1
00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:02,310
Welcome back to another episode
of the Startup Therapy podcast.

2
00:00:02,310 --> 00:00:04,490
This is Ryan Rutan, joined
as always by my friend,

3
00:00:04,500 --> 00:00:07,730
the founder and CEO of
Startups.com, Will Schroeder.

4
00:00:08,309 --> 00:00:12,409
Will, the founder
journey is like one long

5
00:00:12,450 --> 00:00:15,329
accidental apprenticeship
in becoming someone you

6
00:00:15,329 --> 00:00:16,719
never thought you could be.

7
00:00:17,020 --> 00:00:19,400
You start a company thinking
you're building a product.

8
00:00:19,669 --> 00:00:22,049
You suddenly, you're learning
finance, sales, hiring,

9
00:00:22,049 --> 00:00:26,330
design, legal, and apparently
whether you might be a secret

10
00:00:26,330 --> 00:00:28,479
world-class backup dancer,
but we'll get to that later.

11
00:00:28,489 --> 00:00:32,359
Will, is, is becoming
a founder the ultimate

12
00:00:32,400 --> 00:00:35,630
unlock for discovering what
we're actually capable of?

13
00:00:35,930 --> 00:00:36,370
Yeah.

14
00:00:36,419 --> 00:00:37,620
Here's the fascinating about it.

15
00:00:37,620 --> 00:00:42,519
Like, my opinion of myself
and my future going into life-

16
00:00:42,680 --> 00:00:44,199
was so incredibly low.

17
00:00:44,310 --> 00:00:46,359
And I, I was like a
fairly confident kid.

18
00:00:46,360 --> 00:00:47,019
It wasn't that.

19
00:00:47,029 --> 00:00:47,049
Yeah.

20
00:00:47,450 --> 00:00:50,049
It's just, like, my life
circumstance did not have a

21
00:00:50,049 --> 00:00:52,609
trajectory that, that was going
up and to the right, right?

22
00:00:52,630 --> 00:00:52,839
Like- Pretty

23
00:00:52,839 --> 00:00:53,139
sure

24
00:00:53,189 --> 00:00:55,609
… 
it was going to peak at
flatline, and then almost

25
00:00:55,610 --> 00:00:57,269
certainly- Right … like,
bomb from there, right?

26
00:00:57,279 --> 00:00:58,599
Yeah, with, with
some possible dips.

27
00:00:58,959 --> 00:00:58,989
Yeah.

28
00:00:59,639 --> 00:01:00,839
With some possible dips.

29
00:01:01,299 --> 00:01:04,660
And when I look back at that,
you know, kind of baseline

30
00:01:04,660 --> 00:01:07,399
moment, and then all the things
that happened in my life since

31
00:01:07,400 --> 00:01:11,249
then, it's impossible for me
not to look back and say, "How

32
00:01:11,249 --> 00:01:13,109
the hell did this happen?" And
when I say that- Yeah … I

33
00:01:13,110 --> 00:01:16,229
mean, like, how did I become
the person I am today- Yeah,

34
00:01:16,229 --> 00:01:16,649
yeah

35
00:01:16,869 --> 00:01:18,619
if not for being a founder?

36
00:01:18,779 --> 00:01:22,679
If not for being a founder,
none of what made me, me

37
00:01:22,959 --> 00:01:25,900
would have ever been put
to the test to make me, me.

38
00:01:26,139 --> 00:01:27,449
It's an amazing culture.

39
00:01:27,559 --> 00:01:27,889
Yeah.

40
00:01:27,979 --> 00:01:29,269
Founders don't just
build companies.

41
00:01:29,279 --> 00:01:29,309
Right.

42
00:01:29,459 --> 00:01:31,219
Companies build founders, right?

43
00:01:31,219 --> 00:01:31,589
That's a great way to put

44
00:01:31,589 --> 00:01:31,679
it.

45
00:01:31,739 --> 00:01:34,869
If I go back in time, man,
I can… Like, my startups

46
00:01:34,869 --> 00:01:38,119
forced me into rooms that
my old identities, even the

47
00:01:38,119 --> 00:01:39,229
identity at the time- Yeah

48
00:01:39,229 --> 00:01:40,319
would've avoided forever.

49
00:01:40,459 --> 00:01:40,579
Yep.

50
00:01:40,580 --> 00:01:43,340
Like, it, it never, never
would've crossed those lines.

51
00:01:43,340 --> 00:01:45,199
Never would've done some
of those things because

52
00:01:45,629 --> 00:01:46,660
I wouldn't have had to.

53
00:01:46,849 --> 00:01:48,449
It held me to do so.

54
00:01:48,639 --> 00:01:50,829
And here's what's fascinating
to me, and I think this is

55
00:01:50,839 --> 00:01:52,519
the genesis of what we're
gonna talk about today.

56
00:01:52,809 --> 00:01:56,179
What if we hadn't been
put in this position?

57
00:01:56,389 --> 00:01:57,789
And I look at this all the time.

58
00:01:57,790 --> 00:01:58,619
This fascinates me.

59
00:01:58,929 --> 00:02:01,859
What if the people who've done
the greatest things, whether

60
00:02:01,860 --> 00:02:04,399
they're, they're musicians
or entrepreneurs- Yeah … or

61
00:02:04,400 --> 00:02:07,449
whatever, were never put
in that position to become

62
00:02:07,459 --> 00:02:08,840
who they were meant to be.

63
00:02:09,050 --> 00:02:09,559
What if?

64
00:02:09,569 --> 00:02:09,589
Yeah.

65
00:02:10,190 --> 00:02:11,759
I'll give you an example,
just kind of moment in time.

66
00:02:12,139 --> 00:02:14,950
So I'm, like, 26 years
old, give or take, right?

67
00:02:14,989 --> 00:02:16,300
And I remember
thinking about this.

68
00:02:16,300 --> 00:02:18,490
I, I, I remember where I was
sitting and how I was thinking

69
00:02:18,490 --> 00:02:20,859
about it, and I'm like,
"Shit, man." Like, I'm the

70
00:02:20,860 --> 00:02:22,129
CEO of a company right now.

71
00:02:22,130 --> 00:02:23,450
At the time- Wow … we
had like 200 people.

72
00:02:23,889 --> 00:02:26,559
And I'm like, "How did
this happen?" I mean,

73
00:02:26,559 --> 00:02:27,660
it happened so fast.

74
00:02:27,669 --> 00:02:30,330
So a part of it was me actually
being like, "Shit, literally

75
00:02:30,330 --> 00:02:32,489
how did this happen?" But the
other side of it was like,

76
00:02:32,860 --> 00:02:35,769
"I'm actually pretty good at
this." But there is no way

77
00:02:35,819 --> 00:02:38,959
in any world whatsoever that
anyone- Right … would've

78
00:02:38,959 --> 00:02:40,099
recruited me to this job.

79
00:02:40,099 --> 00:02:40,339
Yeah.

80
00:02:40,339 --> 00:02:40,779
Right.

81
00:02:40,779 --> 00:02:44,270
If it weren't for the fact that-
Yep … I created the job, this

82
00:02:44,270 --> 00:02:46,979
would have n- I would've never
been given this opportunity.

83
00:02:47,239 --> 00:02:47,259
Yeah.

84
00:02:47,270 --> 00:02:50,209
And by way of that, I'd have
never really been able to

85
00:02:50,209 --> 00:02:51,489
see what I was capable of.

86
00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:53,860
Yeah, because I think as,
as, as humans, we generally

87
00:02:53,860 --> 00:02:56,399
confuse I've never done
that with I can't do that.

88
00:02:57,230 --> 00:02:57,332
Right?

89
00:02:57,332 --> 00:02:59,510
And I think- 100% … I
think being a founder forces

90
00:02:59,510 --> 00:03:00,810
you right out of that.

91
00:03:01,179 --> 00:03:04,049
It gives us permission to
become weirdly competent

92
00:03:04,390 --> 00:03:07,829
at things that we had no
business attempting, right?

93
00:03:07,829 --> 00:03:09,190
Like just- Right, right
… absolutely no business.

94
00:03:09,369 --> 00:03:11,909
You do not have entry to
this room, sir. Well, well-

95
00:03:11,909 --> 00:03:12,693
And yet I'm here … y-

96
00:03:12,693 --> 00:03:15,659
and y- and yet I'm here, and
that fascinates me because we

97
00:03:15,660 --> 00:03:18,579
get into this, this question
that, that I think founders

98
00:03:18,589 --> 00:03:21,470
should be asking themselves
that we'll explore a lot today.

99
00:03:21,899 --> 00:03:24,679
What if I am capable of
something so much more

100
00:03:24,679 --> 00:03:25,920
extraordinary, by the way- Yeah

101
00:03:25,920 --> 00:03:28,059
in any aspect of life, right?

102
00:03:28,059 --> 00:03:28,079
Yes.

103
00:03:28,079 --> 00:03:30,450
I'm not specifically just
talking about being a founder.

104
00:03:30,450 --> 00:03:32,070
That is, like- Yep … one role.

105
00:03:32,549 --> 00:03:37,169
But if I could do this, how many
other things could I do that for

106
00:03:37,169 --> 00:03:40,099
whatever reason I was just never
given the opportunity to do?

107
00:03:40,109 --> 00:03:40,139
Yep.

108
00:03:40,369 --> 00:03:41,700
By the way, including
being a founder.

109
00:03:41,840 --> 00:03:41,870
Yeah, yeah.

110
00:03:41,870 --> 00:03:43,549
I think a lot of people go
into this, and they have this

111
00:03:43,649 --> 00:03:46,100
imposter syndrome that, "Oh,
I could never be a founder."

112
00:03:46,309 --> 00:03:46,930
Are you sure?

113
00:03:47,559 --> 00:03:47,739
Right.

114
00:03:47,739 --> 00:03:49,019
Like, 'cause everyone
else that said it had to

115
00:03:49,019 --> 00:03:49,959
do it for the first time.

116
00:03:50,140 --> 00:03:52,189
There was no internship
to being a founder, right?

117
00:03:52,189 --> 00:03:52,199
Right.

118
00:03:52,199 --> 00:03:54,839
You're either founder
and CEO, or you're not

119
00:03:54,840 --> 00:03:56,149
employed there at, at all.

120
00:03:56,209 --> 00:03:56,290
The

121
00:03:56,290 --> 00:03:58,259
founder role is the
internship, right?

122
00:03:58,279 --> 00:03:59,129
Correct, right?

123
00:03:59,339 --> 00:04:01,929
As I got into that, uh, into
building company, and you,

124
00:04:01,959 --> 00:04:05,240
you did the same thing, I got
into this place where all of a

125
00:04:05,240 --> 00:04:08,809
sudden I was like, "Shit, I have
to do this other stuff too."

126
00:04:08,819 --> 00:04:08,839
Yeah.

127
00:04:08,919 --> 00:04:10,859
And, and, and here's the one
that I remember most closely.

128
00:04:11,369 --> 00:04:12,920
I remember when I was first
getting started, I'm, like,

129
00:04:12,920 --> 00:04:15,509
19, 20 years old, like, as
I'm building the company,

130
00:04:16,109 --> 00:04:17,759
and I have to do finance.

131
00:04:18,219 --> 00:04:20,049
To set the picture, this
is, this goes back to my

132
00:04:20,139 --> 00:04:21,349
early flatline in life.

133
00:04:21,669 --> 00:04:24,709
In freshman year of high
school, freshman year, I

134
00:04:24,719 --> 00:04:28,110
had to take Miss Chesney's,
um, Algebra 1, right?

135
00:04:28,149 --> 00:04:32,560
This is like- Yep … basic,
basic algebra To this day,

136
00:04:32,920 --> 00:04:36,580
40 years later, I have
never passed that class.

137
00:04:36,730 --> 00:04:36,960
Okay?

138
00:04:36,960 --> 00:04:37,680
So here's what happened.

139
00:04:38,280 --> 00:04:39,660
I took it, I failed it.

140
00:04:39,660 --> 00:04:41,130
This, and this is my
confidence in math.

141
00:04:41,130 --> 00:04:42,730
I just wanna, like, set
the stage here, right?

142
00:04:43,069 --> 00:04:45,000
I took it, I failed it,
I went to summer school.

143
00:04:45,319 --> 00:04:46,700
Took it aga- I failed
in summer school.

144
00:04:46,880 --> 00:04:48,370
I failed again in sophomore.

145
00:04:48,410 --> 00:04:50,229
I failed again in summer
school the next year.

146
00:04:50,390 --> 00:04:51,129
I failed again.

147
00:04:51,130 --> 00:04:53,480
I mean, I literally failed
it every single time to the

148
00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:54,759
point when I got to college.

149
00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:57,350
Do you know, like, you know
there's a 100 level course?

150
00:04:57,599 --> 00:05:00,390
Do you know- Yes … there's
an 050 level course?

151
00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:01,639
I did not.

152
00:05:01,649 --> 00:05:05,329
Before you get to 075,
by the way, 050 is, like,

153
00:05:05,380 --> 00:05:07,470
next level remedial, right?

154
00:05:07,540 --> 00:05:08,070
Oh, wow.

155
00:05:08,499 --> 00:05:10,650
And it's for people who didn't
make it past the freshman

156
00:05:10,650 --> 00:05:11,689
year of- Yeah … of algebra.

157
00:05:11,849 --> 00:05:13,690
Now, I just wanna set
the tone there, right?

158
00:05:13,709 --> 00:05:15,579
Ryan, you've worked with
me for a very long time.

159
00:05:15,589 --> 00:05:15,609
Yeah.

160
00:05:15,979 --> 00:05:17,230
I've seen you do algebra.

161
00:05:17,369 --> 00:05:17,589
Yeah.

162
00:05:18,009 --> 00:05:18,409
Exactly.

163
00:05:18,939 --> 00:05:21,260
So clearly, I, clearly I
understand numbers, right?

164
00:05:21,549 --> 00:05:24,889
But something really fascinating
happened in the early, early

165
00:05:24,889 --> 00:05:26,569
stages of, uh, of my career.

166
00:05:26,999 --> 00:05:30,179
All of a sudden, I had to
put dollar signs in front

167
00:05:30,179 --> 00:05:33,039
of those numbers, and more
importantly, those numbers

168
00:05:33,040 --> 00:05:35,849
reflected the amount of
money in my wallet, right?

169
00:05:35,870 --> 00:05:36,050
Yeah.

170
00:05:36,050 --> 00:05:37,450
Or whether or not I
could eat or make-

171
00:05:37,450 --> 00:05:38,529
Yeah … payroll, et cetera.

172
00:05:39,169 --> 00:05:39,199
Yep.

173
00:05:39,199 --> 00:05:43,270
And all of a sudden, when the
same numbers had new context-

174
00:05:43,589 --> 00:05:43,719
Yeah

175
00:05:43,769 --> 00:05:45,100
… 
I was like Rain
Man with numbers.

176
00:05:46,290 --> 00:05:46,466
Context goes so far.

177
00:05:46,466 --> 00:05:46,559
Just briefly,

178
00:05:46,559 --> 00:05:48,949
I sucked at math, but I was
very- Yeah … good at finance.

179
00:05:49,309 --> 00:05:49,689
Yeah.

180
00:05:49,970 --> 00:05:51,559
Speaking of dollar signs
in front of stuff, just a,

181
00:05:51,559 --> 00:05:53,020
a funny little aside here.

182
00:05:53,260 --> 00:05:55,779
So during my university
career, I took calculus,

183
00:05:55,800 --> 00:05:57,839
and I- Mm-hmm … took the
business version of calculus.

184
00:05:58,190 --> 00:05:59,289
And so I went through
that, and it had a lot

185
00:05:59,290 --> 00:06:00,179
of dollar signs in it.

186
00:06:00,519 --> 00:06:04,809
When I decided after selling
company two that I wanted to

187
00:06:04,819 --> 00:06:07,719
go back to medical school and
do the thing that I had thought

188
00:06:07,720 --> 00:06:10,139
I would do from the time I
was quite young, I had a bunch

189
00:06:10,139 --> 00:06:11,759
of science requirements that
I had to go back and take,

190
00:06:11,760 --> 00:06:12,999
and they're like, "Okay, so
you're gonna have to take

191
00:06:12,999 --> 00:06:14,890
biology and physics," and I
was like, "Okay, of course,

192
00:06:14,909 --> 00:06:16,369
of course," and then, "And
you'll have to take calculus."

193
00:06:16,369 --> 00:06:17,719
I was like, "Nope, I already
got that." And they're like,

194
00:06:17,869 --> 00:06:20,379
"You had business calculus."
I'm like- … "Excuse me,

195
00:06:20,379 --> 00:06:22,210
sir-" You had bank calculus
… "what's the difference?" And

196
00:06:22,210 --> 00:06:24,499
really, I got them basically
to admit, they're like, "Well,

197
00:06:24,510 --> 00:06:26,829
we're gonna change dollars to
grams, and that's basically

198
00:06:26,830 --> 00:06:27,879
it." I'm like, "Okay, cool."

199
00:06:27,909 --> 00:06:28,139
Right.

200
00:06:28,169 --> 00:06:31,955
I look at this and I say-
Given that trajectory,

201
00:06:31,955 --> 00:06:33,186
and this is multifaceted.

202
00:06:33,356 --> 00:06:34,666
Number one, that I hated math.

203
00:06:34,676 --> 00:06:34,695
Yeah.

204
00:06:35,066 --> 00:06:35,275
Okay?

205
00:06:35,275 --> 00:06:35,835
I still do.

206
00:06:36,256 --> 00:06:41,166
Number two, that finance to me
was this mythical thing that-

207
00:06:41,195 --> 00:06:41,455
Yeah

208
00:06:41,475 --> 00:06:42,965
… 
only magicians could perform.

209
00:06:43,325 --> 00:06:43,616
Right?

210
00:06:43,996 --> 00:06:45,036
And I didn't understand it.

211
00:06:45,036 --> 00:06:46,675
It's the way f- most people
feel about their taxes.

212
00:06:46,685 --> 00:06:46,705
Yeah.

213
00:06:46,945 --> 00:06:48,486
They think about this
tax, this- They said

214
00:06:48,495 --> 00:06:50,655
the F of X and my eyes crossed.

215
00:06:50,665 --> 00:06:51,685
Yeah, exactly, right?

216
00:06:51,765 --> 00:06:53,746
And so, like, a lot of people
look at taxes, and they think

217
00:06:53,746 --> 00:06:57,476
of it as this really scary,
like, monolithic thing that

218
00:06:57,485 --> 00:06:58,955
they couldn't possibly get past.

219
00:06:58,995 --> 00:06:59,286
Uh-huh.

220
00:06:59,335 --> 00:07:01,735
And the reality is they're not
complicated at all, but there's

221
00:07:01,735 --> 00:07:04,265
a whole industry that, you know,
that helps you think otherwise.

222
00:07:04,845 --> 00:07:08,145
Anyway, one day, we, as we're,
we're growing the agency, we had

223
00:07:08,145 --> 00:07:11,325
merged two agencies, our digital
agency and a traditional agency.

224
00:07:11,356 --> 00:07:13,015
Well, the traditional agency,
which was a little bit

225
00:07:13,015 --> 00:07:14,736
bigger, had a full-time CFO.

226
00:07:14,745 --> 00:07:14,765
Yeah.

227
00:07:15,295 --> 00:07:18,316
And this guy hated
my guts, right?

228
00:07:18,675 --> 00:07:21,236
Because I would sit there,
Ryan, in every meeting and be

229
00:07:21,236 --> 00:07:23,125
like, "Yeah, but what about
this? Or why does this work

230
00:07:23,126 --> 00:07:25,475
this way? Or why does this
work this way?" Yeah, yeah.

231
00:07:25,475 --> 00:07:27,455
He like- And he thought
I was questioning him.

232
00:07:27,515 --> 00:07:27,535
Yeah.

233
00:07:27,655 --> 00:07:29,255
Which in retrospect,
maybe I was.

