Tag: Software

Marcio Goncalves, founder of a fast-growing virtual assistant agency (a team that handles admin and day-to-day tasks for busy founders) and a fully remote podcast production company, argues that scale comes from structure, not luck. He shares how his first taste of entrepreneurship started at 12, raising pet-store hamsters and finding homes for the new litters, and how that early instinct evolved into launching a podcast in 2012 before most people knew what a podcast was. He walks through leaving a steady salary after a quick real estate win, then building toward the businesses he runs today, including a virtual assistant company growing 10 to 15 percent month over month. We unpack how he turns getting new customers into simple math, the hiring order that helps founders stop being the bottleneck, and the kitchen-table low point that pushed him to adopt the Entrepreneurial Operating System framework plus personality assessments to steady the team and the metrics. --- Episode Resources • EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) - A simple operating framework for running a business with clear priorities, weekly meetings, and a few key numbers to track. (https://www.eosworldwide.com/what-is-eos) • “Traction” by Gino Wickman (https://a.co/d/3Ox5Q9d)  • Ninety - An EOS software (https://www.ninety.io/) • Culture Index - A personality tool mentioned for hiring and team alignment. (https://www.cultureindex.com/) • The Predictive Index, PI Behavioral Assessment - A personality tool for understanding how people are wired at work. (https://www.predictiveindex.com/assessments/behavioral-assessment/)  • Gatekeeper for Spark Mail - Screens and blocks senders to keep inbox clean. (https://sparkmailapp.com/features/gatekeeper)  • “The E-Myth Revisited" by Michael E. Gerber (https://a.co/d/11bO4lH) 

Cheryl Kellond has built startups from the ground up, survived the crash of a hardware business, raised millions in venture capital, and walked away with battle scars. In this episode, she pulls back the curtain on what it really takes to lead a company through chaos. We get into why hiring fast can backfire, how funding can trap you, and what founders often overlook when chasing growth. Cheryl talks candidly about ignoring her gut, managing burnout, and staying true to the reason she started in the first place. It’s a sharp, honest look at the difference between building a business and building one that lasts. --- Episode Resources “The Hard Thing About Hard Things” by Ben Horowitz (https://a.co/d/9j9DMya)  Tyler Denk’s Beehiv Newsletter (https://www.beehiiv.com/blog/newsletter-behind-the-scenes) 

Jesse Mecham, former accountant and creator of You Need A Budget, argues that your real money problem is worry, not math. He shares how a tiny spreadsheet he built to fix one household cash crunch became a calm, profitable business, and what he learned from building his software and methodology: YNAB (You Need A Budget) at night while working full time, botched early hires, and the moment he stopped playing small. We unpack the myths around raising money, co founders, and five year plans, how to grow slowly on purpose without feeling behind, and practical ways to feel in control of your money again. Along the way, Jesse shows how changing your relationship with money can reshape how you think about risk, work, and the life you are building. --- Episode Resources You Need A Budget (YNAB) - Jesse’s budgeting software and methodology that he created. (https://www.ynab.com) True Alignment: Linking Company Culture with Customer Needs for Extraordinary Results, by Edgar Papke. (https://www.truealignment.com/true-alignment/) “Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder” by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. This book speaks about how systems and people can benefit from volatility and stress.(https://a.co/d/hWw7TJW) “Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.” by Ron Chernow. (https://a.co/d/gUs7qXn)  “Washington: A Life” by Ron Chernow.  (https://a.co/d/bzkS3F0)  “Goals! ” by Brian Tracy. This book is a classic goal-setting and personal development book. (https://a.co/d/9wnWUi4)  “Rich Dad Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki. A Personal finance book. (https://a.co/d/aSFlfOq)

After years of side hustles and self-doubt, Steve Young made one decision that changed everything. He began his entrepreneurial journey selling cassette tapes in grade school, but it wasn’t until he launched a niche podcast about apps that things finally clicked. In this episode, Steve shares how fear nearly held him back, how he landed his first client, and how he built a profitable agency without outside funding. It's a story about persistence, clarity, and the freedom that comes from betting on yourself. --- Episode Resources “Extreme Ownership” by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin (https://a.co/d/e1Wvgug) “Do Things That Don’t Scale” by Paul Graham (https://www.paulgraham.com/ds.html)  EO Fire by John Lee Dumas - A daily podcast featuring interviews with successful entrepreneurs, focused on their journeys, lessons learned, and tactical advice for aspiring founders. (https://www.eofire.com/podcast/)  Smart Passive Income by Pat Flynn - A podcast that explores how to build online businesses and create multiple streams of passive income, featuring strategies, case studies, and personal experiments from Pat Flynn and his guests. (https://www.smartpassiveincome.com/spi/)

At just 25, Tom Williams launched his first lending business with $5,000, a dream, and a San Francisco office he secretly lived in. In this episode, Tom walks us through his unorthodox journey from boat-washing teenager to fintech founder, revealing the pivotal moments, early sacrifices, and bets that shaped his entrepreneurial path. He opens up about navigating failure, weathering the dot-com bust from inside Silicon Valley, and rebuilding from scratch to ultimately create a sustainable, values-driven business that’s thrived for over two decades. This is a story about resilience, conviction, and what it really takes to build a business from the ground up. --- Episode Resources “The Man in the Glass” by Anonymous (https://allpoetry.com/The-Man-in-the-Glass) “The Man in the Arena” by Theodore Roosevelt (https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/Learn-About-TR/TR-Encyclopedia/Culture-and-Society/Man-in-the-Arena.aspx)

Iñaki joins the show to share how he turned a no-code prototype and one powerful ally into his fast-growing climate-tech startup, Climatta. He dives into the power of starting lean, why building with customer feedback is everything, and how trust—not just traction—wins investors. From co-founder dynamics to bootstrapping with nothing but a Figma file and a favor, this is a raw, insightful look at what it really takes to build something that matters. --- Episode Resources “Only the Paranoid Survive” by Andrew Grove (https://a.co/d/acCH658) “Predictable Revenue” by Aaron Ross (https://a.co/d/iFC7efW) “The Mom Test” by Rob Fitzpatrick (https://a.co/d/drMFDyi) “Crossing the Chasm” by Geoffrey Moore (https://a.co/d/9tq5mlq)

What if your biggest competition isn’t the market—but yourself? In this candid conversation, Lucia Van Den Brink recounts her journey from coding a webshop at age 11 to leading a thriving CRO agency. She shares what it was like to pause everything during maternity leave, why her first hire failed, and how embracing rejection shaped her entrepreneurial resilience. It’s a powerful exploration of self-doubt, personal values, and redefining success on your own timeline. --- Episode Resources Get more info on Lucia’s company (https://increase-conversion-rate.com)

What if life insurance didn’t just protect you financially but actually helped you live longer? In this episode, we sit down with Ben Mason, co-founder and CEO of Athlete, a startup that’s disrupting the insurance industry by pricing based on fitness, instead of based on risk level. Ben shares his journey from advertising to entrepreneurship, the hard lessons he learned about chasing ideas vs. listening to customers, and why he believes mental health doesn’t have to be a sunk cost for founders. We dive into the challenges of launching a product in two countries at once, the myths that hold startups back, and how Athlete is planning to navigate data privacy concerns for its customers. Ben’s experience and skillsets are extensive, and I took away so much even from our short time together. You don’t want to miss this one! --- Episode Resources Check out what Ben and his co-founder are building at Athlete (https://lifeathlete.co)