As CEO of a young startup, you can often feel what you are facing right now can make or break your company, can make or break you. And you will likely find yourself in this place more than once. Nigel Sharp, CEO of Armenian based Lion Sharp, finds himself in one of these very moments. He feels the energy of a promising product, and the reality of 6 months of runway. How do you balance the excitement and challenges? How do discuss the reality of your finances with your team? How do you discuss your fears, not only of failure but of success?
Reboot Podcast #04 - The hidden burdens in our work – with Jerry Colonna, She...rebootio
How can you save a business from the brink of bankruptcy and grow it 2,000% in 10 years, and yet feel like it could all go away in any given moment? Or face the fear, the weight, that you must be chief breadwinner...for you, your family, your co-founder and team’s family as well? Fear is pervasive in our lives, and in the crazy world of startups and entrepreneurship it is an always present participant. In this episode, we have two entrepreneurs dealing with two different and yet similar fears, fears that entrepreneurs will know all too well.
Zelle Nelson and Maureen McCarthy are not only co-founders of The Center For Collaborative Awareness, but they are also married to each other. They created a collaboration process called “The Blueprint of We” in 1998 as they began their dating relationship. This collaboration process is used to build and sustain healthier, more resilient business and personal relationships, which makes day-to-day interactions effortless and time together creative and productive. This process is facilitated through completing a document that has five components: The Story of Us, Interaction Styles and Warning Signs, Expectations, Questions to Return to Peace, and Short and Long-Term Agreements. Maureen and Zelle are using the Blueprint of We process and document to create a place where people actually look forward to going to work where everyone’s knowledge, passions, and interests rise to the surface to create a stronger and more vibrant company or community.
Reboot Podcast #06 - Do you avoid difficult conversations? – with Jerry Colon...rebootio
“If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you.”
Jesus, Gospel of Thomas
Do you have an innate desire to make people happy? And does that desire at times cause you to at hold back the truth, out of fear of perhaps hurting others and yourself? Carm Huntress is the CEO of RxReview, a company solving a big problem with big data - overspending on prescription drugs. The company started in January 2012 and is growing beyond it’s 11 employees. Carm realizes his nature as a people pleaser affects his leadership in detrimental ways. In this episode, Jerry and Carm unpack what it means to be fierce, and what’s behind the desire to make people happy. It’s a conversation that will leave you asking: “What if I led from place knew where i knew I was good and also know there are things I want to do better?”
Enjoy the conversation...
Q’s
What if you led from a place in which you knew you were good and knew the things you wanted to do better?
Reboot Podcast #01 - How self reflection potentially saved a business - the r...rebootio
Derek Flanzraich, CEO of one of the fastest growing health and wellness sites, Greatist, joins Jerry for this episode to share the story of his personal journey over the last 10 months. His journey of introspection started when he attended a CEO bootcamp last October and begin to reflect on a personal challenge, which ultimately lead him to a solution to a business challenge that could have destroyed his business. Derek’s openness and introspection is inspiring, and will inspire you to re-examine how your own stories impact your business and your life.
Reboot Podcast #7 - The Relationship between Depression and Entrepreneurship?...rebootio
After years of rapid growth and expansion, followed by a serious year of depression, Rand Fishkin, founder and former CEO of Moz, found himself in a room surrounded by VC backed CEO’s and entrepreneurs where the question was posed: “How many of you struggle seriously with depression or severe anxiety or emotional issues?” He watched almost every person raise their hand. It’s shocking how universal depression is in startups. For anyone struggling with depression, it’s helpful to know you’re not alone. In this podcast, which is slightly different than past episodes, Jerry converses with Rand about his experience - his “loop,” how shame and guilt are at times his driver, the importance of understanding one’s emotional state, and how he’s made progress in coming out of his own depression, including his one piece of advice for entrepreneurs or anyone dealing with their own depression.
Reboot Podcast #23 - With a Little More Care… with Sherman Lee and Jerry Colonnarebootio
Sometimes we spend so much time looking at where we aren’t or where others have gone that we don’t fully appreciate where we are and how much we’ve grown on the journey.
A year ago today, Reboot didn’t have a podcast. A year ago today, Sherman Lee was staring down a draining bank account, a shaky business model, and a crippling fear: if I fail, I won’t be able to provide. A year later we sit with our 23rd podcast episode, a return visit from Sherman one of our first guests, and an opportunity to appreciate Sherman’s journey and growth since we last spoke.
Reboot Podcast #05 - How Do You Define Success? With Jerry Colonna and Joseph...rebootio
Joseph Chura is the founder and CEO of 2 startups that employ nearly a combined 100 people, yet he feels a constant drive for more. In this conversation with Jerry, Joseph shares his struggles to be present, especially at home with his wife and kids. Why is the drive, the itch to not sit still, so strong? What’s he running towards? Or perhaps running from?
Joseph and Jerry explore why he feels compelled to run, take a look at how & what Joseph is using to define success and why mindfulness is about so much more than meditation...it’s about expanding the space between stimulus and response.
Reboot Podcast #10 - Fail with Honor - with Derek Bereit, Beth McKeon, & Jer...rebootio
“I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.”
― Thomas A. Edison
Most startups fail. We all know this as much as we try to forget it. The absolute hardest, hardest question an entrepreneur can ask themselves is: When do you know it’s over?
In the first of two conversations in this episode, we are joined by Derek Bereit, CEO and Co-Founder of Symptomly, who is staring down the end of his runway and wrestling with this very question.
In a second conversation we hear from Beth McKeon, Founder and CEO of Kids Calendar, who is dealing with another common challenge: How do you find, recruit and hire the right person for your startup at the stage that it’s in?
As always we’d love to hear feedback from you either on our website or on twitter @reboothq. Now on with to the conversations.
Reboot Podcast #04 - The hidden burdens in our work – with Jerry Colonna, She...rebootio
How can you save a business from the brink of bankruptcy and grow it 2,000% in 10 years, and yet feel like it could all go away in any given moment? Or face the fear, the weight, that you must be chief breadwinner...for you, your family, your co-founder and team’s family as well? Fear is pervasive in our lives, and in the crazy world of startups and entrepreneurship it is an always present participant. In this episode, we have two entrepreneurs dealing with two different and yet similar fears, fears that entrepreneurs will know all too well.
Zelle Nelson and Maureen McCarthy are not only co-founders of The Center For Collaborative Awareness, but they are also married to each other. They created a collaboration process called “The Blueprint of We” in 1998 as they began their dating relationship. This collaboration process is used to build and sustain healthier, more resilient business and personal relationships, which makes day-to-day interactions effortless and time together creative and productive. This process is facilitated through completing a document that has five components: The Story of Us, Interaction Styles and Warning Signs, Expectations, Questions to Return to Peace, and Short and Long-Term Agreements. Maureen and Zelle are using the Blueprint of We process and document to create a place where people actually look forward to going to work where everyone’s knowledge, passions, and interests rise to the surface to create a stronger and more vibrant company or community.
Reboot Podcast #06 - Do you avoid difficult conversations? – with Jerry Colon...rebootio
“If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you.”
Jesus, Gospel of Thomas
Do you have an innate desire to make people happy? And does that desire at times cause you to at hold back the truth, out of fear of perhaps hurting others and yourself? Carm Huntress is the CEO of RxReview, a company solving a big problem with big data - overspending on prescription drugs. The company started in January 2012 and is growing beyond it’s 11 employees. Carm realizes his nature as a people pleaser affects his leadership in detrimental ways. In this episode, Jerry and Carm unpack what it means to be fierce, and what’s behind the desire to make people happy. It’s a conversation that will leave you asking: “What if I led from place knew where i knew I was good and also know there are things I want to do better?”
Enjoy the conversation...
Q’s
What if you led from a place in which you knew you were good and knew the things you wanted to do better?
Reboot Podcast #01 - How self reflection potentially saved a business - the r...rebootio
Derek Flanzraich, CEO of one of the fastest growing health and wellness sites, Greatist, joins Jerry for this episode to share the story of his personal journey over the last 10 months. His journey of introspection started when he attended a CEO bootcamp last October and begin to reflect on a personal challenge, which ultimately lead him to a solution to a business challenge that could have destroyed his business. Derek’s openness and introspection is inspiring, and will inspire you to re-examine how your own stories impact your business and your life.
Reboot Podcast #7 - The Relationship between Depression and Entrepreneurship?...rebootio
After years of rapid growth and expansion, followed by a serious year of depression, Rand Fishkin, founder and former CEO of Moz, found himself in a room surrounded by VC backed CEO’s and entrepreneurs where the question was posed: “How many of you struggle seriously with depression or severe anxiety or emotional issues?” He watched almost every person raise their hand. It’s shocking how universal depression is in startups. For anyone struggling with depression, it’s helpful to know you’re not alone. In this podcast, which is slightly different than past episodes, Jerry converses with Rand about his experience - his “loop,” how shame and guilt are at times his driver, the importance of understanding one’s emotional state, and how he’s made progress in coming out of his own depression, including his one piece of advice for entrepreneurs or anyone dealing with their own depression.
Reboot Podcast #23 - With a Little More Care… with Sherman Lee and Jerry Colonnarebootio
Sometimes we spend so much time looking at where we aren’t or where others have gone that we don’t fully appreciate where we are and how much we’ve grown on the journey.
A year ago today, Reboot didn’t have a podcast. A year ago today, Sherman Lee was staring down a draining bank account, a shaky business model, and a crippling fear: if I fail, I won’t be able to provide. A year later we sit with our 23rd podcast episode, a return visit from Sherman one of our first guests, and an opportunity to appreciate Sherman’s journey and growth since we last spoke.
