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Rocket Ship Founder

Rocket Ship Founder

By Steve August

Rocket Ship Founder is dedicated to supporting business Founders on their entrepreneurial journey. Created and hosted by Steve August, Founder Coach who helps Founders to become the CEO their company needs, and build a Rocket Ship Business.

Steve took his first startup from idea to successful multi-million dollar exit. He's seen the journey from two guys in a startup accelerator room to being CMO of a $100M+ 400 person global company reporting directly to a private equity board.
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Ep 15. Growing Sales: The 4 Founder Blindspots

Rocket Ship FounderSep 08, 2022

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13:09
Ep. 76 3 Keys to your Always On High Converting Pitch

Ep. 76 3 Keys to your Always On High Converting Pitch

One of the hardest challenges I have experienced and seen in business is not being able to count on sales month to month or quarter to quarter. Up months and quarters followed by down quarters and months make it nearly impossible to plan and execute well. 

Do you hire for the surge in business only to have to reduce staff when things get thin again? How often do you adjust your budget? What can you 

Some of this is just part of the cycles of business. But for Founders working with just a handful of team members, it’s often more to do with being pulled in too many directions.  We hit these sell/do cycles - sell a lot, then do a lot, then have to scramble to re-fill the pipeline since selling has been neglected while doing.

If you look at businesses that break through, they’ve figured out a way to keep the sales machine firing at all times.

But it’s hard with a smaller team and especially if the Founder is the main revenue driver. How do you always be firing on sales when there’s so many other fires to handle in your business. 

That’s where an Always On High Converting Pitch (AOHCP) comes in handy. Imagine if you had a pitch happening 24/7 that consistently took the right people from prospects to customers? It’s actually essential to getting off the revenue roller coaster and on to consistent growth. 

Making something Always On is pretty easy these days. There are so many platforms and channels you can use.

But High Converting is actually the most important aspect. After all, if your pitch doesn’t convert, then it doesn’t matter if it’s always on. 

In this week’s Rocket Ship Founder Podcast, I’ll talk about the 3 Keys to an AOHCP. (The ironic thing is that two of the keys aren’t the pitch itself): 


Key #1:  A Stupid Offer

Start at the end. High Conversion is more important than Always On. The offer you convert them to must be stupidly good. So good that the right person would be almost stupid to say no.

Key #2:  A Magnetic Hook 

The hook to get people to the pitch must strongly attract the right prospects, and repel people who aren’t going to be a fit. This means it’s got to speak to an urgent pain that the customer needs to solve, with the promise of a solution and a better future. 


Key #3:  An Indoctrinating Pitch 

Finally we get to the pitch. Before they buy, they have to buy in. A great pitch starts by showing prospects exactly why they are experiencing their pain, then indoctrinates them into your unique system for solving their pain. That leads to your Stupid Offer which shows how they can start using your unique system and get to their better future. 

This 13-minute episode may be transformational to your business!

To your success,


PS If you’d like to create your own Always On High Converting Pitch, I’ve got a workshop coming up next Wednesday, March 20 9-10:30am PT.  Inside this workshop you will: 

  • Learn the 9 essential elements to build a high converting pitch. Template included so you can build your own.

  • Learn how to build a magnetic hook to get the right people to your pitch.

  • Get an automated system that consistently gets people to your pitch, so you are turning leads into customers every day like clockwork.

  • See how to implement it without building a new landing page or complicated funnel.

  • Get templates and language you can plug and play. 

All for $100. Get full details and register here.

Why they say no (and the path to yes)

Before they buy, they have to buy in.

Breaking the sell/do cycle

Mar 13, 202413:03
Ep. 75 What to do when your offering doesn't take off

Ep. 75 What to do when your offering doesn't take off

What do you do when your new offering isn't taking off like you hoped?

Many of the stories you read about a business taking off will spin a nice, tidy yarn about how someone saw a pain, started a waitlist, got huge signups, therefore validated their market and went on to glory, wealth and fame. Easy, peasy, right?

But the reality is that it's usually way more messy. Usually it goes this way:

You create something or the MVP of something you know will help the people you serve.

You eagerly bring it to them, with the expectation that the brilliance of your “amazing thing” will have them signing contracts and swiping cards.

But then....it doesn’t quite go that way. Maybe a few excited people buy into you or your vision and take you up on your pilot program. You think you’ve got it! But then, you get a few “that's cool” or “interesting!" Some people kick the tires, but they don't stick. You can sense that people just aren’t bowled over about your amazing thing. Sometimes it’s just plain crickets. It's super frustrating.

To be totally transparent, I'm actually working through this myself right now.

I've been developing and test launching a new program (2X Accelerator) that fuses everything I've learned about go to market (GTM) and scalable sales into a systematic program for B2B Founders to build a customer flywheel.

Honestly, it feels kind of embarrassing given this is what I spend a lot of time teaching and talking about. :}

But it’s actually become a valuable teachable moment about what to do when your new offering isn’t taking off. Inside the 2X Community I’ve been sharing in real time the steps I’ve been taking to troubleshoot my offering.

The good news is that we have a specific and simple framework that we can use to systematically work the problem.

We don’t have to pull our hair out.
We don’t have to hire an agency.
We don’t bring on more marketing tech.

We just look at each level of the 3 levels of our “Stupid Offer Stack” and step-by-step troubleshoot.

This week’s Rocket Ship Founder Podcast episode is all about what to do when your offering isn’t taking off like you’d hoped. Key things I’ll cover:

  • - Embracing the mess and turning it into a science project

  • - How your Founder type can lead you to focus on the wrong things

  • - The 3 key components you need to troubleshoot (and in what order to do it)

  • - Understanding how the timing of your offers can make or break

This 17-minute listen will give you some food for thought for your business.

To your success!

Feb 29, 202417:43
Ep. 74 The Founder Seat is Different

Ep. 74 The Founder Seat is Different

"It's the mental game of being a Founder that's really surprised me."

This week I had a call with a Founder who took advantage of my offer of a free Breakthrough Session for anyone who takes my Founder Type Quiz.

Like many Founders, this person has tremendous knowledge and experience in their category.

But this is their first go at sitting in the Founder seat. And it's different.

Yes. Yes it is.

While the Founder life has been painted with a sort of glamour, anybody who's been in the job knows the inside truth is far different.

The Founder journey always functions at two levels. There's the brass tacks of just learning how to start, grow and lead a business. This is all about skills, experience, tools and what good looks like at each stage. This is about frantically scrambling to up-level your skills.

The second level is the mental game. This is about learning to live with uncertainty and pressure, while feeling ultimately responsible for the success or failure of the business. No matter how senior your role in your previous position, there's nothing that really prepares you for "sitting in the seat."

The highs are high and the lows are super low. Navigating the uncertainty and responsibility for success that comes along with the Founder title inevitably trigger our doubts, insecurities, imposter complexes and general anxiety.

To succeed you have to always be working at both levels. Because every milestone tends to put in a place where you have to learn more and uplevel.

In this week’s Rocket Ship Founder Podcast, I talk about:

  • Why the Founder seat is so different

  • 3 keys to upleveling skills

  • 3 keys for winning the mental game

This 14-minute listen will give you some food for thought for your business.

To your success!

Feb 22, 202414:32
Ep. 73 Two Keys to Being a Centered Founder

Ep. 73 Two Keys to Being a Centered Founder

This may sound strange. In my conversations with prospective coaching clients, my goal is to not to sell. It's to diagnose.

On one level the conversation is about understanding WHERE they are in their business, where they want to go and what's in the way of them getting there.

But there's almost always another level. I call it the Bigger Game level. That is more about HOW they are currently experiencing their Founder journey - and how they want to be experiencing it.

The phrase that often comes up is "I want to be more centered."

It makes sense. The Founder journey is filled with uncertainty, twists and turns and more often than everyone cares to admit - feeling like you don't really know what you are doing.

In my experience, there are two keys to being a centered Founder:

  1. Have your GTM in a good place. Know exactly what important pain you solve, who you solve it for, a Stupid Offer and a system to get it in front of them consistently.

  2. Understand you are playing your Bigger Game, and apply yourself to building your skills in the arena of your interior world.

If I had to pick one, #2 would actually be the more important one. #1 means your business is well positioned to weather the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.

#2 enables YOU are well positioned to weather the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune both in business and the rest of your life.

In this week’s Rocket Ship Founder Podcast, I talk about the path to being a centered Founder:

  • - Why being centered is so hard, especially for first time Founders

  • - How your Founder Type plays in

  • - Two keys to finding your center

This 12-minute listen will give you some food for thought for your business.

To your success!

Feb 15, 202412:35
Ep. 72 Maybe sell the thing you most want to sell

Ep. 72 Maybe sell the thing you most want to sell

Over the past week I've been on-boarding the first group of Founders into my 2X Accelerator Community.

It's an amazing group of who are bought into creating a ruthlessly simple business that can consistently accelerate - without sacrificing their sanity.

For every new member of 2X, I do a personal Gameplan session to understand where they are - and set their plan for going through the key steps in our sprints.

The first key step is to identify their Core Offer. This is the one offer that they can consistently sell and deliver. This is the foundation of their business. We need to be clear on it so we can create a clear path for customers to it.

I've seen a pattern in this conversation.

Without exception, they are all experts in their fields. They all have strong visions of how to create transformational results for their customers.

It's not that they don't have an offering. They have a bunch of them. And our first order of business is to figure out which one will be the one we are going to focus on.

It's a super important question, because you can't grow consistently and sanely if the offer at the center of your business isn't clear, simple and delivers for you.

So we'll go through the different things they are selling. Inevitably there will be some things aren't quite ideal. Maybe one thing is lower cost and easier to sell - but doesn't create enough revenue for the amount service. Maybe the customer type isn't great to work with. Maybe you can get the customer but they don't stick around.

