“Patience is just so overrated,” Brendan says on this episode of the Billion Dollar Breakdown, where he comments on the key takeaways from his interview with SoftLedger co-founder Ben Taylor. Patience is a virtue that runs through much of Ben’s founding story and Brendan’s resulting advice, the first being to learn to solve your own problem. This is where it helps to have some time and experience in the field in which you’re trying to innovate, rather than starting a business when you’re very young.
You must have patience when people are telling you that there is no need for your product in an already full market, as well as the conviction that eventually people will see the need for it that you see. You must be willing to hear “no” a thousand times before you receive a single yes. This is just how the process works.
Still, one thing that is important to do as early as possible is to provide potential buyers with a working model of your product that they can see and derive value from. This will help you better understand what people actually want, beyond your own blind spots. Brendan also offers advice on deciding when to bootstrap and when to raise capital.
Quotes:
“There’s been a lot of pressure for people to start businesses when they’re very, very young. Most of that’s changing now. Most of the founders that I speak with are folks that have had some experience in the area in which they’re trying to innovate.” ([2:05]-[2:18] | Brendan)
“Ben had enough conviction, even when everyone around him was saying his product was dumb.” ([2:51]-[2:54] | Brendan)
“I still believe that the earlier you can get out there and start putting it in front of people…all of our own biases and what other people see.” ([4:03]-[4:29] | Brendan)
Connect with Brendan Dell:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendandell/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BrendanDell
Instagram: @thebrendandell
TikTok: @brendandell39
Buy a copy of Brendan’s Book, The 12 Immutable Laws of High-Impact Messaging: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780578210926
Connect with Ben:
Softledger.com
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About the Author
Brendan Dell
Brendan Dell is an author and the founder of The Daily Creative. As a freelancer he's worked with clients like Expedia, Cvent, Panasonic, Brother, Windstream and 100+ more to build unignorable tech brands. At The Daily Creative, he shares advice and lessons to help freelancers level up.