234
00:07:29,255 --> 00:07:29,475
You're

235
00:07:29,475 --> 00:07:31,455
like, "I'm just trying
to get to 100. I, I did

236
00:07:31,455 --> 00:07:32,376
050. I'm trying to…"

237
00:07:32,376 --> 00:07:34,155
Yeah, e- exactly.

238
00:07:34,626 --> 00:07:35,965
But here's what, here's
where it got interesting.

239
00:07:36,505 --> 00:07:38,795
Because I was a
s- total neophyte.

240
00:07:39,105 --> 00:07:39,135
Uh-huh.

241
00:07:39,245 --> 00:07:42,285
But I was so ambitious about
what- Yeah … what I wanted

242
00:07:42,285 --> 00:07:44,866
the outcome to be, like how I
wanted those numbers to suit me.

243
00:07:45,215 --> 00:07:49,405
I asked really dumb questions
that weren't dumb questions.

244
00:07:49,585 --> 00:07:49,986
Things like- Right,

245
00:07:50,255 --> 00:07:51,385
no, fundamental questions.

246
00:07:51,395 --> 00:07:51,415
Yeah

247
00:07:51,435 --> 00:07:53,495
… 
why do we give our clients
30 days to pay us then?

248
00:07:54,318 --> 00:07:54,448
He's

249
00:07:54,448 --> 00:07:55,808
like, "Well, that's just
the, the way the industry

250
00:07:55,808 --> 00:07:57,508
works, and then those are
called net terms." And I'm

251
00:07:57,508 --> 00:07:59,897
like, "Why don't I just not
put those on the invoice?"

252
00:07:59,938 --> 00:08:01,188
What, yeah, what if we didn't?

253
00:08:02,347 --> 00:08:03,638
What if they paid us now?

254
00:08:03,747 --> 00:08:05,427
Yeah, exactly, or
ahead of time, right?

255
00:08:05,467 --> 00:08:06,018
I was like, I was like- You're

256
00:08:06,018 --> 00:08:06,688
the finance guy.

257
00:08:06,698 --> 00:08:06,717
Yeah.

258
00:08:06,717 --> 00:08:09,308
Explain to me the difference
between zero and 30 in terms

259
00:08:09,308 --> 00:08:10,347
of time value of money.

260
00:08:10,397 --> 00:08:12,147
I was like, well, because
the whole thing is we were

261
00:08:12,147 --> 00:08:16,177
growing so fast that we weren't
making money fast enough to

262
00:08:16,418 --> 00:08:17,048
hire all these new people.

263
00:08:17,048 --> 00:08:17,248
Yes.

264
00:08:17,587 --> 00:08:19,287
Yeah, it's, the agency
conundrum always.

265
00:08:19,347 --> 00:08:21,717
And we had, and f- folks that,
that understand this business

266
00:08:21,717 --> 00:08:24,047
well know that, that you've
got your receivables in, uh,

267
00:08:24,097 --> 00:08:26,268
invoices you sent out, but
you also have what we called

268
00:08:26,277 --> 00:08:27,728
work in progress, which is-

269
00:08:27,818 --> 00:08:28,048
Yeah

270
00:08:28,117 --> 00:08:29,407
… 
this is stuff we're
still working on.

271
00:08:29,408 --> 00:08:30,628
We haven't even
sent a bill for yet.

272
00:08:30,628 --> 00:08:30,858
Yeah,

273
00:08:30,858 --> 00:08:31,238
yeah.

274
00:08:31,277 --> 00:08:33,927
But I still gotta pay dude
by Friday, right, for that

275
00:08:33,928 --> 00:08:35,497
time- Yeah … regardless of
whether it's work in progress.

276
00:08:35,497 --> 00:08:35,508
Uh,

277
00:08:35,518 --> 00:08:36,587
where are our paychecks?

278
00:08:36,608 --> 00:08:37,774
Oh, they're also
work in progress.

279
00:08:37,774 --> 00:08:38,428
Work in progress.

280
00:08:38,638 --> 00:08:39,828
That doesn't work at all.

281
00:08:40,327 --> 00:08:43,837
I come into this thing called
finance as a total neophyte,

282
00:08:44,107 --> 00:08:45,947
but- Yeah … someone that w-
turned out to be pretty good

283
00:08:45,947 --> 00:08:47,537
at solving problems, right?

284
00:08:47,537 --> 00:08:48,107
Yeah.

285
00:08:48,107 --> 00:08:49,647
And I was like, "Well, what
about this? What about this?"

286
00:08:49,697 --> 00:08:53,278
And really, like, overhauled
a lot of the approach, right?

287
00:08:53,798 --> 00:08:54,678
And it served me well.

288
00:08:54,678 --> 00:08:55,997
And as you would know,
because, you know, for as

289
00:08:55,997 --> 00:08:57,458
long as you've known me,
I've been a startup CFO.

290
00:08:57,478 --> 00:08:57,678
Yes.

291
00:08:57,888 --> 00:09:00,217
Like, I'm, I, I- Right … I
tell people I'm also secretly

292
00:09:00,218 --> 00:09:01,808
the CFO of, of Startups.com.

293
00:09:02,157 --> 00:09:03,758
But it's a job I
take very seriously.

294
00:09:04,078 --> 00:09:04,098
Yeah.

295
00:09:04,108 --> 00:09:05,447
And, like, uh-

296
00:09:05,507 --> 00:09:06,578
Well, it's a good one
to take seriously.

297
00:09:06,578 --> 00:09:06,928
Yeah, yeah.

298
00:09:06,928 --> 00:09:09,037
But, but I mean, like,
I'm passionate about it.

299
00:09:09,627 --> 00:09:11,638
Well, it's the thing,
it's like in freshman year

300
00:09:11,638 --> 00:09:14,877
algebra, you don't really
have any skin in the game.

301
00:09:14,877 --> 00:09:16,847
Okay, you can argue that, like,
"Well, but then your future

302
00:09:16,847 --> 00:09:17,698
is based on your grades."

303
00:09:17,698 --> 00:09:18,567
Yeah, no, it's not.

304
00:09:18,937 --> 00:09:19,817
It's absolutely not.

305
00:09:20,148 --> 00:09:21,157
Uh, and argue all you want.

306
00:09:21,237 --> 00:09:23,627
But the minute it, you all
of a sudden have the skin in

307
00:09:23,627 --> 00:09:26,117
the game, right, where this
is literally cash flow that

308
00:09:26,127 --> 00:09:29,397
you're depending on, all of a
sudden everything becomes a,

309
00:09:29,397 --> 00:09:30,997
a very different story, right?

310
00:09:31,027 --> 00:09:34,317
The context in that situation
is what then drives us to

311
00:09:34,337 --> 00:09:35,417
needing to do that, right?

312
00:09:35,417 --> 00:09:38,287
Because, look, as founders,
we're forced into becoming

313
00:09:38,288 --> 00:09:40,287
whatever the company needs next.

314
00:09:40,307 --> 00:09:41,047
That's the point.

315
00:09:41,087 --> 00:09:41,457
Right?

316
00:09:41,748 --> 00:09:42,487
Which has value.

317
00:09:42,627 --> 00:09:44,327
The job description is
basically become the person

318
00:09:44,327 --> 00:09:45,787
this problem requires.

319
00:09:45,797 --> 00:09:46,127
Correct.

320
00:09:46,137 --> 00:09:46,418
Right?

321
00:09:46,447 --> 00:09:46,757
Right.

322
00:09:47,157 --> 00:09:48,438
Think about that for
a second, though.

323
00:09:48,438 --> 00:09:51,807
Like, I think people go
begrudgingly into those paths

324
00:09:51,807 --> 00:09:53,337
like, "Oh my God, I gotta
learn finance," or, "I've

325
00:09:53,337 --> 00:09:54,088
gotta learn marketing"- Yeah

326
00:09:54,088 --> 00:09:55,757
or, "I've gotta learn design,"
or, "I've gotta learn, uh,

327
00:09:55,847 --> 00:09:57,787
programming." And I look
at it a different way.

328
00:09:57,827 --> 00:10:00,367
I'm like, what if you're
really good at it?

329
00:10:00,487 --> 00:10:01,858
And everyone says-
Yeah … the same thing.

330
00:10:01,858 --> 00:10:04,076
"Well, I'm not."
How do you know?

331
00:10:04,386 --> 00:10:06,256
Have you attempted
to become proficient?

332
00:10:06,596 --> 00:10:08,566
Or have you- Yeah … tried it
and immediately agree that you

333
00:10:08,566 --> 00:10:09,646
just don't know how to do it?

334
00:10:09,776 --> 00:10:12,416
Which is, by the way- Yeah
… applies to every single thing

335
00:10:12,416 --> 00:10:13,396
you didn't know how to do.

336
00:10:13,736 --> 00:10:13,986
Yes.

337
00:10:13,996 --> 00:10:14,226
Right?

338
00:10:14,536 --> 00:10:18,246
Like, I just happen to know
how to ice skate, but it

339
00:10:18,246 --> 00:10:20,996
wouldn't be like just because
I wanted to do it, it would

340
00:10:20,996 --> 00:10:21,935
just magically happen.

341
00:10:21,936 --> 00:10:22,986
Like, I'd put on a pair
of- Correct … skates

342
00:10:23,006 --> 00:10:23,656
and start skating.

343
00:10:23,656 --> 00:10:23,865
Yeah, yeah.

344
00:10:23,916 --> 00:10:24,166
Right?

345
00:10:24,736 --> 00:10:26,736
But clearly I, I'm
capable of doing it.

346
00:10:27,236 --> 00:10:27,256
Yeah.

347
00:10:27,266 --> 00:10:28,825
I just haven't done it yet.

348
00:10:28,875 --> 00:10:31,035
Something I even- Yes … try
to impart on my kids, I'm

349
00:10:31,035 --> 00:10:33,836
like, "You can do nearly
anything, you just haven't yet."

350
00:10:34,265 --> 00:10:36,075
Yeah, 'cause y- we, we all
go through that, right?

351
00:10:36,075 --> 00:10:38,766
It's like startup life
turns like, "I'm not that

352
00:10:38,766 --> 00:10:41,815
kind of person," into, "I
guess I am now." Right?

353
00:10:41,825 --> 00:10:41,845
Yeah.

354
00:10:41,856 --> 00:10:45,375
It, it happens all the time
because we're forced into doing

355
00:10:45,376 --> 00:10:47,515
it, and I think that's, that's,
it is an important part of it.

356
00:10:47,705 --> 00:10:50,485
Another founder I know that,
that's actually had a really

357
00:10:50,496 --> 00:10:53,225
interesting career where he's
had proficiency in a whole

358
00:10:53,225 --> 00:10:56,435
bunch of categories, like
very disparate things, told

359
00:10:56,435 --> 00:10:57,305
me something a long time ago.

360
00:10:57,305 --> 00:11:02,635
He said, "I only need to get
to 80% proficiency to be- Yeah

361
00:11:02,635 --> 00:11:04,575
… 100% at good at the things
that I need to do with it."

362
00:11:05,135 --> 00:11:07,836
Which I thought was a genius
reckoning because you look at

363
00:11:07,836 --> 00:11:11,356
that and you say, "If I wanna
learn photography, I don't-

364
00:11:11,356 --> 00:11:13,615
Yeah … have to be the best
photographer. I don't have to

365
00:11:13,626 --> 00:11:15,015
have the best details." Yep.

366
00:11:15,516 --> 00:11:19,265
"But if I can get to 80%, if
I can be a B+ photographer-

367
00:11:19,385 --> 00:11:19,795
Yeah

368
00:11:19,916 --> 00:11:23,166
… 
there's no photos I can't
take at that point that's

369
00:11:23,166 --> 00:11:24,436
gonna affect me whatsoever.

370
00:11:24,436 --> 00:11:27,456
Now, will it put me on the
cover of whatever magazine?

371
00:11:27,465 --> 00:11:28,135
It will not.

372
00:11:28,395 --> 00:11:29,525
But I don't need-
No … to be on the cover

373
00:11:29,525 --> 00:11:30,065
of whatever magazine.

374
00:11:30,435 --> 00:11:30,535
Don't need to be on the cover.

375
00:11:30,535 --> 00:11:32,455
I just need to take- Yep
… dope Instagram photos, right?

376
00:11:32,455 --> 00:11:32,895
Yep.

377
00:11:32,895 --> 00:11:33,465
Yeah, exactly.

378
00:11:33,465 --> 00:11:33,773
That's all I gotta do.

379
00:11:33,773 --> 00:11:36,185
It's like I, I don't have to
be Wolfgang Puck for my kids

380
00:11:36,185 --> 00:11:38,387
to enjoy the shit out of dinner
every night and tell me, "Daddy,

381
00:11:38,387 --> 00:11:38,845
you should have a restaurant."

382
00:11:38,845 --> 00:11:39,395
That's, that's, that's
what I'm saying.

383
00:11:39,395 --> 00:11:40,386
I go, "Definitely not."

384
00:11:41,315 --> 00:11:41,505
Right.

385
00:11:41,505 --> 00:11:41,946
Don't want them.

386
00:11:42,185 --> 00:11:45,175
As I was growing up in the
startup world, particularly

387
00:11:45,175 --> 00:11:48,495
with the agency, the agency was
a phenomenal gauntlet for me-

388
00:11:48,815 --> 00:11:49,045
Mm-hmm

389
00:11:49,056 --> 00:11:52,095
… 
to be able to force my hand
at creative, which turned out

390
00:11:52,095 --> 00:11:53,035
to be very important to me.

391
00:11:53,485 --> 00:11:56,255
Technical, so programming, uh,
and pr- and product development.

392
00:11:56,556 --> 00:11:58,815
Sales, which is, you know,
a critical part of get- Yeah

393
00:11:58,865 --> 00:11:59,785
… getting deals in the door.

394
00:12:00,045 --> 00:12:02,675
Marketing, which is
literally what we did, right?

395
00:12:02,775 --> 00:12:05,325
And then stuff people
wouldn't expect, like legal.

396
00:12:05,365 --> 00:12:05,735
Yeah.

397
00:12:05,865 --> 00:12:06,135
Right?

398
00:12:06,645 --> 00:12:08,355
You know, R- Ryan, you worked
side by side with me on

399
00:12:08,355 --> 00:12:09,516
lots of our acquisitions.

400
00:12:09,865 --> 00:12:10,465
I'm not afraid of legal.

401
00:12:10,465 --> 00:12:10,745
Lots of red

402
00:12:10,745 --> 00:12:11,105
lining.

403
00:12:11,386 --> 00:12:11,636
Right?

404
00:12:11,636 --> 00:12:11,675
Yeah.

405
00:12:11,675 --> 00:12:12,595
Like, in the mix.

406
00:12:12,595 --> 00:12:15,276
I'm, uh, side by side w- with
our counsel saying, "This

407
00:12:15,276 --> 00:12:17,636
is- Yep … exactly what
the, things you do." I argue

408
00:12:17,636 --> 00:12:18,925
provisions with them like I'm-

409
00:12:18,985 --> 00:12:19,295
Yep

410
00:12:19,535 --> 00:12:22,425
… 
I'm by no means an attorney, but
I definitely understand legal.

411
00:12:22,696 --> 00:12:23,405
But that's the point, right?

412
00:12:23,405 --> 00:12:25,945
You don't learn finance
because you love spreadsheets.

413
00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:27,209
Right?

414
00:12:27,209 --> 00:12:29,240
You learn finance because
if you don't, payroll dies,

415
00:12:29,240 --> 00:12:31,550
pricing breaks, and investors
eat you alive, right?

416
00:12:31,550 --> 00:12:31,750
Right.

417
00:12:31,750 --> 00:12:32,599
This is why, right?

418
00:12:32,860 --> 00:12:35,579
It's not like you're passionate
about legal necessarily.

419
00:12:35,890 --> 00:12:38,000
I mean, look, it could
be, but passion isn't the,

420
00:12:38,010 --> 00:12:39,039
the starting point, right?

421
00:12:39,150 --> 00:12:39,319
Right.

422
00:12:39,319 --> 00:12:41,579
Sometimes it's just
necessity, which then becomes

423
00:12:41,579 --> 00:12:43,099
this doorway to mastery.

424
00:12:43,360 --> 00:12:43,590
Which

425
00:12:43,590 --> 00:12:43,655
is powerful.

426
00:12:43,655 --> 00:12:45,159
Um, which I think is amazing.

427
00:12:45,160 --> 00:12:45,560
Yeah.

428
00:12:45,709 --> 00:12:46,529
Let's build on that.

429
00:12:46,900 --> 00:12:50,099
So all of a sudden, I realize
that I have to be good and-

430
00:12:50,349 --> 00:12:53,369
Yeah … genuinely proficient
at a whole bunch of things

431
00:12:53,369 --> 00:12:55,019
because I'm building-
Yep … a web design agency.

432
00:12:55,479 --> 00:12:56,449
And, and within- Yes … the
agency, you built the

433
00:12:56,449 --> 00:12:57,603
same thing, so I'm, I'm
telling you what- Yep

434
00:12:57,603 --> 00:12:58,969
you already know, but
for folks listening.

435
00:12:59,219 --> 00:13:01,130
You have to be
meaningfully proficient

436
00:13:01,130 --> 00:13:02,569
at at least four things.

437
00:13:02,569 --> 00:13:04,170
This is, again, web
design back in the day.

438
00:13:04,400 --> 00:13:05,629
You have to be able to sell.

439
00:13:05,909 --> 00:13:08,349
Like, I don't wanna
undersell that one enough.

440
00:13:08,359 --> 00:13:11,780
You have to be very good at
sales in any professional

441
00:13:11,780 --> 00:13:13,689
services if you're gonna
grow that business, right?

442
00:13:13,709 --> 00:13:13,919
Yeah.

443
00:13:14,010 --> 00:13:17,359
And there's a absolutely an art
and an ability to doing that.

444
00:13:17,639 --> 00:13:19,920
Back then, you had to be
good at, at programming

445
00:13:20,139 --> 00:13:22,459
because- Yeah … like, for
one, there weren't that many

446
00:13:22,459 --> 00:13:23,799
programmers out there, right?

447
00:13:23,799 --> 00:13:24,459
You know, what we call it-

448
00:13:24,789 --> 00:13:26,989
I had to cultivate
several, right?

449
00:13:26,990 --> 00:13:27,230
Yeah.

450
00:13:27,230 --> 00:13:29,299
It was like I just found
kids who were smart, and

451
00:13:29,299 --> 00:13:30,579
it was like, all right, so-

452
00:13:30,729 --> 00:13:31,419
Or you had to learn

453
00:13:31,420 --> 00:13:31,480
it

454
00:13:31,480 --> 00:13:33,509
I'm gonna teach you something
called HTML and JavaScript.

455
00:13:33,530 --> 00:13:34,460
And they're like, "What's this?"

456
00:13:34,750 --> 00:13:35,380
Exactly, right?

457
00:13:35,380 --> 00:13:36,430
Like, you had to learn it.

458
00:13:36,579 --> 00:13:37,910
The next thing is you
had to learn design.

459
00:13:38,109 --> 00:13:40,279
You know, back then it was just
Photoshop, but, like, you had

460
00:13:40,280 --> 00:13:43,099
to understand the principles
of design, et cetera, which

461
00:13:43,099 --> 00:13:45,400
is a very different skill
set, as many people will tell

462
00:13:45,400 --> 00:13:47,210
you, than engineering, right?

463
00:13:47,210 --> 00:13:47,450
And programming.

464
00:13:47,450 --> 00:13:47,640
Yep.

465
00:13:48,390 --> 00:13:49,959
And then the third is you
had to learn marketing.

466
00:13:50,479 --> 00:13:53,019
So web design was
very new, right?

467
00:13:53,019 --> 00:13:54,799
Like, so you had to
understand all the other

468
00:13:54,799 --> 00:13:55,560
aspects of marketing.