Usually, there is something that is more ideal. Or at least elements of what would be ideal. But they haven't totally leaned in. Sometimes they are in resistance to it.

To which I suggest...

"Maybe sell the thing you most want to sell."

It tends to be one of those insights that hits home. And we dial in the offer for them that they will take through the process to validate and quickly launch.

In this week’s Rocket Ship Founder Podcast, I talk about:

  • - How to discern what you most want to sell

  • - Why this question is the heart of your business

  • - Overcoming the surprising mental barriers to this

This 13-minute listen will give you some serious food for thought for your business.

To your success!

Feb 08, 202413:18
Ep. 71 Find the Pain

Ep. 71 Find the Pain

This week I had a breakthrough session with a Founder who is in the very early stages of launching his business. The big challenge is finding product market fit.

This Founder is a classic Type E - Expert Craftsperson.

Huge domain expertise in his field garnered from years of experience working inside some of the biggest companies in the space. This founder literally knows the game from the inside out.

For any Founder, this domain knowledge and behind the scenes insight is a huge strength.

But it can also work against us - and actually be a major challenge when it comes to product market fit and go to market.

Here's why:

When we are expert at something, we forget what it was like to not know what we know.

So our starting point is the amazing solutions we create. We're ready to give people the answers.

The problem with this is that the starting point for our customers is the pain they are dealing with.

Sometimes we are so enamored with our elegant solutions, that we get surprised when potential customers don't get it.

We need to start with their pain. Not just any pain. We need to find the PAIN.

For your business to grow easily, the pain you solve needs to be super urgent to your customers. What Perry Marshall calls their "bleeding neck pain."

The product-market fit quest, is really a quest to find the PAIN.

In this week’s Rocket Ship Founder Podcast, I talk about how to find the PAIN. I cover:

  • - 3 Different kinds of pain, and the ways to find them
  • - 2 Questions to help uncover pain "without leading the witness"

  • - 1 question that tell you if you've found an urgent PAIN

This 13-minute listen will transform how you see your business.

To your success,

Feb 02, 202413:28
Ep. 70 Confessions of an ADHD Founder Coach

Ep. 70 Confessions of an ADHD Founder Coach

I only got diagnosed with adult ADHD last year at 55 years old, but I’ve been living with it for a long time.

The good news is now that I know what I’m dealing with, I can work with it. I recognize my mind's little quirks. Time blindness. Emotional dysregulation. Rejection sensitivity dysphoria. Limited reserves of executive function.

Last year, I identified my ADHD as both the biggest catalyst (visionary ideas every minute!) and biggest barrier (easily overwhelming myself with visionary ideas!) to get my business to the next level.

Once you start recognizing patterns of ADHD in your life, you really start seeing it in your business:

  • - Accumulation of brilliant things created but not optimized

  • - Inconsistent execution, leading to less than desired results

  • - Chasing new silver bullet of the month/quarter/year to fix things

  • - Constant overwhelm, and battle with stress

So I’m trying an experiment this year. I’m re-shaping my business to work with my ADHD. The goal is to not just grow, but scale the right things. Yes, more revenue. But also more calm. More space. More fun.

So I thought I’d share my plan for scaling my business without losing my sanity.

Now you might think of ADHD as something that makes business harder. And there’s truth to that. But there’s a hidden judo move available.

Once you recognize the patterns, these challenges actually give you a map of what you need to address to make growing your business easier and more sane.

The amazing thing is that this map works not just for ADHD businesses, but any business.

In this week’s Rocket Ship Founder Podcast, I'm talking about my plan to work with my ADHD to scale my business smartly. I cover:

  1. The imperative for Ruthless Simplicity

  2. Using structured sequencing to prevent overwhelm

  3. The necessity of finding Dopamine in old places

Even if you are not ADHD, This 14-minute listen will transform how you see your business.

To your success!

Jan 25, 202414:07
Ep. 69 What's Your Time to Wow?

Ep. 69 What's Your Time to Wow?

We weren't even half way through yesterday's live workshop, called "Your Secret System" when one of the participants remarked,

"Wow! I've just created three social posts based on what we've just learned! This makes so much sense."

'Time to wow!' for this workshop: ~30 minutes.

Let's talk about "time to wow!"

The pendulum has swung on the current business environment. We've gone from a time of cheap money to a time of (comparatively) expensive money.

The impact is less spending. Less or more expensive funding. Non-essential vitamins, nice-to-haves, and "let's give this a try's" are off the table.

At the same time, there's more noise than ever. More people competing for fewer dollars.

Having lived through a few of these cycles now, the formula to thrive in this environment is simple: laser focus on fundamentals.

  • Have a customer for whom you can solve an urgent, important pain.

  • Make it obvious why they should pay attention to you.

  • Make it as easy as possible to choose you.

'Time to wow!' is a helpful construct. How long does it take you to give a customer a 'wow!'?

Because words like "interesting" and "cool" aren't going to get it done in this environment.

Whether it's a social post, email, workshop or an engagement, 'time to wow' is the currency of businesses that will not only survive, but thrive in this cycle.

In this week’s Rocket Ship Founder Podcast, I talk about how "Time to wow." I'll cover:

  1. What 'wow!' is. And what it isn't

  2. The 3-step formula to create 'wow!'

  3. What 'wow!' means at different steps of the customer journey

This 10-minute listen will give help you transform how you see your business.

To your success!

Jan 18, 202409:53
Ep. 68 There's a Moat in your Method

Ep. 68 There's a Moat in your Method

A good moat is one of the most desirable things to create for your business. It's also one of the most challenging things to do.

Some classic moats are:

  • - Network effects, e.g. social media sites like Facebook or marketplaces like eBay
  • - Hardware ecosystems like Apple

  • - Long term contracts

  • - Steep switching costs/hassle (Salesforce, payroll companies)

  • - Patent protection (assuming you have resources to enforce)

These moats are super effective, but also take time to create.

But what if you are a long ways from creating any of these moats?

The good news is that there's actually a moat already lurking in your business

You see, deep at center of your products and services, there's a mental model of your whole business. It's how you break down your customers' pain. And the methods you use to solve that pain.

We are so close to this mental model that it's sometimes hard to see. It's almost if it's hiding in plain sight. But it's there.

And if you know how to surface and deploy it, you'll see there's a moat in your methods. Or as I like to call it, your Secret System.

The beauty of it is that when you surface this “Secret System” for your customers, you will make it obvious why they should choose you. And you will win more business.

In this week’s Rocket Ship Founder Podcast, I talk about how to find the moat in your method aka Your Secret System. I'll cover:

  1. Why you need to think about your moat

  2. How to use the rule of 3's to surface your Secret System

  3. How to deploy your Secret System to make it obvious why customers should choose you.

This 10-minute listen will give help you transform how you see your business.

To your success!

Here's the link for the Your Secret System Training

Jan 11, 202410:23
Ep. 67 Slowing it down

Ep. 67 Slowing it down

Happy New Year! Coming back from the holiday break this week, I was eager to come roaring out of the gate and start crushing 2024.

Then something interesting happened. Instead going super fast, I've slowed it way down. Which is, y'know, the opposite of going fast.
The reason for this is that like many businesses I coach, my own business is at an inflection point.

It's been a super intense few years. The business climate has changed significantly as money has gone from being cheap to much closer to it's typical level historically speaking. This has definitely impacted a number of my clients. The funding environment is much tighter.

Consequently, sessions have been more intense and the support more crucial. It's extremely gratifying work, and I'm honored to do it. It also requires presence and emotional energy.

To be completely transparent, the business cycle has taken it's toll on my private client roster. My usual response, is to push through, crank up my ads launch an offer, get revenue rolling back in.

But as I launch into this new year, I feel a like a sprinter who showed up to the starting line already a bit gassed. I thought I'd given myself enough of a break over the past two weeks - but my mind and body are saying "nope."

It's taken many years to learn this, but when my mind and body feel this way, they are telling me to slow down. It's contrary the the hustle and grind culture we live in. But I know it's telling me I need to stop and listen to what's going on. So instead of pushing and grinding through, I've slowed it way down.

And started asking questions:

  1. What do I want my business to look like in 12 months?

  2. How do I want my life to be?

  3. Who do I most want to help?

  4. What parts of my business are lighting me up?

  5. What parts of my business am I just going through the motions?

  6. What are useful constraints I want to embrace?

My time blind ADHD brain thinks I can figure this all out in a two hour journaling session. Not so much. I know that illusion now.
These are deeper, long haul questions. It's a Rubick's cube that I need to slow down and work through and solve.

When to go slow and when to hustle is a question we often face as Founders.

In this week’s Rocket Ship Founder Podcast, I talk about slowing down and going fast when it comes to business. I cover:

  1. How to know when to slow down and when to go fast

  2. Momentum vs speed, and why it's important to know the difference

  3. Using offers to learn

This 14 minute listen will give you some deeper things to think about as we get started in the new year.

To your success!

Jan 04, 202415:10
Ep. 66 How to preload the New Year

Ep. 66 How to preload the New Year

As we hit the midway point in December, we experience a dual mentality. We want to get the most out of what remains in Q4. But we also want to lay the groundwork for the coming new year.

As this is my last new Podcast episode for 2023 (I will be off the final two weeks of December), I thought it only appropriate to walk through steps in preloading the new year so you come out of the gate running.

Here are my top tips for pre-loading the new year:

  1. Take time to review and reflect. Celebrate your biggest wins, of course. But also honor your biggest challenges. They pointed out where the weaknesses in your business are.

  2. Revisit your Business Foundations: Mission, vision, values and Boss/Northstar Metric. Is the business still aligned with your mission and vision. Have you drifted from some of your values? How have you been tracking on your boss metric? I find this part of the process humbling, inspiring and hugely focusing.

