Startup Fuckup
By Chin Hing Chang
Startup Fuckup is educational storytelling that dives deep into the business and life lessons born out of horrific experiences. Learn about what they fucked up, how shit hit the fan, why it happened, and what they learned from it so that YOU don't fuck it up too.
After all, you haven't failed until you've given up. You've only made mistakes worth learning from.
Startup FuckupDec 18, 2023
EP16: Marketing Fuckups that Social Ventures Make
Not giving campaigns enough time to succeed, the misconception that operating a purposeful business comes at the expense of reduced profit, impact storytelling, greenwashing, and inauthentic brand values are just some of the things we discuss in this episode. Chase Friedman shares his experience and lessons from transitioning his career in film to running a successful marketing agency for social impact businesses.
About Chase Friedman
Chase Friedman is an impassioned Brand Storyteller + Strategist who believes in the potential for business’s to Do Good AND Do Well. As the Founder of Vanquish Media Group, he has bridged the gap between inspired branded content and digital marketing activation transforming audiences into brand ambassadors.
Having produced over 1,500 branded content assets, with over 500 million views, resulting in +$45 million in revenue and donations, Chase has proven the potential for any business to profit with purpose.
His mission continues as a coach and consultant for aspiring business owners and entrepreneurs, is a member of 1% for the Planet and serves on the Board of Advisors for the non-profit Film2Future foundation.
EP15: Fuckups that Creatives Make
Firing a bad client, under pricing, and scope creep are just some of the things we discuss in this episode. Tune in to hear Jared Brookes share his experience and lessons learned getting his photography business off the ground.
About Jared Brookes
For over 6 years, I've been a content creator in Toronto. I've published work, started with Bars & Restaurants, grew The Porch from 5k to 15k followers, and collaborated with Canon's Creator Class. I've been mentored by Tristan O'Brien & Kayla Rocca, worked with artists like Serena Ryder, Olympians, big brands like Mercedes and Toyota, and YouTubers. I create content for Toronto's third-largest BIA, delved into politics with a 4/4 campaign win record. In my lifetime, my work has generated over 1M Impressions and $500,000 in revenue. From building dioramas to Austin Powers costumes, I've turned creativity into a career. If you're looking for extraordinary work, let's talk.
EP14.6: 2X Giving Away Your Legos + Organizational Rhythm
2X episodes are intense knowledge rich episodes where I do a deep dive into topics covered in our main interviews.
In this episode, I discuss:
- How to approach delegating tasks.
- Goal Setting (OKRs + SMART)
- Team Meetings.
EP14.5: 2X Leadership + Management
2X episodes are intense knowledge rich episodes where I do a deep dive into topics covered in our main interviews.
In this episode, I discuss:
- Effective leadership vs. management.
- Servant leadership.
- How to motivate your team.
- Employee retention.
- Communicating & providing feedback.
EP14.4: 2X Screening + Interviewing
2X episodes are intense knowledge rich episodes where I do a deep dive into topics covered in our main interviews.
In this episode, I discuss:
- Culture vs. Mindset vs. Skill fit.
- Behavioural vs. Situational Interview questions.
- STAR Framework for behavioural interviews.
- Understanding what to look/listen for.
- Reference checking.
EP14.3: 2X Recruiting
2X episodes are intense knowledge rich episodes where I do a deep dive into topics covered in our main interviews.
In this episode, I discuss:
- Building your brand as an employer.
- Potential channels for talent acquisition.
- Advise around attracting the right talent.
EP14.2: 2X D&I + Culture
2X episodes are intense knowledge rich episodes where I do a deep dive into topics covered in our main interviews.
In this episode, I discuss:
- What constitutes company/organizational/workplace culture.
- Push vs. Pull values.
- Wrong and right ways of approaching Diversity & Inclusion.
- How to build an aligned team, and what to align for if you're pursuing diversity of thought and opinions.
EP14.1: 2X Automation vs. Delegation
2X episodes are intense knowledge rich episodes where I do a deep dive into topics covered in our main interviews.
In this episode, I discuss:
- How to decide if something should be automated vs. delegated.
