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- PAIN TO PROFIT$: To Win or Not to Win, The Pro AND Cons of Bootstrapping, and Supreme Court Reform
PAIN TO PROFIT$: To Win or Not to Win, The Pro AND Cons of Bootstrapping, and Supreme Court Reform
Plus: How to Become A Better Decision Maker..Tomorrow.
$TREET $MART$
Bootstrapping vs Outside Capital…from Someone Who’s Done Both Really Really Well.
The Pain to Profits Breakdown For Busy Business Folk.
In this clip, Andrew Wilkinson, co-founder of Tiny, shares his evolving views on bootstrapping versus raising capital, offering practical advice for entrepreneurs considering the choice.
(credit:My First Million)
Key Takeaways
Adapt your funding strategy based on business needs.
Pros of Bootstrapping
Total Control: “You can move insanely fast, there’s no board, there’s no committee, you don’t owe anyone anything.”
Fast Decision-Making: Decisions can be made quickly without needing approval from investors or a board.
Integrity in Dealings: “When Chris and I buy a business, we can look people in the eye and be like, we’re cutting a check; this is us.”
No Obligations to Investors: You’re not pressured to meet investor expectations or forced into an IPO or sale.
Cons of Bootstrapping
Isolation: “You’re on an island; you don’t have anyone who’s aligned and cares and can tell you you’re being an idiot.”
Limited Growth Potential: Many entrepreneurs miss out on 10x growth opportunities because they’re “addicted to their dividends or they’re conservative.”
Risk of Poor Decisions: Without external advice, you can “drive your business off the rails.”
Raising Capital
Seizing Growth Opportunities: “If you have an opportunity to grow your business... it’s crazy not to raise money or go get debt.”
Preventing Missed Potential: “If you own a bakery and there’s a line out the door... you need to buy two more ovens. It’s crazy not to raise money.”
Oversight and Accountability: Raising capital brings in valuable external input and aligns interests with investors who care about the business’s success.
Flexibility in Strategy: Wilkinson shares his experience, “I raised money for our podcasting software company, Supercast, and I’m going to raise money for our news business.”
PUL$E
How to Do $2.5 Trillion Dollar Work
The Pain to Profits Breakdown For Busy Business Folk.
Ever wanted to talk to of a 12-figure CEO? Here’s your chance…kinda.
Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, in a conversation with the team at Sana shares his strategies for staying current with technology, running a company without traditional management structures, and empowering employees as a $2.5T dollar company.
How do you stay on top of industry trends while running a large company?
Surround Yourself with Amazing People: "I’m surrounded by amazing people... you have to make the effort to learn."
Dedicate Yourself to Learning: Being a good student is essential in a tech-driven industry.
Understand the Technology: Having an intuition for technology allows better extrapolation and adaptation to industry changes.
What are the benefits of not having one-on-ones or a traditional management structure?
First Principles Approach: "Start from first principles. What is this machine we’re trying to create?"
Empowerment and Agility: A flat structure with empowered employees allows for fast information flow and agile responses.
Avoiding Bureaucracy: "We don’t have business units... everybody works as one."
How do you ensure continuous planning and execution?
Strategy as Action: "Strategy is not words, strategy is action."
Continuous Planning: There’s no fixed planning cycle; planning is an ongoing process.
Bottom-Up Input: Encouraging input from all levels ensures that strategies align with daily actions.
How do you empower employees to do their best work?
Avoid Commodity Work: "We never talk about market share... we tend not to go fight people for market share."
Focus on Innovation: Choose work that hasn’t been done before and walk away from commoditized businesses.
Transparency and Information Sharing: Encouraging a transparent culture empowers employees with the knowledge they need to succeed.
How has your leadership style evolved over time?
Direct Communication: Being direct and open about decisions and reasoning processes empowers employees.
Adapting and Learning: Adapting leadership based on continuous learning and feedback is crucial.
Brand Damage
To win or not to win…is that really the question?
In the quest to build a big brand, big brands are often not the ones to models from your current seat.
Occasionally they get it right for the smaller guys and ship out work that is worth paying attention to and analyzing further.
Nike accomplished this, again, in releasing an ad leading into the Olympics that has gone bonkers online for asking a question…
“Am I A Bad Person?”
At this point, the collective views are approaching at least 50 million in the span of a week.
And the collective comments have to be in the 100k+ range now by now.
The lesson for brand builders like you is…
Take a stance.
Take a risk.
Shoot you shot…creatively.
Otherwise, people won’t pay attention.
And they certain won’t talk about your company.
In the silence, you have brand.
If you haven’t seen it, it’s your turn to view the ad.
But be sure to scroll the comments and take notes.
Xcelerated Performance
A ‘refreshing’ word from Jeff Bezos
One of the most influential entrepreneurs in the world, Jeff Bezos, has a simple tip for becoming a better decision-maker tomorrow: get a good night’s sleep tonight.
Here are 4 thoughts he holds on why sleep is crucial for effective leadership:
Critical for Quality Decisions: Bezos emphasizes, “I need eight hours of sleep. I think better, I have more energy, my mood is better.” For senior executives, the quality of decisions is more important than quantity.
Fewer, Better Decisions: “As a senior executive, you get paid to make a small number of high-quality decisions.” It's not about making hundreds of decisions daily, but making the right ones.
Impact of Sleep Deprivation: Less sleep might mean more hours, but “if the quality of those decisions might be lower because you’re tired or grouchy,” the trade-off isn’t worth it.
Focus on the Future: At Amazon’s scale, executives “work in the future, they live in the future,” focusing on long-term planning rather than immediate concerns. This strategic thinking requires clarity and well-being.
Chew on Jeff’s thoughts this Tuesday morning.
Better yet…maybe just sleep on them.(wink)
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