  3. Pre-load the first 4 weeks of 2024. What's the most important thing that needs to happen coming out of the gate

  4. Take downtime and turn off. We've spent a lot of energy this year navigating the twists and turns of our businesses. To be effective, we must get down time to sharpen our saw.

In this week’s Rocket Ship Founder Podcast, I talk in more depth about these steps.

This 10 minute listen will set you up for a great start to the new year.

To your success!

Dec 13, 202310:14
Ep. 65 What's Your Hook?

Ep. 65 What's Your Hook?

Yesterday, I was leading my Quiz Daily Lead Machine Workshop. I walked a great group of Founders through my own quiz lead funnel. I showed my LinkedIn setup, how my quiz software creates personalized PDF reports and how it's all integrated into my CRM.

Then I walked everyone through a 5-step quiz design process. As we worked through the 5-steps, one of the participants asked,

"Out of everything you've done in your quiz funnel, what's the 20% of the 80/20 that had the most impact?"

It was a great question. I had to think a moment. But the answer came in my mind loud and clear.

"Figuring out my hook."

My coaching business changed when I figured out my Founder Type Quiz and ads. It was at that point that I could give LinkedIn $50 and LinkedIn would reliably give me 10-20 leads.

In this age of ever increasing noise (thanks ChatGPT!), having a hook that gets your audience to stop and pay attention is an essential unlock.

Can you get them to stop their scroll? If you can you've got a hook. If you can't you don't.

In this week’s Rocket Ship Founder Podcast, I talk about finding the hook for your business. I cover:

  • How hooks happen

  • The 3 essential things you need to know to build your hook

  • The two places to to look to find your hook

To your success!

Dec 07, 202311:18
Ep. 64 Your Secret Hidden System

Ep. 64 Your Secret Hidden System

You have a secret system in your business. You probably don't even realize it's there.

But it's driving your product design and your unique way of solving your customers' problems.

You might be thinking:

"But, Steve! I've founded and created my whole business. I am the expert on my product and/or service I know everything about it! How can I possibly have a secret system that I don't even realize is there? Maybe you are not such a wise coach after all?"

I get it. But I stand by my assertion that we often don't realize what's really driving everything.

Often it's because as Founders we are too close to it. But it's there. Our secret system underpins everything we do in solving a particular pain for our ideal customers.


It goes like this:

  1. Customer has pain

  2. Your offer is to solve the pain

  3. Your product/service is how you deliver it

  4. Your secret system is how you thought about the problem and solution path

In this week’s Rocket Ship Founder Podcast, I'll cover:

  • Where to look for your secret system

  • 3 ways leverage your Secret System to drive your GTM efforts

  • The power of 3's in secret systems

To your success!

Nov 29, 202314:53
Ep. 63 Gratitude and Giving Thanks

Ep. 63 Gratitude and Giving Thanks

With this week's Rocket Ship Founder Podcast Episode falling on the US Thanksgiving holiday, it's only natural that I dedicate it to gratitude and giving thanks.

According to Harvard Health, "positive psychology research has shown gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness.

Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships."

This is all well and good, but as any Founder knows it can sometimes be challenging to find gratitude when you are beset by challenge after challenge.

There's really no shortage of ways leading a business can challenge you.

It is hard. We feel bad when things are challenging. We fall back on our trusted coping mechanisms. And if/when they stop working, we can't get relief and go into some version of fight, flight or freeze.

The judo flip on this is to see your challenges as a service to you, in a tough love kind of a way.

The opportunity is to face and work with the hardships and accompanying emotions.

It's not easy work, especially when your preferred coping mechanisms aren't working.

Most importantly, this work invites you to find a more solid center within yourself, less attached to outcomes, ego and pride. To be able to feel whatever you feel and move forward anyway.

Gratitude is definitely a ticket to that. So here are some things that you might be thankful for in your journey:

  • Your health and abilities that have gotten you this far

  • The opportunity to create something of your own in the world

  • Team and investors who have put faith in you

  • Family and friends who support you

  • Everything that your challenges teach you

As for me, it's been an amazing year full of challenge and heartache watching our kiddo enduring serious health issues, amazing opportunities that fell out of the sky (Leading a founder retreat in Portugal!), uplifting moments (seeing clients succeed).

But the thing that has kept me ground through it all is my gratitude for the Founders I've been honored to touch in some way, whether I've worked with you this year or you've just listened to a podcast episode.

On this Thanksgiving, I'm giving thanks for you sharing your journey with me.

With that all said, tune into this week’s Rocket Ship Founder Podcast, where I delved a bit further into the power of gratitude and giving thanks on your Founder journey.

To your success!

Nov 22, 202311:47
Ep. 62 How to beat the odds

Ep. 62 How to beat the odds

According to a review by Venture Intelligence in 2022, only 29% of seed-funded startups raise Series A capital.

I have a speciality in coaching Seed to Series A Founders.

That means that by Venture Intelligence's estimates, the odds are 71% of my clients's businesses may fail to get to the next round of funding.

To be clear, not getting to Series A is not equivalent failure.

But the Founder game is a tough one. No matter had good your idea, no matter how driven you are, success is not guaranteed.

To misquote the Hunger Games, the odds are ever not in your favor.

And whether your business takes off or fizzles or somewhere in between, you get kicked in the teeth a lot.

My game as a coach is to do everything I can to improve your odds. For Founders, this breaks down into three core ares:

  1. Accelerate PMF and scalable sales

  2. Build a high performing organization

  3. Becoming the leader your business needs

In this week’s Rocket Ship Founder Podcast, I talk about the most impactful things you can do to beat the odds. I cover:

  • The 3 lever points of PMF and scalable sales

  • The 2 most important elements of a high performing org

  • The 1 thing you need to focus on the become the leader your business needs

This 13-minute listen offers some helpful wisdom for both business and life.

To your success!

Nov 15, 202313:57
Ep. 61 You are playing a two-level game

Ep. 61 You are playing a two-level game

Over the past week, I helped my Founder Clients to:

  • Navigate challenging Co-Founder issues

  • Nail sales processes and proposals

  • Develop core messaging and positioning

  • Strategize next steps in fundraising

  • Identify and rank options for extending runway 

  • Deal with team communication and performance

  • Build out an company OS for Seed Stage

  • Manage their board and investors effectively

On one level, these challenges are very different areas of leading a business from idea to exit. They are all part of the entrepreneurial level game. 

This level has its rules and fundamentals that seem straightforward from a distance. But when you are “in the seat,” it’s chaotic and super challenging as trying to turn your ambitious vision into reality. 

But there’s another game always in play: the Bigger Game of you. 

The Bigger Game is all about your growth as a person, on the path to being the best version of yourself. 

In my experience, entrepreneurship is one of the greatest personal development platforms ever devised (second only to parenting). 

That’s because the challenges of the entrepreneurial game surfaces our triggers, traumas, insecurities and fears. 

It’s actually a tremendous service to us. It brings them out of the dark and into the light, where we can face them. 

While the entrepreneurial level game can be won or lost, the beauty of The Bigger Game is that you can never lose. 

No matter what happens - good, bad or ugly - it’s all moving you forward in The Bigger Game. 

As I helped Founders through all of those issues listed above, we worked at both levels. In fact, it’s the only way to truly master them. 

In this week’s Rocket Ship Founder Podcast, it’s all about the Bigger Game for Foudners. I'm going to talk about:

  • How the Bigger Game impacts everything

  • Why it’s the game that really matters

  • 3 Things to Keep in mind when playing the bigger game

This 9-minute listen offers some helpful wisdom for both business and life.

To your success!

Nov 08, 202313:17
Ep. 60 That Pit In My Stomach When I Hit Send

Ep. 60 That Pit In My Stomach When I Hit Send

This week I launched a campaign for my "How To Create Stupid Offers" workshop.

Every time I launch an offer like this, I have two feelings:

  1. I'm super excited by the content, to teach it and see Founders get those light bulb moments - where they suddenly get unstuck and excited for moving their business forward.

  2. I've got a pit in my stomach as I'm about to hit send on an email to several thousand people to let them know I'm offer this workshop.

You'd think after all these years in business - first as Founder who took his startup to successful exit, then as a wise Coach - I'd be over that pit in the stomach feeling when first launching something.

But nope, those questions and doubts still come up:

  • What if people don't want it and nobody registers?

  • What if my entire lists unsubscribes because I'm annoying them with a bunch of emails?

  • What if people think my "Stupid Offer" Workshop is, um, stupid?

  • There's lots of coaches and info resources out there, will they really want mine?

There's probably others depending on the thing I'm offering. But that feeling is always there.

However, the feeling soon passes after the emails start going out. Because here's what happens:

Some people unsubscribe.
Some people read the email, get a useful insight and get on with their day.
Some people register.
No matter what happens, I learn.

One of the essential things for a business to succeed is to have ways to quickly learn who is a lead and who is actually a customer ready to buy.

For my past few workshops, some registrants are people who've been on my list for years and I've never interacted with. Some are people who've been clients in the past.

The reality is the only way to do this is to make offers.

Making offers require a level of vulnerability. Because whether it's your product or you as a service, you're offering a piece of you. And the reality is your offers will be rejected by most of the people you make them to.

My Stupid Offer Workshop will give you the tools to create stupidly compelling offers. You can check it here

But for this week's Rocket Ship Founder Podcast, I'm going to talk about the Bigger Game issues when it comes to making offers.

In this episode, I cover:

  1. Why you are always making offers, even if you don't think of it that way

  2. Why making offers can make us feel so vulnerable (especially us ADHD and neurodiverse folks)

  3. 3 things to anchor you in those "pit of your stomach" moments

This 12-minute listen offers some helpful wisdom for both business and life.

To your success!