469
00:13:55,560 --> 00:13:57,459
You understand print design,
you had to understand

470
00:13:57,469 --> 00:13:59,570
billboards, you know- Yep
… outdoor media, et cetera.

471
00:14:00,140 --> 00:14:06,419
And so I found that that moment
in time to be, like, the perfect

472
00:14:06,460 --> 00:14:11,226
cauldron For me to f- force
myself into learning everything.

473
00:14:11,226 --> 00:14:14,516
So I'm picking up HTML, which
sounds stupid now, but that

474
00:14:14,516 --> 00:14:15,396
was a big deal back then.

475
00:14:15,596 --> 00:14:17,906
As fast as I'm picking up,
it was Photoshop 2.0, I

476
00:14:17,906 --> 00:14:19,545
remember it had just come
out with Photoshop 2.0.

477
00:14:19,555 --> 00:14:19,576
Yeah.

478
00:14:20,116 --> 00:14:22,456
As fast as I'm learning the
fundamentals of marketing.

479
00:14:22,616 --> 00:14:22,636
Yeah.

480
00:14:22,775 --> 00:14:26,616
And it turned out I
really loved all of them.

481
00:14:26,966 --> 00:14:27,276
Yeah.

482
00:14:27,286 --> 00:14:27,406
Right?

483
00:14:27,656 --> 00:14:29,185
But you never would've
understood that, or you would've

484
00:14:29,195 --> 00:14:30,565
had no way of knowing, right?

485
00:14:30,565 --> 00:14:33,246
And, and part of it is, like,
so for me, part of it was,

486
00:14:33,275 --> 00:14:36,125
it was that I, individually
I'm not sure I would've loved

487
00:14:36,126 --> 00:14:38,925
them in the same way, but
I loved the fact that they

488
00:14:38,935 --> 00:14:42,746
were the system that the
business ran on top of, right?

489
00:14:42,746 --> 00:14:42,896
Yeah.

490
00:14:42,896 --> 00:14:45,156
That they were the
ingredients, right?

491
00:14:45,176 --> 00:14:48,446
Like, maybe I don't really
love white flour, but, like, I

492
00:14:48,465 --> 00:14:49,865
do like to make cakes, right?

493
00:14:49,875 --> 00:14:50,035
Yep.

494
00:14:50,035 --> 00:14:52,395
And so, like, at the end,
because it ends up being this

495
00:14:52,395 --> 00:14:57,445
system, it was super fun to
then, like, know that I had the

496
00:14:57,445 --> 00:15:01,785
ability to manipulate the levers
that controlled the outcomes

497
00:15:01,785 --> 00:15:02,776
within the business, right?

498
00:15:02,785 --> 00:15:02,935
Yep.

499
00:15:02,985 --> 00:15:04,695
And it was super empowering.

500
00:15:04,715 --> 00:15:06,555
Here's where it got really
interesting, and I wanna

501
00:15:06,555 --> 00:15:09,275
present this to folks listening
as maybe a little bit of a

502
00:15:09,305 --> 00:15:12,295
carrot to why to double down
on some of these things.

503
00:15:12,295 --> 00:15:12,325
Yeah,

504
00:15:12,325 --> 00:15:12,695
yeah.

505
00:15:12,915 --> 00:15:15,116
All of a sudden, the
cross-pollination of

506
00:15:15,125 --> 00:15:17,635
these skills got me
to a different level.

507
00:15:17,646 --> 00:15:17,676
Yep.

508
00:15:17,695 --> 00:15:20,235
Specifically sales and finance.

509
00:15:20,246 --> 00:15:20,275
Uh-huh.

510
00:15:20,286 --> 00:15:22,656
Two worlds that are usually
so far from each other.

511
00:15:22,665 --> 00:15:22,695
Yep.

512
00:15:22,825 --> 00:15:22,985
Right?

513
00:15:22,985 --> 00:15:24,235
Unless you're in,
in Wall Street.

514
00:15:24,435 --> 00:15:25,515
But h- here's what it was.

515
00:15:25,805 --> 00:15:27,670
Back when we were doing
acquisitions, remember I was,

516
00:15:27,670 --> 00:15:29,435
I moved to San Francisco and
I'm meeting- Yeah … with all

517
00:15:29,435 --> 00:15:30,515
these companies, et cetera?

518
00:15:31,209 --> 00:15:32,250
I could do this
really- Yeah, the, the

519
00:15:32,250 --> 00:15:33,360
three years we didn't sleep?

520
00:15:33,449 --> 00:15:33,660
Yeah.

521
00:15:33,670 --> 00:15:36,980
I could do this really fun
trick where I could be in a

522
00:15:36,980 --> 00:15:39,410
pitch meeting where I'm talking
to a company who, who I wanna

523
00:15:39,439 --> 00:15:43,610
acquire, but as I'm talking
and selling, I'm also running

524
00:15:43,619 --> 00:15:47,650
every financial pro forma in
my head- Yep … as to whatever

525
00:15:47,650 --> 00:15:51,510
they just said, I already have
in my head the modeling- Yep

526
00:15:51,519 --> 00:15:52,510
… of h- what that's gonna look

527
00:15:52,510 --> 00:15:52,520
like.

528
00:15:52,520 --> 00:15:53,990
Yeah, you build the financial
model based on the discussion.

529
00:15:54,039 --> 00:15:54,169
Yeah.

530
00:15:54,169 --> 00:15:54,509
Correct.

531
00:15:54,519 --> 00:15:56,699
So, so when they're like,
"Oh yeah, but, you know, we

532
00:15:56,699 --> 00:15:59,429
have a receivables issue,"
or our LTV is whatever.

533
00:15:59,939 --> 00:16:00,139
Yeah.

534
00:16:00,140 --> 00:16:02,389
I know exactly what that means.

535
00:16:02,400 --> 00:16:05,169
Now, not just for their
business- Right … but

536
00:16:05,209 --> 00:16:08,079
specifically where that's
gonna fit into our business,

537
00:16:08,409 --> 00:16:10,969
because I also run our pro
forma financials, right?

538
00:16:10,970 --> 00:16:12,289
And do all of our modeling.

539
00:16:12,299 --> 00:16:12,329
Yep.

540
00:16:12,779 --> 00:16:16,119
So as I'm selling, right,
you know, using that skill

541
00:16:16,119 --> 00:16:19,400
that I had developed, I also
can simultaneously do that.

542
00:16:19,810 --> 00:16:21,789
Same thing works in a,
in an investor pitch.

543
00:16:21,799 --> 00:16:24,120
The investor's like, "Well,
what about this as it

544
00:16:24,120 --> 00:16:24,859
relates to marketing?" Yeah.

545
00:16:25,119 --> 00:16:27,419
I don't have to, like, turn
to the marketing team and

546
00:16:27,429 --> 00:16:28,779
ask them how marketing works.

547
00:16:28,789 --> 00:16:28,809
Yeah.

548
00:16:28,970 --> 00:16:30,579
Or if they ask us about
technology, I don't have to

549
00:16:30,579 --> 00:16:31,969
turn to the technology team.

550
00:16:32,249 --> 00:16:34,429
I'm like- Yeah … "Well, this
is how we would do it." Right?

551
00:16:34,449 --> 00:16:38,650
Now, I'm not saying I have
100% of command of all those

552
00:16:38,650 --> 00:16:40,309
things, but I'm never asked to.

553
00:16:40,809 --> 00:16:42,599
Yeah, when you get into the
20%, then that's where the,

554
00:16:42,609 --> 00:16:43,739
the specialist comes into play.

555
00:16:44,059 --> 00:16:45,559
Here's the other side, and
I think you'll appreciate

556
00:16:45,559 --> 00:16:47,369
this one the most, 'cause
no one talks about this.

557
00:16:47,730 --> 00:16:52,159
Knowing 80% of every skill means
no one can bullshit you anymore.

558
00:16:52,349 --> 00:16:53,169
I love it.

559
00:16:53,169 --> 00:16:53,359
Right?

560
00:16:53,359 --> 00:16:54,809
I absolutely love it.

561
00:16:54,849 --> 00:16:58,170
I love when I can just kind
of sit back and let somebody

562
00:16:58,179 --> 00:17:00,379
think that they're talking
over my head, and then just

563
00:17:00,379 --> 00:17:02,410
push back on it a little
bit and just watch the look

564
00:17:02,410 --> 00:17:05,119
on their face when they're
like, "Oh, shit, he knows."

565
00:17:05,370 --> 00:17:05,490
Yeah.

566
00:17:05,490 --> 00:17:07,164
Like, he might not
know as much as I do.

567
00:17:07,164 --> 00:17:07,494
He's up.

568
00:17:07,494 --> 00:17:09,749
But he definitely knows enough
that I can't, just can't

569
00:17:09,749 --> 00:17:10,569
talk circles around him.

570
00:17:10,579 --> 00:17:13,389
Like, it's like walking onto
a car lot as somebody who's,

571
00:17:13,389 --> 00:17:15,799
like, a complete gearhead,
knows everything- Yep … versus

572
00:17:15,799 --> 00:17:18,349
just, like, I don't know, my mom
walking onto a car lot, right?

573
00:17:18,349 --> 00:17:19,639
Where they're just
gonna be like, just

574
00:17:19,819 --> 00:17:20,949
run her over the coals.

575
00:17:21,049 --> 00:17:21,279
And…

576
00:17:21,429 --> 00:17:22,459
You know, it's funny
you should say that.

577
00:17:22,459 --> 00:17:24,560
So this actually, I
can't believe I, I, I

578
00:17:24,560 --> 00:17:25,399
always forget about this.

579
00:17:25,839 --> 00:17:28,639
So I ran a company
called swapalease.com.

580
00:17:28,720 --> 00:17:29,970
I- Yeah … obviously you
know that, but I'm saying for,

581
00:17:29,970 --> 00:17:30,809
for folks in the audience.

582
00:17:30,839 --> 00:17:33,229
And it was a, a, a large
lease assumption marketplace,

583
00:17:33,239 --> 00:17:34,479
still around today, I think.

584
00:17:34,729 --> 00:17:37,889
Early back then, I
wrote a book about how

585
00:17:37,889 --> 00:17:39,200
car leases work, right?

586
00:17:39,200 --> 00:17:40,099
It was called Lease Advisor.

587
00:17:40,099 --> 00:17:40,119
Yeah.

588
00:17:40,269 --> 00:17:40,549
Right?

589
00:17:40,829 --> 00:17:42,910
And so people didn't
understand leases.

590
00:17:42,910 --> 00:17:44,040
They still don't
understand them today.

591
00:17:44,040 --> 00:17:44,116
Yeah.

592
00:17:44,116 --> 00:17:45,799
Like what a lease factor
is and things like that.

593
00:17:46,230 --> 00:17:48,129
And as a piece of
marketing material, I

594
00:17:48,129 --> 00:17:49,349
wrote a full book- Sure

595
00:17:49,349 --> 00:17:51,790
about, like, how to shop
for the perfect lease.

596
00:17:51,790 --> 00:17:53,009
Like, it was just a-
Yeah … compendium

597
00:17:53,069 --> 00:17:53,670
to what we were doing.

598
00:17:54,209 --> 00:17:58,449
Not a year goes by where I don't
find myself on a car lot, right?

599
00:17:58,459 --> 00:17:59,649
Like buying a car-
Yeah … for someone in my

600
00:17:59,650 --> 00:18:00,669
family or whatever, right?

601
00:18:00,669 --> 00:18:00,859
Yeah.

602
00:18:00,859 --> 00:18:02,459
Where I wind up in
the finance department

603
00:18:02,469 --> 00:18:03,179
across from the guy- Yep

604
00:18:03,249 --> 00:18:04,279
what they call the F&I guy.

605
00:18:04,499 --> 00:18:07,430
He's trying to school
me about how- Yeah, yeah

606
00:18:07,430 --> 00:18:07,460
… monthly payments work.

607
00:18:08,556 --> 00:18:08,846
Right?

608
00:18:09,466 --> 00:18:11,706
And to your point,
it's the equivalent of

609
00:18:11,706 --> 00:18:13,676
someone, uh, speaking
Spanish in front of you.

610
00:18:14,126 --> 00:18:14,326
Yeah.

611
00:18:14,326 --> 00:18:15,996
Assuming you don't know,
understand a word they say.

612
00:18:16,126 --> 00:18:16,216
That I have no

613
00:18:16,216 --> 00:18:16,866
idea, yep.

614
00:18:16,866 --> 00:18:17,205
Yep.

615
00:18:17,205 --> 00:18:19,196
And then you parrot it
back in perfect Spanish.

616
00:18:19,205 --> 00:18:19,225
Yeah.

617
00:18:19,436 --> 00:18:20,536
And like, "Oh, huh." Like,

618
00:18:20,736 --> 00:18:21,136
"
Uh-oh-

619
00:18:21,526 --> 00:18:21,706
Yeah

620
00:18:21,706 --> 00:18:22,905
… 
what else did we say while
he was standing here?"

621
00:18:24,046 --> 00:18:26,135
And I, I always politely say,
like, I was like, "Before you

622
00:18:26,135 --> 00:18:29,095
get too far into it, I ran a
company that specifically does

623
00:18:29,196 --> 00:18:30,066
automotive leasing." Yeah.

624
00:18:30,106 --> 00:18:30,276
Right?

625
00:18:30,276 --> 00:18:31,665
I literally wrote
a book on this.

626
00:18:32,116 --> 00:18:32,405
Uh-huh.

627
00:18:32,465 --> 00:18:33,925
Like, I understand
finance pretty well.

628
00:18:34,235 --> 00:18:35,155
Spare us both.

629
00:18:35,155 --> 00:18:35,286
Yeah.

630
00:18:35,286 --> 00:18:35,945
Yeah, exactly.

631
00:18:35,975 --> 00:18:39,146
And every time that happens,
Ryan, they're just like, throw

632
00:18:39,146 --> 00:18:40,106
the pitch out the window.

633
00:18:40,165 --> 00:18:41,616
They're like, "Oh, let's
move to the end." Yeah.

634
00:18:41,616 --> 00:18:42,326
Yeah, let's just, yeah.

635
00:18:42,456 --> 00:18:43,945
We can, we can start
signing stuff now.

636
00:18:44,006 --> 00:18:45,365
Let's fast-forward the
part where you try to pull

637
00:18:45,366 --> 00:18:46,235
the wool over my eyes.

638
00:18:46,665 --> 00:18:51,331
But that example has served
me so well in building

639
00:18:51,331 --> 00:18:55,132
startups because in every
case I can be like, "Oh,

640
00:18:55,132 --> 00:18:56,162
that's gonna take 30 days."

641
00:18:56,212 --> 00:18:57,372
No, it's not, right?

642
00:18:57,442 --> 00:18:57,692
No.

643
00:18:58,132 --> 00:18:58,662
No, it's not.

644
00:18:58,662 --> 00:18:58,872
It's not.

645
00:18:58,882 --> 00:18:59,072
Yeah.

646
00:18:59,072 --> 00:19:00,682
Like, I can tell right away,
like, when, when, you know, I'm

647
00:19:00,682 --> 00:19:01,732
being bullshitted, whatever.

648
00:19:01,752 --> 00:19:03,662
This typically costs…
No, it doesn't.

649
00:19:03,672 --> 00:19:03,982
Nope.

650
00:19:03,982 --> 00:19:04,186
Nope.

651
00:19:04,186 --> 00:19:04,391
Yeah.

652
00:19:04,391 --> 00:19:05,311
No, it doesn't, right?

653
00:19:05,392 --> 00:19:09,052
I think having that ability,
which by the way, is

654
00:19:09,052 --> 00:19:11,462
forged with time, there's
no natural ability that I

655
00:19:11,982 --> 00:19:12,721
have- It, it, that's super
important 'cause I, uh, all

656
00:19:12,722 --> 00:19:14,482
the founders who are listening
to this right now, this

657
00:19:14,482 --> 00:19:16,441
doesn't mean you have to have,
you don't have to be this

658
00:19:16,442 --> 00:19:19,481
Swiss Army knife compendium
of knowledge who knows all

659
00:19:19,481 --> 00:19:20,441
the things when you come in.

660
00:19:20,752 --> 00:19:24,211
No, no, you don't have to arrive
with the complete skill set.

661
00:19:24,221 --> 00:19:25,261
Nobody does.

662
00:19:25,311 --> 00:19:25,551
Right.

663
00:19:25,741 --> 00:19:28,442
You just need to arrive
with a willingness to be

664
00:19:28,442 --> 00:19:31,451
embarrassed repeatedly
while learning at gunpoint.

665
00:19:31,671 --> 00:19:34,641
And now you get embarrassed
in private because you

666
00:19:34,642 --> 00:19:35,382
can do it with Claude.

667
00:19:35,521 --> 00:19:35,591
Oh, man.

668
00:19:35,591 --> 00:19:37,021
With an LLM, you can do
it with any kind of AI.

669
00:19:37,061 --> 00:19:37,171
Yeah.

670
00:19:37,171 --> 00:19:39,791
You can basically ask the dumb
questions in front of them.

671
00:19:39,911 --> 00:19:39,951
Yep.

672
00:19:40,032 --> 00:19:42,752
Holy shit, like, w- what that
would've done for me back then.

673
00:19:43,131 --> 00:19:46,541
But I would say even now,
what it does for me today-

674
00:19:46,821 --> 00:19:47,071
Sure

675
00:19:47,081 --> 00:19:48,321
… 
right, is extraordinary.

676
00:19:48,951 --> 00:19:49,221
Yeah.

677
00:19:49,712 --> 00:19:50,872
There's still things
we don't know.

678
00:19:51,271 --> 00:19:51,621
Not many.

679
00:19:52,831 --> 00:19:53,391
To say the least.

680
00:19:53,392 --> 00:19:53,841
To say the least.

681
00:19:54,191 --> 00:19:57,072
And so I always get into this
interesting, uh, situation,

682
00:19:57,072 --> 00:19:59,491
this, this kind of thought
exercise where I think to

683
00:19:59,491 --> 00:20:03,821
myself, "What if I hadn't
been put in that position?

684
00:20:03,991 --> 00:20:05,771
What if I hadn't- Sure
… had to learn finance?

685
00:20:05,771 --> 00:20:08,872
Or what if I hadn't had to learn
design?" Like, what would've

686
00:20:08,962 --> 00:20:12,651
ever given me the opportunity
to put that to the test?

687
00:20:13,051 --> 00:20:15,571
I mean, human potential
is wildly dependent

688
00:20:15,572 --> 00:20:16,792
on exposure, right?

689
00:20:16,792 --> 00:20:16,831
Unbelievable.

690
00:20:16,831 --> 00:20:19,122
A small change in
environment, timing, parent,

691
00:20:19,131 --> 00:20:21,671
mentor, opportunity can
determine whether somebody

692
00:20:21,671 --> 00:20:23,782
becomes world-class or
never discovers they even

693
00:20:23,782 --> 00:20:24,681
have the talent, right?

694
00:20:24,991 --> 00:20:27,951
Which is insane,
but absolutely true.

695
00:20:28,081 --> 00:20:30,951
Years and years ago, in like
the mid-2000s, for a half

696
00:20:30,951 --> 00:20:33,012
second I was on the board of
the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

697
00:20:33,252 --> 00:20:33,442
Yeah.

698
00:20:33,451 --> 00:20:34,151
Like a half second.

699
00:20:34,881 --> 00:20:36,351
And- Is it because you
can shred guitar well?

700
00:20:36,451 --> 00:20:36,591
Yeah.

701
00:20:37,761 --> 00:20:39,501
One of my many things
I cannot do, but maybe-

702
00:20:39,502 --> 00:20:39,711
You sure?

703
00:20:39,721 --> 00:20:41,341
I can see one in the
background of the video.

704
00:20:41,351 --> 00:20:41,841
Are you sure-

705
00:20:41,841 --> 00:20:41,962
That is

706
00:20:42,992 --> 00:20:43,206
true … you can't shred

707
00:20:43,206 --> 00:20:43,289
guitar?

