieve liquidity for your company at a high valuation.

Feel the Boot is a startup vlog of tips and advice for early-stage founders.

Feel the Boot 🤓 Mentoring & Advising

How our free mentoring office hours work

Establishing formal advising relationships

Subscribe to Boot Prints: https://ftb.bz/Subscribe

Join Founders Alliance: https://ftb.bz/Join

Read this: https://ftb.bz/71B

Watch the Video: https://ftb.bz/71V

Lance Cottrell has been an active startup advisor and startup mentor for over a decade.

His advice and mentoring can supplement or replace startup accelerators or startup incubators like Y Combinator.

He provides help with startup funding including raising venture capital and angel investment.

He can help you achieve liquidity for your company at a high valuation.

Feel the Boot is a startup vlog of tips and advice for early-stage founders.

In this episode I explain why a very high valuation can cause trouble for your startup.

It can demotivate your employees by hurting their payout at exit.

It can derail your next funding round my making your last investors hostile and demanding.

Read this as a blog: https://ftb.bz/70B

Watch the Video: https://ftb.bz/70V

Join the Founder’s Alliance: https://ftb.bz/Alliance

Subscribe to Boot Prints for free office hours: https://ftb.bz/Join

When to sell your startup? 🤷‍♂️ Equity and Valuation vs. Risk

When should you take an offer for your startup?

What is the risk of continuing vs. the immediate reward?

It is critical to consider if and at what price you would consider selling your company before the offer arrives. When it does, the big $$$ may muddle your thinking.

In this episode, I discuss how to systematically analyze these questions and share my experiences selling my first company.

Watch the video: https://ftb.bz/69V

Read this as a blog: https://ftb.bz/69B

Sign up for one-on-one coaching: https://ftb.bz/Join

Join the Founders Alliance: https://ftb.bz/Alliance

See our other videos on running your startup: https://ftb.bz/Running-your-startup

All the rest of our playlists and videos: https://ftb.bz/Channel

Recruit startup advisors 👨‍🦳 board of directors

Your advisors can make or break your startup

Learn how to identify and recruit the perfect startup advisory board

Read the blog: https://ftb.bz/68B

Watch the video: https://ftb.bz/68V

Join us to access free one-on-one office hours: https://ftb.bz/Join

Meet other entrepreneurs at the Founders Alliance: https://ftb.bz/Alliance

In this episode I share a step by step method for building a startup advisory board or board of directors. You will learn how to identify and recruit advisors.

Advisors can help you with startup funding, angel investors, venture capital, pitch decks, growth hacking, startup marketing, product sales, PR, and more.

Blitzscaling 🤔 4 hour work week

What kind of startup do you want to create and run?

Be clear on your desires to achieve the journey and outcome you want.

Read the blog version here: https://ftb.bz/67B

Watch the video: https://ftb.bz/67V

Join the founder alliance: https://ftb.bz/alliance

In this episode I ask founders to think about the kind of startup journey and outcome they want. Consider things like bootstrapping vs. venture capital. Going for unicorn status vs. building a lifestyle business.

Are you open to working 100 hour work weeks, or are you looking for a 4 hour work week allowing time for your favorite activities?

Do you want to be a serial entrepreneur, ride this train all the way to the end of the line, or get a payout and retire?

Learn how angel investors and venture capitalists determine your startup’s valuation

I share three formal methodologies and the secret technique most angels actually use

Join Feel the Boot to access one-on-on coaching https://ftb.bz/Join

Meet other founders in the Founders Alliance https://ftb.bz/Alliance

Read the full blog from this episode https://ftb.bz/66B

Watch the video https://ftb.bz/66V

Calculating preseed valuations can be tricky because you have little to no revenue to base it on.

Both Angel Investors and Venture Capital companies have a number of valuation methodologies they can use.

Startup funding requires setting a pre-money valuation for the company, which are the end point of a negotiation between the investor and the startup founder.

Related topics:

Pre-seed, slidebean, crowdfunding, equity, y combinator, startup pitch, pitch deck, startup news, startup grind, growth hacking, ycombinator, how to start an online business

Task Management ✍️ make time for strategic thinking

Use these two time management and prioritization frameworks

to ensure you accomplish your high priority strategic objectives

Founders and CEOs can often get in the trap of working on mundane tasks while failing to take time to do the critical strategic thinking that will make the company soar. I found two frameworks that helped me in my startup, and I will walk you through them in this episode.