Reboot Podcast #05 - How Do You Define Success? With Jerry Colonna and Joseph...rebootio
Joseph Chura is the founder and CEO of 2 startups that employ nearly a combined 100 people, yet he feels a constant drive for more. In this conversation with Jerry, Joseph shares his struggles to be present, especially at home with his wife and kids. Why is the drive, the itch to not sit still, so strong? What’s he running towards? Or perhaps running from?
Joseph and Jerry explore why he feels compelled to run, take a look at how & what Joseph is using to define success and why mindfulness is about so much more than meditation...it’s about expanding the space between stimulus and response.
Reboot Podcast #10 - Fail with Honor - with Derek Bereit, Beth McKeon, & Jer...rebootio
“I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.”
― Thomas A. Edison
Most startups fail. We all know this as much as we try to forget it. The absolute hardest, hardest question an entrepreneur can ask themselves is: When do you know it’s over?
In the first of two conversations in this episode, we are joined by Derek Bereit, CEO and Co-Founder of Symptomly, who is staring down the end of his runway and wrestling with this very question.
In a second conversation we hear from Beth McKeon, Founder and CEO of Kids Calendar, who is dealing with another common challenge: How do you find, recruit and hire the right person for your startup at the stage that it’s in?
As always we’d love to hear feedback from you either on our website or on twitter @reboothq. Now on with to the conversations.
To have a firm persuasion, to set out boldly in our work, is to make a pilgrimage of our labors, to understand that the consummation of work lies not only in what we have done but who we become while accomplishing the task.
-David Whyte - Crossing the Unknown Sea: Work as a Pilgrimage of Identity
In today’s conversation Jerry is joined by Ben Rubin - Cofounder and CEO of Change Collective - an organization itself that is set on helping people make positive change in their lives. Ben comes to Jerry wondering how he can better deal with the negative inner dialogue. They quickly discover that inner voice, and more specifically the feelings that precede it, are a powerful indicator of an underlying fear. What opportunities exist in exploring that fear?
Reboot Podcast #8 - How Introspection Changed My Business - With Blaine Vess ...rebootio
“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”
― Aristotle
Entrepreneur and CEO Blaine Vess has an impressive story. Studymode, the company he helped start and bootstrap from his dorm room almost 16 years ago, now has 30 employees and sees between 60-90M visitors a month. It’s rare to find 15 year old bootstrapped companies. It’s rare to have the same CEO for 15 years as Blaine has been. But last year, Blaine wanted more for his company and himself. He wanted to know how to help push his company to the next level. To achieve that, he didn’t look elsewhere, he looked within.
In this conversation, Jerry and Blaine talk about Blaine’s “year of introspection”. It included a stop at one of our bootcamps, working with a coach and a therapist, and that year ultimately helped him understand how and why he was holding himself back. Perhaps Blaine and Jerry’s conversation, our first of 2015, may spark your own year of introspection.
Reboot Podcast #19 Building a House of Belonging with Tanisha Robinsonrebootio
What’s it like to find your path of authentic service in the world? What if you could use the pain of the past, a pain of not knowing where you fit in, of not knowing where you belong to propel you toward work that makes a difference? What if you could create a place of belonging? Well, it might look a lot like what Tanisha Robinson is building with Print Syndicate.
Started just 2.5 years ago with 8 people, Print Syndicate now has over 140 employees and will generate more than $20M in revenue this year. But the company isn’t just about shirts and home goods, it’s a place where people (including a black, gay, woman from a Mormon family of 7 in a small town in Missouri) have a place to self-identify and a place to belong. As Tanisha shares, running a company fueled by your passion to make the world better is both exhilarating and heartwrenching.
Reboot Podcast #15 - Becoming a Leader: The Crucible of Co-Founder Conflict w...rebootio
JW Player has come a long way. The JW player and platform is now used by over 2.5 million publishers and 20% of the fortune 1,000 companies. Each month about 1 billion people watch video on their platform. Behind those numbers are real people--including three co-founders who, over the last eight years, have experienced their own profound personal growth and leadership transformations.
In a special first video episode, only fitting for the co-founders of one of the world’s largest video platforms, we have the 3 co-founders of JW Player joining Jerry in person. In a very open conversation, they explore key challenging moments in their company and partnership history -and how they emerged from those moments stronger and more committed than ever. It's an inspiring story of leaders born through adversity
Reboot Podcast #25 - Live Beyond Compare - Brad Feld and Jerry Colonna - Rebo...rebootio
It’s so easy, sometimes fun, sometimes painful, and always tempting to compare ourselves to others. As entrepreneurs, the temptation is even stronger. It can at times seem like there’s an endless supply of compare yourself material - from the media, to social media. Ask any Reboot coach...one of the busiest days as a coach is the day a big acquisition or funding announcement occurs. The second busiest is the day after. So what would it be like to let go? What if you stopped trying to be a VC / entrepreneur / father like everyone else? What if you were just you and that was OK?
That is exactly the advice our podcast guest offered up to a 34 year old Jerry Colonna - many, many years ago. We’re truly honored to have Brad Feld on the podcast with Jerry today. Brad is an investor, entrepreneur, and blogger who has been supporting entrepreneurs all over the world since 1987. Brad has also been a great Reboot supporter and teacher. In this conversation these two friends talk about VC’s as Dungeons and Dragons characters, Brad’s evolved investment criteria, and the single best piece of advice Brad offered to Jerry that changed his career.
Reboot Podcast #20 with Bijan Sabet - Investors are Human toorebootio
It sounds so obvious, perhaps even tongue in cheek, but it also seems to be forgotten enough that it needs to be said aloud again: Investors are human too. They, like the entrepreneurs they back, can ride the rollercoaster of emotions that often come with starting a company. In this episode Jerry Colonna is joined by Bijan Sabet of Spark Capital and they explore some of the tensions that often arise between investors and entrepreneurs, the emotional perspective of the investor, and the importance of purpose and artistry. As a bonus, it includes Jerry reading a blessing at the end.
Reboot Podcast #26 - Finding your Business Soulmate - Founders of The Grommet...rebootio
Two co-founders, who refer to each other as business soulmates, have found themselves in that special place of alignment. A place in partnership where they align not just intellectually, not just energetically, not even just at a values level, but at a human level. Jules Pieri (her second time on the show) and her partner Joanne Domeniconi oni are the Co-founders of The Grommet. They join Jerry to talk about the beginning of their partnership, where and how they found alignment at the human level, how it has evolved over time, and the challenges it represents as they scale the business
Ben Saunders knows very well the ups and downs that come with attempting to do something extraordinary. Like so many entrepreneurs, he struggled with the challenges of being an effective leader, and faced the pain of fundraising or not meeting payroll. But Ben’s end goal was a bit different. He’ a polar explorer. Between October 2013 and February 2014, he and his companion Tarka broke the record for the longest ever polar journey on foot. On their path to the South Pole, they faced temps of -50F and wind chills near -70F all while they covered nearly seventy marathons back-to-back on less than four hours of sleep a night.
This record breaking journey was nearly ten years in the making for Ben, and truly was an amazing accomplishment, but despite all that he found the inner journey that followed even more challenging than what he faced out on the ice. In this conversation, Ben and Jerry discuss his journey on and off the ice.
Hugh MacLeod has tapped into his own heart and his own woundedness so that he can speak to the hearts of people and organizations to inspire, to question, to laugh and to grow. Hugh joins Jerry in this episode of The Reboot Podcast to discuss how how he got his start, what motivates leaders, and how to work (and lead) from the heart. (Hint: often the "how" lies in identifying our own wounds).
Reboot Podcast #22 - Does Anyone Know what they are Doing? With Sharon Salzbe...rebootio
We’re often in (or feel we’re in) uncharted waters - a place where making things up as we go is a necessity. Feeling lost in those places can be anxiety-inducing. We feel incompetent. We feel shameful. We can end up feeling that everyone has figured it out but me. But how true is that, really? And perhaps the better question--how can owning my own anxiety in these areas help me step more fully into my authentic self and even increase my capacity for happiness?
We are honored to welcome one of our key teachers at Reboot, Sharon Salzberg, to the podcast. In this conversation, Sharon and Jerry discuss Sharon’s own entrepreneurial path, a new definition of success (and failure), authenticity, loving kindness and the question: Does anyone really know what they are doing?
Reboot Podcast #28 - Reclaiming the Shadow - with Tracy Lawrence on Reboot Po...rebootio
Tracy Lawrence, Co-founder and CEO of Chewse, and Jerry Colonna talk about authenticity, leading from the heart and on the power of embracing the lost and disowned parts of ourselves. For Tracy, it’s not only about being there for the little girl who was bullied in middle school, but also about owning her very own inner bully. Reclaiming that part of herself will not only impact her approach to the latest company experiment, but it also might affect her own leadership and bring her and her company deeper into alignment.
Reboot Podcast #27 - From Caring Comes Courage - with Jerry Colonna on Reboot...rebootio
From caring comes courage.
Lao Tzu
It’s wonderful to have the support of so many, to have so many who believe in you. But there is another side to it: the weight and fear of disappointing them. Zoe Weintraub is founder of Opus for Work and is our guest on this episode of the podcast. Zoe and Jerry discuss both the beauty and burden of external expectations, and ultimately find that when you follow the emotion and vulnerability associated with them, they expose your superpower hiding in plain sight.
Reboot Podcast #34 - Self actualization - with Henry May on Reboot Podcastrebootio
“Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakens.” – Carl Jung.
"Work is difficulty and drama, a high-stakes game in which our identity, our self-esteem, and our ability to provide are mixed inside us in a volatile, sometimes explosive ways.” from David Whyte in his incredible book, Crossing the Unknown Sea: Work as a pilgrimage of Identity.