708
00:20:43,289 --> 00:20:44,981
Literally, for folks that
don't see this on video,

709
00:20:44,981 --> 00:20:46,411
there is a guitar behind me.

710
00:20:46,752 --> 00:20:48,471
It has been turned on,
meaning like, 'cause it's an

711
00:20:48,471 --> 00:20:49,842
electric guitar, like twice.

712
00:20:49,991 --> 00:20:51,901
I like that you said
turned on because you

713
00:20:51,901 --> 00:20:52,838
don't actually turn on the

714
00:20:52,838 --> 00:20:52,935
guitar.

715
00:20:52,935 --> 00:20:53,431
No, I agree.

716
00:20:53,431 --> 00:20:54,156
Yeah, exa- exactly.

717
00:20:54,156 --> 00:20:55,042
That's my point, right?

718
00:20:55,042 --> 00:20:55,542
That's my point.

719
00:20:55,901 --> 00:20:56,401
Um- Case in point.

720
00:20:56,491 --> 00:20:56,641
All

721
00:20:56,641 --> 00:20:56,901
right.

722
00:20:56,901 --> 00:20:57,491
Yeah, exactly.

723
00:20:57,491 --> 00:20:58,772
So anyway, I'm on the board.

724
00:20:58,772 --> 00:20:59,751
The, the, the fact
that I'm on the board

725
00:20:59,751 --> 00:21:00,311
isn't really the point.

726
00:21:00,331 --> 00:21:04,001
The point is that as part of
your being on the board, they

727
00:21:04,001 --> 00:21:07,811
give you tickets to the private
induction ceremonies- Uh-huh

728
00:21:07,872 --> 00:21:09,451
… of the people who get into
the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

729
00:21:09,501 --> 00:21:10,232
Wild, man.

730
00:21:10,241 --> 00:21:10,251
I-

731
00:21:10,751 --> 00:21:11,552
it is incredible.

732
00:21:11,561 --> 00:21:13,711
Me and, me and Sarah, every
time we went to one of these

733
00:21:13,712 --> 00:21:16,241
things was like, "What are
we doing here?" Like w- like

734
00:21:16,241 --> 00:21:19,352
there's 200 people at, at the
event- Yeah … and us, right?

735
00:21:19,361 --> 00:21:20,622
We're not supposed
to be… We're them.

736
00:21:20,622 --> 00:21:20,792
We're not

737
00:21:20,792 --> 00:21:20,822
them.

738
00:21:20,831 --> 00:21:23,491
Anyway, so, so point is
Metallica's getting inducted,

739
00:21:23,762 --> 00:21:26,231
and Lars Ulrich, uh, the
drummer, gets up there,

740
00:21:26,281 --> 00:21:28,191
and his family is right
in front of him, right?

741
00:21:28,361 --> 00:21:29,811
And he's speaking
directly to his family.

742
00:21:29,831 --> 00:21:31,432
And by the way, this is so
random 'cause I've been telling

743
00:21:31,432 --> 00:21:32,551
this story for, like, 20 years.

744
00:21:32,902 --> 00:21:36,040
I just found out- Maybe
three weeks ago, Ryan,

745
00:21:36,389 --> 00:21:38,570
that what I'm about to
talk about is on YouTube.

746
00:21:39,189 --> 00:21:39,949
Like, his- No way.

747
00:21:40,139 --> 00:21:41,010
This was on YouTube.

748
00:21:41,060 --> 00:21:42,840
Like, uh- Oh, wow … they were
recording it, which makes it-

749
00:21:42,840 --> 00:21:43,370
Okay

750
00:21:43,520 --> 00:21:43,740
right?

751
00:21:44,009 --> 00:21:46,040
I don't remember cameras being
there, but, uh, whatever.

752
00:21:46,230 --> 00:21:47,539
But, so what I'm about
to say, like, isn't

753
00:21:47,540 --> 00:21:48,330
me just making it up.

754
00:21:48,409 --> 00:21:50,689
Like, I actually re-watched it.

755
00:21:50,699 --> 00:21:52,469
I didn't even know this
existed on YouTube, but- I

756
00:21:52,469 --> 00:21:53,229
believe you, Will.

757
00:21:53,230 --> 00:21:53,409
It's

758
00:21:53,740 --> 00:21:53,840
okay.

759
00:21:53,850 --> 00:21:53,899
Yeah, yeah.

760
00:21:53,899 --> 00:21:55,019
I, I, I wasn't sure.

761
00:21:57,189 --> 00:21:57,549
Anyway-

762
00:21:57,609 --> 00:21:57,870
I'm gonna snag this

763
00:21:58,199 --> 00:22:00,300
… 
so, uh, Lars Ulrich gets up
there, you know, one of the

764
00:22:00,300 --> 00:22:03,189
greatest heavy metal drummers
of all time, and, uh, he's

765
00:22:03,189 --> 00:22:03,949
talking to his parents.

766
00:22:04,379 --> 00:22:07,250
And he said, "Mom and Dad,
like, the reason that I'm up

767
00:22:07,250 --> 00:22:09,470
here is because of you." Right?

768
00:22:09,470 --> 00:22:09,510
Yeah.

769
00:22:09,510 --> 00:22:11,590
Like, you let a kid…
Y- you're always playing

770
00:22:11,590 --> 00:22:12,249
music in the house.

771
00:22:12,350 --> 00:22:13,869
R- Ryan, that always
reminds me of your home.

772
00:22:14,100 --> 00:22:16,779
You were always playing music in
the house, and because of that,

773
00:22:16,789 --> 00:22:19,210
like, I always felt comfortable
to, to be who I was going to be.

774
00:22:19,859 --> 00:22:22,719
And I always- Imagine
… pause at that moment.

775
00:22:22,719 --> 00:22:25,169
I even said this to Sarah when
this, when he was saying this.

776
00:22:25,589 --> 00:22:27,789
I was like, "What if?" Yeah.

777
00:22:27,789 --> 00:22:31,269
"What if that fucking guy had
two parents who were hardcore

778
00:22:31,269 --> 00:22:33,149
accountants?" He grew up
in- Yeah … San Francisco.

779
00:22:33,149 --> 00:22:34,460
N- not unlikely, right?

780
00:22:34,569 --> 00:22:34,779
Yeah.

781
00:22:34,830 --> 00:22:37,209
And, and all they pushed
him to do was more math.

782
00:22:37,669 --> 00:22:39,669
Yeah, they were like, "Can
I have drumsticks?" "How

783
00:22:39,669 --> 00:22:42,279
about two, uh, mechanical
pencils?" "Basically.

784
00:22:42,279 --> 00:22:42,869
Is that okay?"

785
00:22:42,969 --> 00:22:45,159
Right, like and, and for
those of you that know what

786
00:22:45,179 --> 00:22:47,679
Ulz Ur- Lars Ulrich looks
like, Ryan, I think you

787
00:22:47,679 --> 00:22:48,879
described it best as what?

788
00:22:49,190 --> 00:22:49,840
Come on, man.

789
00:22:50,429 --> 00:22:51,739
This is two weeks in
a row you're making me

790
00:22:51,739 --> 00:22:53,039
throw out something that's- No,
no, no, I'm not, I'm not asking

791
00:22:53,169 --> 00:22:54,339
for a- for, uh, any words.

792
00:22:54,339 --> 00:22:56,009
I'm saying how would
you describe him?

793
00:22:56,219 --> 00:22:58,109
You said he looked like
he would've been…

794
00:22:58,370 --> 00:23:01,480
I was like, he had the haircut
of the last Video Town employee.

795
00:23:01,480 --> 00:23:01,529
I didn't

796
00:23:03,190 --> 00:23:05,449
wanna steal that line, 'cause
it was perfect coming from you.

797
00:23:05,739 --> 00:23:07,519
The haircut of the last
Video Town employee.

798
00:23:07,569 --> 00:23:09,089
What I'm saying is,
like, he didn't look

799
00:23:09,089 --> 00:23:10,449
like David Bowie, right?

800
00:23:10,449 --> 00:23:11,579
You know, like this rock star.

801
00:23:11,789 --> 00:23:11,859
Yeah.

802
00:23:11,859 --> 00:23:14,469
He looked like the most
improbable guy- Yeah … that's

803
00:23:14,469 --> 00:23:16,209
gonna start one of the most
iconic bands, uh, of all time.

804
00:23:16,209 --> 00:23:16,649
Exactly.

805
00:23:16,989 --> 00:23:22,004
And yet Because of this series
of events, right, he goes on

806
00:23:22,004 --> 00:23:23,144
to become who he's become.

807
00:23:23,144 --> 00:23:23,343
Now-

808
00:23:23,363 --> 00:23:23,684
Right

809
00:23:23,793 --> 00:23:28,194
… 
now that same bizarre
series of events has led

810
00:23:28,194 --> 00:23:31,214
to everything from Mozart
to Tiger Woods, right?

811
00:23:31,223 --> 00:23:31,253
Yep.

812
00:23:31,263 --> 00:23:33,884
Where you just had in,
in, in both those cases a

813
00:23:33,884 --> 00:23:38,713
father figure that had some
unusual kind of pressure.

814
00:23:39,014 --> 00:23:40,453
Recently, 'cause it, you
know, it's out in the movies

815
00:23:40,453 --> 00:23:42,433
right now, uh, Michael Jackson
and his father- Yeah, yeah,

816
00:23:42,434 --> 00:23:43,293
yeah … like, go, right?

817
00:23:43,293 --> 00:23:45,863
Like, having- Yep … this
unusual thing, and so bizarre,

818
00:23:45,973 --> 00:23:46,903
you know, how it unfolded.

819
00:23:47,523 --> 00:23:50,764
What if- Yeah … what
if those people weren't

820
00:23:50,783 --> 00:23:51,933
in that person's life?

821
00:23:51,943 --> 00:23:51,973
Right.

822
00:23:51,984 --> 00:23:54,683
Is there any chance they
would've become who they became

823
00:23:54,684 --> 00:23:55,614
at the level they became it?

824
00:23:55,624 --> 00:23:55,644
Yeah.

825
00:23:56,334 --> 00:23:57,194
Probably not.

826
00:23:57,704 --> 00:23:57,994
Yeah.

827
00:23:58,133 --> 00:24:01,213
I mean, Joe Jackson gets tipped
into the smelting pot instead

828
00:24:01,213 --> 00:24:03,373
of, you know, coming home
and, right, he's just gone.

829
00:24:03,383 --> 00:24:05,233
Like, maybe Michael
still becomes who he

830
00:24:05,234 --> 00:24:06,863
becomes, but probably not.

831
00:24:06,943 --> 00:24:08,053
Maybe, but probably not.

832
00:24:08,073 --> 00:24:09,583
And, and this is why
it's fascinating.

833
00:24:09,953 --> 00:24:13,143
Because what if the person-
Yeah … that, that we were

834
00:24:13,143 --> 00:24:17,073
meant to become never had
that chrysalis moment- Yeah

835
00:24:17,073 --> 00:24:18,154
… until we became a founder?

836
00:24:18,643 --> 00:24:21,343
Yeah, 'cause potential doesn't
just announce itself, right?

837
00:24:21,363 --> 00:24:23,314
It, it has to be
activated in some way.

838
00:24:23,323 --> 00:24:23,623
Right.

839
00:24:24,044 --> 00:24:27,333
And I, like, look how many
versions of us never existed

840
00:24:27,334 --> 00:24:29,444
because nobody handed
us the, the golf club.

841
00:24:29,444 --> 00:24:30,673
Nobody handed us the drumstick.

842
00:24:30,673 --> 00:24:31,543
Nobody handed us the microphone.

843
00:24:31,603 --> 00:24:35,273
Nobody put us into a situation
that forced us to understand

844
00:24:35,273 --> 00:24:37,113
that we're capable of
something we didn't know.

845
00:24:37,364 --> 00:24:37,594
Right.

846
00:24:37,594 --> 00:24:37,773
Right?

847
00:24:37,773 --> 00:24:40,693
Because being a founder just
puts us at the center of 1,000

848
00:24:40,713 --> 00:24:45,293
opportunities to try, learn,
fail, and uncover capacity.

849
00:24:45,593 --> 00:24:47,233
Uh, which is wonderful,
because a lot of people

850
00:24:47,233 --> 00:24:48,443
never go through that, right?

851
00:24:48,443 --> 00:24:50,463
They just have these random
collisions with things

852
00:24:50,463 --> 00:24:51,823
maybe throughout their
school years or whatever.

853
00:24:52,083 --> 00:24:53,763
So I think, I think it's one
of the things that we should

854
00:24:53,823 --> 00:24:57,143
absolutely be, be grateful
for in the founder space

855
00:24:57,143 --> 00:24:58,983
is that we get this, right?

856
00:24:59,023 --> 00:25:01,814
Our potential is sort
of forced out of us.

857
00:25:02,114 --> 00:25:02,354
Yep.

858
00:25:02,544 --> 00:25:05,283
I wanna snapshot a couple
moments in time to talk

859
00:25:05,294 --> 00:25:06,483
about these counter examples.

860
00:25:06,504 --> 00:25:09,483
Because in my career, you
know, I started a- as a CEO

861
00:25:09,493 --> 00:25:10,643
essentially when I was 19.

862
00:25:10,653 --> 00:25:12,163
So people are like, "Oh,
well you had a lot of time to

863
00:25:12,173 --> 00:25:13,154
work on it," which is true.

864
00:25:13,684 --> 00:25:14,913
But there's another
way to look at that.

865
00:25:15,323 --> 00:25:17,893
I also had a couple
other jobs at exactly

866
00:25:17,893 --> 00:25:19,013
that same time, right?

867
00:25:19,013 --> 00:25:19,023
Yeah.

868
00:25:19,023 --> 00:25:20,473
It wasn't like this was
the first thing I did.

869
00:25:20,703 --> 00:25:23,713
So if you were to timestamp
this, so I'm 19 years old in

870
00:25:23,713 --> 00:25:26,293
the summer of '94 or whatever
it was when I started Blue

871
00:25:26,293 --> 00:25:27,893
Diesel, the, my first agency.

872
00:25:28,462 --> 00:25:33,572
But not 18 months prior to that,
I worked as a sandwich chef for

873
00:25:33,581 --> 00:25:36,507
D'Angelo's, which was like the
Subway- Oh, man … you know,

874
00:25:36,507 --> 00:25:37,996
like Subway sandwiches- Yeah
… of the East Coast, right?

875
00:25:37,996 --> 00:25:38,162
Yep.

876
00:25:38,162 --> 00:25:38,922
So delicious.

877
00:25:39,442 --> 00:25:41,441
But this is the- Hungry
… reason I bring this story up.

878
00:25:41,521 --> 00:25:42,972
I got fired from that job.

879
00:25:42,972 --> 00:25:43,081
Yeah.

880
00:25:43,141 --> 00:25:46,462
Not, not fired for, like, I
did something wrong, like,

881
00:25:46,462 --> 00:25:47,461
you know, I was negligent.

882
00:25:47,722 --> 00:25:50,872
Fired, and this is so
hilarious, because I

883
00:25:50,872 --> 00:25:52,942
couldn't pass the SATs.

884
00:25:53,042 --> 00:25:54,102
What are the SATs?

885
00:25:54,472 --> 00:25:55,682
Not what you think they are.

886
00:25:55,851 --> 00:25:56,642
At D'Angelo's- Sandwich

887
00:25:56,671 --> 00:25:58,452
they were the sandwich
aptitude test.

888
00:25:58,782 --> 00:26:01,432
The sandwich aptitude test.

889
00:26:01,662 --> 00:26:05,131
Ryan, there is a rule in the
employ- employer handbook,

890
00:26:05,131 --> 00:26:07,812
like the franchise handbook
for D'Angelo's, that if an

891
00:26:07,812 --> 00:26:13,102
employee cannot pass the SATs,
which is basically a test to

892
00:26:13,102 --> 00:26:16,411
just say how much meat should
be on each type of sandwich.

893
00:26:16,412 --> 00:26:16,631
Uh-huh.

894
00:26:16,802 --> 00:26:18,232
How many slices of
ham, how many slices of

895
00:26:18,612 --> 00:26:18,642
cheese.

896
00:26:18,642 --> 00:26:18,662
Yeah, yeah.

897
00:26:18,792 --> 00:26:19,012
Right?

898
00:26:19,372 --> 00:26:20,282
Need to be on each slice.

899
00:26:20,282 --> 00:26:23,172
And it's like the dumbest test
you could possibly be given.

900
00:26:23,541 --> 00:26:23,702
It's a-

901
00:26:23,771 --> 00:26:25,242
I not only failed it, Ryan-

902
00:26:25,242 --> 00:26:26,222
It's meat math.

903
00:26:26,222 --> 00:26:26,462
Yeah.

904
00:26:26,462 --> 00:26:26,492
It's

905
00:26:26,671 --> 00:26:27,102
meat math.

906
00:26:27,131 --> 00:26:27,971
It's meat math, right?

907
00:26:28,071 --> 00:26:32,250
I failed it three times in a
row And so my manager, this

908
00:26:32,250 --> 00:26:34,600
guy named Raymond, who's
actually a really nice guy-

909
00:26:35,100 --> 00:26:35,530
Oh,

910
00:26:35,530 --> 00:26:35,685
man

911
00:26:35,685 --> 00:26:38,080
sits me down at a
booth at D'Angelo's.

912
00:26:38,120 --> 00:26:40,750
This is me at 18 years old,
and he's like, "Listen,

913
00:26:40,750 --> 00:26:43,989
man. I didn't even know
this was possible, but

914
00:26:43,990 --> 00:26:45,040
I have to let you go."

915
00:26:45,120 --> 00:26:46,260
I've never seen this before.

916
00:26:46,419 --> 00:26:46,689
Right?

917
00:26:46,690 --> 00:26:47,579
Yeah, yeah, exactly.

918
00:26:47,580 --> 00:26:49,850
I'm like, "What did I do
wrong?" He's like, "You

919
00:26:49,850 --> 00:26:52,880
didn't pass the SATs." I was
like, "Are we talking about

920
00:26:52,890 --> 00:26:54,229
the same SIT- SATs test?"

921
00:26:54,249 --> 00:26:54,269
Yeah.

922
00:26:54,269 --> 00:26:55,420
I was just about to
graduate high school.

923
00:26:55,900 --> 00:26:57,739
He's like, "No, the, the
sandwich test." Like-

924
00:26:58,089 --> 00:26:58,429
Oh,

925
00:26:58,429 --> 00:27:00,360
my God … "You failed
the sandwich test three

926
00:27:00,360 --> 00:27:03,780
times, man. Like everyone
passes this test." Yeah.

927
00:27:03,979 --> 00:27:06,670
You know, something that's
really funny about everything

928
00:27:06,670 --> 00:27:10,159
we talk about here is
that none of it is new.

929
00:27:10,389 --> 00:27:11,710
Everything you're dealing with

930
00:27:11,710 --> 00:27:15,359
right now has been done a
thousand times before you, which

931
00:27:15,440 --> 00:27:16,780
means the answer already exists.

932
00:27:16,789 --> 00:27:18,720
You may just not know
it, but that's okay.

933
00:27:19,029 --> 00:27:20,849
That's kind of what
we're here to do.

934
00:27:20,879 --> 00:27:23,519
We talk about this stuff on
the show, but we actually

935
00:27:23,519 --> 00:27:27,589
solve these problems all day
long at groups.startups.com.

936
00:27:27,729 --> 00:27:30,969
So if any of this sounds
familiar, stop guessing

937
00:27:31,039 --> 00:27:32,020
about what to do.

938
00:27:32,260 --> 00:27:35,419
Let us just give you the answers
to the test and be done with it.

939
00:27:35,899 --> 00:27:38,139
And God, man, think about
how many people that becomes

940
00:27:38,140 --> 00:27:39,259
a defining moment for.

941
00:27:39,379 --> 00:27:39,999
Yeah.