- How to approach automation while staying human.
- The Focus Funnel (by Rory Vaden)
EP14: Recruitment Fuckups
Hiring the wrong people, AI and automation in recruitment, screening candidates, diversity & inclusion and more. Tanya Abbey and I discuss core concepts around attracting, engaging, and retaining the right talent for organizations.
Tanya Abbey is the CEO of Recruitcorp (National and International Permanent Recruitment) and the CEO/Founder of the Candidate and Career Consulting platform Placeme.com.au.
She also volunteers her services as a Small Business Mentor under the Queensland Government’s Mentoring for Growth program and as a Career Mentor for Headspace.
EP13: eCommerce Fuckups
It's become easier than ever to start an eCommerce business. That said, a business that has to manage quality control, inventory, distribution, logistics, all whilst balancing customer satisfaction in an increasingly demanding market isn't without its own unique set of challenges.
Join Irina and I in a discussion about eCommerce mistakes, hear her personal story of starting her first business in China despite no knowledge of the culture and language, and hear what she's learned from her experience working with multiple eCommerce companies and vendors.
About Irina Poddubnaia
Irina is a SAAS founder and a business consultant who specializes in Operations and Processes Optimization. Irina has over 8 years of experience in eCommerce with its different challenges and obstacles, from running a fulfilment center in China where she was living for over 2 years to launching her own software TrackMage
TrackMage allows eCommerce stores to have 5-10% extra sales by simplifying the customer experience. With TrackMage the customers can track their products on the platform and the system does the upsell and then automatic follow-ups for reviews.
EP13.1: 2X Competition
2X episodes are intense knowledge rich episodes where I do a deep dive into topics covered in our main interviews.
In this episode, I discuss:
- Types of competition.
- Approach to differentiation.
- Strategies to defend yourself from encroaching competitors.
EP12.1: 2X Kindness vs. Niceness
2X episodes are intense knowledge rich episodes where I do a deep dive into topics covered in our main interviews.
In this episode, I discuss:
- The difference between kindness vs. niceness.
- How to reject or say "no" supportively.
- Being authentic yet considerate in providing feedback/critique.
EP12: Stress & Burnout
Hustle culture means well but is often implemented without the right checks and balances which result in a workplace that's unhealthy and toxic.
Hear Say share her personal experience with burnout, what she's learned about managing stress, and how organizations should approach designing workplace culture to account for stress + burnout.
About Sayata (Say) Gabriel
I help businesses maximize the power of story to inspire action with existing and potential clients. This means more sales and strong customer loyalty—with the people who truly matter.
I'm also passionate about ecology, building strong healthy communities, and empowering people towards wellness.
EP11: Financial Fuckups
Step 1: Have a great product/service
Step 2: Sell it
Step 3? Too many businesses end up flopping despite nailing Step 1 & 2. Why? Because they fail to pay proper attention or lack proper financial education.
Tune in for a deep dive with Jacinthe where we discuss topics like: loans vs. line of credit, cashflow, budgeting, debt vs. investor capital, profit margins, and more.
About Jacinthe Koddo
Jacinthe is a Canada-based financial coach, educator, and the founder and CEO of Koddo & Co. As a serial entrepreneur with 6 businesses started, 4 failures, and 2 growing successes, Jacinthe has learned (the hard way!) the ins-and-outs of business finance over the last decade. She is now on a mission to increase financial literacy in, and sustainability of, Canadian service-based businesses, which leads to a positive societal ripple effect in their communities and throughout the world. Jacinthe does this work through group programs, 1:1 financial coaching and Contract CFO services. For more, visit koddoandco.com or follow her on instagram @jacinthekoddo
Given that we're approaching tax season too with the timely release of this episode:
Tax Time Bootcamp for Canadian Sole Proprietors & Corporations-of-One
Feel overwhelmed and anxious about tax time? Join me for this two-part series (Jan 26th & 31st) where you'll learn how to ditch the shoebox and get that sh!t done!
Save your seat now! Details and free registration is here.
