Week 7: Recap of your default state
Avoid becoming a zombie company, how to acknowledge the Yips and get through that stage, and some fun stories and learning with Jay Shah.... and there is link for feedback!
This week we talked about the default state of your company. A default alive company will be profitable on the costs you have now. A default dead company is relying on fundraising and/or grants. A ‘zombie’ spends more time trying to get a grant and reporting than they do with their customers.
Starting, your company isn’t likely to default alive yet. You are bringing it to life.
This is a topic that is important after you have raised some capital. Being aware of it ahead of time doesn’t hurt.
We also talked about managing your mental state. The “Yips” happen when you are not able to do something consistently that you can do well in controlled situations. For founders that is often related to pitching their product or company to customers and investors.
Remember: If you think you are going to fail, you will. If you try too hard for an outcome, it often doesn’t work. But. If you can envision your success, you might just succeed.
Lunch Speaker: Jay Shah
At lunch, we had a fun conversation with Jay Shah who shared some stories about his founder's journey from building hardware to acquisition and now starting something new. A key takeaway from Jay is to focus on building something that people want.
Feedback, please!
The folks at Communitech sent out an NPS survey that only ~5 of you replied to. This makes it hard to know what works, what doesn’t, and what the over 45 of you who signed up are looking for!
Please take a few min to fill out this feedback and if have a little more time, provide a recommendation.
Slides have been added to the course page.
Next week: The demo.