942
00:27:40,129 --> 00:27:41,229
Think about how many
people, like, that,

943
00:27:41,229 --> 00:27:42,049
that could have defined.

944
00:27:42,049 --> 00:27:44,679
Like, because clearly you
don't think… Raymond

945
00:27:44,679 --> 00:27:46,829
wasn't like, "Look, here,
got good news and bad news.

946
00:27:46,890 --> 00:27:50,110
The, the bad news is you,
you failed the SAT, the

947
00:27:50,110 --> 00:27:51,659
sandwich aptitude test.

948
00:27:51,990 --> 00:27:54,889
Uh, the good news is you're
gonna go on to become a CEO

949
00:27:54,899 --> 00:27:55,989
in the next four years."

950
00:27:56,009 --> 00:27:56,249
Yeah.

951
00:27:56,299 --> 00:27:56,549
Right,

952
00:27:56,769 --> 00:27:56,939
right.

953
00:27:56,939 --> 00:27:56,979
Right?

954
00:27:56,979 --> 00:27:58,649
That wasn't on Raymond's mind.

955
00:27:58,839 --> 00:28:02,089
Again, I love snapshotting these
moments because it- it's such a

956
00:28:02,100 --> 00:28:05,779
beautiful illustration of these
different life paths, right?

957
00:28:05,869 --> 00:28:09,059
I remember going back to my
car, my $800 Datsun, and being

958
00:28:09,060 --> 00:28:10,219
like, "I'm a giant loser."

959
00:28:10,280 --> 00:28:10,560
Datsun.

960
00:28:10,619 --> 00:28:10,909
Right?

961
00:28:10,979 --> 00:28:11,219
Yeah.

962
00:28:11,829 --> 00:28:12,509
No, it was.

963
00:28:12,509 --> 00:28:13,309
It was rust-colored.

964
00:28:13,310 --> 00:28:14,189
It was disgusting, right?

965
00:28:14,189 --> 00:28:14,579
Right.

966
00:28:14,579 --> 00:28:16,929
And I remember saying, "I'm
a giant loser." And not

967
00:28:16,929 --> 00:28:19,269
because I felt bad about
myself, because I was like,

968
00:28:19,280 --> 00:28:22,559
"Will, dude, like, you're
about to enter the workforce,

969
00:28:22,560 --> 00:28:23,510
like, for real, man." Yeah.

970
00:28:23,929 --> 00:28:25,780
"You can't hold this job? Like,

971
00:28:27,980 --> 00:28:28,089
what the fuck?" Right?

972
00:28:28,089 --> 00:28:29,279
Like… And, and I
remember being really

973
00:28:29,280 --> 00:28:30,269
sad about it, right?

974
00:28:30,269 --> 00:28:34,609
Not like my life is over, more
like, "Uh, okay, this isn't

975
00:28:34,609 --> 00:28:38,329
good." Now, a year later in an
alternate universe, Will would

976
00:28:38,329 --> 00:28:40,340
go on to start a company and
become a millionaire, right?

977
00:28:40,469 --> 00:28:40,669
Yeah.

978
00:28:40,710 --> 00:28:42,000
Like, within a few years.

979
00:28:42,549 --> 00:28:42,759
Yeah.

980
00:28:42,759 --> 00:28:46,710
And, but he just lost his job
making $5 an hour and thought

981
00:28:46,710 --> 00:28:48,120
it was, like, the end of times.

982
00:28:48,129 --> 00:28:48,139
I

983
00:28:48,639 --> 00:28:50,330
mean, on one hand, thank
God, because what if you-

984
00:28:50,330 --> 00:28:51,640
Yeah … just become a
really good sandwich artist?

985
00:28:51,640 --> 00:28:52,130
Oh my God.

986
00:28:52,130 --> 00:28:52,319
Right?

987
00:28:52,320 --> 00:28:55,220
Like, what if this conversation
was, "Will, I see so

988
00:28:55,220 --> 00:28:56,170
much potential in you."

989
00:28:56,629 --> 00:28:56,819
Yeah.

990
00:28:56,820 --> 00:29:00,759
"
How would you feel about
being night manager?" Right?

991
00:29:00,909 --> 00:29:02,219
And I was like, "Career."

992
00:29:02,339 --> 00:29:03,869
Someday you might
move to day manager.

993
00:29:03,919 --> 00:29:06,959
You, could you imagine owning
your own franchise someday, son?

994
00:29:07,240 --> 00:29:07,480
Yeah.

995
00:29:07,499 --> 00:29:08,169
Dare to dream.

996
00:29:08,559 --> 00:29:08,579
Yeah.

997
00:29:08,579 --> 00:29:08,599
Right?

998
00:29:08,599 --> 00:29:09,080
Well, so that's the
interesting thing.

999
00:29:09,080 --> 00:29:10,789
So we talked about, like,
the opportunities that

1000
00:29:10,790 --> 00:29:13,049
come along that kind of
put you onto the path.

1001
00:29:13,229 --> 00:29:13,509
Yeah.

1002
00:29:13,559 --> 00:29:14,950
But then there are also
things that can come

1003
00:29:14,950 --> 00:29:17,150
along that force you off
a particular path, right?

1004
00:29:17,150 --> 00:29:17,340
Yeah.

1005
00:29:17,340 --> 00:29:18,449
And I think that those
are interesting, too.

1006
00:29:18,680 --> 00:29:20,980
You've got another pretty
hysterical anecdote that I

1007
00:29:20,980 --> 00:29:23,460
would love for you to share
around how much time you were

1008
00:29:23,460 --> 00:29:25,009
spending on your computer.

1009
00:29:25,240 --> 00:29:25,410
Oh.

1010
00:29:26,960 --> 00:29:27,550
Okay, so

1011
00:29:27,710 --> 00:29:28,870
This is one of those
moments where, like, this

1012
00:29:28,870 --> 00:29:31,370
could have easily derailed
things in a different way.

1013
00:29:31,460 --> 00:29:35,530
Let's take Tiger Woods' dad,
Earl, forcing him into playing

1014
00:29:35,530 --> 00:29:37,169
golf in two years old, okay?

1015
00:29:37,389 --> 00:29:37,679
Yes.

1016
00:29:38,020 --> 00:29:40,990
Fast-forward, or rewind,
I guess, in this case, I'm

1017
00:29:40,990 --> 00:29:42,770
now 11 years old, okay?

1018
00:29:42,810 --> 00:29:42,980
Uh-huh.

1019
00:29:43,039 --> 00:29:44,849
I will never forget this moment.

1020
00:29:44,859 --> 00:29:48,639
I'm sitting there just engrossed
in a Commodore 64 computer.

1021
00:29:48,639 --> 00:29:48,839
Yeah.

1022
00:29:48,839 --> 00:29:49,039
Right?

1023
00:29:49,039 --> 00:29:51,030
I am, Ryan, I'm blown
away by this technology.

1024
00:29:51,139 --> 00:29:51,619
What other option did you have?

1025
00:29:51,619 --> 00:29:53,419
If you were 11 and you
had a Commodore 64, you

1026
00:29:53,469 --> 00:29:54,739
were engrossed, right?

1027
00:29:54,739 --> 00:29:54,899
That's what it is.

1028
00:29:54,899 --> 00:29:57,939
I, I, I was just blown away at,
at- Yep … the power of this

1029
00:29:57,939 --> 00:29:59,809
and the potential and everything
else like that, right?

1030
00:30:00,249 --> 00:30:01,649
And I'm trying to
explain it to my old man.

1031
00:30:02,289 --> 00:30:05,710
My dad, who's a carpenter,
was like, "Why are you on

1032
00:30:05,710 --> 00:30:08,040
this thing?" I mean, he begr-
begrudgingly bought it for me.

1033
00:30:08,040 --> 00:30:09,929
To give you a sense for how
much my dad knew, and this,

1034
00:30:10,019 --> 00:30:12,599
not meaning to, to knock him,
but knew about computers, or

1035
00:30:12,600 --> 00:30:13,939
really anybody did back then.

1036
00:30:14,499 --> 00:30:16,869
My dad, in maybe the most,
one of the most defining

1037
00:30:16,869 --> 00:30:20,239
moments as a father, bought
me a Commodore 64 computer,

1038
00:30:20,459 --> 00:30:24,179
uh, for Christmas that year,
but did not understand that

1039
00:30:24,179 --> 00:30:25,609
you also had to buy software.

1040
00:30:25,740 --> 00:30:26,199
Software, yeah.

1041
00:30:26,199 --> 00:30:28,449
He just knew that, like,
it, Commodore said, son

1042
00:30:28,449 --> 00:30:30,079
said Commodore box, right?

1043
00:30:30,080 --> 00:30:30,379
Yeah.

1044
00:30:30,609 --> 00:30:32,769
And he was able to
get the, the monitor.

1045
00:30:33,209 --> 00:30:35,349
The computer, which back
then was the keyboard and

1046
00:30:35,349 --> 00:30:37,219
the computer was in it,
in a disk drive, which

1047
00:30:37,219 --> 00:30:38,160
was external back then.

1048
00:30:38,609 --> 00:30:41,259
But he didn't understand
that you had, need software.

1049
00:30:41,519 --> 00:30:41,840
So- He

1050
00:30:41,840 --> 00:30:43,400
basically bought you
a really weird lamp

1051
00:30:44,046 --> 00:30:46,256
Dude, he bought me a
Nintendo with no cartridges.

1052
00:30:46,616 --> 00:30:47,076
Yes.

1053
00:30:47,146 --> 00:30:48,726
That's exactly what happened.

1054
00:30:48,726 --> 00:30:51,176
And so on Christmas morning,
I'm like, "Oh my God, I can't

1055
00:30:51,176 --> 00:30:52,176
believe it." And then I'm
like- Yeah … "Where's the

1056
00:30:52,346 --> 00:30:54,866
software?" He's like, "The
what where?" The what where?

1057
00:30:54,866 --> 00:30:56,786
And then I'm like, "Huh,"
blinking cursor, and that's

1058
00:30:56,786 --> 00:30:57,446
how I- Yeah … learned Basic.

1059
00:30:57,685 --> 00:30:58,036
A- anyway-

1060
00:30:58,036 --> 00:30:58,366
Yeah.

1061
00:30:59,135 --> 00:31:01,955
But fast-forward like
a year later, and I'll

1062
00:31:01,956 --> 00:31:03,075
never forget this moment.

1063
00:31:03,075 --> 00:31:04,916
I'm sitting there on my
computer just playing

1064
00:31:04,916 --> 00:31:07,325
video games or something,
and my dad turns to me.

1065
00:31:07,425 --> 00:31:09,296
My dad was a huge
wrestling fan, right?

1066
00:31:09,565 --> 00:31:12,455
And he was like, "Son, get
off the damn computer and

1067
00:31:12,456 --> 00:31:15,125
come watch wrestling." I'll
never forget that Saturday

1068
00:31:15,126 --> 00:31:16,205
morning when he said that.

1069
00:31:16,325 --> 00:31:16,345
Yeah.

1070
00:31:16,816 --> 00:31:19,895
And he meant well by it, and
what he meant by it- Of course

1071
00:31:19,956 --> 00:31:22,975
was, "Hey, man," like, "come
do stuff that doesn't involve

1072
00:31:22,976 --> 00:31:24,925
you sitting by yourself in
front of this fucking monitor

1073
00:31:24,925 --> 00:31:27,125
and come to this… Come do
something that involves…"

1074
00:31:27,125 --> 00:31:27,926
Yeah, s- 50-year-old man.

1075
00:31:28,336 --> 00:31:32,125
But he looked at this computer
as this bad device, right?

1076
00:31:32,136 --> 00:31:32,166
Yep.

1077
00:31:32,175 --> 00:31:34,265
Like, he bought it
begrudgingly 'cause his son

1078
00:31:34,265 --> 00:31:35,825
was so annoying to get it.

1079
00:31:35,825 --> 00:31:36,276
Yeah.

1080
00:31:36,276 --> 00:31:38,105
And he regretted it
every day since then.

1081
00:31:38,535 --> 00:31:43,825
And so imagine if I had taken
his advice for face value and

1082
00:31:43,825 --> 00:31:46,185
been like, "I guess this whole
computer thing, you know,

1083
00:31:46,185 --> 00:31:49,186
technology thing is gonna go
nowhere, but WrestleMania is

1084
00:31:49,205 --> 00:31:52,356
pretty dope, so I need to double
down on that," which it was.

1085
00:31:52,675 --> 00:31:55,726
M- my point is what if
that guiding hand had,

1086
00:31:55,726 --> 00:31:56,145
you know, gone- Yeah

1087
00:31:56,145 --> 00:31:56,765
the other direction?

1088
00:31:56,766 --> 00:31:59,086
He was the anti-Earl of
Tiger Woods era, right?

1089
00:31:59,175 --> 00:31:59,435
Yep.

1090
00:31:59,495 --> 00:32:00,676
And I had gone a
different direction.

1091
00:32:01,215 --> 00:32:03,476
I mean, on one hand, maybe you
would've become Vince McMahon.

1092
00:32:03,485 --> 00:32:04,565
How do we know, right?

1093
00:32:04,565 --> 00:32:05,675
Y- you never know, right?

1094
00:32:05,675 --> 00:32:06,966
You would've combined
wrestling and finance instead.

1095
00:32:07,275 --> 00:32:08,095
I will say this.

1096
00:32:08,245 --> 00:32:10,515
There was an alternate
version of this, uh, that

1097
00:32:10,516 --> 00:32:13,175
also happened where th- like
that summer, I would go on

1098
00:32:13,175 --> 00:32:15,955
the jobs with my dad, and
we'd build stuff, right?

1099
00:32:16,095 --> 00:32:18,185
And I would just be carrying
heavy shit like in the middle

1100
00:32:18,196 --> 00:32:20,706
of summer and… But I remember
saying to my dad, I was like,

1101
00:32:20,706 --> 00:32:23,685
"Dad, how awesome is this
that at the end of the day,

1102
00:32:23,976 --> 00:32:25,975
we get to create something
that's never been created

1103
00:32:25,985 --> 00:32:28,165
before?" I'm talking like
structures and things like that.

1104
00:32:28,875 --> 00:32:28,975
Yeah.

1105
00:32:28,975 --> 00:32:30,735
And my dad looks at me,
I'll never forget this.

1106
00:32:30,815 --> 00:32:33,275
And he looks at me and he's
like, "No, it's not awesome."

1107
00:32:33,505 --> 00:32:35,616
He's like- No … "I'm
40 years old, man." Yeah.

1108
00:32:35,616 --> 00:32:39,835
"My back is shot. My knees
are shot. Do anything but

1109
00:32:39,845 --> 00:32:42,755
this." And so what did I
do when I made some money?

1110
00:32:43,245 --> 00:32:44,115
I became a carpenter.

1111
00:32:44,116 --> 00:32:44,716
I did the exact- Yeah,

1112
00:32:44,716 --> 00:32:47,435
yeah … You're like, "I built
a wood shop immediately." Yeah,

1113
00:32:47,535 --> 00:32:47,945
exactly.

1114
00:32:48,095 --> 00:32:48,115
Yeah.

1115
00:32:48,485 --> 00:32:50,695
Which brings me to s-
sort of my next point

1116
00:32:50,825 --> 00:32:51,855
in all of this, right?

1117
00:32:52,385 --> 00:32:56,635
Once you realize that you can
be something other than what

1118
00:32:56,635 --> 00:32:59,866
life told you- Yeah … or what
your circumstances afforded

1119
00:32:59,866 --> 00:33:04,182
you- You start to ask yourself,
"Well, what else can I do?"

1120
00:33:04,752 --> 00:33:04,952
Yeah.

1121
00:33:05,002 --> 00:33:05,042
Right?

1122
00:33:05,121 --> 00:33:07,742
Which by the way, is
pretty fucking cool.

1123
00:33:08,302 --> 00:33:13,091
To be empowered enough one
time to be able to say,

1124
00:33:13,591 --> 00:33:17,872
"Well, if I can do this, why
can't I do this other stuff?"

1125
00:33:17,881 --> 00:33:17,901
Yeah.

1126
00:33:18,231 --> 00:33:21,542
I stopped thinking about
capabilities as the driving

1127
00:33:21,542 --> 00:33:23,502
force, meaning that, like,
the things that I knew

1128
00:33:23,502 --> 00:33:24,442
I was capable of, right?

1129
00:33:24,442 --> 00:33:24,541
Yeah.

1130
00:33:24,541 --> 00:33:26,041
Because I think that's a,
a big part of, like, what

1131
00:33:26,371 --> 00:33:27,931
we're… W- we go through
school, we come up, like,

1132
00:33:27,932 --> 00:33:30,492
as, as, you know, in our,
our youth, we're, we're being

1133
00:33:30,501 --> 00:33:32,812
given a set of tools, right?

1134
00:33:32,822 --> 00:33:32,851
Mm-hmm.

1135
00:33:32,861 --> 00:33:36,001
Almost like a, a set of keys to,
to some doors that they unlock,

1136
00:33:36,001 --> 00:33:37,551
and now that's the keys we have.

1137
00:33:37,871 --> 00:33:40,151
And I think that what, what we
were able to realize through

1138
00:33:40,151 --> 00:33:43,301
entrepreneurship early on
was that, like, I can unlock

1139
00:33:43,302 --> 00:33:44,822
any door I want to, right?

1140
00:33:44,861 --> 00:33:47,902
I can forge a key for
anything I want to.

1141
00:33:47,951 --> 00:33:52,072
And then there was this
crazy compounding value

1142
00:33:52,081 --> 00:33:53,351
in, in doing that.

1143
00:33:53,681 --> 00:33:55,252
Once you figure out you
can become one thing

1144
00:33:55,252 --> 00:33:57,691
you never imagined, you
start to question every

1145
00:33:57,692 --> 00:33:58,932
limitation around you, right?

1146
00:33:58,942 --> 00:34:00,661
That first transformation
might be the hardest, but

1147
00:34:00,671 --> 00:34:04,661
after that, that reinvention
just compounds, and competence

1148
00:34:04,671 --> 00:34:05,931
compounds into courage.

1149
00:34:06,171 --> 00:34:08,401
And once you break one
identity ceiling, the

1150
00:34:08,411 --> 00:34:11,132
others start to look really
fucking suspicious, right?

1151
00:34:11,132 --> 00:34:13,311
It's like, who's
saying I can't do this?

1152
00:34:13,331 --> 00:34:14,682
Like, and what- Right … what
the hell do they know?

1153
00:34:14,691 --> 00:34:16,092
They would've told me I
couldn't do that, that, or

1154
00:34:16,092 --> 00:34:18,531
that either, and I've already
done all that shit, so-

1155
00:34:18,561 --> 00:34:19,762
Right … why don't we go?

1156
00:34:20,061 --> 00:34:23,151
So you get into this thing
where you look at everything

1157
00:34:23,151 --> 00:34:24,131
with a second lens.

1158
00:34:24,432 --> 00:34:24,612
Yeah.

1159
00:34:24,612 --> 00:34:26,561
And you say, "Well,
why can't I do that?"

1160
00:34:26,962 --> 00:34:28,751
I'll give you some examples
that you are familiar with, you

1161
00:34:28,752 --> 00:34:29,671
know, maybe new to the audience.

1162
00:34:30,032 --> 00:34:32,551
Years ago, um, we were having
our, our house remodeled.

1163
00:34:32,752 --> 00:34:33,921
Uh, this is when-
Mm … Summer's room was

1164
00:34:33,921 --> 00:34:35,031
getting remodeled for
when Summer was born.

1165
00:34:35,031 --> 00:34:35,131
Yep.

1166
00:34:35,131 --> 00:34:36,861
So this would've been
almost exactly 15 years ago.

1167
00:34:37,101 --> 00:34:39,751
We have a guy in the house,
and he's basically rebuilding

1168
00:34:39,752 --> 00:34:42,141
the closet for what's
gonna be Summer's closet,

1169
00:34:42,241 --> 00:34:43,732
and it's a giant closet.