That volatile, explosive mix is a gift. It presents a tremendous opportunity for us to do our own work, our inner work, and further develop our own understanding of self. In our conversation today, Jerry is joined by Henry May, founder and CEO of CoSchool, based in Columbia. Henry comes to Jerry with this very issue: How might the journey of entrepreneurship, specifically his own, open up new opportunities for him to grow? Or said more directly: How might he use his work at Coschool to do the real work on his humanity?
Reboot Podcast #11 - Stop and See: Mind Hacking, Meditation and Leadership - ...rebootio
“Consciousness is so turbulent” - Emily Horn
Vincent Horn is a mind hacker & Buddhist geek. He has been practicing meditation intensively since his freshman year in college. In 2006, Vincent co-founded Buddhist Geeks, which has gone on to become one of today's most important venues for exploring Buddhist thought & practice in the 21st century. Buddhist Geeks has been featured on the pages of the Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, Tricycle, and The Atlantic. Vincent was also honored to be part of Wired’s "Smart List 2012: 50 people who will change the world."
In this episode, Vincent and Jerry talk about their mindfulness practices, how Vincent navigated his own ups and downs as an entrepreneur, and how meditation and mindfulness can create better leaders, and better organizations.
And be sure to listen all the way through the end, as Vincent has included a 10 minute guided meditation for you to kickstart your own mindfulness practice.
Reboot Podcast #30 - Who Do You Turn To? - with Yancey Strickler and Ian Hogarthrebootio
There’s a saying: Behind every great man is a great woman. I would add: behind every great entrepreneur is a great friend. The entrepreneurial path simply can’t be traveled alone. So when Jerry asked Kickstarter’s CEO and Co-founder, Yancey Strickler: Who do you turn to? He response was immediate: Ian Hogarth, Co-founder and Chairman of Songkick. We’re grateful to have Yancey and Ian join Jerry in today’s podcast to talk about their friendship, the importance of peer relationships in entrepreneurship, the relief of being heard by those who can empathize with your experience, as well as those who can challenge you from a place of love and deep understanding. Enjoy this discussion with Jerry, Ian Hogarth, and Yancey Strickler.
This conversation was recorded in early December, and since then Ian has announced his intention to give up the Co-CEO role at Soundkick and focus on his role at Chairman.
Reboot Podcast #32 - Invest in Being Yourself - with Bryce Roberts and Chris ...rebootio
VC’s Bryce Roberts of OATV and Indie.vc, and Chris Marks of Blue Note Ventures both found the standard issue of the VC world was not a fit for them. They both sought out to set a new path, one that aligned with who they are and what they value. In a conversation with Jerry, and each other, they explore the challenges on their journey, and the potential opportunities they have to better connect with entrepreneurs through those challenges. This conversation may leave you asking yourself:
In my own work, what are my values? What are my priorities? What am I wearing today?
Reboot Podcast #45 – What’s Love Got to Do with It?- with Fred Wilson and Bra...rebootio
How can you expect to serve others, whether it be customers, portfolio companies, or your organization if your own house is not in order? We are so fortunate to welcome Brad Feld and Fred Wilson back to the Reboot Podcast. Jerry, Brad, and Fred have a friendship and history that goes back 20 years, and the wealth of experience between them is truly incredible.
Reboot Podcast #31 - Why Being Real Matters- with Evgeny Shadchnevrebootio
So many entrepreneurs seek to model their leadership after the high-profile, successful giants of business. Should I be leader more like Steve Jobs? How can I be more like Jeff Bezos? How can I be more like Travis from Uber? These are not only questions without answers, they are the wrong questions. The real question is, “Who the fuck are you?” You’re not Steve Jobs. You’re not Jeff Bezos. You’re you. What does the leader within you look like?
In today’s conversation, Jerry is joined by Evgeny, Co-founder and CEO of Makers Academy. Ev wrestles with the question of whether it’s possible to scale an organization built around trust, or does success require a leader who governs by fear? Together they discover a more beautiful, more fundamental question --“Who is Evgeny?” In that answer they may find a path to personal alignment and more effective leadership.
Reboot Podcast #39 - New Choices with Mary Lemmer on Reboot Podcastrebootio
Mary Lemmer came on to share her emotional story of seemingly everything working against her; her body giving in, her relationship ending, her business coming apart, losing her dad's approval, all in a very short period of time. Physically and emotionally, these were painful experiences for Mary and yet, what if they were exactly what she needs? What if this is the moment she was waiting for?
Reboot Podcast #38 - Plant seeds of your life - With Congressman Tim Ryan on ...rebootio
Congressman Tim Ryan is our guest for Episode 38 of the Reboot Podcast. Tim is a special guy, and not just because he’s a congressman, and not just because he’s from Ohio – though that’s pretty great too – but because he’s committed to bringing heart, humanity, mindfulness and a long-term focus into a space that doesn’t always welcome it: government. In this conversation (originally recorded in November), Tim shares his journey to mindfulness, his ongoing practice in noticing his own inner conversation, and his commitment to mindfully planting seeds for the future and having the patience to watching them grow.
Reboot Podcast #44 – We are Designed to Fail – with Nicholas Russell and Jerr...rebootio
Startups fail, we hear that all the time. Failure is good, we hear that all the time too. But we rarely hear about the pain, the shame and the second-guessing that comes with it. Even worse, at least for me, we rarely hear about the opportunities that lie, or may lie in something ending beyond just a pivot or a lesson learnt. In that moment, reading that email on the bench, my feet hurting, I wished someone would have told me what I know now to be true. This startup failing is not proof that something is broken within you. In fact, it's an opening and an opportunity to find something new within you and for you.
To have a firm persuasion, to set out boldly in our work, is to make a pilgrimage of our labors, to understand that the consummation of work lies not only in what we have done but who we become while accomplishing the task.
-David Whyte - Crossing the Unknown Sea: Work as a Pilgrimage of Identity
In today’s conversation Jerry is joined by Ben Rubin - Cofounder and CEO of Change Collective - an organization itself that is set on helping people make positive change in their lives. Ben comes to Jerry wondering how he can better deal with the negative inner dialogue. They quickly discover that inner voice, and more specifically the feelings that precede it, are a powerful indicator of an underlying fear. What opportunities exist in exploring that fear?
Reboot Podcast #8 - How Introspection Changed My Business - With Blaine Vess ...rebootio
“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”
― Aristotle
Entrepreneur and CEO Blaine Vess has an impressive story. Studymode, the company he helped start and bootstrap from his dorm room almost 16 years ago, now has 30 employees and sees between 60-90M visitors a month. It’s rare to find 15 year old bootstrapped companies. It’s rare to have the same CEO for 15 years as Blaine has been. But last year, Blaine wanted more for his company and himself. He wanted to know how to help push his company to the next level. To achieve that, he didn’t look elsewhere, he looked within.
In this conversation, Jerry and Blaine talk about Blaine’s “year of introspection”. It included a stop at one of our bootcamps, working with a coach and a therapist, and that year ultimately helped him understand how and why he was holding himself back. Perhaps Blaine and Jerry’s conversation, our first of 2015, may spark your own year of introspection.
Reboot Podcast #19 Building a House of Belonging with Tanisha Robinsonrebootio
What’s it like to find your path of authentic service in the world? What if you could use the pain of the past, a pain of not knowing where you fit in, of not knowing where you belong to propel you toward work that makes a difference? What if you could create a place of belonging? Well, it might look a lot like what Tanisha Robinson is building with Print Syndicate.
Started just 2.5 years ago with 8 people, Print Syndicate now has over 140 employees and will generate more than $20M in revenue this year. But the company isn’t just about shirts and home goods, it’s a place where people (including a black, gay, woman from a Mormon family of 7 in a small town in Missouri) have a place to self-identify and a place to belong. As Tanisha shares, running a company fueled by your passion to make the world better is both exhilarating and heartwrenching.
Reboot Podcast #15 - Becoming a Leader: The Crucible of Co-Founder Conflict w...rebootio
JW Player has come a long way. The JW player and platform is now used by over 2.5 million publishers and 20% of the fortune 1,000 companies. Each month about 1 billion people watch video on their platform. Behind those numbers are real people--including three co-founders who, over the last eight years, have experienced their own profound personal growth and leadership transformations.
In a special first video episode, only fitting for the co-founders of one of the world’s largest video platforms, we have the 3 co-founders of JW Player joining Jerry in person. In a very open conversation, they explore key challenging moments in their company and partnership history -and how they emerged from those moments stronger and more committed than ever. It's an inspiring story of leaders born through adversity
Reboot Podcast #25 - Live Beyond Compare - Brad Feld and Jerry Colonna - Rebo...rebootio
It’s so easy, sometimes fun, sometimes painful, and always tempting to compare ourselves to others. As entrepreneurs, the temptation is even stronger. It can at times seem like there’s an endless supply of compare yourself material - from the media, to social media. Ask any Reboot coach...one of the busiest days as a coach is the day a big acquisition or funding announcement occurs. The second busiest is the day after. So what would it be like to let go? What if you stopped trying to be a VC / entrepreneur / father like everyone else? What if you were just you and that was OK?
That is exactly the advice our podcast guest offered up to a 34 year old Jerry Colonna - many, many years ago. We’re truly honored to have Brad Feld on the podcast with Jerry today. Brad is an investor, entrepreneur, and blogger who has been supporting entrepreneurs all over the world since 1987. Brad has also been a great Reboot supporter and teacher. In this conversation these two friends talk about VC’s as Dungeons and Dragons characters, Brad’s evolved investment criteria, and the single best piece of advice Brad offered to Jerry that changed his career.