EP8: Romance & Business
It would be remiss to overlook the influence of an entrepreneurs personal life on business outcomes. In this episode, Tai and I discuss some observations and personal experiences around dating, characteristics we value in a good partner, work-life balance/harmony, managing a business amidst starting a family, and how they all intersect with our ability to stay motivated and disciplined in our business.
About Tai Khuong
Tai is the founder of Psych2Go, a global community of over 10million with the mission to advocate for mental health, psychology education, and self improvement.
EP10.3: 2X Shortening Sales Cycles
2X episodes are intense knowledge rich episodes where I do a deep dive into topics covered in our main interviews.
In this episode, I discuss:
- What a normal sales cycle should be.
- Things to avoid that will lengthen your sales cycle.
- Methods to speed up conversion.
- Better qualifying your leads to properly define your sales cycle.
EP10.2: 2X Decision Threshold
2X episodes are intense knowledge rich episodes where I do a deep dive into topics covered in our main interviews.
In this episode, I discuss:
- Understanding how people evaluate the decision to adopt a new solution or make a change.
- Cost of changing vs. Cost of staying the same.
- Adjusting your main offering or creating micro offerings to reduce the perceived risk of changing.
- Examples of different companies and their micro offerings.
EP10.1: 2X Pricing
2X episodes are intense knowledge rich episodes where I do a deep dive into topics covered in our main interviews.
In this episode, I discuss:
- Frameworks for coming up with initial pricing.
- A scientific approach to optimizing pricing.
- Cost-based vs. value-based pricing.
- Brand value vs. pricing.
- Calculating customer acquisition cost and lifetime value.
EP9.1: 2X Retaining Customers
2X episodes are intense knowledge rich episodes where I do a deep dive into topics covered in our main interviews.
In this episode, I discuss:
- Metrics to track for retention.
- Tips for improving retention in a competitive marketplace.
- Retention campaign ideas for tech and non-tech companies.
EP7.2: 2X Impostor Syndrome
2X episodes are intense knowledge rich episodes where I do a deep dive into topics covered in our main interviews.
In this episode, I discuss:
- What is the Impostor/Imposter Syndrome.
- Recognizing it.
- Reframing failure.
- The role of luck in our success and how we can "create" luck.
- Perfectionism vs. Progress.
- Handling judgement and critique + escaping negative self-fulfilling prophecies.
- Authenticity in approaching our feelings of being "fake" when we're subject to the impostor syndrome.
EP7.1: 2X Establishing Credibility
2X episodes are intense knowledge rich episodes where I do a deep dive into topics covered in our main interviews.
In this episode, I discuss:
- Elements that bolster credibility.
- How to position yourself as an expert.
- How to build rapport through common ground with people who share little in common with you.
EP10: Pricing Fuckups
Given the lack of historic data, pricing is often a difficult topic for companies in their early days. Tune in to hear Kevin and I discuss free vs. paid offerings, intentional pricing based on your intended audience, and experimenting + adjusting pricing.
About Kevin Palmieri
After hitting his goal of a six-figure income, Kevin realized that there had to be more. He had the car, the money, the typical “American Dream.” It took getting it all to realize that what matters most is your thoughts. And that’s how Next Level University was born.
EP3.4: 2X Expectations
2X episodes are intense knowledge rich episodes where I do a deep dive into topics covered in our main interviews.
In this episode, I discuss:
- How expectations affect the customer's experience.
- Identifying existing expectations and preconceptions.
- How to set and manage expectations.
EP3.3: 2X Communication
2X episodes are intense knowledge rich episodes where I do a deep dive into topics covered in our main interviews.
In this episode, I discuss:
- Mediums for communication.
- Authentic communication.
- Empathizing with the recipient/listener + how to process feedback.
- How to approach communicating failure, setbacks, delays, complaints.
EP3.2: 2X Community
2X episodes are intense knowledge rich episodes where I do a deep dive into topics covered in our main interviews.
In this episode, I discuss:
- Benefits of community for a business.
- How to foster a healthy and engaging community.
- Ideas on seeding engagement.
- Possible places to start building your community.