1170
00:34:43,801 --> 00:34:45,781
Uh, it's just a
weird, like, room.

1171
00:34:45,951 --> 00:34:47,072
But I, I'm watching
this guy do it.

1172
00:34:47,072 --> 00:34:49,886
This guy's, like, in his 60s,
and he's sitting there w-

1173
00:34:49,886 --> 00:34:53,132
with a table saw, and he's
building a really beautiful,

1174
00:34:53,132 --> 00:34:55,072
like, detailed walk-in closet.

1175
00:34:55,072 --> 00:34:55,631
Wow.

1176
00:34:55,631 --> 00:34:57,961
And so I ask him, just 'cause
I'm infinitely curious, I

1177
00:34:57,962 --> 00:35:00,572
said, "Hey, man, how is it
that you're able to get,

1178
00:35:00,761 --> 00:35:03,401
like, all these corners and
miters and everything, like,

1179
00:35:03,411 --> 00:35:04,521
really tight like that?"

1180
00:35:04,931 --> 00:35:06,791
And his answer blew my mind.

1181
00:35:07,458 --> 00:35:11,338
He's like, "Well, I go, I
measure it, I over-measure

1182
00:35:11,338 --> 00:35:14,558
it, I cut it, and then I, I
go back and I see if it fits.

1183
00:35:14,568 --> 00:35:17,108
And if it doesn't, I go back
and I cut it again." And

1184
00:35:17,108 --> 00:35:18,818
I was like, "Wait, h- hold
the fuck on for a second.

1185
00:35:19,068 --> 00:35:20,298
Are you messing with me right

1186
00:35:20,298 --> 00:35:20,688
now?" Where's the,

1187
00:35:21,538 --> 00:35:21,721
where's the magic calculation?

1188
00:35:21,721 --> 00:35:24,117
And I was like, "That's how
you make it look like that?"

1189
00:35:24,458 --> 00:35:24,598
Yeah.

1190
00:35:24,618 --> 00:35:26,658
He's like, "Yeah." Now,
I would learn many years

1191
00:35:26,658 --> 00:35:28,767
later that that is actually
how you do it, right?

1192
00:35:28,827 --> 00:35:28,857
Yes.

1193
00:35:28,868 --> 00:35:30,237
Um, it's called
sneaking up on the cut.

1194
00:35:30,627 --> 00:35:33,688
And because when you measure
things in carpentry, when you

1195
00:35:33,688 --> 00:35:36,327
measure things and you try to
cut it right the first time- Yep

1196
00:35:36,487 --> 00:35:38,738
for a litany of reasons,
it kinda just never works.

1197
00:35:39,037 --> 00:35:41,167
This is, yeah, we talked about
last week on the podcast, right?

1198
00:35:41,168 --> 00:35:43,618
Which is that, like, you
can plan all you want

1199
00:35:43,647 --> 00:35:46,057
until- Yep … you actually
put it into practice and

1200
00:35:46,057 --> 00:35:48,197
play, you're not gonna see
whether it actually fits.

1201
00:35:48,208 --> 00:35:49,737
So the, what a, what
a beautiful parallel.

1202
00:35:50,037 --> 00:35:51,037
Pause on that for a second.

1203
00:35:51,537 --> 00:35:54,127
But without that dinky piece
of knowledge- Mm-hmm … which

1204
00:35:54,127 --> 00:35:56,358
by itself seems trite
and almost, like, silly-

1205
00:35:56,627 --> 00:35:58,647
Yeah … you actually
can't build great things.

1206
00:35:58,727 --> 00:36:00,978
Like, in the, in the case of
carpentry, in this c- case

1207
00:36:00,978 --> 00:36:02,327
specifically, trim carpentry.

1208
00:36:02,387 --> 00:36:04,657
You will consistently
plan really well and build

1209
00:36:04,668 --> 00:36:07,257
things that have ugly gaps
and, and shitty seams.

1210
00:36:07,587 --> 00:36:07,927
Right.

1211
00:36:07,987 --> 00:36:10,087
You were at my house not
too long ago, and we were

1212
00:36:10,098 --> 00:36:11,617
building some cabinet doors.

1213
00:36:12,048 --> 00:36:13,198
And wasn't it exactly that?

1214
00:36:13,228 --> 00:36:15,017
It was like, you can
measure it and you can try

1215
00:36:15,018 --> 00:36:15,747
to get that thing to work.

1216
00:36:15,747 --> 00:36:17,057
It's not gonna happen, right?

1217
00:36:17,088 --> 00:36:17,418
Right.

1218
00:36:17,777 --> 00:36:19,407
Or you can cut it once,
it's gonna be off.

1219
00:36:19,408 --> 00:36:19,647
Uh-huh.

1220
00:36:19,707 --> 00:36:20,677
Cut it again, it's gonna be off.

1221
00:36:20,677 --> 00:36:21,468
L- and basic- Yep

1222
00:36:21,508 --> 00:36:22,768
like, again, sneak
up on the cut.

1223
00:36:23,217 --> 00:36:25,457
The reason I say this, you
know, share this story,

1224
00:36:25,707 --> 00:36:28,687
is that is actually how I
became a carpenter, right?

1225
00:36:28,787 --> 00:36:28,887
Yeah.

1226
00:36:29,067 --> 00:36:34,226
Was that guy told me something
so simple That I was like, "Hold

1227
00:36:34,226 --> 00:36:39,256
on a sec. If all that guy does
to be a- Yes … seasoned trim

1228
00:36:39,256 --> 00:36:40,786
carpenter and produce this-

1229
00:36:41,206 --> 00:36:41,376
Yep

1230
00:36:41,396 --> 00:36:44,206
… 
is he just doesn't try to
cut it right the first time,

1231
00:36:44,795 --> 00:36:45,996
then why can't I do that?"

1232
00:36:45,996 --> 00:36:46,246
Yeah.

1233
00:36:46,246 --> 00:36:49,145
And it turns out that was
true, and I've become a

1234
00:36:49,385 --> 00:36:51,326
very avid carpenter since.

1235
00:36:51,385 --> 00:36:51,705
Yes.

1236
00:36:51,736 --> 00:36:52,745
And I built some

1237
00:36:53,305 --> 00:36:53,345
stuff.

1238
00:36:53,345 --> 00:36:53,515
Yes, you have.

1239
00:36:53,515 --> 00:36:55,636
So many things seem complicated
until you get closer to

1240
00:36:55,636 --> 00:36:57,786
them, and it turns out that
they are just built on some

1241
00:36:57,786 --> 00:36:58,755
very simple fundamentals.

1242
00:36:58,756 --> 00:37:01,935
Of course, they take, mastery
of anything takes, takes time.

1243
00:37:02,265 --> 00:37:04,625
But I think when we're looking
at anything from the outside,

1244
00:37:04,625 --> 00:37:08,585
anything that we're not already
competent in, it looks way more

1245
00:37:08,605 --> 00:37:10,405
complex than it actually is.

1246
00:37:10,416 --> 00:37:10,446
Right.

1247
00:37:10,456 --> 00:37:11,926
There are very few things
that I've gotten into and

1248
00:37:11,926 --> 00:37:14,085
was like, "Oh, shit, this is
way more complicated than I

1249
00:37:14,085 --> 00:37:15,665
thought it would be." It's
almost always the opposite.

1250
00:37:15,675 --> 00:37:17,086
There are things that
have, that have happened.

1251
00:37:17,155 --> 00:37:18,925
Yeah, look, I- For,
for example Right,

1252
00:37:19,375 --> 00:37:19,545
right

1253
00:37:19,545 --> 00:37:20,426
… 
it goes way more
complicated than I thought.

1254
00:37:20,545 --> 00:37:22,166
There's all kinds of
stuff where I actually

1255
00:37:22,175 --> 00:37:24,076
do have a cognitive wall.

1256
00:37:24,475 --> 00:37:25,246
Here's what I would say.

1257
00:37:25,675 --> 00:37:29,036
When I hit that wall where I'm
like, this is either beyond

1258
00:37:29,045 --> 00:37:30,985
my interest level, right?

1259
00:37:30,995 --> 00:37:31,025
Yes.

1260
00:37:31,035 --> 00:37:33,355
Where I'm not willing to unpack
it anymore- Yeah, yeah … uh,

1261
00:37:33,515 --> 00:37:37,165
because I just kinda don't
care, it's rarely beyond what

1262
00:37:37,166 --> 00:37:40,645
I would call, like, a physical
boundary- Yeah … that I

1263
00:37:40,705 --> 00:37:43,076
simply cannot surpass, right?

1264
00:37:43,076 --> 00:37:43,416
Right.

1265
00:37:43,555 --> 00:37:45,316
Now, there are certain
things, sports would

1266
00:37:45,326 --> 00:37:46,345
be an example, right?

1267
00:37:46,355 --> 00:37:46,656
Like- Yeah.

1268
00:37:46,805 --> 00:37:49,545
Right, you, you were a
great soccer player, but

1269
00:37:49,555 --> 00:37:51,146
if the MLS called, right?

1270
00:37:51,366 --> 00:37:51,386
Yeah.

1271
00:37:51,386 --> 00:37:53,545
Or World Cup, which I think
is coming up next week, calls

1272
00:37:53,585 --> 00:37:56,935
and says, "Hey, we need you to
play tomorrow," there's a tiny

1273
00:37:56,936 --> 00:37:58,206
chance you may not make it.

1274
00:37:58,425 --> 00:37:58,855
Yeah.

1275
00:37:58,885 --> 00:38:01,045
Well, look, I would…
If they called, I'd go.

1276
00:38:01,156 --> 00:38:02,385
It'd work out
poorly for everyone.

1277
00:38:02,385 --> 00:38:03,375
That part isn't the problem.

1278
00:38:03,726 --> 00:38:03,986
Yeah.

1279
00:38:05,765 --> 00:38:07,105
The problem, the, the
problem happens when I

1280
00:38:07,105 --> 00:38:08,156
actually hit the pitch, yeah.

1281
00:38:08,156 --> 00:38:08,746
Right, right,

1282
00:38:08,746 --> 00:38:08,835
right.

1283
00:38:08,835 --> 00:38:10,316
You can't sneak up on that cut.

1284
00:38:10,375 --> 00:38:11,065
Yeah, you cannot.

1285
00:38:11,116 --> 00:38:16,375
And so there are certain things
that require a level of raw

1286
00:38:16,485 --> 00:38:20,906
capability or mastery that we
have neither the raw capability

1287
00:38:20,945 --> 00:38:24,096
for- Yep … or the time and
willingness- Yep … to master.

1288
00:38:24,096 --> 00:38:24,209
To prepare,

1289
00:38:24,209 --> 00:38:24,265
yeah.

1290
00:38:24,265 --> 00:38:24,585
To prep.

1291
00:38:24,585 --> 00:38:24,845
Prepare.

1292
00:38:25,065 --> 00:38:25,706
Did I say prepare?

1293
00:38:26,805 --> 00:38:27,565
I just made up a word.

1294
00:38:27,605 --> 00:38:28,026
Right, right.

1295
00:38:28,445 --> 00:38:32,900
However- That universe of things
that's truly beyond what we can

1296
00:38:32,900 --> 00:38:35,660
probably do is insanely small.

1297
00:38:36,090 --> 00:38:36,400
Yes.

1298
00:38:36,620 --> 00:38:39,500
But because from the outside
we look at it and say, "Well,

1299
00:38:39,500 --> 00:38:41,450
I don't know that…" Here,
here's a great example.

1300
00:38:41,729 --> 00:38:43,440
When people come to my house,
you know, again, you've been

1301
00:38:43,440 --> 00:38:44,920
through this journey with me, so
I'm explaining it to everybody

1302
00:38:44,920 --> 00:38:48,209
else, and they see that, like,
I've built every cabinet,

1303
00:38:48,300 --> 00:38:49,220
every closet- Yeah, yeah

1304
00:38:49,220 --> 00:38:51,660
everything, or that I've
architected the entire house,

1305
00:38:51,660 --> 00:38:53,730
or that I've- Yeah … pulled,
like, all the wire and designed

1306
00:38:53,730 --> 00:38:54,250
all the systems, right?

1307
00:38:54,250 --> 00:38:54,269
Yes.

1308
00:38:54,269 --> 00:38:54,710
Yeah, yeah.

1309
00:38:54,989 --> 00:38:56,949
They look at that and
they say, "There's no way

1310
00:38:56,950 --> 00:38:57,829
I could have done that."

1311
00:38:58,179 --> 00:38:58,469
Uh-huh.

1312
00:38:58,630 --> 00:38:59,699
And I give them the same answer.

1313
00:38:59,710 --> 00:38:59,730
Yeah.

1314
00:38:59,870 --> 00:39:01,779
"There's no way that
you can't do it," right?

1315
00:39:01,779 --> 00:39:01,809
Like Yeah, yeah.

1316
00:39:01,809 --> 00:39:01,819
Right.

1317
00:39:01,819 --> 00:39:05,040
There's like… It's,
it's impossible to not be

1318
00:39:05,040 --> 00:39:07,439
able to do it if you're
willing to do it, right?

1319
00:39:07,519 --> 00:39:07,589
Yeah.

1320
00:39:07,590 --> 00:39:13,079
Because it's not like I have
some special honed technique of

1321
00:39:13,090 --> 00:39:15,510
wielding a drill that you cannot

1322
00:39:16,120 --> 00:39:16,670
That you can't do.

1323
00:39:16,969 --> 00:39:17,229
Yeah.

1324
00:39:17,280 --> 00:39:17,840
Like, oh my God, dude.

1325
00:39:17,840 --> 00:39:21,309
Like, yes, it, it requires
time and, and expertise,

1326
00:39:21,589 --> 00:39:25,169
but all things that you can
absolutely do if you want to.

1327
00:39:25,179 --> 00:39:25,199
If

1328
00:39:25,199 --> 00:39:26,180
you want to.

1329
00:39:26,469 --> 00:39:26,679
Yeah.

1330
00:39:26,749 --> 00:39:29,129
Now, what's fascinating
about how this maps back to

1331
00:39:29,129 --> 00:39:31,619
entrepreneurship, you know, and,
and people building stuff is

1332
00:39:32,129 --> 00:39:35,709
we genuinely believe that there
are all these skills and traits

1333
00:39:35,709 --> 00:39:37,490
and things that we can't do

1334
00:39:38,030 --> 00:39:38,255
And

1335
00:39:38,255 --> 00:39:41,110
what we realize is most of
it's just because you haven't

1336
00:39:41,110 --> 00:39:43,940
done, and the rest of it is
because you're not willing

1337
00:39:44,280 --> 00:39:45,190
to build the competency.

1338
00:39:45,260 --> 00:39:45,450
Yep.

1339
00:39:45,570 --> 00:39:48,990
My Getting Customers workshop
last week, I was walking people

1340
00:39:48,999 --> 00:39:50,099
through something very similar.

1341
00:39:50,100 --> 00:39:51,770
So I'll twist it a little
bit 'cause we were talking

1342
00:39:51,770 --> 00:39:53,729
really specific to kinda
like marketing knowledge.

1343
00:39:53,729 --> 00:39:53,780
Yeah.

1344
00:39:53,780 --> 00:39:54,040
Yeah,

1345
00:39:54,040 --> 00:39:54,079
yeah.

1346
00:39:54,079 --> 00:39:55,650
Um, but just think of
it as like the founder

1347
00:39:55,650 --> 00:39:56,889
reinvention loop, right?

1348
00:39:56,889 --> 00:39:56,999
Yeah.

1349
00:39:56,999 --> 00:39:59,019
It starts with forced
exposure, right?

1350
00:39:59,300 --> 00:40:00,729
The company creates a need.

1351
00:40:00,780 --> 00:40:02,670
All of a sudden it's telling
you, "There's a thing that

1352
00:40:02,670 --> 00:40:04,920
has to be done that you
haven't done." Then you move

1353
00:40:04,920 --> 00:40:06,769
into awkward first reps. Yep.

1354
00:40:06,780 --> 00:40:08,709
You're bad and
you're uncomfortable.

1355
00:40:08,899 --> 00:40:09,089
Yep.

1356
00:40:09,180 --> 00:40:09,659
And it's okay.

1357
00:40:09,940 --> 00:40:10,120
Yep.

1358
00:40:10,149 --> 00:40:11,390
You get some fast feedback.

1359
00:40:11,399 --> 00:40:13,909
The market tells you, or the
business responds in a way that

1360
00:40:13,910 --> 00:40:15,330
tells you what actually matters.

1361
00:40:15,820 --> 00:40:18,539
You start to develop
useful confidence, right?

1362
00:40:18,550 --> 00:40:18,600
Yep.

1363
00:40:18,620 --> 00:40:21,279
You become dangerous enough,
or you get to that 80% point,

1364
00:40:21,570 --> 00:40:23,769
and then all of a sudden
you have that identity shift

1365
00:40:23,769 --> 00:40:26,069
where you stop saying, "I'm
not that person," right?

1366
00:40:26,069 --> 00:40:26,243
Yeah.

1367
00:40:26,243 --> 00:40:26,819
And that's it.

1368
00:40:26,879 --> 00:40:29,360
And this happens over and
over and over and over

1369
00:40:29,360 --> 00:40:30,279
again in a startup company.

1370
00:40:30,429 --> 00:40:32,850
Yeah, I agree, and I, I think a
lot of people also don't realize

1371
00:40:32,850 --> 00:40:36,339
that becoming that person isn't
something that you, that just

1372
00:40:36,339 --> 00:40:37,929
happens immediately, right?

1373
00:40:37,929 --> 00:40:37,969
Nope.

1374
00:40:37,969 --> 00:40:40,410
Like, all of the people that
are the greatest at what they

1375
00:40:40,410 --> 00:40:43,679
do are the greatest at what
they do because of the amount

1376
00:40:43,680 --> 00:40:44,779
of time they've invested.

1377
00:40:44,790 --> 00:40:44,969
You know- Yes

1378
00:40:44,969 --> 00:40:46,709
the 10,000 hours
of mastery thing.

1379
00:40:46,719 --> 00:40:46,749
Yep.

1380
00:40:46,749 --> 00:40:47,079
Yep.

1381
00:40:47,079 --> 00:40:48,140
But I'll give that
a bit of a twist.

1382
00:40:48,140 --> 00:40:49,679
I'll give that a bit
of a twist or a filter.

1383
00:40:50,009 --> 00:40:53,740
Most of us, for what we need
to accomplish, just don't

1384
00:40:53,740 --> 00:40:55,219
need that level of competency.

1385
00:40:55,589 --> 00:40:58,490
Houses don't get built
by 30 master carpenters.

1386
00:40:58,509 --> 00:40:59,430
They do not, right?

1387
00:40:59,430 --> 00:41:01,039
I mean, it's-
No … unbelievable

1388
00:41:01,039 --> 00:41:02,420
the lack of capability.

1389
00:41:02,589 --> 00:41:04,249
And this goes back to what
we were saying a moment ago.

1390
00:41:04,439 --> 00:41:06,409
They get built in spite
of the capability.

1391
00:41:06,409 --> 00:41:06,560
They get

1392
00:41:07,669 --> 00:41:09,260
built despite- Yep … the
capabilities of the

1393
00:41:09,260 --> 00:41:11,269
people building them,
and people downplay that.

1394
00:41:11,280 --> 00:41:12,919
Like, "Oh, you know, you're,
you're downplaying this

1395
00:41:12,919 --> 00:41:14,120
person's competence." Nope.

1396
00:41:14,159 --> 00:41:14,499
No.

1397
00:41:14,530 --> 00:41:16,050
No, I am not.

1398
00:41:16,199 --> 00:41:17,459
I saw some of the framing.

1399
00:41:17,519 --> 00:41:17,789
Yeah.

1400
00:41:17,789 --> 00:41:18,509
No, no you're not.

1401
00:41:18,629 --> 00:41:19,899
You, you watched it firsthand.