Reboot Podcast #20 with Bijan Sabet - Investors are Human toorebootio
It sounds so obvious, perhaps even tongue in cheek, but it also seems to be forgotten enough that it needs to be said aloud again: Investors are human too. They, like the entrepreneurs they back, can ride the rollercoaster of emotions that often come with starting a company. In this episode Jerry Colonna is joined by Bijan Sabet of Spark Capital and they explore some of the tensions that often arise between investors and entrepreneurs, the emotional perspective of the investor, and the importance of purpose and artistry. As a bonus, it includes Jerry reading a blessing at the end.
Reboot Podcast #26 - Finding your Business Soulmate - Founders of The Grommet...rebootio
Two co-founders, who refer to each other as business soulmates, have found themselves in that special place of alignment. A place in partnership where they align not just intellectually, not just energetically, not even just at a values level, but at a human level. Jules Pieri (her second time on the show) and her partner Joanne Domeniconi oni are the Co-founders of The Grommet. They join Jerry to talk about the beginning of their partnership, where and how they found alignment at the human level, how it has evolved over time, and the challenges it represents as they scale the business
Ben Saunders knows very well the ups and downs that come with attempting to do something extraordinary. Like so many entrepreneurs, he struggled with the challenges of being an effective leader, and faced the pain of fundraising or not meeting payroll. But Ben’s end goal was a bit different. He’ a polar explorer. Between October 2013 and February 2014, he and his companion Tarka broke the record for the longest ever polar journey on foot. On their path to the South Pole, they faced temps of -50F and wind chills near -70F all while they covered nearly seventy marathons back-to-back on less than four hours of sleep a night.
This record breaking journey was nearly ten years in the making for Ben, and truly was an amazing accomplishment, but despite all that he found the inner journey that followed even more challenging than what he faced out on the ice. In this conversation, Ben and Jerry discuss his journey on and off the ice.
Hugh MacLeod has tapped into his own heart and his own woundedness so that he can speak to the hearts of people and organizations to inspire, to question, to laugh and to grow. Hugh joins Jerry in this episode of The Reboot Podcast to discuss how how he got his start, what motivates leaders, and how to work (and lead) from the heart. (Hint: often the "how" lies in identifying our own wounds).
Reboot Podcast #22 - Does Anyone Know what they are Doing? With Sharon Salzbe...rebootio
We’re often in (or feel we’re in) uncharted waters - a place where making things up as we go is a necessity. Feeling lost in those places can be anxiety-inducing. We feel incompetent. We feel shameful. We can end up feeling that everyone has figured it out but me. But how true is that, really? And perhaps the better question--how can owning my own anxiety in these areas help me step more fully into my authentic self and even increase my capacity for happiness?
We are honored to welcome one of our key teachers at Reboot, Sharon Salzberg, to the podcast. In this conversation, Sharon and Jerry discuss Sharon’s own entrepreneurial path, a new definition of success (and failure), authenticity, loving kindness and the question: Does anyone really know what they are doing?
Reboot Podcast #28 - Reclaiming the Shadow - with Tracy Lawrence on Reboot Po...rebootio
Tracy Lawrence, Co-founder and CEO of Chewse, and Jerry Colonna talk about authenticity, leading from the heart and on the power of embracing the lost and disowned parts of ourselves. For Tracy, it’s not only about being there for the little girl who was bullied in middle school, but also about owning her very own inner bully. Reclaiming that part of herself will not only impact her approach to the latest company experiment, but it also might affect her own leadership and bring her and her company deeper into alignment.
Reboot Podcast #27 - From Caring Comes Courage - with Jerry Colonna on Reboot...rebootio
From caring comes courage.
Lao Tzu
It’s wonderful to have the support of so many, to have so many who believe in you. But there is another side to it: the weight and fear of disappointing them. Zoe Weintraub is founder of Opus for Work and is our guest on this episode of the podcast. Zoe and Jerry discuss both the beauty and burden of external expectations, and ultimately find that when you follow the emotion and vulnerability associated with them, they expose your superpower hiding in plain sight.
Reboot Podcast #34 - Self actualization - with Henry May on Reboot Podcastrebootio
“Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakens.” – Carl Jung.
"Work is difficulty and drama, a high-stakes game in which our identity, our self-esteem, and our ability to provide are mixed inside us in a volatile, sometimes explosive ways.” from David Whyte in his incredible book, Crossing the Unknown Sea: Work as a pilgrimage of Identity.
That volatile, explosive mix is a gift. It presents a tremendous opportunity for us to do our own work, our inner work, and further develop our own understanding of self. In our conversation today, Jerry is joined by Henry May, founder and CEO of CoSchool, based in Columbia. Henry comes to Jerry with this very issue: How might the journey of entrepreneurship, specifically his own, open up new opportunities for him to grow? Or said more directly: How might he use his work at Coschool to do the real work on his humanity?
Reboot Podcast #11 - Stop and See: Mind Hacking, Meditation and Leadership - ...rebootio
“Consciousness is so turbulent” - Emily Horn
Vincent Horn is a mind hacker & Buddhist geek. He has been practicing meditation intensively since his freshman year in college. In 2006, Vincent co-founded Buddhist Geeks, which has gone on to become one of today's most important venues for exploring Buddhist thought & practice in the 21st century. Buddhist Geeks has been featured on the pages of the Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, Tricycle, and The Atlantic. Vincent was also honored to be part of Wired’s "Smart List 2012: 50 people who will change the world."
In this episode, Vincent and Jerry talk about their mindfulness practices, how Vincent navigated his own ups and downs as an entrepreneur, and how meditation and mindfulness can create better leaders, and better organizations.
And be sure to listen all the way through the end, as Vincent has included a 10 minute guided meditation for you to kickstart your own mindfulness practice.
Reboot Podcast #30 - Who Do You Turn To? - with Yancey Strickler and Ian Hogarthrebootio
There’s a saying: Behind every great man is a great woman. I would add: behind every great entrepreneur is a great friend. The entrepreneurial path simply can’t be traveled alone. So when Jerry asked Kickstarter’s CEO and Co-founder, Yancey Strickler: Who do you turn to? He response was immediate: Ian Hogarth, Co-founder and Chairman of Songkick. We’re grateful to have Yancey and Ian join Jerry in today’s podcast to talk about their friendship, the importance of peer relationships in entrepreneurship, the relief of being heard by those who can empathize with your experience, as well as those who can challenge you from a place of love and deep understanding. Enjoy this discussion with Jerry, Ian Hogarth, and Yancey Strickler.
This conversation was recorded in early December, and since then Ian has announced his intention to give up the Co-CEO role at Soundkick and focus on his role at Chairman.
Reboot Podcast #32 - Invest in Being Yourself - with Bryce Roberts and Chris ...rebootio
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In my own work, what are my values? What are my priorities? What am I wearing today?
Reboot Podcast #45 – What’s Love Got to Do with It?- with Fred Wilson and Bra...rebootio
How can you expect to serve others, whether it be customers, portfolio companies, or your organization if your own house is not in order? We are so fortunate to welcome Brad Feld and Fred Wilson back to the Reboot Podcast. Jerry, Brad, and Fred have a friendship and history that goes back 20 years, and the wealth of experience between them is truly incredible.
Reboot Podcast #31 - Why Being Real Matters- with Evgeny Shadchnevrebootio
So many entrepreneurs seek to model their leadership after the high-profile, successful giants of business. Should I be leader more like Steve Jobs? How can I be more like Jeff Bezos? How can I be more like Travis from Uber? These are not only questions without answers, they are the wrong questions. The real question is, “Who the fuck are you?” You’re not Steve Jobs. You’re not Jeff Bezos. You’re you. What does the leader within you look like?
In today’s conversation, Jerry is joined by Evgeny, Co-founder and CEO of Makers Academy. Ev wrestles with the question of whether it’s possible to scale an organization built around trust, or does success require a leader who governs by fear? Together they discover a more beautiful, more fundamental question --“Who is Evgeny?” In that answer they may find a path to personal alignment and more effective leadership.
Reboot Podcast #39 - New Choices with Mary Lemmer on Reboot Podcastrebootio
Mary Lemmer came on to share her emotional story of seemingly everything working against her; her body giving in, her relationship ending, her business coming apart, losing her dad's approval, all in a very short period of time. Physically and emotionally, these were painful experiences for Mary and yet, what if they were exactly what she needs? What if this is the moment she was waiting for?
Reboot Podcast #38 - Plant seeds of your life - With Congressman Tim Ryan on ...rebootio
Congressman Tim Ryan is our guest for Episode 38 of the Reboot Podcast. Tim is a special guy, and not just because he’s a congressman, and not just because he’s from Ohio – though that’s pretty great too – but because he’s committed to bringing heart, humanity, mindfulness and a long-term focus into a space that doesn’t always welcome it: government. In this conversation (originally recorded in November), Tim shares his journey to mindfulness, his ongoing practice in noticing his own inner conversation, and his commitment to mindfully planting seeds for the future and having the patience to watching them grow.
Reboot Podcast #44 – We are Designed to Fail – with Nicholas Russell and Jerr...rebootio
Startups fail, we hear that all the time. Failure is good, we hear that all the time too. But we rarely hear about the pain, the shame and the second-guessing that comes with it. Even worse, at least for me, we rarely hear about the opportunities that lie, or may lie in something ending beyond just a pivot or a lesson learnt. In that moment, reading that email on the bench, my feet hurting, I wished someone would have told me what I know now to be true. This startup failing is not proof that something is broken within you. In fact, it's an opening and an opportunity to find something new within you and for you.
