April 12, 2024

216. What You Can and Can't Control feat. Alex Ryden Founder & CEO of Guest House

216. What You Can and Can't Control feat. Alex Ryden Founder & CEO of Guest House
Apple Podcasts podcast player icon Spotify podcast player icon RSS Feed podcast player icon Amazon Music podcast player icon Castbox podcast player icon Castro podcast player icon Deezer podcast player icon Goodpods podcast player icon iHeartRadio podcast player icon Overcast podcast player icon PocketCasts podcast player icon TuneIn podcast player icon
Season 4

Text your thoughts directly to Rich.

There's so much in fundraising that you cannot control. Focus on what you can control and it will help what you can't control fall into place. 

About Guest House
Guest House is the first company to automate home staging for agents and enable commerce for homebuyers across the US real estate market. Their proprietary technology makes the furnishing process as simple as ordering groceries online, with every home installed by real interior designers using furniture from top brands, all in as little as one week. Today, Guest House is available in Colorado, San Diego and Orange County. Learn more at guesthouseshop.com.

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

00:00:01.000 --> 00:00:10.673
Fundraising when you're running out of cash and you have people relying on you, there's not a lot of people I wish that situation on and that feeling.

00:00:11.085 --> 00:00:13.632
It's just this really tough feeling.

00:00:14.132 --> 00:00:27.515
I don't know the best analogy for it, but it's like, you're riding a bike down a street and you can only control how fast the bike's going and whether or not you fall but then, you know there's a car behind you that can go a lot faster and run you over and you can't control it.

00:00:27.559 --> 00:00:29.240
And that's the runway when you're fundraising.

00:00:29.740 --> 00:00:38.301
I can only control so many conversations, and I can only go so fast on this bike, but this is the best I can do and hopefully someone will let me dip into the garage or whatever it is to save you from this car.

00:00:38.606 --> 00:00:40.329
But the car speeding up behind you.

00:00:41.079 --> 00:00:48.101
You feel like you have so much responsibility, but in reality, the founder can control a lot less than they think they can.

00:00:48.618 --> 00:00:54.338
And I think you're trained to think by everyone around you, you can control this outcome, you can control everything.

00:00:55.018 --> 00:00:56.728
A lot of times founders can't control it.

00:00:57.058 --> 00:00:59.279
And there's people that do run out of money and can't fundraise.

00:01:00.329 --> 00:01:05.778
It's just tough to be in that situation and have to message positivity to your investors and your employees on one end.

00:01:05.778 --> 00:01:13.563
But then, try to figure out what is really happening here and it just takes a couple of people to commit, but the clock keeps ticking behind you.

00:01:14.063 --> 00:01:16.956
We had to do a 30 percent RIF and it's just so hard.

00:01:16.956 --> 00:01:19.822
You're like, well, if we had closed a little sooner, we wouldn't have had to do that.

00:01:20.822 --> 00:01:33.203
I started to see a therapist through this process and he gave to me which is this concept of, I think it's stoicism, but it's your concept of your external locus of control and your internal locus of control.

00:01:33.522 --> 00:01:36.269
And the external are all the things you can't control, but are happening.

00:01:36.269 --> 00:01:37.959
Like, will I close this round?

00:01:38.368 --> 00:01:39.709
Will I have to do layoffs?

00:01:39.709 --> 00:01:45.420
All of these things that you wish you could just control and just be like, no, we're not going to do layoffs or we are going to close.

00:01:45.980 --> 00:01:51.060
As a founder, you're so focused on that external stuff where in reality, you have very little control over it.

00:01:52.109 --> 00:01:54.040
But then there's the internal locus of control.

00:01:54.049 --> 00:01:56.590
Which is, how many people can I email today?

00:01:56.739 --> 00:01:59.370
What's my attitude in pitch conversations?

00:01:59.370 --> 00:02:02.310
What's my attitude to the team in all hands meetings?

00:02:02.599 --> 00:02:04.302
Those are the things that you can control.

00:02:05.162 --> 00:02:13.798
I found by focusing on the things that I actually had real control over, the other things started to have better outcomes, even though I couldn't control them.

00:02:14.298 --> 00:02:20.611
But if you're just obsessing over when's this round going to close, then all the internal stuff totally falls in the wrong direction.

00:02:20.882 --> 00:02:27.251
And you're a more negative person, or you don't end up being motivated to send more emails out to get more meetings.

00:02:27.751 --> 00:02:29.282
The process starts to fall apart.

00:02:30.282 --> 00:02:39.520
Don't focus on the outcome of fundraising, but just continue to focus on building a great business and everything else will fall into place the way it's meant to be.

00:02:40.539 --> 00:02:41.169
Amazing.

00:02:41.819 --> 00:02:42.689
Thank you, Alex.

00:02:42.719 --> 00:02:46.229
First of all, for sharing that you found a therapist through this process.

00:02:46.300 --> 00:02:51.819
I believe that having a therapist is an essential part of living a healthy and balanced life.

00:02:52.370 --> 00:02:55.580
I also love the internal and external locus of control.

00:02:55.849 --> 00:03:01.199
Focus on the things that you can control, and it may help to drive outcomes for the things that you cannot.

00:03:01.949 --> 00:03:06.687
Before we wrap up, let's delve into what sets AVL Growth Partners apart.

00:03:07.187 --> 00:03:11.067
AVL's team brings significant years of finance and accounting expertise.

00:03:11.366 --> 00:03:14.667
They ensure your path to success is crystal clear.

00:03:15.167 --> 00:03:22.396
AVL starts with a comprehensive business evaluation, uncovering opportunities and mapping actions to both your short and longterm goals.

00:03:22.896 --> 00:03:28.811
Their evaluations are crafted from over a decade of experience pivoting companies from growth to scale.

00:03:29.311 --> 00:03:33.871
If you want to take your company to the next level and need the experience required to make it happen.

00:03:34.371 --> 00:03:37.161
Visit AVL growth.com right now.

00:03:37.991 --> 00:03:43.420
And as Alex said earlier this week, time truly is our most precious asset.

00:03:43.901 --> 00:03:46.443
Thank you for spending some of it with us this week.