1402
00:41:20,199 --> 00:41:23,369
And, and what fascinates me,
though, is that each of those

1403
00:41:23,409 --> 00:41:24,959
people, it's all they do.

1404
00:41:25,229 --> 00:41:25,819
And I'll give you an
example- Yeah … 'cause

1405
00:41:25,820 --> 00:41:27,159
it j- just happened today.

1406
00:41:27,539 --> 00:41:29,829
So, you know, as you know, I'm
building a house and, and, uh,

1407
00:41:29,829 --> 00:41:32,929
we're in the, the final stages
of this, and, and I'm talking

1408
00:41:32,929 --> 00:41:35,369
today, I'm on, on site talking
to the carpet installers, right?

1409
00:41:35,829 --> 00:41:38,079
And they said, "Hey, there,
there's word on the street

1410
00:41:38,079 --> 00:41:40,260
on this project that,
like, you're, like, really

1411
00:41:40,260 --> 00:41:41,419
involved in this project."

1412
00:41:41,439 --> 00:41:41,509
Yeah.

1413
00:41:41,949 --> 00:41:44,190
And I was like, "Well, what
have you heard?" They're like,

1414
00:41:44,530 --> 00:41:46,659
"People are saying that you,
like, were the architect and

1415
00:41:46,659 --> 00:41:49,369
the general contractor and,
like, the carpenter and, like,

1416
00:41:49,369 --> 00:41:50,239
the electrician," like- Mm-hmm.

1417
00:41:50,239 --> 00:41:51,879
I was like, "Yes." The- Yeah.

1418
00:41:51,879 --> 00:41:54,110
He's like, "Yeah, to
which one?" All of them.

1419
00:41:54,229 --> 00:41:56,050
I did literally all of
these things, right?

1420
00:41:56,750 --> 00:41:58,819
And, and he said to me, paid
me the highest compliment

1421
00:41:58,819 --> 00:42:01,029
that a man can pay a man,
particularly in this thing.

1422
00:42:01,209 --> 00:42:04,330
He's like, "They don't make
men like you anymore," right?

1423
00:42:04,459 --> 00:42:07,179
And I was like, "Go on, say that
into the microphone, please."

1424
00:42:07,259 --> 00:42:08,830
And, and, and what, what he
was saying was- Wait, hang on.

1425
00:42:08,830 --> 00:42:09,230
Do you mind

1426
00:42:09,310 --> 00:42:09,849
running it back?

1427
00:42:09,849 --> 00:42:10,920
Let me hit record here real

1428
00:42:10,920 --> 00:42:10,959
quick.

1429
00:42:10,959 --> 00:42:11,199
Yeah, yeah.

1430
00:42:11,470 --> 00:42:13,859
And not to take more of it
than he said, he basically

1431
00:42:13,860 --> 00:42:16,369
was just saying, "When I'm
working on stuff, when I'm

1432
00:42:16,399 --> 00:42:19,360
on job site, whatever, I
don't see guys that are just

1433
00:42:19,369 --> 00:42:22,144
willing to do- Every trade.

1434
00:42:22,154 --> 00:42:22,174
Yeah.

1435
00:42:22,324 --> 00:42:23,473
I see a trade.

1436
00:42:23,544 --> 00:42:24,263
I'm framer.

1437
00:42:24,263 --> 00:42:24,413
Yeah.

1438
00:42:24,424 --> 00:42:26,013
All I do is framer, right?

1439
00:42:26,033 --> 00:42:26,344
Yeah.

1440
00:42:27,033 --> 00:42:27,694
And that's it.

1441
00:42:27,973 --> 00:42:30,423
They, well, it goes back to that
skin in the game thing, right?

1442
00:42:30,464 --> 00:42:33,013
Like, you're doing this
because you are literally

1443
00:42:33,013 --> 00:42:34,104
tied to the outcome, right?

1444
00:42:34,114 --> 00:42:34,304
Yeah.

1445
00:42:34,304 --> 00:42:34,783
You're gonna be living

1446
00:42:34,783 --> 00:42:34,824
in this thing.

1447
00:42:34,824 --> 00:42:35,993
I really care about the outcome.

1448
00:42:36,484 --> 00:42:39,113
But I also really care, and
again, I think this is a

1449
00:42:39,114 --> 00:42:41,674
universal term that, that
you can appreciate too, I

1450
00:42:41,674 --> 00:42:42,663
care about craftsmanship.

1451
00:42:43,013 --> 00:42:43,193
Yes.

1452
00:42:43,194 --> 00:42:47,403
I care about one's belief
that what they build is an

1453
00:42:47,403 --> 00:42:48,904
extension of who they are.

1454
00:42:49,294 --> 00:42:52,043
And that reflects in, in, in
every single thing that you do.

1455
00:42:52,203 --> 00:42:52,564
Correct.

1456
00:42:52,603 --> 00:42:52,883
Right?

1457
00:42:52,884 --> 00:42:55,593
Like, it's really im-
important to me that my

1458
00:42:55,603 --> 00:43:00,123
stamp of me, my DNA, right,
is in my work, right?

1459
00:43:00,123 --> 00:43:01,403
Like, very much in-
ingrained in it.

1460
00:43:01,463 --> 00:43:04,044
One of the places that I see
you do it in a way that I've,

1461
00:43:04,064 --> 00:43:05,983
I've always admired, and we've
talked about this, is, is

1462
00:43:05,983 --> 00:43:07,373
your work as a father, right?

1463
00:43:07,373 --> 00:43:07,623
Like-

1464
00:43:07,643 --> 00:43:07,903
Yeah

1465
00:43:07,994 --> 00:43:11,163
… 
your craftsmanship if you,
if you can apply it that way-

1466
00:43:11,713 --> 00:43:13,044
Yeah … is extraordinary.

1467
00:43:13,044 --> 00:43:14,303
And for those of you that
are listening that, that

1468
00:43:14,303 --> 00:43:15,303
don't know Ryan, he is

1469
00:43:16,803 --> 00:43:20,163
like- I'm definitely
sneaking up on the cut.

1470
00:43:20,163 --> 00:43:20,213
Yeah.

1471
00:43:20,213 --> 00:43:20,313
Definitely sneaking

1472
00:43:20,313 --> 00:43:20,513
up on the cut.

1473
00:43:20,513 --> 00:43:22,633
Uh, Ryan is the
Tom Brady of dads.

1474
00:43:22,634 --> 00:43:24,103
Like, he is like, like,
like, the greatest-

1475
00:43:24,274 --> 00:43:24,803
Oh, man.

1476
00:43:24,803 --> 00:43:24,823
Oh, man

1477
00:43:24,823 --> 00:43:25,973
… 
dad a- as, as a parent.

1478
00:43:25,993 --> 00:43:27,553
I mean, uh, he,
uh, well deserved.

1479
00:43:27,683 --> 00:43:27,823
And- Am

1480
00:43:27,823 --> 00:43:28,134
I, am

1481
00:43:28,143 --> 00:43:28,574
I blushing?

1482
00:43:28,843 --> 00:43:28,953
Yeah.

1483
00:43:28,953 --> 00:43:28,993
Good.

1484
00:43:28,993 --> 00:43:29,223
Yeah.

1485
00:43:29,853 --> 00:43:30,263
Who knows?

1486
00:43:30,503 --> 00:43:31,493
I'm white as a ghost.

1487
00:43:31,554 --> 00:43:33,473
But I, I guess what I'm
saying is, like, but you

1488
00:43:33,473 --> 00:43:34,314
care about the craft.

1489
00:43:34,314 --> 00:43:35,744
And, and- Yeah … obviously
everybody cares about their

1490
00:43:35,744 --> 00:43:37,844
kids, but you care about
the craft of being a parent.

1491
00:43:37,883 --> 00:43:40,054
Like you're very, very
detailed about it.

1492
00:43:40,054 --> 00:43:42,293
And there's a pride that
comes with that, right?

1493
00:43:42,294 --> 00:43:43,573
Like when you and I talk-
Yeah … on the weekends

1494
00:43:43,573 --> 00:43:45,103
and you tell me what you're
doing with the kids and that-

1495
00:43:45,294 --> 00:43:46,778
It, there is, there's a
pride that comes with it.

1496
00:43:46,778 --> 00:43:48,844
But more than that, there's
an ROI that comes with it.

1497
00:43:49,313 --> 00:43:52,093
I just talked to a mutual
friend of ours, founder that

1498
00:43:52,123 --> 00:43:56,053
we both know and love, um,
earlier today, and w- was going

1499
00:43:56,053 --> 00:43:58,623
through a little bit of a,
of a crisis herself and, and

1500
00:43:58,623 --> 00:43:59,584
we were talking about this.

1501
00:43:59,584 --> 00:44:01,893
And I said, "Look, it's…"
And I, I referenced

1502
00:44:01,893 --> 00:44:02,763
the kids as an example.

1503
00:44:02,764 --> 00:44:04,503
And I said, "Look, I, I know
a lot of people who aren't

1504
00:44:04,533 --> 00:44:07,333
enjoying parenthood in the way
that I enjoy it because they're

1505
00:44:07,334 --> 00:44:09,003
not…" It, and it was basically
what you're saying now.

1506
00:44:09,063 --> 00:44:10,733
They're not treating
it as a craft.

1507
00:44:10,743 --> 00:44:10,773
Right.

1508
00:44:10,783 --> 00:44:14,194
They're not trying to
perfect the angles and

1509
00:44:14,194 --> 00:44:15,864
get the cuts right and
do all the little things.

1510
00:44:16,203 --> 00:44:18,163
And because of that, they're
not enjoying it in the same way.

1511
00:44:18,163 --> 00:44:18,174
Yeah.

1512
00:44:18,174 --> 00:44:21,193
I think that what I figured
out was that the more I invest

1513
00:44:21,193 --> 00:44:22,894
in this, the more you invest
in anything, the more you're

1514
00:44:22,894 --> 00:44:23,683
gonna get back out of it.

1515
00:44:23,683 --> 00:44:23,853
Right.

1516
00:44:23,853 --> 00:44:27,174
And so, like, I was lucky enough
to have stumbled across some of

1517
00:44:27,174 --> 00:44:30,093
those moments that motivated me
into saying like, "Okay, so if

1518
00:44:30,094 --> 00:44:32,943
it's not going the way I want it
to, I can change that," right?

1519
00:44:32,943 --> 00:44:35,963
"I can make this into something
that's enjoyable for me and the

1520
00:44:35,963 --> 00:44:37,603
kids and my wife and all of us."

1521
00:44:37,734 --> 00:44:39,033
Which is what this is all about.

1522
00:44:39,033 --> 00:44:41,843
It's, it's about saying like- Mm
… look, like, um, the reason

1523
00:44:42,033 --> 00:44:44,734
that we can build competency
and the reason as founders,

1524
00:44:44,773 --> 00:44:46,384
like, we find ourselves,
again, in, you know, this, this

1525
00:44:46,404 --> 00:44:48,404
cauldron of, of competency,
like, you know, being able

1526
00:44:48,404 --> 00:44:49,213
to do these things- Yeah

1527
00:44:49,493 --> 00:44:52,093
is because, as you said
a moment ago, it gives us

1528
00:44:52,094 --> 00:44:53,413
a reason to do it, right?

1529
00:44:53,413 --> 00:44:55,383
Gives us a reason- Right … to
explore these competencies

1530
00:44:55,393 --> 00:44:56,693
that we didn't have before.

1531
00:44:57,014 --> 00:45:00,843
It's rare that, like, I
wouldn't have for no reason

1532
00:45:01,294 --> 00:45:03,548
picked up- Finance, right?

1533
00:45:03,558 --> 00:45:04,308
For just no reason.

1534
00:45:04,708 --> 00:45:04,938
Right.

1535
00:45:05,128 --> 00:45:05,158
Right?

1536
00:45:05,168 --> 00:45:05,428
No, no.

1537
00:45:05,428 --> 00:45:06,918
Like, it's the, the
ambition behind it.

1538
00:45:06,948 --> 00:45:06,968
Yeah.

1539
00:45:07,328 --> 00:45:09,738
By the way, it, it's the reason
I don't know another language.

1540
00:45:09,748 --> 00:45:09,758
Oh.

1541
00:45:10,238 --> 00:45:12,638
Because I've never had a
reason- Oh … to want to

1542
00:45:12,638 --> 00:45:13,518
learn another language.

1543
00:45:13,528 --> 00:45:16,027
It, it took pure brute
force for me, right?

1544
00:45:16,027 --> 00:45:16,657
But

1545
00:45:16,657 --> 00:45:18,098
you're also in another
country, right?

1546
00:45:18,098 --> 00:45:18,638
I mean, like, I, I- Just

1547
00:45:18,678 --> 00:45:19,068
exposure, right?

1548
00:45:19,068 --> 00:45:19,078
Yeah.

1549
00:45:19,078 --> 00:45:20,438
Right Like, just pure necessity.

1550
00:45:20,488 --> 00:45:23,867
Like, I can't go and do
things I need to do if- Yep

1551
00:45:23,878 --> 00:45:25,418
I don't learn this language.

1552
00:45:25,597 --> 00:45:25,847
Yep.

1553
00:45:25,908 --> 00:45:28,727
And so, you know, I, I look at
it as, I think, like again, the

1554
00:45:28,728 --> 00:45:30,917
cauldron, I, I keep using that
word because it's like you're

1555
00:45:30,927 --> 00:45:32,078
forced- Mm-hmm … inside of it.

1556
00:45:32,078 --> 00:45:33,047
And, and I think a lot of
people- Oh, yeah … look

1557
00:45:33,048 --> 00:45:33,727
at it as a bad thing.

1558
00:45:34,068 --> 00:45:35,438
I look at it as g-
as a good thing.

1559
00:45:35,447 --> 00:45:35,467
Yeah.

1560
00:45:36,057 --> 00:45:39,357
Now, I will also say this:
it doesn't always work.

1561
00:45:39,397 --> 00:45:43,247
It it doesn't always go to plan.

1562
00:45:43,728 --> 00:45:45,777
And I'll, I'll share a story,
Ryan, that I know you're

1563
00:45:45,777 --> 00:45:48,998
familiar with, of where
I put this maybe I can do

1564
00:45:48,998 --> 00:45:51,507
everything to an epic test.

1565
00:45:51,697 --> 00:45:54,117
And I, I won't spoil the
ending, but clearly it

1566
00:45:54,117 --> 00:45:54,838
d- it didn't go well.

1567
00:45:54,838 --> 00:45:55,977
So rewind back.

1568
00:45:55,978 --> 00:45:58,047
This is, you know, uh, quite a
while back, maybe 20 years ago.

1569
00:45:58,427 --> 00:46:01,187
And, uh, I'm a casting director
as part of a, a company that

1570
00:46:01,187 --> 00:46:04,057
I'd started in LA, and I'd
just moved to Hollywood, and,

1571
00:46:04,057 --> 00:46:07,338
and my co-founder was a talent
agent, and he knew everybody,

1572
00:46:07,338 --> 00:46:08,987
and we used to go to these
extraordinary dinners and

1573
00:46:08,988 --> 00:46:10,148
meet all these amazing people.

1574
00:46:10,658 --> 00:46:12,107
He's the one that got me
on the, the board of the,

1575
00:46:12,207 --> 00:46:13,167
The Rock Hall, actually.

1576
00:46:13,378 --> 00:46:16,948
And, uh, anyway, we're at a
dinner in Hollywood, and, uh,

1577
00:46:16,948 --> 00:46:19,548
there's like a big table of us,
maybe like 10 of us, and, uh,

1578
00:46:19,548 --> 00:46:22,338
we're sitting around this like,
uh, big table, and there's this

1579
00:46:22,387 --> 00:46:23,427
guy sitting next to me, right?

1580
00:46:23,427 --> 00:46:25,608
We're both in our, like,
late 20s, early 30s,

1581
00:46:26,228 --> 00:46:27,338
and we start talking.

1582
00:46:27,478 --> 00:46:29,197
He's… I ask him
what he does, right?

1583
00:46:29,237 --> 00:46:31,637
'Cause people in LA had
like, say what you will,

1584
00:46:32,007 --> 00:46:34,577
there's so many people with
really interesting jobs.

1585
00:46:34,628 --> 00:46:35,868
Like, it's very rare.

1586
00:46:36,027 --> 00:46:37,118
No, I totally get that.

1587
00:46:37,198 --> 00:46:38,907
I totally get… It was one
of the things that people used

1588
00:46:38,908 --> 00:46:41,087
to ask me, like what we loved
about Antigua, Guatemala, and I

1589
00:46:41,088 --> 00:46:44,098
was like, "It's the per capita
interesting person quotient."

1590
00:46:44,107 --> 00:46:44,127
Yeah.

1591
00:46:44,137 --> 00:46:45,478
Like, it was out of whack there.

1592
00:46:45,728 --> 00:46:47,597
People were… You would
just run into really,

1593
00:46:47,597 --> 00:46:48,327
really interesting people.

1594
00:46:48,338 --> 00:46:49,897
Yes, I, I, I totally understand.

1595
00:46:50,357 --> 00:46:52,237
Uh, anyway, he's like,
"I'm a professional backup

1596
00:46:52,237 --> 00:46:54,297
dancer," and this is, again,
figure like mid-2000s.

1597
00:46:54,577 --> 00:46:56,717
And he's like, "Uh, I've been
dancing for, like, Britney

1598
00:46:56,717 --> 00:46:57,537
and Justin and like…"

1599
00:46:57,548 --> 00:46:59,387
Which were big deals back then.

1600
00:46:59,697 --> 00:47:02,497
Yeah, it was sort of the, the
peak of the game at that point.

1601
00:47:02,507 --> 00:47:03,057
Yeah, right.

1602
00:47:03,117 --> 00:47:05,338
And so he turns to me like,
"So, so what do you do?" Right?

1603
00:47:05,387 --> 00:47:08,367
Now, mind you, a couple
drinks in, a little bit bored.

1604
00:47:08,757 --> 00:47:10,678
I turn to him and I was
like, "Well, you know, it's

1605
00:47:10,678 --> 00:47:12,677
funny you should say, man.
I actually am a professional

1606
00:47:12,677 --> 00:47:13,527
backup dancer, too."

1607
00:47:13,808 --> 00:47:14,068
Right?

1608
00:47:14,487 --> 00:47:18,837
Now, the way to sell it, the
way to sell it, okay, isn't

1609
00:47:18,847 --> 00:47:20,187
just how confident you are.

1610
00:47:20,814 --> 00:47:22,334
It's by complaining about it.

1611
00:47:22,644 --> 00:47:24,834
This is actually something
I learned growing up- Oh,

1612
00:47:24,834 --> 00:47:25,824
yeah, yeah, yeah … with
my dad on the job sites.

1613
00:47:25,924 --> 00:47:25,944
Yeah.

1614
00:47:26,024 --> 00:47:27,973
All those guys do is complain.

1615
00:47:28,124 --> 00:47:28,553
Complain

1616
00:47:28,553 --> 00:47:29,844
about the job And it's kind
of how they share- Yeah

1617
00:47:29,854 --> 00:47:31,504
like, their confidence, I guess.

1618
00:47:31,703 --> 00:47:34,274
And so the way to sell it was
I was like, "You know, man,

1619
00:47:34,303 --> 00:47:37,314
I got into this because all
I cared about was performing

1620
00:47:37,314 --> 00:47:39,763
and dancing." I was like,
"But the game is bullshit now.

1621
00:47:39,943 --> 00:47:41,903
People are doing it for
all the wrong reasons now.

1622
00:47:41,904 --> 00:47:43,563
Like, you know, n-
nobody's serious about,

1623
00:47:43,673 --> 00:47:44,444
about it, whatever."

1624
00:47:44,714 --> 00:47:47,283
And as soon as you start
complaining about it- Oh, yeah

1625
00:47:47,363 --> 00:47:50,384
… nobody who doesn't do it for a
living would start complaining-

1626
00:47:50,384 --> 00:47:51,073
Right … about it, right?