Reboot Podcast #36 - The Quest - with Jim Marsden and Jade Sherer on Reboot P...rebootio
Time and time again, I get the pleasure of seeing skeptical, but open Reboot Bootcampers enter the Colorado wilderness with instructions from Jim looking for a conversation – and time and time again I see them come back in shock with how the land opened new insights up for them. Jerry included.
In today’s special episode, Jerry Colonna, Jim Marsden and Jade Sherer talk about the power and opportunity of time on the land, how Jerry’s own experience on a vision quest, which was guided by Jim and Jade, and why a quest could change your own awareness forever. If it terrifies you, you are ready…
Reboot Podcast #43 – The Dharma of Inclusivity – with Konda Masonrebootio
There is real suffering out there and that suffering that is causing violence. What are some of the causes of the suffering and how might we address those?
It’s a true honor to welcome entrepreneur, creator, and teacher, Konda Mason to the podcast for an important and timely conversation with Jerry. This discussion was recorded last week, and we thought it was really important to get this out sooner rather than later, particularly given the events in Orlando. Konda and Jerry address some of the source causes of this suffering, this pain, and what opportunities might lie in remembering we’re all in this together. This conversation will challenge you on your own privileges and inspire you find new ways of connecting with people from all backgrounds.
Reboot Podcast #37 - Are you a Servant Leader - with Patrick Campbell on Rebo...rebootio
For leaders the temptation to tell, fix, and even do is so strong. “I know the way,” or “I have the answers,” or “the buck stops with me.” Sometimes it’s impossible to resist the ego boost of providing the answer, giving the fix, telling the way. But what impact does this have on the team, and ourselves? And is it even true?
Jerry Colonna is joined today by Patrick Campbell, co-founder and CEO of Price Intelligently – a bootstrapped company in Boston. Patrick and Jerry explore different leadership styles, the power of “if I die docs,” and how the secret to leadership, and servant leadership, may not lie in having the right answers, but instead asking the right questions.
Reboot Podcast #40 - Going beyond blame with Dave Zwieback on Reboot Podcastrebootio
Why the rush to assign the blame? There is something calming about finding a target. It's like this moment of being lost in a rough sea of chaos and uncertainty. A person to assign the fault is like an unsinkable lifeboat to grasp. We climb aboard and take a deep breath and relax. "Well, that’s solved." We do it as individuals, we do it as organizations, we do it as a society. But what incredibly valuable opportunities lie in resisting this urge to assign fault? What might what we learn in what didn’t or did work if we explore a bit more?
Reboot Podcast #33 - Do I Even Have A Superpower?- with Kent Cavender-Baresrebootio
Have you ever asked yourself the question: I wonder if we'd be better off with someone else in my role?
In this podcast, a listener, Kent Cavender-Bares from Rowbots comes to Jerry with a question a similar question about his superpower: "What if my deep integrity, my commitment to simply telling how it is, is the reason we’re unable to fundraise? Do I even have a Superpower? Wouldn’t Rowbots, be further along if someone else was leading?" Jerry and Kent explore the double edge of a superpower, and how the path through his challenges may lie in a new set of questions: How can I be even more like Kent? How can I embrace my superpower? How can I believe in myself? And why is that so damned important?
Don't Start a Business. Start a Revolution. 12 Tips On What NOT to Do to When...PME 360
Don't Start a Business. Start a Revolution. Brian Sites of Clay Dog Enterprises shares his "12 Tips On What NOT to Do to When Trying to Build a Business" on the PME 360 Powering Business Growth Show. Your hosts, Ron Rodi, Jr and Ryan Paul Adams interview Brian and can help you discover some powerful tips on how to build a business the right way and common mistakes to avoid.
Why Generation Y should and can start a revolutionMartine Verweij
Speech given on September 22nd for Young Cargill Netherlands, titled; let's start a revolution! This speech tells the story of a generation that can and must use its creative and imaginary power to help the organizations they work for adapt to all the challenges we are facing. A nice mixture of theory; humour and activist language.
Foundr V1.0 Coffee Table Book First 2 Chapters Previewfoundr
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Grab your copy of the limited edition of the Foundr Coffee Table Book here: http://www.foundrmag.com/book
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Gordon has a fascinating history and we talked about the passion that he brings to business, and the sense of purpose that drives him in his own business. So he's working in the digital and innovation field, but he's got a unique take on it. I think you're really going to enjoy this interview.
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Reboot Podcast #03 - This being so, so what? – With Jerry Colonna and Nigel Sharp
1. Reboot 003_So_What
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Welcome to the Reboot podcast. I'm Dan Putt, one of the partners here at Reboot. I could not be
more excited about this show. I've known Jerry for almost seven years now and without a doubt,
could say that my work with him has had a profound impact on my life. In this show, we're
opening up the coaching couch to the world and bringing everyone in on this conversation
around this work. We're here to showcase the heart and soul of authentic leadership, and to
inspire more open conversations around, what we consider the most important part of
entrepreneurship - the emotional struggle and hopefully opening up some heart along the way.
We are extremely grateful that you have taken the time to be with us, and look forward to this
journey ahead with you. Now, on to our conversation.
Work is difficulty and drama; a high-stakes game in which our identity, our self-esteem and our
ability to provide are mixed inside us in volatile, sometimes explosive ways. "Work is where we
can make ourselves; work is where we can break ourselves." And that quote comes from David
Whyte from "Crossing The Unknown Sea". As CEO of a young startup, you can always feel that
what you are facing right now, the choices in this very moment can make or break your company
and can make or break you. And you'll likely to find yourself in this place more than once. Nigel
Sharp, CEO of Armenia-based Lionsharp finds himself in one of these very moments. On the
one hand, he has the tremendous promise and excitement around a product and his team. He is
getting very positive feedback from all over the world. On the other hand, he faces the reality of
not only six months left runway but also the challenge of leading the fundraiser between
Thanksgiving and New Year's. How do you balance the excitement and the challenges? How do
you discuss the reality of your finances with your team? How do you discuss your fears, not only
of failures but of success? Hear Jerry and Nigel explore these questions and more in this episode
of the Reboot podcast.
Jerry Colonna: Hey Nigel, how are you?
Nigel Sharp: Great! Thanks Jerry.
Jerry Colonna: Good, good. Hey Nigel, before we start, why don't you give us what
2. Reboot 003_So_What
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Lionsharp is and who you are and that sort of stuff?
Nigel Sharp: Sure. Okay, so Lionsharp is a creative technology company. We're a little bit
eccentric in the fact that we're actually based in Armenia. So Armenia is over
in the Caucasus and we're quite far out of the way but we are trying to build a
world-leading technology company. What we currently do is we work with
really cool futuristic stuff like voice control and voice recognition and also
gesture control. So, we mix like some of the latest and greatest technologies,
build 'Minority Report' style interfaces for products that we think are gonna
help business productivity. So, we are very focused in the business
productivity area. One of the first products we are working on is called
Voiceboard. Voiceboard is a tool for allowing you to use voice and gesture
controlled presentations. So, it's just a sort of a separate way from the
traditional PowerPoint type presentation; a much more into bringing things
into a natural and interactive type environment. It's actually very exciting to
watch, it's very exciting to be a part of and we've just got ourselves set up in a
couple of pilot locations around the world. So we are really excited about
what the progress is there. So we are just kind of - yeah, we are kind of in that
- how can I say, as far as phase, we are currently in sort of a seed kind of
phase of the company where we are hoping to sort of, you know, go into the
next level of growth and we should hopefully be hitting the products market
later this year. So pretty much, everything is happening right now.
Jerry Colonna: Oh, I see. So - well, thanks for that and I think if I remember correctly, where
you are in terms of the maturation of the business speaks to the issue that you
wanted to talk about today; is that right?
Nigel Sharp: Yes, indeed. It's interesting how a lot of things have happened and they have
culminated in the need for talking about things like growth and expansion of
the company. I'm having two advice sets coming from various people. One
advice set is saying, be frugal, be careful, you know, cut down to the absolute
3. Reboot 003_So_What
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minimum core number of people you have, get down to the absolute basics
and just drive forward from there until you are in a position where you are
generating revenue or you have secured further investment. The other side of
the hand is sort of saying, well, you know, to get to that point, you need to
expand, you need to grow, you need to do as much as you can with having,
you know, just keep bringing onboard as many interested people as there is
and just keep growing the company because that's how great things are gonna
happen. So, I'm kind of fighting with that dilemma and I'd like your opinion
on that.
Jerry Colonna: So, it's really - you're in this funny stage right now where you've made enough
progress that - if I remember correctly, you've raised a seed round and now the
question is, do you really press it hard and expand and sort of take advantage
of the momentum that you have or do you hold things tight and just sort of
focus more on organic growth? Am I understanding that right?
Nigel Sharp: I think that's right and I think there's a slight finesse to the whole thing
because the issues is that as you know, with investments you have a certain
runway and our current runway, at our, say current burn rate would pretty give
us from today's date probably about seven or eight months. But in reality to
where we are with our current progress and expansion, I think we are in a
good position but I know that to raise a future round of investment or
whatever could also take six-seven months. So it's like - especially
considering we're coming from an Armenian background, we're not based in
Silicon Valley so things take a bit longer from that side of the world.
Jerry Colonna: In the note that I received, you also talked about being concerned about
becoming a corporation or losing that small team feel; is that also a concern?
Nigel Sharp: Well, that's the other thing that I'd like to talk about; yeah, recently I recruited
a lady and she came in and we had gone through three phases of interviews,
4. Reboot 003_So_What
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we got to the last interview and she said to me, "Okay, what are the benefits
and the plans and whatever of the company?" I said, "Well look you know,
we're a startup; we're gonna work a lot of hours, we're gonna be working
really hard and can't really promise you much else other than that." And then
you know, I got a nice email back a day later that saying, "Sorry, thanks very
much, not interested." I suddenly realized that people coming to us and
looking to us as if we were already a established company and realizing that
we're starting to already lose that identity of being a small startup where
people can come in and get involved in the excitement of growth as opposed
to, say, the big corporation benefits.
