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Feb. 23, 2024

186. This Will Not Be Your Last Startup feat. Eric Marcoullier

186. This Will Not Be Your Last Startup feat. Eric Marcoullier
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Season 4

Text your thoughts directly to Rich.

"This will not be your last startup."

About Eric Marcoullier
Eric coaches first- and second-time tech CEOs, keeping their companies alive long enough to get lucky, figure out their business, find product/market fit and replace his ass with someone who knows how to scale companies beyond $5M in ARR. His work primarily involves challenging business assumptions, providing frameworks for new situations and distilling complexity down to basic, actionable ideas. If you'd like to learn more about his coaching, visit www.marcoullier.com or www.linkedin.com/in/bpm140


About AVL Growth Partners
AVL Growth Partners, founded in 2009, is the leading fractional Finance and Accounting firm supporting organizations in pivoting from growth to scale. AVL brings an experienced team of CFOs, Controllers, and Accountants to your organization, delivering transparent, strategic actions for short and long-term success. Transform your financial approach affordably with AVL, supporting companies coast to coast - get to know AVL Growth Partners at avlgrowth.com. (Sponsored)

About SpringTime Ventures
SpringTime Ventures seeds high-growth startups in healthcare, fintech & insurtech, and logistics & supply chain. We look for founders with domain expertise, forging a path with a truly transformative technology. We only invest in software-based businesses in the USA. We bring a people-focused approach, work quickly, and reach conviction independently. Our initial check size is $600k. You can learn more about us and our approach.     

Transcript
WEBVTT

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Rich, I've had the benefit of having your presence at my CEO dinners a couple of times now, and I really appreciate that.

00:00:07.777 --> 00:00:15.298
And, you know, that mental health, especially in this market, is the one concept that we keep coming back to quarter after quarter.

00:00:15.878 --> 00:00:26.544
And I read this very beat poetry sort of thing to inspire people to reflect on why they were still running their startup.

00:00:27.123 --> 00:00:28.564
It went something like this.

00:00:29.849 --> 00:00:31.149
Stress makes the world shrink.

00:00:31.719 --> 00:00:34.459
When I get on stage to talk, it still freaks me the hell out.

00:00:34.908 --> 00:00:36.798
And this is talking to a group of people that I adore.

00:00:37.326 --> 00:00:40.402
The world shrinks much, much further when your company is at risk.

00:00:40.871 --> 00:00:42.012
And I want to challenge that.

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Success or not, this will not be your last startup.

00:00:47.674 --> 00:00:48.865
Startups are like tattoos.

00:00:49.671 --> 00:00:51.371
There are a lot of people with no tattoos.

00:00:51.951 --> 00:00:53.561
There are a lot of people with lots of tattoos.

00:00:54.301 --> 00:00:57.311
There are very few people who have one tattoo.

00:00:58.061 --> 00:00:59.892
This will not be your last startup.

00:01:00.642 --> 00:01:05.992
If you raise capital, you do not have a moral obligation to return your investors money.

00:01:06.822 --> 00:01:15.281
So many people think in terms of, these investors were gracious enough to give me a million dollars, 2 million, 50 dollars, doesn't matter.

00:01:15.581 --> 00:01:19.951
And you want to honor that and give them their money back at the very least.

00:01:20.621 --> 00:01:23.022
VCs are not in the business of getting their money back.

00:01:23.561 --> 00:01:26.171
They're in the business of investing in 50 X companies.

00:01:26.671 --> 00:01:30.302
And one looks a hell of a lot closer to zero than it does to 50.

00:01:31.302 --> 00:01:35.981
Losing investor money will not make it harder to raise capital, and it might even make it easier.

00:01:36.012 --> 00:01:37.322
You've learned something.

00:01:37.822 --> 00:01:44.209
You've probably learned many somethings and many more things than the first time entrepreneur who got lucky.

00:01:44.965 --> 00:01:46.864
This will not be your last startup.

00:01:47.864 --> 00:01:54.224
If you knew what you know now about your business, would you start the company from scratch at this moment in your life?

