Idea to Startup

Fewer new businesses were started in 2019 than in 1970. That's terrible. We look at the two cognitive biases holding you back, and lay out a framework to help you overcome them and start your startup.

Fewer companies were started in 2019 than in 1970. That’s preposterous. This is the single best time in human history to start a company - so why aren’t more people doing it? Season Two of Idea to Startup digs into why. Brian speaks with successful founders about how they navigated the tricky early stages, and delivers solo episodes on tactics founders can implement to start something in 2020. This is the year to start your company, and this is the podcast to help you do it. See you January 8th.

Dave Idell is the founder of Croissant, a flexible coworking company beloved by freelancers and entrepreneurs around the world. We talk about the early days - how he tested the idea, how they grew with some counter-intuitive and aggressive decisions, and how he thinks about growth. We also talk through his thoughts on early stage founders and the stuff they should nail down early. Enjoy!

Rich and Vicki Fulop built Brooklinen after realizing there wasn’t an easy way to find and buy high quality sheets. There were no strong brands, no transparency into manufacturing - nothing they valued in a product. This interview is about how two founders turned that core insight and little else (no textile background, no knowledge of the bedding industry, etc.) into a global brand and the sheets I happily sleep on every night (and would whether Rich came on the podcast or not). Hope you enjoy! 

People probably won’t remember your startup, but they’ll remember a story. Today we lean on Pixar’s 22 Rules of Storytelling to help you tell a story that breaks through to your customer and changes behavior. 

Today, we’re speaking with Kim Kaupe, the founder of Superfan. Superfan was built to give fans unparalleled opportunity for engagement. Superfan works with clients like the Red Sox, Shawn Mendes, Carrie Underwood, Paul McCartney, Jimmy Buffett, and way more.    Kim has built Superfan over the past eight years with $0 in funding. Additionally, she’s built a powerful personal brand that has her LinkedIn startup videos amassing 10s of thousands of views, and has placed her on all sorts of 30 under 30 lists. She talks about where personal brand is important for founders, how to build a startup without funding, how to make tough decisions, team building, and more.

Today, we’re talking burritos. Leo and Oliver Kremer founded Dos Toros in 2009 because they couldn’t find the Mission-style burritos they grew up with on the west coast anywhere in NYC. However, they weren’t cooks and had never been in the restaurant or food space.    We talk to them about the early days - about validating the need, creating the supply chain, getting into brick and mortar, creating a culture, and growth. It’s an awesome, helpful, and inspiring conversation. Enjoy!

You need two things to build a great startup: specific knowledge and a lever to amplify that knowledge. On today’s pod, we’ll start a CBD startup with specific knowledge and leverage mind, and hear how Tejas, founder of Via, (a Tacklebox founder) was able to build a great business on the back of a mental model.

Elizabeth Yin is a founder and general partner at Hustle Fund, where she invests in “hilariously early founders.” Prior to Hustle Fund, she ran the accelerator program at 500 Startups, started Launchbit (acq. 2014), and she writes my favorite VC blog @ http://elizabethyin.com.    We cover a lot of ground, including who should and shouldn’t raise funding, how to build a customer base pre-product, how to find angel investors, and how to prioritize during the early stages of your startup.

Entrepreneurs can do anything, but they can’t do everything. How do you prioritize early on? How do you differentiate? This episode presents a framework that’ll ensure you work on the things that give your startup its best chance at success.