Read the transcript here: https://ftb.bz/65B

Watch the Video: https://ftb.bz/65V

Subscribe to our newsletter and get a link to schedule one-on-one office hours with me. https://ftb.bz/join

Meet other founder at the Founders Alliance. https://ftb.bz/Alliance

The “what does the business require of you” concept comes from the seminal book “The Effective Executive” by Peter Drucker. https://amzn.to/3fyEdg6

2021 was a big year for us at Feel the Boot. We experienced lots of growth, and I want to thank all of you for making such a fantastic experience.

The best part of this year has been getting to interact with so many of you founders. I had many more one-on-one coaching sessions than in previous years. I've loved talking to so many of you. If you took advantage of them, I hope you have found them helpful.

I've learned a tremendous amount from getting to take a quick peek behind the curtain of so many different kinds of companies. Many of these conversations directly inspired the episodes you saw this year, and I'm sure they will continue to do so.

It's been interesting to see how COVID has impacted my angel investing and advising experience. When I used to do in-person meetings and in-person events, the drive times were significant. Now that I'm doing everything virtually, the massive expansion in the number of people I can help and the diversity of places they can come from completely altered the way I approach this whole business.

The scale I can achieve with an all virtual process is incredible. There's no way I'll be going back to the old way of doing things.

2021 has been a fantastic year for the YouTube channel. We've more than tripled in size.

We started the year with less than 200 subscribers and will end just a hair short of 600, and people watched our videos over 16 thousand times.

That number blows my mind because there's no possible way I would be able to reach anywhere near that many founders on a one-on-one basis.

It's been interesting to look at the year's most popular videos. I was surprised to see that the most popular ones tended to be quite technical. I will try to do more of those in the coming year.

The top three were:

Understanding stock options from the employee perspective https://ftb.bz/9V

How to create financials for early-stage pre-seed startups that will wow investors https://ftb.bz/28V

Nine things angel investors look for in startup fundraising pitches https://ftb.bz/31V

While I already have a long list of potential episodes, I'm always looking for new topics to cover. I want to create what you want to hear, so please reach out and let me know what episodes you'd like to see. You can do that by reaching out to me on social media. I'm most active on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Or you can use the contact form at Feel the Boot.

This year also saw the introduction of Swift Kicks, a series of videos less than 1 minute in length.

They turned out to be very popular because I can post the whole video to social media rather than just a little bit of an introduction to it and then a link over to YouTube.

Some Swift Kicks are highlights from longer episodes, while others are short standalone answers to specific questions.

In 2022, I'm hoping to do more of everything. More videos, more shorts, and more one-on-one coaching with all of you.

We'll also be exploring some new kinds of content. Hopefully, I'll be putting out more materials that you can use as workbooks for your startup. I've got lots of ideas, but we'll see what I can manage to execute on along with everything else I've got going.

Thanks for coming along with me on this journey over the last year. It's been a great pleasure.

If you want to stay in touch, the best ways are following Feel the Boot on social media: https://ftb.bz/twitter  https://ftb.bz/LinkedIn https://ftb.bz/Facebook

If you want to stay in touch with other founders interested in this kind of Feel the Boot content, come to the Feel the Boot Founders Alliance https://ftb.bz/Alliance.

Until next time, next year, Ciao!

Many founders skip the marketing fundamentals and strategic thinking and jump directly to executing on some set of ad-hoc initiatives.

Then they wonder why their marketing is not working.

While I have done a lot of marketing over the years, it is not my core expertise. So, I interviewed Tim Fitzpatrick with Rialto Marketing, who is an expert.

We talked about the fundamentals of marketing strategy and some great tips on implementing them in practice.

Table of Contents:

Missing the Fundamentals

Defining your target customer

Crafting the story

Creating a 90 day plan

What to measure

The power of channels

Links

Tim provided some free resources for you: https://www.rialtomarketing.com/feel-the-boot-the-science-of-startups/

Join other Founders for help, advice, and support at the Founders Alliance: https://ftb.bz/Alliance

About our guest Tim Fitzpatrick

Tim is an entrepreneur/business owner with expertise in marketing and business growth. He has 20+ years of entrepreneurial experience with a passion for developing and growing businesses. That passion served him well in operating and managing a wholesale distribution company he co-owned for nine years. The company grew an average of 60% a year before being acquired in 2005.

Since then, he’s had failures and successes that have been valuable learning experiences. He started Rialto Marketing in 2013 and has been helping service businesses simplify marketing so they can grow with less stress. Most people overcomplicate marketing. It doesn't have to be that way.