All Things Endurance Episode 18: Business Start-Up Success with Guest Ryan Frankel
In this episode of All Things Endurance, host Rick Prince chats with triathlete and serial entrepreneur, Ryan Frankel. A former investor at Goldman Sachs, Ryan has founded multiple companies, and appeared on the hit show, Shark Tank. Rick and Ryan discuss assessing risk, start up financing and mistakes to avoid, among other topics.
About Ryan Frankel
Ryan Frankel is a serial entrepreneur, triathlete and former investor at Goldman Sachs. Ryan has founded multiple companies, and appeared on the hit show, Shark Tank. Ryan recently launched his latest start up, Workup (workuphq.com), which aggregates quality and ethical wellness/health companies in an online marketplace format.
Areas covered in this podcast:
1. Could you tell the listeners a bit about yourself and how you came to be an entrepreneur?
2. Goldman, and perhaps most of the finance industry is known for long hours, high intensity and a collaborative work environment. How did your time at Goldman influence and shape your entrepreneurial journey?
3. Corollary to the prior question, how has your time as a triathlete influenced your experience as an entrepreneur?
4. Let’s talk risk. Start-ups and small business in general are often perceived as being very risky as compared to working for someone else. That said, I’ve had many friends that have lost their ‘9-5’ jobs in the last few years. So do you think in today’s current economic and work climate, is being self-employed any riskier than working for a company?
5. As someone starting a business, what would be advice for them to reduce the risk commonly associated with a start up?
6. Most coaches are not going to be looking for investors or external capital to start their coaching businesses. Aside from what funds a coach already has in the bank, what are some other creative ways that a coach could raise money to bootstrap their start-up coaching practice?
7. In your time as both working for GS, as well as an entrepreneur, what are some of the most valuable lessons that you have learned that would apply to coaches looking to start and/or scale their business?
8. What are some of the mistakes that you’ve made that you could share with our listeners with respect to things to be aware of and potentially avoid?
Lastly, what was it like being on Shark Tank?