Nov 03, 202313:17
Ep. 59 Does what I'm doing really mean anything?

Ep. 59 Does what I'm doing really mean anything?

"I’m usually pretty good at being optimistic, driven, and focused. Then the really big issues seem like a giant monster when you stop, turn around, and face them. At that point I wonder if what I'm doing really means anything?"

Over the past week I had both a client and a fellow coach share how much the heavy news coming out of Israel and Gaza this past week was weighing on them.

The images of suffering on both sides is horrifying. The madness of humanity is on full display, beamed to our screens by news organizations who know that tragedy and war grabs our attention like nothing else (last year the Ukraine conflict hit with similar impact).

In face of this carnage and suffering, it can sometimes seem like our day-to-day struggles of building our businesses pale in comparison.

Of what importance is our product-market fit problems in the face of the scale of tragedy and horror we are witnessing?

One of my clients asked me if I had any "coaching magic" to deal with this.

Spoiler alert: I don't have any special coaching magic that makes this better.

I can just share how I approach these times when events like this darken our lives.

This week's Rocket Ship Founder Podcast is about working through dark times, and remember you make ripples.

In this episode, I cover:

  1. Where to look for light in dark times

  2. The importance of self care when the news gets dark

  3. How you are making ripples

P.S. The Slingshot - Launching October 31st
I'm looking for 5 Founders to help launch my intimate and affordable Founder community. The Slingshot is dedicated to helping earlier stage Founders accelerate your PMF and GTM in six weeks. You get access to all my trainings, weekly coaching office hours and a group Slack Channel. Get started for as little as $200. Write me at steve@steveaugustcoaching.com.

 

Oct 20, 202312:19
Ep. 58 When progress feels too slow

Ep. 58 When progress feels too slow

"Sometimes if feels like things are moving too slowly."

Many of the people who have been in my Founder Family know, that over the past four years, my now 21-year old has been suffering through a serious, debilitating health crisis.

After two years of searching for the right diagnosis, we got the diagnosis of a Cerebral Spinal Fluid (CSF) Leak. In 2021, We had two temporarily successful procedures here in Portland. Then in April 2022, we went to Cedars Sinai in LA and had a successful procedure (called an epidural blood patch) that held but then failed in November of 2022.

This week will mark nine months since our kiddo had their procedure at Cedars Sinai Hospital back in January. This is the longest stretch that they (their preferred pronoun) has been patched since they started leaking in 2019.

I'd love to tell you that they are all back together and bounding into their next phase of life. But the truth is their recovery has been a road of slow and incremental steps, with occasional leaps forward. Four and half years of enduring a Cerebral Spinal Fluid Leak has done extensive damage both physically and neurologically .

Honestly, some days it feels like we are playing a game of whack-a-mole as different health issues pop up with their physical pain, digestive unrest and neurological challenges.

There have been some days over the past few months, that I felt like we haven't been making much progress at all.

But then I was looking through my iPhone photos to find a particular picture and I stumbled on some photos I took of our kiddo in August of 2022. This was the period during their first successful patch, before that patch failed in November of 2022.

The thing that jumped out at me from the picture from last year was their posture. They seemed like a lump. Like gravity was too strong and they couldn't hold themselves up. It was striking.

If you saw them now, you wouldn't recognize them. Their posture is upright and they appear so much stronger then a year ago. I can't quite convey in words how amazing it was to see.

I shared those pictures with my kiddo and my wife and we realized that we have been making progress.

It's been a little bit every day (and some days feel like we go backwards). But it's adding up to a lot over time.

I think we often experience our businesses in a similar way. There are occasional big wins. But most of the time is making small, incremental progress each day.

And sometimes feeling like progress is non existent.

So when you are feeling like things are moving too slowly, remember this:

A little bit every day. A lot over time.

This week's Rocket Ship Founder Podcast is about staying the course when progress seems slow.

In this episode, I cover:

  1. Why things feel slow

  2. The one essential thing to ensure you are moving forward

  3. How to measure progress

This 12-minute listen is offers some helpful wisdom for both business and life.

To your success!

Steve


P.S. When you are ready, here are 3 ways I can support you:
FREE Breakthrough Session This is geared to Founders with at least $500k in Funding or Revenue to give you a legit breakthrough. In 30 minutes, we'll identify what's at the heart of your biggest issue and give you a plan to solve it. Book your session here.

Private Founder Coaching Sprint (only 1 slot available)
My 4-month program specifically for Seed to Series A Founders with $1M+ of revenue or funding. In a four month sprint, we work hand-in-hand on accelerating your biggest issue. Beat overwhelm. Nail a thorny PMF/Sales problem. Level up as an operator. This is a space dedicated entirely to you. The only agenda is your success. Book a time to to connect.

The Sling Shot
This is my intimate and affordable Founder community, dedicated to helping earlier stage Founders win in business and in life. You get access to all my trainings, weekly coaching office hours and a group Slack Channel. Reply with "Sling Shot" to learn more.

 

Oct 05, 202312:19
Ep. 57 "Everything's a mess"

Ep. 57 "Everything's a mess"

"Everything feels like it's a mess."

This was the first words out of one of my Founder client session this week. He described how he felt like they were trying to do too much, and serve too many different customer types. Even the team was mentioning that things felt messy.

Those who have had sessions with me, know that as my backdrop I have a bookshelf with a few books that I intentionally put there. One of them is "Brutal Simplicity of Thought" by Maurice Saatchi. This is a book dedicated to ruthlessly distilling things down so you can break through and move fast.

This Founder said, I see "Brutal Simplicity of Thought" behind you and I feel like we are very far away from that.

"Yes," I replied, "things do sound messy right now."

I then pointed him to another book I have my bookshelf backdrop: "The Messy Middle" by Scott Belsky.

This is a book that describes the Seed Stage journey - and how it's never a clean, straight line.

The reality is that as Founders a big part of our job is to create ruthlessly simplicity in our business. Because you can't scale a complex business.

But the other part of this reality is that simplicity does not come instantly, cheaply and easily. It's fucking hard.

But I can tell you where to start:

Ultimately, simplicity comes from knowing exactly who your business serves.

When you know who your 10X Customer is, when you know what urgent pain solve for them better than anyone else - things start getting simple very fast.

If you don't have this nailed, everything in your business will be messy.

A big part of why my client's business feels messy is because they have an amazing technology stack, but they haven't quite gotten it in enough people's hands to figure out who their 10X customer.

That's why Seed Stage is so messy. We have to go from an early idea to a scalable business.

Ultimately, it's a search for your 10X Customer.

This week's Rocket Ship Founder Podcast I'm going to talk about finding your 10X customer.

In this episode, I cover:

  1. Why finding your 10X customer is hard

  2. The 3 qualities to look for with 10X customers

  3. Understanding

To your success!

Steve

P.S. This topic of finding your 10X Customers is so important, I've decided to doing a live training on it: Find Your 10X Customers in 90 Minutes

This is the first thing I teach in my super successful $2,500 2X Accelerator Program.

I've decided to break out the 10X Customer training and offer it as a 90-minute live workshop.
You get:

  • 90 minute live training - with time for questions and coaching as many people as I can.

  • Forever access to the recording

  • The four step-by-step Notion Templates I use to identify 10X Customers,


    The workshop is October 11 at 12pm Pacific/3pm Eastern

Get in a the early bird rate of $500 $100.

The details are here! Questions? Reply back and I will respond.

Sep 28, 202311:04
Ep. 56 Permission To Trust Yourself Fully

Ep. 56 Permission To Trust Yourself Fully

Hi {{contact.first_name}},

My path to being a wise Founder Coach has been paved with mistakes. Let me list just a few with just my first startup:

  • Hired an expensive VP of Sales way too early and ended up laying them off within months

  • Didn't understand that I was building my business on customers that bought intermittently and required highly customized solutions

  • Waited too long to fire a a poisonous team member until they had poisoned many other team members

  • Pursued the shiny object savior silver bullet of the month/week/quarter instead of focusing on execution

  • Thought next product feature would magically cure sales problems (they didn't)

  • Didn't realize I needed a strong Type O - Organizational Maestro to balance out my strong Type V - Visionary Evangelist (and ADHD)

  • Didn't realize my service team was farming out work to contractors even when they weren't fully utilized, causing a huge operating loss.

Those are just the one's that are top of mind. And don't even get me started on the rest of my life, lol. Just this past week, I sent some USDC to crypto.com on a a chain they don't support for USDC. UGH. (Fortunately they were kind of enough to reverse the transaction - for a small fee).

The truth of Founder life is you end up fucking up a lot. You can accumulate a lot of evidence about how clueless you are about a lot of things.

It's enough to make you lose faith and trust in yourself.

But this is exactly why being a Founder is such an amazing platform for playing the Bigger Game: the game of you.

Because the Bigger Game in this Founder Journey is to fully trust yourself.

So how do you trust yourself deeply, fully even when there's evidence piling up that you are in over your head?

The first and most important thing is understand that it starts with giving yourself permission to trust yourself no matter what happens externally.

This week's Rocket Ship Founder Podcast is all about this idea of fully trusting yourself

In this episode, I cover:

  1. Why giving yourself permission is hard

  2. Where deep self trust really comes from

  3. How to find it even in the midst of intense challenges

This 11-minute listen is offers some helpful wisdom for both business and life.

By the way the SlingShot

To your success!

Steve

P.S. When you are ready, here are 3 ways I can support you:
FREE Breakthrough Session Because you’ve made the time to take my quiz and tell me a little about you, I'm offering a free 30-minute Breakthrough Session. This is geared to Founders with at least $500k in Funding or Revenue to give you a legit breakthrough. In 30 minutes, we'll identify what's at the heart of your biggest issue and give you a plan to solve it. Book your session here.