EP3.1: 2X Purpose, Values, Pivots
2X episodes are intense knowledge rich episodes where I do a deep dive into topics covered in our main interviews.
In this episode, I discuss:
- Why purpose matters both personally, but also in a business.
- Purpose vs. Opportunity.
- Shiny Object Syndrome in entrepreneurs.
- Grit vs. Stubbornness.
- How purpose awareness manifests in decision making in business.
- How to navigate business pivots (hint: it's related to purpose).
- How personal and business values play a role in decision making.
- Exercises to help you identify your core values.
EP9: Lessons from a career in Consumer Packaged Goods
Building a CPG company comes with it's own set of unique challenges, more so in a highly competitive and saturated market with big incumbents. Tune in to hear Glenn share his insights from his 24+ year career in Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) companies and how he's working to build an equitable and authentic brand for RED Chocolate.
About Glenn Gardone
Passion doesn’t happen overnight, neither does success. Meet Glenn Gardone, President of RED Chocolate and the embodiment of this statement. As the son of
immigrant parents and having no idea what his passion would turn into, Glenn’s journey lead him to 4 of the top CPG companies in the world winning multiple awards including the prestigious Golden K (Kellogg’s top honor award). As the man himself would say, “every step you take in business helps you grow as an individual, even if you don’t notice it at that moment.” While having the privilege to lead some amazing teams throughout his career, he has learned (and continues to learn) what makes talented people successful. As a driven entrepreneur, Glenn has built teams that have successfully sold 5 companies. Glenn’s message to your audience, can be summed up with one of his favorite sayings, “being able to punch through the mud.”
Learn “even with stress, you can find success.” from the man himself, your listeners will be filled with some of the world’s best knowledge, advice, and endless amounts of laughter. Glenn’s stories while on his path to success are what books are written about, T.V. shows are casted for and what young entrepreneurs need to hear. Enjoy his conversational entertainment, it will keep you on the edge of your seat, or off it… who knows! So, be sure to strap in and get ready for takeoff, it’s about to be one hell of an adventure.
“Even with stress, you can find success.” – Glenn J. Gardone
#F&B #Food&Beverage #foodbusiness
EP7: Facing Ageism as a Young Founder
Ageism or Age Discrimination works both ways - as a younger founder, you're viewed as being inexperienced and often not taken seriously. On the other hand, as an older founder, you may be viewed as less tech savvy, more rigid/less coachable, and more risk adverse. In this episode, Brenden shares his experience facing criticism as a young founder, how he builds credibility, and deals with imposter syndrome.
About Brenden Kumarasamy
Brenden is the founder of MasterTalk, he coaches ambitious executives & entrepreneurs to become top 1% communicators in their industry. He also has a popular YouTube channel called MasterTalk, with the goal of providing free access to communication tools for everyone in the world.
EP4: Entrepreneurial Intelligence (EQ) w/ Andy Chou
Building and running a successful business isn't solely dependent on hard-skills like sales, marketing, or finance. Every founder knows that they are their business in the early days. Tune it to hear Andy and I discuss the essential soft-skills that are often overlooked. We touch on the role of luck in entrepreneurship, self-awareness, leading with compassion, and walking the fine line between tenacity vs. stubbornness.
About Andy Chou
Andy Chou is a social entrepreneur and an investor. He is the founder and CEO of Drinkfill and SoapStand, the World's first zero-waste soap dispensing stations to refill bottles with liquid cleaning products.
EP2.3: 2X Mentors & Advisors
2X episodes are intense knowledge rich episodes where I do a deep dive into topics covered in our main interviews.
In this episode, I discuss:
- How to find a mentor/advisor
- How to get them to be your mentor/advisor
- How to engage with them to make the most out of their time/the relationship
EP3: Avoiding Bad Experiences through Good Communication and Expectation Management
Communication and expectation management is the key to keeping customers happy and fostering a vibrant community. Tune in and listen to Wilson share his lessons on the topic from his experience building a thriving NFT community and international restaurant franchise.
About Wilson Lee
Wilson Lee is the founder of thelittles.io. He's a serial entrepreneur who's been awarded the Top 30 Under 30, Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Top 10 Emerging Entrepreneurs, and recently a Forbes Business Council Member.