Jerry Colonna: Yeah, so there's a bit of a struggle because - I mean, do you like being a small
company?
Nigel Sharp: That's not the intention; you know, Lionsharp is gonna grow global and we
have to for what we want to do and for the way we want to change the world
let's say; to use this futuristic technology on various different platforms and
ideas we have. It's just never gonna work to be a small company. So - I've got
big dreams and big plans - big vision, let say, on where I want to see the
company go and the things we do and I just can't imagine as staying to be a
small group of people sitting in Armenia, for example. That's just not - that
was never the plan.
Jerry Colonna: You know, I can give you an opinion and I can put on my old VC hat and act
as if I'm a board member and give you a - you know, an opinion about what I
would do. The problem is, and this is true for a lot of advice-givers you're
gonna get. You're gonna talk whether they are mentors or investors or friends,
they are not you.
Nigel Sharp: Yeah.
5. Reboot 003_So_What
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Jerry Colonna: And you actually have to make these decisions. So before I give you my input,
which is what I think is the right thing to do, is for you to take input and then
see. I really want to understand what it is; what the pros and cons that you see.
So for example, taking this woman for example, who rejected coming into the
company because she perceived it not necessarily to be, what would you say,
like a solid enough company yet?
Nigel Sharp: Yeah, you know, she basically said that she did not want to take a risk inside
the job. She wanted to have a guaranteed job with guaranteed benefits and
salaries.
Jerry Colonna: Yeah. See, if you notice, all of the questions which are pragmatic and
understandable and practical and real, but they all sort of hinge around fear.
They all hinge around risk; right?
Nigel Sharp: Yeah.
Jerry Colonna: There's a risk in growing too quickly. There's a risk in not growing quickly
enough. There's a risk in becoming too corporate and losing that sort of 'esprit
de corps' that only a startup can have. And there's a risk in not growing
quickly enough and really becoming professional enough 'cos you're gonna
lose some really mature and talented potential employees. So it's really about -
what you are really asking is how do you navigate this growth curve? Does
that make sense?
Nigel Sharp: Yeah, I have asked the exact question.
Jerry Colonna: Yeah. So, what do you see is the risk of - I think you said you've got a team;
how many people do you have on the team now?
Nigel Sharp: Currently, we're at about 11 people.
6. Reboot 003_So_What
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Jerry Colonna: All right, and you just closed the seed round; is that right?
Nigel Sharp: Well no, actually we've just closed the second [Unclear 0:09:56] of the seed
round. So we closed the seed round back in May - sorry in March and we've
used the first - so the first half is gone. So now we are on the second half of it.
Jerry Colonna: And how long with that cash last you?
Nigel Sharp: The second half will probably last us around - I don't know, conservatively, I
think about seven months if we carry on with the same, current spending rate
and if we were to make some drastic cuts and things then yeah, we can make
it last a bit longer.
Jerry Colonna: What does your instinct tell you?
Nigel Sharp: My instinct tells me, go for broke. Otherwise we are gonna basically - either
it's gonna become, you know, just a slow death or a fast death, it doesn't make
much difference either way. I mean, either way, if you don't make things
happen, you don't make things happen. So, to make things happen -
Jerry Colonna: If you were to go down that path, when would you be out? I presume you still
anticipate having to do another capital raise?
Nigel Sharp: Yes.
Jerry Colonna: So probably; what, in another three or four months?
Nigel Sharp: I start actively, yeah, in the fall.
Jerry Colonna: So like November?
7. Reboot 003_So_What
Page 7 of 26
Nigel Sharp: Mm-hmm.
Jerry Colonna: So what do you need to see, milestone wise, in the development of the
company between now and November to know that the company has got a
better-than-average shot at fundraising?
Nigel Sharp: I think the main [Unclear 0:11:17] would be to engage with - I mean take
what we have in our R&D lab in Armenia and sort of take out that technology
and actually get out into the real world with - I don't know whether you call
them customers or pilot users; I don't know what you'd call them exactly, but
those guys out there who are actually using it to give us real feedback. I think
that's the thing. Getting out of the comfort zone of being - I mean this is
another fear that I have and we'll talk about it separately, getting out of the
comfort zone of being in Armenia and getting into the real world, which is
exactly what I'm doing on this current trip over in California. So, I mean,
we're learning a lot from that.
Jerry Colonna: So you're meeting with potential customers in California?
Nigel Sharp: Well, we've actually just set up the Voiceboard system in Silicon Valley at a
large showcase location. So the incubator called NestGSV - and yeah, those
guys there have kindly hosted the Voiceboard system and so we are hoping
that they are going to be able to give us some great feedback. And what I have
noticed so far in the past few days in meeting with various people is that the
feedback from Silicon Valley is definitely tough. It's definitely much more
realistic. In Armenia, people would be very soft and say 'well done!' They'll
give you a pat on the back for anything you achieve.
Jerry Colonna: [Laughs].
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Nigel Sharp: Here, it's a much rougher game. People have seen everything and they really
want to make you the best of the best.
Jerry Colonna: Yeah well, see I'm feeling the same impulse. My instinct is, rather than tell
you, you should go for it or you should not go for it or you should be
conservative, what I would like to see you do and if I were on your board of
directors, what I would mandate that you do to the degree what that one can,
is set yourself up with like six-week milestones.
Nigel Sharp: Mm-hmm.
Jerry Colonna: Six to eight weeks; we're at the beginning of September now, you basically
have eight weeks and I want to see broken down, week by week milestones.
What do you accomplish, what do you need to get done next week? What do
you need to get done the following week; you see what I'm saying?
Nigel Sharp: Yeah.
Jerry Colonna: Because what I would like you to be in a position, is to say in November, if as
I suspect will happen, you are not hitting your milestones you slow the
spending down and you buy yourself an extra month.
Nigel Sharp: Mm-hmm.
Jerry Colonna: I think the worst thing that you can do, forget for a moment the choice that
you have set up - do I go for it or be conservative right now and in effect,
spend nothing. I think the worst thing you can do is to move into this next
phase without a clear, definable plan of action and then no way to gauge, to
hold yourself accountable as to whether or not, you are in fact, making
progress. So you have to be - this is a very critical time because this is the
time period where a lot of self-delusion starts to kick in and you start to tell
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yourself you're making progress when you are not.
Nigel Sharp: Mm-hmm.
Jerry Colonna: And this is dangerous and what I would like you to do is still have
maneuvering room by, let's call it, November 15th 'cos at that point, you'll still
have theoretically about six to eight weeks of cash; right? And you could slow
things down again at that point and buy yourself another month.
Nigel Sharp: But I like the idea of just sort of setting something shorter term, I think -
Jerry Colonna: And I mean, I would point out something else; let me ask you, the people who
are on your board of directors, were they the ones who gave you the second
[Unclear 0:14:48] of the seed fund?
Nigel Sharp: One of them, yes. So we have -
Jerry Colonna: Okay.
Nigel Sharp: Yeah.
Jerry Colonna: So, if you notice, by keeping that person up to date and part of the process,
even though you have missed a few milestones or one milestone -
Nigel Sharp: Yeah.
Jerry Colonna: - they put more money in.
Nigel Sharp: Indeed.
Jerry Colonna: And so there's another lesson in there which is you really have to treat your
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investors as partners. The last thing I want to see you do is surprise the heck
out of your existing investors. If you keep them up to date and you -
Nigel Sharp: No, they deserve more than that.
Jerry Colonna: That's right.
Nigel Sharp: Yeah.
Jerry Colonna: That's right and so you could give them a report; I mean I want you tracking
this weekly.
Nigel Sharp: Mm-hmm.
Jerry Colonna: But you can give them a report every two weeks and it doesn't have to be very
long. It could be three or four bullet items, number of customer calls, number
of Beta users, number of installations, number of - whatever it is that you are
measuring and every two or three weeks, you are sending then an update so
that they feel that, let's call it by November 15th, you're making a joint
decision about what you want to do. Now that said, they are still going to look
to you to lead.
Nigel Sharp: Of course.
Jerry Colonna: Because you are ultimately still going to be the one responsible for making the
judgment call as to how you go forward post November 15th. But I also want
you to remember too that after November 15th, you're gonna start getting into
the holiday period here in the States.
Nigel Sharp: That's a big concern of mine and we were there last winter, the company ran
out of cash around, actually funnily enough, around the same date; around
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November 15th and we'd already had a signed term sheet from our investors
but just the process was immense to get everything done. And there was huge
amount of structural work - I mean the company had to be done and legal
work and it dragged on till around February-March [Unclear 0:16:40] and
yeah, the winter was very rough. It was very rough for the whole team, for
morale, for everyone, so it was a very rough time.
Jerry Colonna: All right, so what are you gonna do to prevent that from happening again?
Nigel Sharp: Yeah, have a better plan but actually, I mean, I think last year we also had a
good plan. What I didn't - I guess, the experience I had last year was I didn't
understand - people told me it could take a long time to do things, I just didn't
believe that things could take that long. Now, I'm much, much more aware
and as I said, now I know that if we had a six or seven month runway, then it
means that we need to start fundraising now and not in four or five months'
time because it would take too long to close the whole process and then things
would get very uncomfortable while we are sitting in between those zones and
that's a very bad place to be for any company.
Jerry Colonna: That's right. That's right and you know, the last thing you want to do is be in a
position of running out of cash.
Nigel Sharp: Yeah.