Private Founder Coaching Sprint
My 4-month program specifically for Seed to Series A Founders with $2M+ of revenue or funding. In a four month sprint, we work hand-in-hand on accelerating your biggest issue. Beat overwhelm. Nail a thorny PMF/Sales problem. Level up as an operator. This is a space dedicated entirely to you. The only agenda is your success. Book a time to to connect.

The Sling Shot
This is my intimate and affordable Founder community, dedicated to helping earlier stage Founders win in business and in life. You get access to all my trainings, weekly coaching office hours and a group Slack Channel. Reply with "Sling Shot" to learn more.

 


Sep 21, 202313:11
Ep. 55 What NOT To Focus On

Ep. 55 What NOT To Focus On

I'm back with this week's podcast episode after a little bout of COVID last week. All better now, so let's get to it!

One of the toughest things about the Founder journey is the overwhelm. There's so much coming at you all the time.

I was talking with a Founder this week who has been notified that their biggest customer is undergoing a serious re-organization. Their champion is leaving and it's likely revenue from this customer is going to dial down or even stop altogether.

There's no other single current customer or in the pipeline that's going to replace that revenue.

This Founder is starting at a big dent in revenue. It's likely they will have to make some gut wrenching team cuts if they don't patch this hole in revenue.

There appears to be a million things to figure out in trying to find that revenue. Plus figuring out the timing of the financial impacts and the hard decisions that may be coming.

This Founder understandably felt the overwhelm.

They antidote to overwhelm is focus. And focus comes down to two things:

  1. Knowing which actions you can take that will MOST move you forward.

  2. Knowing what NOT to focus on.

In my experience, knowing what NOT to focus is even more important than figuring out what to focus on.

Because it lets you block out all the noise and creates the necessary internal quiet to do your best work.

By the end of our session, we had boiled down this Founder's next right actions, relieved the overwhelm.

This week's Rocket Ship Founder Podcast is all about figuring out what NOT to focus on.

In this episode, I cover how to:

  1. The 2 critical things you need to know get focused and beat overwhelm

  2. Why all the available advice works against you

  3. How to block out the noise and get quiet inside to do your best work

This 11-minute listen is offers some helpful wisdom for both business and life.

To your success!

Steve

PS When you are ready, I have one open spot to work one-on-one with me. If you're a Founder navigating the Seed to Series A journey who wants to:

  • Accelerate PMF and scalable sales

  • Build a high performing team

  • Step into a new level of confidence as a leader

Set up a time for a breakthrough session here.

 

 

Sep 13, 202312:25
Ep. 53 Overcoming Doubt & Exhaustion

Ep. 53 Overcoming Doubt & Exhaustion

Last week, I talked about the Founder journey being one of navigating crises, setbacks and fiascos, with some good wins thrown in to keep you going.

This week I want to address the inevitable companions to the journey: doubt and exhaustion.

These two words popped up a few times this week during my sessions with Founders.

I empathized in this moment as, despite a lot of effort and expense, our mysterious house air quality issues I spoke about last week continue without a clear resolution.

But the feelings of doubt and exhaustion also took me back to many different events when I was leading my first startup. We had a great sales quarter and I thought we had figured it out. The next quarter was downright crappy. We thought we had some good sales people, then they flamed out.

I knew my business could catch fire. But despite killing myself to make it happen, I couldn't see when and sometimes how it was going to happen.
The reality is this: there will be stretches in time when you're working full out and you're pouring your heart and soul into it - and yet your business isn't giving you the signal yet that you've nailed it.

During Seed Stage, you might have some early wins but they don't feel consistent. You don't know if they're the beginning of figuring it out or just you know some random positive noise that is positive noise.

And the thing is, you don't know in advance when you will figure it out.

Stay in this state for enough time, and that's when the doubt kicks in, aided and abetted by the exhaustion of the effort.

Yet during these stretches, you will have to keep working the problem.

So how do you stay centered and stable and energized without actually knowing if you've got it right?

This is one of the key aspects of The Bigger Game. Leveling up your ability to be solid in the discomfort of not knowing, while managing your self care.

This week's Rocket Ship Founder Podcast is dedicated to sharing the wisdom I've learned over the years to be good when the outcome is in doubt.

In this episode, I cover how to:

  1. Manage your energy when you are working full out

  2. Interpret early signals and move

  3. To use curiosity to gain perspective and transform doubt

This 14-minute listen is offers some helpful wisdom for both business and life.

To your success!

Steve

PS When you are ready, I have one open spot to work one-on-one with me. If you're a Founder navigating the Seed to Series A journey who wants to:

  • Accelerate PMF and scalable sales

  • Build a high performing team

  • Step into a new level of confidence as a leader

Hit me up at steve@steveaugustcoaching and we'll set up a time for a breakthrough session.

Aug 31, 202315:11
Ep. 53 Fiascos, Setbacks and the Value of Surrender

Ep. 53 Fiascos, Setbacks and the Value of Surrender

Over the past few weeks, I've reconnected with that emotional roller coaster that I experienced when I was leading my first startup through Seed Stage.

Only this time it's more personal. I live in Portland, Oregon with my wonderful wife and awesome kid, and the two cats that they love, and I..um...tolerate.

We have a nice little house. It's been great for sixteen years. Until this year. This year has been a cascade of crises, fiascos, grinding effort and soul crushing defeats.

It started with a main water line leak that was spiking our water bills. Ok, get a plumber over to fix. Oops, plumber accidentally drills through our sewer line and we get sewer water backing up into our basement. Fiasco.

After that got fixed. Shingles came off the roof in a wind storm. Time for a new roof. Ugh.

Then last month, our kiddo, who has had really intense medical issues over the past four years, started feeling unwell any time the air conditioning came on. And it's 100 degrees outside. My wife and kid move to a hotel.

We get the air conditioning guy over to the house, and he looks at the AC coil and it's filled yucky gunk. Ok, clean that out and reinstall. Things seem good for three weeks.

Then our kiddo starts feeling unwell in the house again. AC coil is getting gunked up again, so we replace it. All's well for two days. Then kid starts feeling unwell again.

Let me just confess that at this point, I am no longer handling this as gracefully as the wise coach I present to the world. :}

Back to the hotel. This past week, got the air ducts cleaned and sanitized. Got mold air testing and indoor air quality testing done. Both tests come back clean.

But now, it's not just my kid, my wife and I are feeling unwell when we are in the house. We deep clean the carpets in case it's that. Nope no difference. Feeling worse in the house.

We are having a succession of mold and air quality experts over to try to figure it out. We've ruled out some stuff but have not identified the problem. Current theory is it's in the walls somewhere. Having people come out with moisture meters and infrared cameras. And to potentially drill holes in the wall and take a look.

Our family is now relocated to a local Residence Inn, in a little two bedroom suite. even the two cats. One of which is now hiding under a weird impossible to reach nook in the hotel room kitchen.

You would think by now, I'd be pulling my hair out and extraordinarily stressed out.

But at some point, I surrendered to the fact that this is happening. Not that I'm not doing everything I can fix the situation. But I've let go of emotional baggage of it all.

Yes the money is adding up and it's painful. But that's why we have an emergency fund. And this is a legit use of it.

Yes, I'm frustrated with the upheaval we enduring as a family - especially a family who has been through a hellish gauntlet with our kiddo's health for the past four years.

But, emotionally I'm doing fine. There's a value to a certain kind of surrender. Not the giving up kind of surrender.

But the letting go of the "this can't possibly be happening to me/us" thoughts has freed me up to just deal with shit and get on with it.

It's all a good analogy for the Founder Journey.

Surrendering is not giving up. Detachment doesn't mean not caring.

In this week's Rocket Ship Founder Podcast Episode, I talk about the value of surrender when navigating the inevitable challenges of Founder life.

I cover:

  • What it means to surrender without giving up

  • How to get yourself to a healthy (or healthy as possible) place during setbacks

  • How to get perspective in the midst of the grind

This 14-minute listen is offers some helpful wisdom for both business and life.

Aug 24, 202314:16
Ep. 52 How to Handle Negative Feedback

Ep. 52 How to Handle Negative Feedback

Hi {{contact.first_name}},

"When people tell you something's wrong, they're usually right. When they tell you how to fix it, they're usually wrong."
-- Bill Hader

One of the constants of Founder life is negative feedback. It's going to happen all along the way. And it will be inbound from any number of sources:

  • Family and friends (even when well intentioned)
  • Investors
  • Prospects
  • Customers
  • Team members
  • Co-Founders
  • Yourself

As humans, we are wired to prioritize negative information over positive information. It's baked into our survival instincts.

In my experience, one of the traits of great Founders is the ability take in negative and catalyze it into positive action.

But it isn't always so easy. Our businesses are our babies, so it's very easy to take negative feedback personally. 

Negative feedback is often fuel for action, via the "Just wait, I'll show them!" response.

But that path, while providing lots of fire, still hands a disproportionate amount of power to things outside of you.

The key is to be able to take in the feedback, stay grounded and centered, and move forward.

This week's Rocket Ship Founder Podcast Episode, all about taking in feedback in positive and healthy ways. 

I cover:

  • The Larry David Story - how we are wired to dwell on the negative.

  • How negative feedback triggers deep stories about ourselves (and how to rise above them)

  • 3 steps to staying centered and positive when receiving negative feedback.

This 15-minute listen is offers some helpful wisdom for both business and life.


Aug 11, 202316:46
Ep. 51 I don't know what I'm doing

Ep. 51 I don't know what I'm doing

Sometimes, we say the quiet part out loud.

Recently, I had a client express the Founder version of this perfectly. During a session, they paused and said,

The thing about this gig is, you can’t openly say “I don’t know what I’m doing."

You have to present with confidence to all of your stakeholders - team, customers and investors.

