You Can Be Aligned At the Head or the Heart, but the Best Alignment is at the Wallet

If you are juggling too many ideas and do not know which one to focus on or are stuck because you are overthinking everything, this episode of the Managing Tech Growth podcast is for you. To discuss how to navigate your way out of that situation and avoid it in the future, Mike is joined by David Boice.  David is a serial entrepreneur who, at just 22, founded his first business. Today, it is worth hundreds of millions. His current companies employ 500+ associates who are mainly engaged in developing and providing technology for several transport industries. KEY TAKEAWAYS Achieving growth takes time, but once you have it, maintaining momentum for a few years is relatively easy. Once you demonstrate growth, attracting capital becomes much easier. Focus on solving a problem that exists. If you solve a problem only you and a few others believe is an issue, you will go nowhere. Constantly striving to improve your understanding of your customers and their problems is a growth essential. Set up a customer advisory board of 12 to 15 engaged clients, a mix of big and small.  Identifying your exit strategy before establishing your business is counterproductive. Be careful with automation. Often, to ensure that the customer gets the best service possible, you will need to insert humans into your systems  Be positive publicly. Regularly congratulate people for their achievements. Discuss problems, but primarily in the context of solving them. You will meet resistance to change regardless of whether it is good or bad.  Put in place systems that enable you to step back. If you don´t you will burn out. Not every founder should automatically become the CEO. BEST MOMENTS 5.46 “There's a whole category of private equity firms called growth investors.” 8.36 “Just make sure you're solving a problem before you start looking at anything else.” 22.18 “We kept thinking, and kept staying curious about, what could we do next? What do our clients need? What problems are we solving?” 25.08 “We weren't as prepared for how profitability was really going to drive the ultimate value of the company.” 26.59 “I am very much against pre-planned exit strategies.” 36.19 “The customer advisory board is a great way to have a constant focus on where you want to go.” 44.36 “Because clients don't always know what's possible… our job is to come up with the really big, visionary ideas.” 47.51 “Bring in people that have the skill sets that you don't have.” 1.00.36 “If you manage your downside, the only outcome that is left is positive.” 1.14.22 “Change, whether good or bad, is going to be resisted with equal intensity.” 1.22.49 “You can be aligned at the head, and you can be aligned at the heart, but the best alignment is at the wallet.” EPISODE RESOURCES https://teamvelocitymarketing.com ABOUT THE HOST Meet Mike, a seasoned tech entrepreneur and visionary with over two and a half decades of invaluable experience in founding and scaling successful tech start-ups. Mike brings a wealth of firsthand knowledge, and a deep understanding of the challenges faced by entrepreneurs and tech professionals. As a host, Mike is dedicated to sharing actionable insights, strategies, and stories gathered from conversations with industry leaders, innovators, and experts. With a remarkable ability to distil practical wisdom from guests, Mike curates engaging discussions that resonate with both aspiring entrepreneurs and seasoned professionals.