Jerry Colonna: Not only does it put you in a terrible negotiating position with potential
investors or existing investors, but as you noticed, it destroys morale -
Nigel Sharp: Yeah.
Jerry Colonna: - and it's so distracting that you then start to miss opportunities that are right in
front of you. You know, closing a customer, that sort of thing because you are
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so anxious about cash. So, cash management; you are in the cash management
phase right now -
Nigel Sharp: Mm-hmm.
Jerry Colonna: -you're not so much in the 'should we grow the company or should we not
grow the company' phase; you really are in the cash management phase. That
doesn't mean get parsimonious and get souse and get be driven by your fears.
You know, one of my favorite Zen sayings is, this being so, so what? And it's
an aphorism that basically teaches to really deal with the reality that is; to lean
into the reality that is and this is a situation. What you've done is set yourself
up to run out of cash around January 15th.
Nigel Sharp: Mm-hmm.
Jerry Colonna: [Laughs] Don't do that.
Nigel Sharp: Yeah.
Jerry Colonna: So, you know, is there a line of credit that you establish, can you have a
conversation with the investors? For example, you can start to have a
conversation with the investors in the next three or four weeks and say, 'listen,
if we are close and we sign a term sheet before say Christmas -
Nigel Sharp: Yeah.
Jerry Colonna: - are you willing to roll a convertible note to cover us while we get the
paperwork done?'
Nigel Sharp: Yeah sure [Unclear 0:19:02] Mm-hmm.
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Jerry Colonna: Exactly. It doesn't even have to be a full round, it's just a note and it'll convert
into that round and then you get to negotiate from a place of strength 'cos you
got 100,000 - 200,000 dollars in the bank.
Nigel Sharp: Yeah.
Jerry Colonna: Part of your good governance and good leadership right now is to look down
the road and make sure that you've got, you know, things covered.
Nigel Sharp: Well, that's something that's become harder and harder to do. As companies
grow and I've realized that forward-looking perspective, we actually had a
very interesting meeting a few days ago here at Silicon Valley where there
was a great guy; he met up with me for breakfast and we talked about the
product and things and he was very interesting. 'Cos you know, one of the
things that he noticed was that originally when we started the company about
a year ago, we were talking only about products, vision, the future of the
company, the future of the products and that's where we are always pitching.
Now, we have something to show people, you know, [Unclear 0:20:01] say
sights into the future has actually shortened considerably into the next feature
and the things that can come up in the next couple of weeks and he was
asking, 'what's the vision, where is this thing going?' And I think that the same
has happened with me regarding the whole companies, as the companies got
bigger and as we've had more, say, day-to-day operational type things to deal
with, as we started to talk with customers and things happening now, and
things are happening soon, we keep forgetting about what's gonna happen in
the future.
Jerry Colonna: Yeah, and you're in a difficult phase of maturation because on the one hand,
you need to be focused and on the present and the here and now and at the
same time, you need to be thinking down, you know, ahead, down the road.
And you're expressing the duality of that. There's another way to think about
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this though; instead of thinking about it so much as the here and now versus
the down the road -
Nigel Sharp: Sure -
Jerry Colonna: - the one thing to think about is, your job is not necessarily to build the
product. Your job is to build a company.
Nigel Sharp: Mm-hmm.
Jerry Colonna: Okay? And the company will have multiple products and the company will
have multiple iterations in the same product. So part of what your job is right
now, is to build the resources into the company so that the company can not
only survive low points of cash but different iterations in the product.
Nigel Sharp: Yeah.
Jerry Colonna: So, there's a big difference between building a company and building a
product. Building a company is about building sustainability into the system
and resiliency in the system and that means, you know, when we think about
looking down the road, it's about making the system more capable to survive
the seasonality of, say, cash or the seasonality of customer purchasing habits
with a seasonality of just the economic conditions that you are operating in.
Does this make sense?
Nigel Sharp: It does. I think it's - it's at a constant balance because I think I'm much more
comfortable and the products field where there's cash to build something great
and you're doing that and you want to get out there and do great things with it
but building a sustainable business is something that has become, I guess,
more relevant now that I have more weight on my shoulders, now that I have
noticed there's more staff, there's more employees looking towards longer
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term plans and we want to - you know, I don't want to see any of these guys
out of a job by Christmas and I don't think there's any reason for a startup to
be talking in that kind of way because at the moment, we are in a very positive
phase. We are in a very positive - like everything, the investor's board has just
met this week and they've been very happy with the progress. I mean people
are - it's a very positive time and yet the worry is always there that at least
these guys, you know, to look after and all these guys to make sure that they
will - they will have something to take home at the end of each month and be
able to care and grow in the business with them. So -
Jerry Colonna: That worry, Nigel - that worry never goes away.
Nigel Sharp: Sure.
Jerry Colonna: No matter how safe and secure the company feels, the worry never goes away
because the stakes always get higher -
Nigel Sharp: Yeah -
Jerry Colonna: You'll have more employees, more people focused on you, more customers,
reputation, more investors and that sort of thing. And so as part of that
'building sustainable business' process, we also want to be focused in building
resiliency within you.
Nigel Sharp: Mm-hmm.
Jerry Colonna: Right? So - and the impulse that you identify, which is to stay focused on the
product, I'm gonna say two things about that; the first is that - well, three
things; the first is that it is very, very common. It's very common and staying
focused on product makes a ton of sense if the game you want to play is to
shoot for an - to be acquired in the next 18-24 months -
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Nigel Sharp: Mm-hmm.
Jerry Colonna: - and a lot of people have made a lot of money and brought a lot of successful
products to market by staying focused on that and there's no shame in that
being a strategy. I know it's politically correct to talk about purpose and
meaning and all that and we'll get there in a moment.
Nigel Sharp: Yeah sure.
Jerry Colonna: But there's no shame in just building a great product that somebody needs to
have and acquire and then you make some money and then you turn around
and then you help the world. Great! However, if that's not what you are
interested in, and based on some past conversations, I know that you are
interested in making a difference in the underlying economy in Armenia.
Nigel Sharp: Sure.
Jerry Colonna: We talked about before, Armenia really important to you.
Nigel Sharp: Mm-hmm.
Jerry Colonna: And so, building a company becomes the more sustainable path. What I would
also suggest is that it's - you know, I don't know if you follow baseball at all
but in baseball there are people who swing for the fences and try to hit home
runs all the time and there are people who just don't care, they just try to get
on base every single time they are up. And, you know, a great team needs
both. There's something powerful about both styles; for my money, I like the
guy who is always trying to get on base because they always make something
happen and in my view, that's a much less risky strategy. It's a much less
riskier strategy than trying to build a product that, come hell or high water,
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somebody has to come in and buy because all of a sudden, your future starts to
be dictated by external economic conditions and you have no control over
that. Whereas if you build a sustainable business, or a sustainable and
repeatable business and then someone comes along and wants to acquire you,
well, it's up to you as to whether or not you want to sell.
Nigel Sharp: Sure.
Jerry Colonna: You're not back -
Nigel Sharp: I think the greatest companies in the world, I mean, all of them have all taken
that latter approach to building a business and I think that although I don't
want to over-blow what it is that I want to achieve, I do think that, as you said,
for Armenia and for other places that we have been and the people and the
people who supported us, I think it's very important to not just go for that first
step. For me, it's a two-part process and I agree that I'd much rather see a team
of people that are actually working in jobs they love, building products that
may or may not be successful in the market. Some may and some may not, but
when you are a part of a company that has that environment where they can
actually work on the type of tech they are interested in and, you know, get
things out to market as they go as opposed to you know, a one-shot, one-hit
home run as you put it so -
Jerry Colonna: That's right and so if that's what you want to do then your focus has to at least
be equally on building a company as it is on building the product.
Nigel Sharp: Indeed, yeah.
Jerry Colonna: And that means securing a steady source of capital and smoothing out the
vagaries in your capital expenditure so that you are determining the best
moment when you are fundraising; not your bank balance. This is your job
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and this is the time to be focused on it 'cos you've got some maneuver room
right now.
Nigel Sharp: Sure.
Jerry Colonna: But you don't have a lot, you only have a few months.
Nigel Sharp: We have never had a lot so that's one thing I can say coming from that side of
the world is that we have never had a lot. Last year we were operating with,
you know, on average, maximum sort of three month runtime and it was very
rough, you know, very, very rough. This year we have had double that each
time between the rounds and it has still been pretty tough because the team's
got bigger and the teams got - as you said, the stakes increased. So, it's a very
interesting way to look at it; to not be dictated - don't let the bank balance
dictate the decisions and instead focus on the overarching plan to make sure
that things are happening. I mean I had a very interesting discussion again this
week where, you know, it was really brought up to me that how I thought
about, you know, taking the company through a bootstrapping phase for some
period of time because people have said, they see that we are very close to
having our products that is maybe not globally applicable but definitely there
was probably enough potential out there that - it can probably sustain the
business in its current form for quite some time until we can build something
more, I'd say, globally appealing. And that was also a very interesting idea
because I hadn't really considered that up to this point. I mean most of the
time I had considered that we would follow a standard kind of [Unclear
0:28:53] around investment type of process but it seems like there is lot of
value now and also looking at just, you know, keeping the business
sustainable for some period of time, you know, lower the expectations of
growth. But I do worry then, and the only worry I have there is that how will -
how will the team, how will other people around the business react to that if
they see the business not - I wouldn't call it stagnate but it remain in sort of,
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one, sort of stable positions for some period of time building a smaller
product, just generating enough revenue to sustain the business for a short
period of time, possibly become self-sustainable for a long period of time but I
mean, I don't know how this is going to be perceived by everyone around
because I think a lot of people want to be part of that fast-growing, exciting
tech startup and they don't want to be part of the -
Jerry Colonna: What if you talked it over with some of the senior, more mature people in
your team?