Even when you've never done this before. And the business isn't really figured out yet - market, product, team and business model are usually in flux.
I've been mapping out the different sets of skills Seed and Series A Founders need to come up to speed on.

There are 3 big buckets:

  • Accelerating product-market fit and scalable sales
  • Building a high performing org
  • Growing yourself into a confident growth CEO

Founders usually have strengths in one of those buckets - and scramble madly to learn the rest.
But the list is long, and the runway is short. You need accelerators. That means taking advantage of:

  • Coaches who have been through it
  • Mentors who know the terrain
  • Books, courses, communities

The challenge of course, is knowing which of these accelerators will actually serve you

In this week's Rocket Ship Founder Podcast Episode, I provide guidance on how to choose the right accelerators for your growth and development.

I cover:

  • Why its critical to locate yourself on the Find It, Nail It, Scale it map.

  • How to filter information from books, podcasts, etc so you can 

  • How to pick the right coach for you

  • Bill Hader's insightful advice for taking feedback

This 15-minute listen is a great one in learning to communicate and lead confidently, even in challenging circumstances.

To your success!

Steve

PS When you are ready, I have one open spot to work one-on-one with me. If you're a Founder navigating the Seed to Series A journey who wants to:

  • Accelerate PMF and scalable sales

  • Build a high performing team

  • Step into a new level of confidence as a leader

Email me at steve at steveaugustcoaching.com and we'll set up a time to connect.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Aug 04, 202315:59
Ep. 50 How to help your team keep the faith

Ep. 50 How to help your team keep the faith

"How do I keep up team morale and faith as we are trying to get to product market fit - especially when it's taking a lot longer than any of us expected?"

This week, I had no less than three Founder coaching sessions where we dealt with different takes on this question.

In each case, I asked the Founders, "how are you navigating this stretch?"

Answers were along the lines:

"we understand it's a process"
"we wish we were further along, but staying positive and breaking things down into steps"
"we'd like it to move faster but we also are learning the market"
"we're staying focused on what we need to do"

My response back was, "that sounds great, do you want your team to approach it the same way?"

Of course.
"How can you make it be THE WAY your company approaches these situations?"
You see, stretches like these are an opportunity to build the behaviors, values and culture you want your team to exhibit.

But it only happens if you coach and communicate those expectations to your team.

In this week's Rocket Ship Founder Podcast Episode, I cover:

  • Why its critical to work this at the behaviors/values/culture level

  • The 3 key things to communicate in these situations

  • How to avoid toxic positivity

  • The ONE phrase that will save you and your team a ton of stress in challenging situations

This is a good lesson in communicating and leading confidently, even in challenging circumstances.

PS I have two open spots to work one-on-one with me. If you're a Founder navigating the Seed to Series A journey who wants to:

  • accelerate PMF and scalable sales

  • build a high performing team

  • become a confident authentic leader

Reply back and we'll set up a time to connect.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jul 28, 202313:30
Ep. 49 How to stop kicking yourself

Ep. 49 How to stop kicking yourself

This week several of my Founder clients were in "kicking myself mode."

"Kicking myself mode" happens when you've encounter a painful challenge. Then through trial, tribulation and some very hard decisions, figured it out and gotten past it.

The funny thing about "kicking myself mode" is that it usually kicks in after you've actually gotten to the other side of the challenge.

There's good reason for that, of course. In the midst of dealing with the challenge, you are too engrossed and consumed by the challenge itself.

This phenomenon isn't limited to business, it's part of regular life as well. The themes are classically:

1. Why didn't I know better?
2. Why didn't I act sooner?
3. Why didn't I trust myself more?

In the aftermath of a challenge, variations these three questions echo in our minds, consuming energy and ensuring that the challenge gets in a few more shots at us.

In this week's Rocket Ship Founder Podcast Episode, I talk about how to get out of "kicking yourself mode" and move forward with a positive and productive mindset.

Key takeaways:

  • What to do with your emotions when they are so intense.
  • What to hold on to and what to let go of in the aftermath of any challenge.
  • How to move forward and not be dragged back down.

This 15-minute listen is definitely a great life lesson for any Founder.

PS I have two open spots to work one-on-one with me. If you're a Founder navigating the Seed to Series A journey who wants to:

  • Accelerate PMF & scalable sales
  • Build a high performing team
  • Become a confident authentic leader

Send to steve@steveaugustcoaching.com to set up a time to connect.


Jul 14, 202314:56
Ep. 48: Do your work early

Ep. 48: Do your work early

QUICK ASK: Before I leap into to this week's podcast episode intro, I have a favor to ask. If you have gotten value from my Rocket Ship Founder podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could give it a 5 star rating and post a review wherever you listen to it (Apple Podcasts, Spotify) Really appreciate it! Ok, let's get to this week's episode.

One thing you should know about me is that I'm a serious NBA fan. I was not built physically for the game of basketball, but I really love it.


There's a phrase in basketball: "do your work early."


What does this mean?


It means that the flashy dunk, the smooth turnaround, the defensive block that brings the crowd to their feet isn't really where the important action is.


They are just the end product of the work that was done earlier.


They don't happen unless the player has gotten to their preferred spot on the floor to initiate the action. Or defensively, if the player has prevented his opponent from getting to their preferred spot.


They don't happen unless the player has studied the tendencies and defensive sets of the other team.


They don't happen unless the player has prepared themselves physically to have the stamina to do it at the end of the game when it most counts.


This is the early work. It isn't flashy. It's often tedious and repetitive. It's done away from the spotlight.


But it's where success is actually born.


Mixing my sports up here, I think Muhammed Ali said it best:


“The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses – behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights.”


This is an important lesson for Founders.

In this week's Rocket Ship Founder podcast episode I talk about doing your work early. Key takeaways:


  • What is the early work?
  • How you are going to pick your hard, it's just about the timing.
  • How the early work changes as you scale.


This 11-minute listen is one of the most important lessons of Founder life.






Jul 06, 202311:24
Ep. 47 Turning Roadblocks into Runways

Ep. 47 Turning Roadblocks into Runways

Your business is trying to tell you something.

This week I was working with a Founder who has an amazing product but has been struggling with an extremely long sales cycle and underperforming sales people. 


The pattern was they'd get a client on board for a proof of concept phase for their software. It would initially go very well but then the last five yards would stretch out forever to achieve the final pieces of integration. Their support folks would work wonders over a few months to get everything working.


They'd think that got everything worked out with their product and it would be smooth sailing from there.

But then the pattern would then repeat with the next client.

This brought back memories of my first startup. And the lesson I wished I'd learned faster.


A repeating pattern of a great product requiring a huge amount of people work to product the result the customer wants is a huge red flag on your business model.


Your business is trying to tell you, "You don't have a pure product business model. You have blended product-service business model." 


While this sounds like a setback in a world focused on scalable SaaS, it's actually a huge opportunity, if you know how to play it. 


In this week's Rocket Ship Founder podcast episode I talk about how to navigate the turbulence of Seed Stage. I cover:

  • Identifying the Need for Change: Learn how to recognize the signs that your current model isn't serving your startup.
  • Navigating the Pivot: We explore practical strategies to reframe and adjust your business model, including real-life examples of successful pivots.
  • Seizing the Opportunity: Discover how to leverage the inherent opportunities that come with business model changes.


This 11-minute listen is one of the most important lessons I wished I'd learned sooner!

Jun 29, 202311:06
Ep. 46 The Wolf You Feed

Ep. 46 The Wolf You Feed

Seed Stage is one of the toughest phases of your business journey. After the early wins of first customers and funding, things get really hard.


Your product isn't nearly as ready as you thought it was.
Your sales and marketing isn't punching through.
Team members who you thought were great turn out to be disastrous.
The market shifts and you have to adapt.
There are a dozen other disasters and crises that you never saw coming.


Any and all of these happen during Seed Stage. 
And you are doing it all with a limited runway.


Maybe the toughest thing is that as you navigate all this, you may feel like you are not making progress. Your sales aren't happening the way you thought. Your product is full of bugs. Some part of your team feels like it's about to implode.


It's super stressful. It can cause you to question your abilities, your vision and whether you are really up for it.


So how do you stay positive and focused through all the mess?


It comes down to the wolf you feed. 


There's an old parable:
An old grandfather was teaching his grandson about life:“A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy.“It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil–he is frear, anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.”He continued, “The other is good – he is abundance, joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you–and inside every other person, too.”The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: “Which wolf will win?”The grandfather simply replied, “The one you feed.” ​​​


In this week's Rocket Ship Founder podcast episode I talk about how to navigate the turbulence of Seed Stage. I cover:

  • Understanding the Seed Stage wolves
  • One killer exercise for feeding the right wolf 
  • 2 habits to keep you positive and resilient


This 12-minute listen is one of the most important lessons I've learned in Founder life.
To your success!
Steve
PS I coach an amazing group of Seed Stage founders. If you'd like to join our tribe, reply back and we'll set up at time to talk.

Jun 23, 202312:20
Ep. 45 The Power of Finding Your Tribe

Ep. 45 The Power of Finding Your Tribe

Last week was my birthday. I gave myself what turned out to be one of the greatest gifts I've ever received - a four-day retreat in Southern California. 
What made it such a great gift?

​It wasn't the location, though it was very nice.
​It wasn't the food, though there was plenty of good food to be had.
​It wasn't the amenities and activities, though I got some great yoga and a cold water immersion. 


It was the people I was with. You see, this retreat was specifically for men who are caring for kids with rare diseases (or caring for themselves having a rare disease).


Some of you may know that our 21-year old has been suffering from a Spinal Cerebral Spinal Fluid Leak over the past four years. This is an extremely painful and challenging condition. ​The headaches are intense. There's severe sound and light sensitivity. There's brain fog. And as the condition progressed, our kid suffered from non-epileptic seizures.