1627
00:47:51,144 --> 00:47:51,424
Yes.

1628
00:47:51,484 --> 00:47:52,303
And so he jumps in.

1629
00:47:52,314 --> 00:47:54,073
He's like, "Oh my God,
let me… Don't even

1630
00:47:54,073 --> 00:47:55,103
get me started," right?

1631
00:47:55,553 --> 00:47:58,344
And so I'm kidding
of course, right?

1632
00:47:58,433 --> 00:47:58,773
Yeah.

1633
00:47:58,773 --> 00:47:58,827
But

1634
00:47:58,827 --> 00:48:01,833
it was just going so well that
I just kept going with it.

1635
00:48:02,143 --> 00:48:04,544
And so as the night goes on,
this new nightclub that was

1636
00:48:04,544 --> 00:48:06,543
opening up, and for those
of you that lived in LA or

1637
00:48:06,544 --> 00:48:08,334
you know the lore, you can
kind of timestamp this.

1638
00:48:08,334 --> 00:48:10,584
This is, it's the weekend or
whatever that area opened up.

1639
00:48:10,683 --> 00:48:11,973
And so we go there, right?

1640
00:48:12,213 --> 00:48:14,553
Massive line and, you know,
Alex Hol- business partners,

1641
00:48:14,593 --> 00:48:16,433
uh, old thing was be able
to get into, like, any

1642
00:48:16,433 --> 00:48:17,113
club and stuff like that.

1643
00:48:17,113 --> 00:48:17,334
Uh-huh.

1644
00:48:17,334 --> 00:48:18,274
So he gets us all in, right?

1645
00:48:18,274 --> 00:48:20,603
And so we're, we're up, like,
the little VIP and whatever

1646
00:48:20,603 --> 00:48:23,814
looking over the dance floor,
and this guy, he's like, "See

1647
00:48:23,814 --> 00:48:25,483
those guys over there?" I was
like, "Yeah." He's like, "I

1648
00:48:25,493 --> 00:48:27,853
know those guys." He's like,
"They suck." I was like,

1649
00:48:27,943 --> 00:48:29,204
"Yeah, they do suck," right?

1650
00:48:29,564 --> 00:48:31,273
And we're knocking down,
like, tequila shots or

1651
00:48:31,273 --> 00:48:33,143
whatever, and so we kind of
make our way- Dance fight

1652
00:48:33,144 --> 00:48:33,463
down there.

1653
00:48:33,663 --> 00:48:36,124
We're standing there, and I
see him, like, talking to them,

1654
00:48:36,134 --> 00:48:37,053
like, just, like, big talking.

1655
00:48:37,053 --> 00:48:38,643
Like, he's friendly,
but whatever.

1656
00:48:39,153 --> 00:48:41,553
And next thing I know,
this is where, like, the

1657
00:48:41,564 --> 00:48:43,264
whole thing turns into,
like, Polaroid moments.

1658
00:48:43,493 --> 00:48:46,273
Next thing I know, he's
challenged them to a

1659
00:48:46,284 --> 00:48:47,693
straight up dance-off.

1660
00:48:47,693 --> 00:48:47,784
Dance-off.

1661
00:48:47,784 --> 00:48:49,743
I didn't even know this
was a thing, right?

1662
00:48:49,863 --> 00:48:50,293
Dance battle.

1663
00:48:50,293 --> 00:48:52,273
A- and I'm sure they
don't call it a dance-off.

1664
00:48:52,273 --> 00:48:55,203
I'm sure there's a much
cooler term, but in my

1665
00:48:55,203 --> 00:48:55,923
mind, that's all I knew.

1666
00:48:56,163 --> 00:48:58,553
Anyway, so here's what I, I see,
like, unfolding in front of me.

1667
00:48:58,784 --> 00:49:01,033
I see the dance
floor open up, right?

1668
00:49:01,053 --> 00:49:02,824
Like, almost, like, on cue.

1669
00:49:03,104 --> 00:49:05,713
It's me and this guy and
these other two dancers.

1670
00:49:05,943 --> 00:49:07,643
And so the first dancer goes in.

1671
00:49:07,643 --> 00:49:08,363
He's amazing.

1672
00:49:08,373 --> 00:49:09,413
Everybody's going nuts.

1673
00:49:09,713 --> 00:49:11,234
My guy goes in, right?

1674
00:49:11,243 --> 00:49:12,013
He's amazing.

1675
00:49:12,013 --> 00:49:13,153
Everybody's goes, goes nuts.

1676
00:49:13,373 --> 00:49:14,234
Next guy goes in.

1677
00:49:14,253 --> 00:49:15,083
He's amazing.

1678
00:49:15,083 --> 00:49:16,163
Everybody goes nuts, right?

1679
00:49:16,263 --> 00:49:18,343
And I'm shouting, and
I'm, like, super excited

1680
00:49:18,343 --> 00:49:18,789
about this whole thing.

1681
00:49:18,789 --> 00:49:18,891
How

1682
00:49:18,891 --> 00:49:20,623
have you not left the
room at this point?

1683
00:49:20,623 --> 00:49:21,314
Oh my God, dude.

1684
00:49:21,314 --> 00:49:24,353
It didn't even occur
to me that I was a main

1685
00:49:24,354 --> 00:49:25,513
event on this dance-off.

1686
00:49:25,513 --> 00:49:25,813
Yeah.

1687
00:49:25,863 --> 00:49:26,203
Okay?

1688
00:49:26,314 --> 00:49:26,563
Oh, yeah.

1689
00:49:26,563 --> 00:49:27,163
This is the best part.

1690
00:49:27,453 --> 00:49:27,753
Yeah.

1691
00:49:27,783 --> 00:49:28,843
So- You saved the best for last

1692
00:49:29,064 --> 00:49:31,964
… 
he turns to me in full
confidence because of all the

1693
00:49:31,964 --> 00:49:33,594
shit I've been talking for
the last- Yeah, yeah, yeah,

1694
00:49:33,594 --> 00:49:34,504
yeah … couple of hours, right?

1695
00:49:34,823 --> 00:49:35,113
He's like,

1696
00:49:35,114 --> 00:49:35,623
"
You are…" This-

1697
00:49:35,623 --> 00:49:37,583
And he's like, he's like,
"Dude, get in there," right?

1698
00:49:37,614 --> 00:49:39,453
He's picturing you
coming off the top rope.

1699
00:49:40,013 --> 00:49:40,183
Yeah.

1700
00:49:41,693 --> 00:49:42,624
Tagging you in.

1701
00:49:42,633 --> 00:49:45,393
It's- Man, confidence is
powerful, but delusion plus

1702
00:49:45,394 --> 00:49:47,784
tequila- Delusion … plus
a dance circle is a very

1703
00:49:47,784 --> 00:49:48,984
different operating system.

1704
00:49:49,174 --> 00:49:50,914
So there was, there was
a couple things going on.

1705
00:49:51,284 --> 00:49:54,173
First thing was there
was so much energy at

1706
00:49:54,174 --> 00:49:55,034
that moment, right?

1707
00:49:55,093 --> 00:49:56,683
Like, I was just on fire.

1708
00:49:56,814 --> 00:49:57,334
Second-

1709
00:49:57,343 --> 00:49:58,313
You had begun to believe it

1710
00:49:58,573 --> 00:49:59,643
maybe a lot of tequila.

1711
00:50:00,064 --> 00:50:00,084
Yeah.

1712
00:50:00,093 --> 00:50:03,094
And third, here's
what I said: What if?

1713
00:50:03,573 --> 00:50:04,943
What- Yeah … I, so I
mean, what if, right?

1714
00:50:04,943 --> 00:50:05,194
What if?

1715
00:50:05,544 --> 00:50:06,764
Like, I- I will- … I
like to dance … I will,

1716
00:50:06,784 --> 00:50:08,093
I will know soon … maybe
I'm really good at it.

1717
00:50:08,093 --> 00:50:09,053
I will know very soon.

1718
00:50:09,093 --> 00:50:09,353
Right?

1719
00:50:09,433 --> 00:50:10,923
And maybe I'm as
good as those guys.

1720
00:50:10,924 --> 00:50:11,683
Maybe I'm better.

1721
00:50:11,703 --> 00:50:11,923
Yeah.

1722
00:50:12,203 --> 00:50:12,523
Right?

1723
00:50:13,043 --> 00:50:14,794
But I never… Like,
no one ever said to me

1724
00:50:14,794 --> 00:50:16,023
like, "Go for it," right?

1725
00:50:16,083 --> 00:50:16,343
Yeah.

1726
00:50:17,006 --> 00:50:18,546
So I did, right?

1727
00:50:19,435 --> 00:50:20,266
I get out there-

1728
00:50:21,076 --> 00:50:23,696
Please tell me that in
addition to Lars' speech

1729
00:50:23,696 --> 00:50:25,016
that this is on YouTube.

1730
00:50:25,236 --> 00:50:28,395
This only exists in the
deepest bowels of my mind,

1731
00:50:28,975 --> 00:50:32,448
and this is exactly how I
remember it I don't remember

1732
00:50:32,448 --> 00:50:34,958
what I did, although now,
you know, years later, do

1733
00:50:34,958 --> 00:50:37,338
you remember that Australian
lady who did the break dance

1734
00:50:37,338 --> 00:50:38,708
thing, uh, in the Olympics?

1735
00:50:38,718 --> 00:50:39,058
Oh, yeah.

1736
00:50:39,058 --> 00:50:39,290
Yeah, right?

1737
00:50:39,290 --> 00:50:40,668
Like- Oh, yeah … I could
only imagine- Oh, yeah … like

1738
00:50:40,668 --> 00:50:43,317
if you wanna picture a dance,
just picture whatever she did.

1739
00:50:43,318 --> 00:50:43,618
Yeah, it

1740
00:50:43,618 --> 00:50:44,778
was something like that.

1741
00:50:44,778 --> 00:50:47,708
My, my- I can see it … cheesy
club guy version of that.

1742
00:50:47,708 --> 00:50:48,398
I can see

1743
00:50:48,398 --> 00:50:48,628
it.

1744
00:50:48,628 --> 00:50:53,017
And all I do know is that in a
very short period of time, it

1745
00:50:53,018 --> 00:50:56,768
was very clear to every single
person on the dance floor,

1746
00:50:56,768 --> 00:50:59,208
including the professional
dancers, that I was in fact

1747
00:50:59,217 --> 00:51:00,377
not a professional dancer.

1748
00:51:00,607 --> 00:51:00,647
Not a

1749
00:51:00,647 --> 00:51:01,147
backup dancer, yeah.

1750
00:51:01,168 --> 00:51:01,368
Yeah.

1751
00:51:01,377 --> 00:51:01,407
And

1752
00:51:01,698 --> 00:51:05,178
all I remember is this look
of horror on everybody's face,

1753
00:51:05,178 --> 00:51:07,017
like, "What the hell?" Yeah.

1754
00:51:07,017 --> 00:51:10,088
And I just remember these two
giant hands on my back, like

1755
00:51:10,098 --> 00:51:13,167
grabbing my shoulders, and being
like, "You need to leave now."

1756
00:51:13,668 --> 00:51:14,297
You gotta go.

1757
00:51:15,188 --> 00:51:17,547
I remember I was like, uh…
And next thing I know I'm, like,

1758
00:51:17,548 --> 00:51:20,377
in an alleyway or something in
the, inside, and Alex is like,

1759
00:51:20,418 --> 00:51:21,737
"Dude, what were you thinking?"

1760
00:51:21,747 --> 00:51:21,767
Yeah.

1761
00:51:22,037 --> 00:51:24,484
And I was like, "Was I any
good?" He was like- Was that any

1762
00:51:24,484 --> 00:51:24,566
good?

1763
00:51:24,566 --> 00:51:24,977
… "No." He's like, "You did

1764
00:51:24,977 --> 00:51:27,427
not" Take two good pop, huh?

1765
00:51:27,827 --> 00:51:32,067
"You were not." And so this is
a, a long story to say that,

1766
00:51:32,087 --> 00:51:34,577
yes, it is possible, you know,
that, that maybe you could

1767
00:51:34,577 --> 00:51:37,407
be good at everything, but
sometimes it is certifiably

1768
00:51:37,408 --> 00:51:40,417
possible Yeah … that
you absolutely suck at it.

1769
00:51:40,868 --> 00:51:43,947
Look, the lesson here isn't we
can master anything instantly.

1770
00:51:43,967 --> 00:51:48,467
The lesson is we can become
more than we assumed with time,

1771
00:51:48,467 --> 00:51:52,607
reps, maybe a little humility,
and a little less tequila.

1772
00:51:53,027 --> 00:51:55,427
Um, because while founder
confidence is rocket

1773
00:51:55,427 --> 00:51:59,718
fuel, founder confidence
without some reps is a

1774
00:51:59,917 --> 00:52:01,037
dance floor crime scene.

1775
00:52:01,067 --> 00:52:01,478
Yeah, yeah.

1776
00:52:01,478 --> 00:52:04,687
And again, and honestly, like
other than a silly story, right?

1777
00:52:04,838 --> 00:52:05,957
No cost to it, right?

1778
00:52:05,957 --> 00:52:06,158
Yeah.

1779
00:52:06,158 --> 00:52:06,887
No cost.

1780
00:52:06,887 --> 00:52:09,478
And, and I think for a lot of
this, you know, we have this

1781
00:52:09,478 --> 00:52:12,877
idea that, that if we don't, if
we don't fulfill that promise,

1782
00:52:12,877 --> 00:52:14,618
that dream, that outcome-
Yeah … that, like, you know,

1783
00:52:14,618 --> 00:52:15,837
something horrible will happen.

1784
00:52:15,957 --> 00:52:16,738
No, not really.

1785
00:52:16,798 --> 00:52:17,337
Not really.

1786
00:52:17,417 --> 00:52:17,667
Right?

1787
00:52:17,667 --> 00:52:20,217
Like, if, if you're not a
great designer, if you're not

1788
00:52:20,217 --> 00:52:23,047
a great accountant, if you're
not a whatever, it's okay.

1789
00:52:23,837 --> 00:52:24,017
Yeah.

1790
00:52:24,017 --> 00:52:26,537
Like, you, like especially with
being a founder, like s- you'll

1791
00:52:26,537 --> 00:52:27,777
find someone else to do it.

1792
00:52:28,277 --> 00:52:28,657
But what if?

1793
00:52:28,807 --> 00:52:30,587
And that's why we… I,
it's, it, I talk about this

1794
00:52:30,587 --> 00:52:32,708
a lot in terms of, like,
when founders are really

1795
00:52:32,708 --> 00:52:35,757
struggling to find their ICP,
their ideal client profile.

1796
00:52:35,997 --> 00:52:37,297
They're like, "Well, I don't
know if it's this one, or if

1797
00:52:37,298 --> 00:52:39,797
it's this one, or it's this
one." And it's like, what if?

1798
00:52:39,807 --> 00:52:42,107
Like, it could be any of those,
and it kind of doesn't matter.

1799
00:52:42,107 --> 00:52:45,168
If you pick one, you can either
rule it in or rule it out.

1800
00:52:45,168 --> 00:52:46,727
You're gonna find out-
Yeah … you can dance that

1801
00:52:46,727 --> 00:52:48,307
backup dance or that you can't.

1802
00:52:48,307 --> 00:52:50,258
And then we move on to the
next dance floor, and you

1803
00:52:50,258 --> 00:52:51,288
just, you just keep moving.

1804
00:52:51,587 --> 00:52:52,148
And that's fine.

1805
00:52:52,158 --> 00:52:52,178
Um-

1806
00:52:52,247 --> 00:52:55,057
So- I, I- … while, while we
respect your confidence, Will,

1807
00:52:55,057 --> 00:52:56,478
we do question the choreography.

1808
00:52:56,577 --> 00:52:56,757
Yeah.

1809
00:52:56,757 --> 00:53:00,607
And w- and, and, and this
story's ridiculous in its own

1810
00:53:00,607 --> 00:53:04,188
right, but the premise of that
though, is what if, right?

1811
00:53:04,217 --> 00:53:06,847
If we don't try what
if, if we don't dig in

1812
00:53:06,848 --> 00:53:07,897
and say what if- Yeah

1813
00:53:07,897 --> 00:53:10,697
or at least have the confidence
to say, "Yeah, okay, maybe this

1814
00:53:10,707 --> 00:53:13,627
won't be for me", but it won't
be for lack of trying, right?

1815
00:53:13,627 --> 00:53:13,637
Right.

1816
00:53:13,637 --> 00:53:14,938
It won't be for me, you know,
lack of opening up the doors.

1817
00:53:14,938 --> 00:53:16,347
I wanna know.

1818
00:53:16,348 --> 00:53:19,982
I'm not gonna let- Other
people's determination of what

1819
00:53:19,982 --> 00:53:21,272
I c- I, I can or can't be.

1820
00:53:21,272 --> 00:53:22,972
Like- Exactly … I'm not
the guy that passed the

1821
00:53:22,972 --> 00:53:25,402
SATs at D'Angelo's in the
sandwich world, right?

1822
00:53:25,402 --> 00:53:25,622
Right.

1823
00:53:25,921 --> 00:53:27,332
I'm not going to be that guy.

1824
00:53:27,341 --> 00:53:28,801
And, you know, and for-
Yeah … someone else,

1825
00:53:28,801 --> 00:53:29,802
that could be a huge issue.

1826
00:53:29,802 --> 00:53:30,872
And I'm like, "Fuck it.
You know what?" Yeah.

1827
00:53:31,152 --> 00:53:33,282
"I'm gonna go do, do something
else." And maybe I'll

1828
00:53:33,282 --> 00:53:34,111
fail- No dress
rehearsals in life.

1829
00:53:34,262 --> 00:53:34,452
Yep.

1830
00:53:34,482 --> 00:53:34,982
Yeah, exactly.

1831
00:53:34,982 --> 00:53:36,741
You know, like, and maybe
I'll fail at that, too.

1832
00:53:37,131 --> 00:53:40,302
But the difference is I'm gonna
use this opportunity, in this

1833
00:53:40,302 --> 00:53:43,731
case of being a founder, to
be the one time, the one time

1834
00:53:44,211 --> 00:53:47,691
where no one can tell me what
I can't do except me, right?

1835
00:53:47,701 --> 00:53:50,592
No one can say, "You can't
be the CEO, you can't be

1836
00:53:50,592 --> 00:53:53,222
the designer, you can't
be whatever," except me.

1837
00:53:53,512 --> 00:53:56,421
And I think when we have
this one unique opportunity

1838
00:53:56,422 --> 00:53:59,521
in life to be all of the
things that maybe we should

1839
00:53:59,532 --> 00:54:00,842
be, we should take it.

1840
00:54:01,082 --> 00:54:03,641
We should go after every
opportunity possible as

1841
00:54:03,641 --> 00:54:05,952
if we're, maybe we're the
best, 'cause who knows?

1842
00:54:06,242 --> 00:54:07,741
Maybe we actually are.

1843
00:54:09,222 --> 00:54:10,732
Overthinking your startup
because you're going it alone?

1844
00:54:11,181 --> 00:54:12,971
You don't have to, and
honestly, you shouldn't.

1845
00:54:13,291 --> 00:54:15,901
Because instead, you can
learn directly from peers

1846
00:54:15,902 --> 00:54:17,131
who've been in your shoes.

1847
00:54:17,271 --> 00:54:19,601
Connect with bootstrap
founders and the advisors

1848
00:54:19,601 --> 00:54:22,012
helping them win in the
Startups.com community.

1849
00:54:22,201 --> 00:54:26,801
Check out the Startups.com
community at www.startups.com

1850
00:54:26,911 --> 00:54:27,832
to see if it's for you.

1851
00:54:28,091 --> 00:54:29,122
Could be just the
thing you need.

1852
00:54:29,381 --> 00:54:30,322
I hope to see you inside.