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!