I am happy to say that earlier this year they had a procedure that fixed the leak and ​the leak symptoms have abated. But there's lots of therapy and reconditioning to work through to get them to a good place after four years of suffering.


The intensity of the challenge for our family and for me was unlike anything I've ever experienced. It is so far outside the norm, that most people can't quite imagine it. 


So what made the retreat I attended such an amazing gift, was that I was with six other men who knew exactly what it was like to be in this kind of situation. We were able to share openly about our experiences, our grief, where we felt like we showed up, and where we felt like we fell short.
It was one of the most powerful​ experiences I've had in my entire life. ​


I went into the ​retreat feeling like I've been in a deep trough. I was honestly pretty spent.


I came out of it feeling renewed and like I had not just regained my own strength, but could draw on the collective strength of my guys. 


For the first time in my life, I really felt the power of finding your tribe.


While the stakes aren't quite as high, being a startup Founder is definitely outside the norm of most people's experiences - and definitely super challenging.
There's not many situations where you can talk about what's truly going on with you. The  temptation is to isolate​ and soldier on. But eventually that will grind you down.


In this ​​​​​week's Rocket Ship Founder podcast episode I talk about the power of finding your tribe. I cover:

  • The ease and danger of isolation as a Founder
  • Why it's so important to have a Founder tribe
  • How to find your Founder tribe


This 12-minute listen is one of the most important lessons I've learned in Founder life.
PS I coach an amazing group of Seed Stage founders. If you'd like to join our tribe, write me at steve@steveaugustcoaching.com and we'll set up at time to talk. 

Jun 15, 202312:31
Ep. 44 Sharpening Your Saw

Ep. 44 Sharpening Your Saw

This Sunday is my birthday and I've given myself a great present. As you read this, I am at a retreat in Southern California to step back and recharge. I'm not taking my computer. I'm going to be offline as much as humanly possible. I'm going to do a lot of nothing.
This is actually a hard thing for me to do. But time has shown, it's one of the biggest enablers of progress.
As Founders, our inclination is to drive ever harder. To keep grinding to the next milestone.
I'd like underscore the importance of taking some time off. This principle is often illustrated through the metaphor of "sharpening the saw."The analogy refers to an old parable where a woodcutter, driven by the need to cut more wood, works incessantly without ever stopping to sharpen his saw. Consequently, as the saw dulls, his productivity decreases. Eventually the saw breaks and he gets injured.

If he had paused to sharpen his saw, he would have maintained his productivity and even increased it in the long run.Much like the saw, our minds and bodies are tools we use to create, innovate, and lead. However, the rigors of leading a startup can often lead to burnout, decreased productivity, and impaired decision-making, akin to the woodcutter's dull saw. This is why it's crucial to take time to "sharpen the saw," or in other words, to rest, rejuvenate, and recharge.


This week's Rocket Ship Founder podcast episode is dedicated to sharpening your saw. I talk about:

  • The 3 key benefits of stepping away
  • 2 critical steps to set yourself up to sharpen your saw
  • Breaking through the stigma of time off


This 13-minute listen is one of the most important lessons I've learned in Founder life.
To your success!
Steve

Jun 07, 202314:09
Ep. 43 Superpowers & Kryptonite: The Neurodiverse Founder Journey
Jun 01, 202314:37
Ep. 42 Seed Stage Pitfalls & VC Life w/ Natalie Ledbetter
May 18, 202339:50
Ep. 41 Are you really the best person for this?

Ep. 41 Are you really the best person for this?

May 11, 202313:31
Ep. 40 The 3 Critical Things to Go from Seed to Series A

Ep. 40 The 3 Critical Things to Go from Seed to Series A

On the surface, getting from Seed Stage to your Series A should be a pretty straightforward proposition. You basically need to demonstrate three things:  Great traction, a high performing team and leadership that everyone can be confident in.

Well, that sounds pretty straight forward, right? But as we know, life isn't so simple. The Seed Stage is often anything but smooth. It's a nine to 24 month journey of endurance and resilience.

Traction is slower than your early wins suggested they would be.

Some part of your team is not performing the way you hoped.
And as a Founder you and your founding team find yourself routinely overwhelmed putting out fire after fire, while learning how to lead a growing organization, which likely you've never actually done before. It's a lot.
And the thing is, there's not a lot of training for this phase. There's plenty of accelerators and support systems for the pre-seed/idea stage. And there's a lot of stuff for established companies that need to grow.
But there's not much support for Seed Stage Founders, when almost everything is being figured out - all while the clock is ticking to get to a Series A or a sustainable business.*
In this week's Rocket Ship Founder episode, I break down:

  • The 3 things you need to do to navigate Seed Stage journey
  • Why Seed Stage is especially challenging (and how to attack it)
  • The single biggest shift you can make to out of overwhelm and into confidence (even when things are crazy)

This 14-minute listen is the advice I wish someone had given me as a Seed Stage Founder.
*PS 
The Seed Stage MBA 3-Day bootcamp is coming June 13-15th! Get the essential skills  knowledge to avoid costly pitfalls, extend your runway, and accelerate to Series A. Limited to 5 founders and their teams.

May 04, 202314:20
Ep 39. How to save $150k of runway

Ep 39. How to save $150k of runway

Getting your Seed funding is a huge win. But as soon as your funds hit your account, you and your team on the clock.
You have only so much runway to either get to demonstrate the traction you need for your Series A or a sustainable business run rate. 
Every month of runway in Seed Stage is precious. Even more so in the current environment where money is tighter and VC's are being MUCH more selective with funding and valuations.
Business is always challenging. But for a Seed Stage Founding team, the need to extend runway has never been greater.
What really hurts is avoidable mistakes that dent your runway and blunt your momentum. 
A single mis-hire can easily cost $150k in shortened runway and lost momentum. Ouch. 
As a Founder, I made a lot of costly mistakes. As a Founder coach, I see a lot of Seed Stage Founding teams make similar mistakes.
Sometimes in life and business, our best chance of success is just about avoiding as many of the most avoidable mistakes as we can. (While giving ourselves grace knowing that mistakes are inevitable when doing something new).​
In this week's Rocket Ship Founder episode, I talk about how to save  at least $150k of runway simply​ by avoiding common Seed Stage pitfalls. I cover:

  • Framing Seed Seed Stage in a way that will help you make better decisions
  • The #1 biggest way to save $150k of runway
  • What you definitely should not spend on during Seed Stage

This 14-minute listen is the advice I wish someone had given me as a Seed Stage Founder.
To your success,Steve
PS COMING SOOON: The Seed Stage MBA program. The only program of Essential Skills and Coaching specifically for Seed Stage Founding Teams. ​

Apr 27, 202314:46
Ep 38. What I learned from 26 Seed Stage Founders

Ep 38. What I learned from 26 Seed Stage Founders

Last week I had the absolute privilege to facilitate 26 Seed Stage Founders at a 3-day retreat in Portugal. 

The Founders at this retreat are whip smart, ambitious and working on huge game changing ideas in biotech, food tech, robotics, crypto/Web 3.0 B2B software as well as consumer goods. 
It was a brilliant few days of sharing, learning and camaraderie in the Founder journey.  ​​​
​​My job was to teach my most valuable lessons, and give participants as many opportunities to learn from each other as I could create. 
As the facilitator and the person presenting content, I shared the most important key lessons and skills from my Founder journey and life. And I think everything landed well. 
But the little secret of these events is that the facilitator learns as much or more from the participants. ​And this was no exception.
​​​​​
In this week's Rocket Ship Founder episode, I talk about the biggest lessons I learned from leading, coaching and talking with 26 Seed Stage Founders. Things I'll cover:

  • The 3 universal issues that every Founder faces no matter what category
  • The 2 biggest issues Founders navigate in Seed Stage
  • The single most disorienting thing once you get to your Series A
  • And a bonus - one phrase that can help save your relationship with your significant other

This 13-minute listen will give you a real sense of perspective on your Founder journey.


PS I have one open spot to for a Seed Stage Founder to work with me one-on-one. If you're a Seed Stage Founder facing challenges on your progress towards your Series A, let's talk.

Apr 20, 202313:18
Ep. 37 ADHD and Reducing Gravity

Ep. 37 ADHD and Reducing Gravity

This past week marked an interesting event for me. After 54 years of living, I got officially diagnosed with ADHD. It's clicked together some long standing puzzle pieces for me.
It helps explain why...
...writing an email that should take 2 minutes takes me 10 minutes
...even though I do get stuff done, it always feels like I'm grinding vs being in flow
...once I solve the hardest problems of a challenge, I lose interest in the easy finishing stuff
...I have a habit of cutting across another person sentence before they've finished it
...it takes me forever to start something that requires deep thinking 
I suspect this has been a constant in my life. But I grew up in the 70's and 80's so it wasn't really diagnosed so much back then. And when I was younger, I had the youthful energy and drive to push through it. 
As I've gotten older, I've found it's harder and harder for me to focus on anything for nearly any length of time. It goes beyond the typical resistance and procrastination. 
The net result has been I have to work far more hours than I need to. 
I've found hacks over the years. For example, having to prepare for a specific event definitely gets me moving and through the resistance.
But the reality is ADHD has been a huge net drag on my ability to achieve the things I'd like to in my business and life. 
While I have all the other challenges of business building, they are ALL impacted by this root problem of ADHD.
It's been there the entire time, hiding in plain site.
This is my first week on Adderall, and I'm noticing a different. I'm able to jump in to deep thinking projects easier. I'm more able to stay on task and get into flow. Stuff is a little easier.
This is as great parable for our businesses. Sometimes there's a root problem that we've become so acclimated to, we don't even see it. But it's making everything we do harder.
But if we address it, everything gets easier.
Here's the analogy. Imagine you have a rocket. To get it to go higher, you can build a bigger engine. You will go higher, but you'll have to carry and burn more fuel (which means your engine needs to be bigger).
But you can also think about ways reduce gravity. If you can go faster than if you just built a bigger engine. (And when you do build the bigger engine, you will get more out of it). 
 
