Randall Crowder – Don’t Settle for the Easy Way

Sep 27, 2022

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BIO: Randall Crowder is an entrepreneur, angel investor, and venture capitalist who is currently the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Phunware, a publicly-traded technology company on NASDAQ.

STORY: Randall spent too much time being a venture capitalist when all he ever wanted was to be an entrepreneur.

LEARNING: Sometimes, the easy way is absolutely the wrong way. Don’t just take what’s right before you, especially when you know it’s not what you want to do. Nothing good comes easy; you must fight or work for the good things in your life.

“Know who you are and what you want to do, and don’t settle for the easy way when you know the right way.”

Randall Crowder

Guest profile

Randall Crowder is an entrepreneur, angel investor, and venture capitalist who is currently the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Phunware, a publicly-traded technology company on NASDAQ.

Worst investment ever

Randall had been an angel investor for over five years and felt it was time to hang those boots. He partnered with a few people and ventured into a healthcare tech venture fund. The idea was to invest in healthcare companies. The fund performed well, but Randall still considers this his worst investment ever, not because he lost any money, but because he wasn’t being true to himself.

He had always wanted to be an entrepreneur so starting a venture fund didn’t fulfill this desire. However, he kept finding a reason to justify staying at the fund. From not having an idea he’s passionate about to maybe he’d learn the venture capital side of things to be a better entrepreneur. All these excuses convinced him to continue running the fund. Randall felt miserable doing a job that was never what he set to do, and he knew it.

Lessons learned

Have the discipline to think about what you’re most passionate about and go for it no matter how hard it is to get it.
Sometimes, the easy way is absolutely the wrong way.
Don’t just take what’s right before you, especially when you know it’s not what you want to do.
Know who you are and what you want to do.
Don’t settle for the easy way when you know the right way.
Be careful whom you choose to start a business with.

Andrew’s takeaways

Starting a business is a long-term venture. So when picking your business partners, choose people you want to work with long-term.
Andrew believes three things make one company successful over another:

The right leader
The right direction
Coordination of the efforts of the management team

Nothing good comes easy; you must fight or work for the good things in your life.

Actionable advice

School is not your resource; your resourcefulness is your resource. You can be resourceful even if you don’t have money, status, or connected parents. You just have to be willing to put yourself out there and try to create fire.

No.1 goal for the next 12 months

Randall’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to do his best to be the best father and husband he can be.

Parting words

“Everybody’s got their own journey, and sometimes it might rub you the wrong way. But always be kind and look for ways to help other people; I guarantee you, it’ll be more rewarding and your best investment.”

Randall Crowder

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