Summary

In this conversation, Simon Klobas shares his entrepreneurial journey, emphasizing the importance of real-world experience, pro-social skills, and the value of bootstrapping. He discusses the significance of preparing for investment, prioritizing product development, and building relationships in less conventional sectors. Simon also highlights the opportunities in the Saudi market and the unique model of his digital asset holding company, Brick Road, which focuses on solving specific problems for clients. He concludes with advice for aspiring entrepreneurs on the importance of networking and being adaptable.

Takeaways

Real-world experience is crucial for entrepreneurship.

Pro-social skills help in dealing with diverse clients.

Bootstrapping requires a clear understanding of ROI.

Preparing a pitch deck helps clarify business goals.

Prioritize product development based on impact.

Networking is essential for finding opportunities.

Cultural adaptation can lead to better business relationships.

Identifying client problems is key to successful solutions.

The Saudi market offers unique opportunities for entrepreneurs.

Asking questions can lead to valuable insights.

Natalie Furness, CEO and founder of RevOps Automated, discusses the decision to scale a business and the pros and cons of going solo versus building a team. She emphasizes the importance of building a business that distributes wealth and allows people to work the way they want. Natalie shares her experience of hiring the first team members and the challenges of covering costs as a founder. She also highlights the significance of focusing on go-to-market and sales to fill capacity and achieve growth. Natalie Furness, CEO of RevOps Automated, discusses the crossroads she is facing in scaling her business and whether to sell or keep it as a cash cow. She explores the options of scaling to sell, merging, or acquiring by another company, and the potential financial gains. She also considers keeping the business as a cash cow to fund the development of her next business. Natalie emphasizes the importance of planning for the future, understanding financial management, and seeking advice from fractional CFOs and legal experts. She also shares insights on go-to-market strategies and the need to focus on both customer experience and internal operations.

Takeaways

• Consider building a business that distributes wealth and allows people to work the way they want.
• Focus on go-to-market and sales to fill capacity and achieve growth.
• Hiring the right team members can help scale the business and deliver more value to customers.
• Think about the long-term goals and endgame of the business when making decisions.
• Creating valuable assets like white papers and resources can establish credibility and open doors for opportunities. When at a crossroads of scaling a business, founders should consider the options of scaling to sell, merging, or acquiring by another company.
• Keeping a business as a cash cow can provide funding for the development of the next business.
• Planning for the future and understanding financial management are crucial for making informed decisions.
• Seeking advice from fractional CFOs and legal experts can help navigate the complexities of selling a business.
• Go-to-market strategies should focus on both customer experience and internal operations, ensuring revenue generation and operational efficiency.

Alice Egan, the founder of SaaS Savvy, shares her journey from a linguistics background to becoming an entrepreneur in the tech industry. She discusses how her love for languages and understanding people's stories led her to a career in pre-sales. Alice emphasizes the importance of asking questions and being transparent about not knowing certain technical concepts. She saw a gap in the market for teaching non-technical professionals about technology and started creating resources and courses to fill that gap. Alice's experience in pre-sales and product marketing gave her the confidence to start SaaS Savvy and help others speak the language of tech. Alice Egan, founder of SaaS Savvy, shares her journey of starting an online course business to teach sales, pre-sales, and success professionals about software and cloud computing. She emphasizes the importance of having technical knowledge in these roles and how it can boost confidence and build relationships with customers. Alice started by creating an internal tech academy at Zendesk and then decided to build her own business. She took the time to study and become an expert in computer science and cloud computing before launching her course. She used a beta program to test the content and gather feedback, which helped her refine and focus the course. Alice also highlights the importance of personalized outreach and building a community with her customers.