00:01:54.805 --> 00:01:58.034
If the answer is no, why are you still working on it?

00:01:59.034 --> 00:02:01.165
This will not be your last startup.

00:02:01.165 --> 00:02:02.938
And I'm beginning to feel like that's a threat.

00:02:04.102 --> 00:02:11.842
So many CEOs grit it out because they are terrified of some nameless formless outcome on the other side of winding down their startup.

00:02:12.342 --> 00:02:14.413
If you ask them what they're afraid of, they can't tell you.

00:02:14.888 --> 00:02:16.557
But it keeps them grinding it out.

00:02:17.587 --> 00:02:21.018
Spend some time thinking about what throwing in the towel looks like.

00:02:21.467 --> 00:02:23.138
You'll probably find it's not so scary.

00:02:23.147 --> 00:02:24.138
It might even be appealing.

00:02:24.610 --> 00:02:32.534
I guarantee you that if you are scrimping by trying to turn the startup into a success, you're not making much money.

00:02:33.284 --> 00:02:37.616
And I would almost guarantee that you will make more than that in the open market working for somebody else.

00:02:38.304 --> 00:02:42.183
Shutting down the startup that's not working right now isn't going to send you into poverty.

00:02:43.183 --> 00:02:45.074
Entrepreneurship is a mental illness.

00:02:45.574 --> 00:02:50.030
We start companies despite all the risks and the obvious downsides.

00:02:50.550 --> 00:02:53.120
We have no rational decision making.

00:02:53.620 --> 00:02:57.150
You will absolutely start another company like it or not.

00:02:58.250 --> 00:03:02.240
My reason for hammering these points home is not because I want you to shut down your startup.

00:03:02.740 --> 00:03:04.649
I don't know your business.

00:03:05.049 --> 00:03:07.528
You're just listening to a podcast right now.

00:03:08.028 --> 00:03:09.688
I don't want you to strangle your startup.

00:03:09.688 --> 00:03:10.788
I don't want to kill your company.

00:03:11.088 --> 00:03:15.872
I want you to recognize that you are not trapped.

00:03:16.932 --> 00:03:21.413
You are choosing to build this company, and you can choose not to build this company.

00:03:22.163 --> 00:03:24.823
Odds are you probably haven't thought in those terms before.

00:03:25.233 --> 00:03:32.399
And if you do, I guarantee you'll feel less stressed out and be more excited about your company if that's what you choose to continue doing.

00:03:33.079 --> 00:03:38.829
When Plan A is to shut the company down, every other plan seems less drastic.

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And remember, this isn't the last fucking startup for you.

00:03:44.128 --> 00:03:45.068
And that's a promise.

00:03:46.068 --> 00:03:50.149
That is absolutely my favorite VC Minute guest episode.

00:03:50.818 --> 00:04:00.252
When Eric read that live at his Thunderview CEO Dinner, I begged him to come on the VC minute and share that with you all, because I thought it was phenomenal.

00:04:00.752 --> 00:04:06.384
One of the things that I think is so powerful there is reminding yourself that you have a choice.

00:04:07.014 --> 00:04:14.245
If Eric's advice resonated with you head over to ObviousStartupAdvice.com and subscribe to Eric's newsletter.

00:04:14.632 --> 00:04:18.201
If you're in Colorado, you have to attend his CEO dinners, they're phenomenal.

00:04:18.752 --> 00:04:22.742
And I also want to thank AVL growth partners for supporting another week of VC minute.

00:04:23.041 --> 00:04:26.922
AVL's team brings significant years of finance and accounting expertise.

00:04:27.221 --> 00:04:30.521
They ensure your path to success is crystal clear.

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AVL starts with a comprehensive business evaluation, uncovering opportunities and mapping actions to both your short and longterm goals.

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Their evaluations are crafted from over a decade of experience pivoting companies from growth to scale.

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If you want to take your company to the next level and need the experience required to make it happen.

00:04:49.716 --> 00:04:52.505
Visit AVL growth.com right now.

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