Nigel Sharp: Yeah.
Jerry Colonna: What if you got their opinion? What if you actually gave them the choice or at
least gave them the opportunity to give you their input? What if it wasn't
always on your shoulders, Nigel, to not only to identify what the problem was
but walk in with the solution?
Nigel Sharp: I always had a good team Jerry; recently one of my co-founders, he just - he
sent me a message, it was my birthday a few days back and he sent me a
message and he said, 'happy birthday' and then at the end of the message he
wrote, 'thanks for holding the torch every day and coming to work and to keep
things moving along, keep pushing things along. Really appreciate that.'
Jerry Colonna: What's this guy's first name?
Nigel Sharp: I'm really happy with the team that we have so -
Jerry Colonna: What's this guys' first name?
Nigel Sharp: Alessandro.
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Jerry Colonna: Why don't you sit down with Alessandro as soon as you can and sort of lay
out the - use the fundraising, use the cash balance as the structure to then have
a really clear conversation where the two of you craft the strategy? So you lay
out what you think the milestones need to be, you lay out what the decision
points are, 'cos there's no point in having milestones unless you attach a
decision to the milestones, right? By October 1, we are gonna be deciding X
or Y.
Nigel Sharp: Mm-hmm.
Jerry Colonna: By November 15, we're gonna decide, you know, A or B. And you lay that all
out and you could even, as you get closer, you could even get into anticipating
if you have to cut expenditures, what would you cut? Would you cut people or
would you cut salaries? Or both?
Nigel Sharp: That was also the advice that came in from one of our post advisors; he's
based here in L.A. and his view was like, consider everybody. Cutting
salaries, consider the whole team taking a step back, considering just like,
really, really tightening the bolts in every single person, make sure that
whoever is around, needs to be around and no one's extra weight right now.
And his advice from an outside perspective, sounds very clear, sounds very
sensible, it was nothing I could disagree with. But at the same time, being
inside of the [Unclear 0:32:01] and hearing that, I immediately felt defensive.
I felt that somebody was saying, that look it's not going - I don't know why but
maybe it's just perspective and again, as I said, you can become very easily
clouded when you are inside the system but when I heard it, I did become
quite defensive. I was quite like, 'whoa, why is he telling me that I should be
taking -' because I don't feel that anyone is like particularly taking huge
salaries or taking an advantage of any of the system. We are not, let's say, an
Americanized startup where you hear crazy stories in the news. I mean we are
nowhere as crazy as that. So we are quite sensible with everything we have
21. Reboot 003_So_What
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done and we are quite responsible with everything we have done but at the
same point, I hear his words and I see that he's got a good experience with a
lot of setting up businesses before, and I'm wondering, well, where does he
see that the risk is? And his point was, keep things very, very, very tight
because you don't know where the next cash is coming from.
Jerry Colonna: I would argue that he's not even saying that. I think what he's saying to you is,
keep things real; meaning, know what your plan is going to be. Know what
you are gonna cut, know what you are not gonna cut, know what you can cut,
know what you can't cut. I think it's interesting 'cos you heard a criticism and I
didn't hear the criticism. Now I wasn't in the first conversation; but you got
defensive.
Nigel Sharp: It was - I mean, the situation was that, you know, we were talking about
taking the company forward and there was basically just an email out of the
blue more or less, after an investor update. There was an update and the
update was just, you know, the general news about where we were in that
month and what had happened and the fact that we were looking to close the
second half of the investment and the response back to that was, from him was
just like, 'just tighten the bolts down, keep everything, you know, potentially,
cut salaries -' And he said it in a dramatic way. 'Cut everything by half,
everybody across the board, just halve everything you can. Halve the
expenditure and then give yourself more time, give yourself more runway,
you're gonna need it.' And the end of his sentence was very clear, he doesn't
want to see us run out of money.
Jerry Colonna: Well, I think what you are dealing with is that the investor was giving you the
best possible advice they could give you based on their emotional read of the
situation.
Nigel Sharp: Yeah.
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Jerry Colonna: Which was, if it were them, this is what they would do.
Nigel Sharp: Mm-hmm.
Jerry Colonna: Right? And rather than seeing it as a potential criticism, see it as one potential
path and as we laid it out - I mean to me facts are, you are going to be out of
cash on such and such date which means you need to raise money by such and
such date, which means that you need to have the fund raising begun by such
and such date, which means that you need to have milestones in place so that
you can have a successful fundraising by such and such date.
Nigel Sharp: Sure.
Jerry Colonna: That's the way to respond to the theoretical conditions that you are all dealing
with in this moment and the person who knows those facts best is you.
Nigel Sharp: Absolutely, yeah. I mean the other thing about - I can say about fundraising
and it's just something I have learnt again through experience over the past
year has been that you want to be in the strongest possible position at the
moment when you're negotiating. And that's hard because you want to try and
force everything in the company to be in that strongest possible position. So
for example, the product, you wanted it to look as strong as it possibly can be.
You know the more time will make the product better but at the same time, if
you don't show it, then you're gonna miss that window of opportunity where
you can actually get something signed up and done. So, I think at the moment
we are fighting that balance of being - of being in the strongest position if we
not, then things do take a back-flip where people go, 'oh, this is okay', but it
doesn't get them excited to do you only have that fist impression that first
time. So -
23. Reboot 003_So_What
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Jerry Colonna: I think that's absolutely right. I think that's absolutely right and I think in the
same - another thing to think about that will put you in a strong position is you
know what your scenario B is. Scenario B is, 'and if I don't raise money, here's
what my new salary will be, here's what Alessandro's new salary will be.
Here's what Joe's new salary will be.'
Nigel Sharp: Yeah.
Jerry Colonna: And we've already discussed it and these are the conditions and nobody is
getting screwed 'cos we are all in this together.
Nigel Sharp: Mm-hmm.
Jerry Colonna: And, you know, maybe it's not just a salary cut, maybe it's a deferred salary,
maybe it's equity in lieu of salary.
Nigel Sharp: Yeah.
Jerry Colonna: Whatever it is, but have that discussion now. The benefit of having that
discussion now is it will tighten the team.
Nigel Sharp: Sure.
Jerry Colonna: See, my concern is that you are - and maybe you are not doing this but my
concern is that you are taking all of this burden on yourself and I hear you;
you've said to me several times, you have a great team. I am sure of that and I
want this burden shared by the team 'cos that's what a great company is.
Nigel Sharp: Mm-hmm.
Jerry Colonna: A great company is not everything is on the shoulders of one person. That's
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just too risky and that's not really fair.
Nigel Sharp: No, it's not fair to anyone. You know, I don't want to have so many
discussions and so much stuff that makes people panic that things aren't going
well rather people believe that you know, guys are gonna throw money at us
in the next few months if we just keep [Unclear 0:37:38] and keep people on
high spirits that -
Jerry Colonna: Nigel, people are not gonna panic based on what you say.
Nigel Sharp: Sure.
Jerry Colonna: They're gonna panic based what you feel when you say it. So, if you feel panic
and you tell them 'everything is fine', they're still gonna feel panic. And if you
feel that things are under control, and that you have a sense of a plan and you
lay out what the challenges are, they're not gonna panic.
Nigel Sharp: Hmm.
Jerry Colonna: It's a mistake to assume that people are gonna respond to your words more
than your own feelings. This is the function of leadership. You know, I just
finished George Washington's biography and so forgive me, 'cos I keep
referencing back to him in my head. And there's this great scene at the very,
very end of his presidency and it's the Whiskey Rebellion. And this is a
rebellion that occurred in the western part of, what was then United States,
and they were rebelling against the tax put on whiskey. And they were
basically armed rebels who were moving against the government and you
know, he moved the army in there as commander-in-chief and there was this
one scene where his back is incredibly in pain and he can barely hold himself
up on a horse and him being on a horse was such a powerful image. And so he
took a carriage from Philadelphia out to the hinterlands of Ohio and he gets
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there and gets off the carriage and he gets back on his white horse 'cos he
knows he needs to do that. And he rides through the troops and the troops are
faced off with the rebels and he says nothing but just rides through the troops.
And the troops start to cry just looking at him at the way he sat on the horse.
That's what I'm talking about; that's your leadership opportunity; you know?
Nigel Sharp: Yeah, it's a very powerful image, yeah.
Jerry Colonna: That's the hardest part. What I'm talking about right now, is the hardest part of
being the CEO. It's about your bearing; it's about your being. It's not about
what the words you use or the plan you put out. The plans are really important
but if you say to the team, those ten other people, 'we're in it and we're in it
together' and you feel it in your gut, it'll be all right. Will you keep me up to
date and let me know how the fundraising goes and how the fall unfolds for
you?
Nigel Sharp: Absolutely Jerry, yeah. I have taken onboard a lot of what you said and I
thank you very much for your time.
Jerry Colonna: Oh it's my pleasure, it's my pleasure and good luck with everything. Take care
of yourself my friend.
Nigel Sharp: Thanks Jerry, thank you very much.
Jerry Colonna: Be well.
So that's it for our conversation today. You know, a lot was covered in this episode from links, to
books, to quotes, to images. So we went ahead and compiled all that, and put it on our site at
Reboot.io/Podcast. If you would like to be a guest on the show, you can find out about that on
our site as well. I'm really grateful that you took the time to listen. If you enjoyed the show and
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26. Reboot 003_So_What
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affected you. So thank you again for listening and I really look forward to future conversations
together.
[Singing] “How long till my soul gets it right?
Did any human being ever reach that kind of light?
I call on the resting soul of Galileo,
King of night vision, king of insight.”
[End of transcript 0:42:02]