In this week's Rocket Ship Founder episode, I cover:

  • 3 ways to recognize a root problem hiding in plain site
  • What to do once you find it (ie. reducing gravity)
  • How to make sure you nip these problems in the bud in the future

This 16-minute listen is will get you thinking about your business from important different angles.
PS I have one open spot to for a Seed Stage Founder to work with me one-on-one. If you're a Seed Stage Founder needing to accelerate your progress towards your Series A, let's talk.

Mar 30, 202316:27
Ep. 36 SVB and WFIO Moments

Ep. 36 SVB and WFIO Moments

While things seemed to be resolving, the past week have been incredibly stressful for any Founders who had their funds with SVB.

Several of my clients and Founder Friends have been caught up in what is known is a WFIO moment. If you're not familiar with the term WFIO, it's one Ben Horowitz of Andreessen Horowitz uses.

WFIO stands for, "We're Fucked It's Over."

Having run my startup during the 2008 financial crisis (in fact we launched the week the first week of October 2008), having a banking crisis is one of the most WFIO type of moments.

The challenges of a Seed Startup are supposed to be finding product market fit, building your team, and learning how to operate a business that hasn't figured out most of what makes a business successful.

Having your bank go under with your funds is generally not on the startup Founders Bingo card.

Fortunately, the FDIC stepped in and saved the game, but that was a close call. And a lot of Founders spent the week stressing out over whether they had funds to make their next payroll vs pushing their business forward.

So what can we do in these extreme circumstances? This week I talk about:

  • When staring at a huge problem (i.e. all of our cash is out of reach), how to break it down into the smaller problems and sequence them.
  • How to get clarity by separating what's objectively true from fear and projection
  • Finding hidden blessings and opportunities even (sometimes especially) in the darkest crisis

Every time I hit a crisis in my business, it forced to me to get real about what was performing and essential, and what was not performing and a luxury. 

Founders and companies that weather this storm will come through stronger.

This 11-minute listen is chock full of hard-earned wisdom and will serve you well through big or small times of crisis.

To your success,

Steve

STEVEAUGUSTCOACHING
Helping Founders Build Rocket Ships

PS I have one open spot to for a Seed Stage Founder to work with me one-on-one. If you're a Seed Stage Founder needing to accelerate your progress towards your Series A, let's talk.

Mar 17, 202310:58
Ep. 35 One Simple Thing To Improve Your Hiring
Mar 09, 202310:27
Ep. 34  Three things I wished I'd known about leading humans
Mar 02, 202314:47
Ep. 33 Finding your sweet spot leading your team

Ep. 33 Finding your sweet spot leading your team

When it comes to leading a team, there's a dilemma I see for every Seed Stage Founder I've worked with. (And one I certainly experienced myself!)

Here's the scenario:

1. A Founder gives a team member an initiative to work on.
2. The Founder sits back and trusts team member to complete the initiative exactly they way expect
3. Team member completes initiative and presents the work
4. Work is not what the Founder expected, and doesn't measure up to what they had in mind
5. Founder starts doubting team member,  next initiative Founder micromanages
6. Founder gets result they want, but now are in the weeds and team member is disempowered

The dilemma for a Founder is, "do I sit back and trust my team and hope things turn out the way, or do I micromanage and get what I want, but end up having to be in everything?"

Every Founder I've worked with has experienced this at some point.

How do you solve this dilemma? How to you find a sweet spot between trusting and not getting what you want and micromanaging.

This week's episode breaks down how to solve this dilemma and find your sweet spot as a manager and leader.

This is the episode I wish I had been able to hear when I was building my first team. It has lessons I wish I had known, specifically...

  • The 3 critical keys to building and leading growing a great team
  • The most important thing people don't realize about hiring the right people
  • How to ACTUALLY create a culture of accountability

This may be the best 12 minutes you spend this week. 

PS I'm looking for on Seed Stage Founder to work with personally starting March 1st. If you're a Seed Stage Founder with a product and a growing team, let's talk.

Feb 24, 202312:31
Ep. 32 3 Essential Things to Know About Managing Your Board
Feb 16, 202312:44
Ep 31: Surthriving Seed Stage

Ep 31: Surthriving Seed Stage

After a two week hiatus, I am back with another Rocket Ship Founder Podcast Episode. My hiatus was due to taking my 21-year old to LA for treatment for a recurring debilitating condition.

During the trip down to LA from our home in Portland, the days leading up to the procedure, and the procedure itself,  the universe threw us a bunch of curveballs.

Our train was canceled
There was a med van ride from hell
There was an actual 4.2 earthquake,
A broken MRI machine
And a scary twist in the procedure itself

We are home now safe and sound and our kiddo is recovering. I'm getting back in the swing coaching my Founder clients.

But I keep thinking about that trip. It felt we would swing from surviving to thriving from day-to-day. Even moment-to-moment.
We got thrown really big challenges and threw all our ingenuity and resources at it. And got through it. 

And while the stakes are very different, it reminded me of my Seed Stage Founder journey - and what my clients experience as well.

The challenges sometimes come fast and furious. One minute you are thriving with a big win. The next you are surviving a sudden a existential challenge.
And then back again.

It comes so fast you might as well smash "survive" and "thrive" together. You are "Surthriving."


In this week's episode I share:

  1. Update on my recent Odyssey to LA and back
  2. Why "Surthrival" is the perfect way to describe the Seed Stage  journey
  3. Three keys to Surthriving

PS If you are a  Founder who is is ready for a new level of support "surthriving" Seed Stage, let's talk. I've got space for one more client. Set up a time here. 

Feb 10, 202314:13
Ep. 30 We are most powerful where we are most vulnerable

Ep. 30 We are most powerful where we are most vulnerable

I had an entirely different topic slated for this week's Rocket Ship Founder Podcast Episode, but felt moved to dig into something deeper: the dichotomy of vulnerability and power.

Part of the ironic nature of the Founder's journey is that we are constantly called to outwardly project confidence and strength - all the while knowing/feeling all of the weaknesses and shortcomings in ourselves and in our business.

The common thinking is that vulnerability is weakness. And in geo-political matters, that's probably true, given the arc of human history.

But in the "Bigger Game" of our  own personal development, I've come to believe that where we feel most vulnerable is where we are most powerful.

Because I see this funny thing happen when we surrender to a challenging moment:  we let go of what we thought we should be and accept into what actually is and who we truly are.

And I am convinced there is nothing more powerful than true and total self acceptance.

Fair warning: this episode will be especially personal and vulnerable.

In this week's
Rocket Ship Founder Podcast Episode, I share:

  1. What's been going on with me in my business and life, and why I'll be on a train to LA next week
  2. My experience with therapeutic psilocybin
  3. How I broke down and came out the other side
  4. Two powerful techniques to navigate big challenges and rollercoaster emotions

If you are a Founder who needs support in becoming the CEO your business needs, reach out to me at steve@steveaugustcoaching.com and we'll do a Simplicity Session. 

Jan 19, 202322:32
Ep. 29 What's between you and your next breakthrough
Jan 12, 202322:32
Ep. 28 The Pattern That's Killing Your Business

Ep. 28 The Pattern That's Killing Your Business

Welcome to 2023! Ready to get back in the groove? This year, I start by renaming my Podcast - and  tackling a hugely problematic pattern that can eventually kill your business.

First the name change.

After tackling saying the mouthful of Rocket Ship Business Academy for 27 Episodes, I've changed the title the much simpler and on point Rocket Ship Founder.  Less is more. Simpler is better. Onwards!

Now about the problematic pattern that can eventually kill your business. It will also burn you out if you let it persist. 

It's one I experienced with my first startup, and a pattern I been helping a number of clients to break out of. 

I call this pattern the "tent pole" pattern. It goes like this:

1. Good to great month/quarter/year of sales
2. Tepid to awful month/quarter/year of sales
3. Frantic effort to revive sales

Repeat until exhaustion, burn out, end of runway. Not a fun place. To be.

In this week's
Rocket Ship Founder Podcast episode, I cover:

  1. Why the tent pole pattern happens
  2. How it will eventually kill your business - and burn you out
  3. How to get break out of the pattern and consistently accelerate growth

PS Here's how to work with me in 2023:

2X Accelerator - Double your product-market fit and scalable sales velocity in six weeks. Next cohort starts February 13, 2023! If this episode resonated with you, set up a time for a clarity session pronto! (link below)

Founders Mastermind - my group program to help Visionary B2B Founders accelerate their transformation into growth CEO's.

Private Coaching - I have two new spots open to work with me one-on-one. For Founders with at least $2M in revenue or funding.

Book a Clarity Session to take the next step!

Jan 05, 202309:43
Ep. 27 How to Crush 2023

Ep. 27 How to Crush 2023

Wow, hard to believe we are at the end of 2022! All this week, I've been working with my clients to take stock of progress in 2022 and set up to crush the first six weeks of 2023.

In this week's
Rocket Ship Business Academy Podcast episode, I share the sequence of exercises I take my Founder clients through to set them up to come out of the gate roaring in the new year.

I cover how to:

  1. Recognize the progress you've made in 2022
  2. Frame your 2023 goals
  3. Identify the most important problem to solve
  4. Build out your first six weeks of the year

And as a special holiday gift, I am sharing the exact Notion template with the exercises I use with my private clients to jump start 2023!

The template is free and can be duplicated into your Notion account. Don't have Notion account? No worries, it's free to sign up!

To get it, just send me an email at steve@steveaugustcoaching.com with the subject "Jumpstart 2023!"

Dec 15, 202210:58