EP6: Surviving Bankruptcy
Chaitanya Patel (CP) shares his experience starting a franchise restaurant business, going bankrupt in the process, and starting a clothing line coming out of it. Hear him share his lessons on partnerships/co-founders, limitations of a franchise, and personal maturity + confidence.
About CP
Chaitanya Patel who goes by CP is a cyber security professional and recently launched a clothing brand, XTRING (pronounced String), to help evelate confidence through style.
IG@chaitanyapatel.eth
EP5: Software Development Fuckups
Are you a non-technical founder and lack a CTO or developer on your team? How do you go about creating an app, website, or a SaaS solution? Tune in to hear Paul share his software development experience as a fellow non-technical founder in his ventures KUUCALL and WooSender. Paul discusses the design and development roadmap, hiring vs. outsourcing development, the need for a CTO, best practices when working with a development agency, and common software development mistakes.
About Paul Lean
Paul is a Google Adwords PPC expert who helps service-based businesses and info product businesses acquire more customers using proven & tested strategies.
About WooSender
WooSender helps you start, converse, and book more appointments on autopilot for your business through SMS, Email, Live Chat, Phone Calls, and much more! We are a fast-growing SaaS company founded by 2 marketing experts to combine business sales and communication into a single unified platform. Our sales, communication & automation platform empowers SMEs to launch communication campaigns, automate, increase conversation, and get more sales using AI in a way that nobody else does today.
EP2.2: 2X Co-founders & Equity
2X episodes are intense knowledge rich episodes where I do a deep dive into topics covered in our main interviews.
In this episode, I discuss:
- Where to find co-founders
- How to approach them
- Qualities that make a good co-founder/founding team member
- How to allocate equity
- Reverse Vesting vs. Slicing Pie method for equity allocation
EP2.1: 2X MVPs
2X episodes are intense knowledge rich episodes where I do a deep dive into topics covered in our main interviews.
In this episode, I discuss:
- What makes a good Minimum Viable Product (MVP).
- Different forms/mediums that an MVP can manifest as.
- Example MVPs.
EP1.5: 2X Fundraising
2X episodes are intense knowledge rich episodes where I do a deep dive into topics covered in our main interviews.
In this episode, I discuss:
- What to consider before deciding to raise a round of investor capital.
- Types of non-dilutive and dilutive funding available.
- Deciding on valuation & dilution.
- Fundraising process & timeline.
- 7 traits of an ideal investor.
- Finding & pitching to investors.
To learn more about fundraising, visit Spring Activator
EP2: 1st-time Founder Fuckups w/ Jinbin Yang & Chin Hing Chang
Thinking of starting a business for the first time? Tune in to hear Jinbin and myself reflect on our first startup experience, learn why you shouldn't be afraid to share your ideas, our lessons on splitting equity and more.
About Jinbin
A father of two beautiful children. A big fan of technology, investing and space exploration. Commercial Banker by profession and entrepreneur by passion. Grateful to be healthy and alive on this beautiful blue planet that we all share and love.
About Chin
Chin has spent the past 8 years leading incubation and acceleration programs that support mission-driven and tech companies. His area of focus includes Market Validation, Sales, Company Culture, Process Automation, and Revenue Optimization.
EP1: Fundraising Fuckups w/ Alastair Smith, CEO of Proskida
Raising Capital for the first time? Tune in to hear Alastair share his lessons on how to find investors, what makes a good/bad investor, doing a rolling close, and navigating a pivot between closing another round.
About Alastair Smith
Alastair started Proskida with the goal of helping amateur to elite athletes achieve their potential. Since launching their sport analysis product, Protern.io, Proskida's customers have won over 125 world cup medals in alpine skiing. When Alastair is not changing the world of sport, he's an underpaid servant to two wonderful daughters and an enthusiastic assistant to his far smarter wife.
Preview: Survivorship Bias
Introducing Startup Fuckup, what it's about, and what Survivorship Bias is and how it affects the behaviours we try to mimic from successful entrepreneurs.