The Savvy Founder

“Fail fast. Fail Forward.” We have all heard that Silicon Valley saying. But what does that mean? In this show, Jon Showers, share his brutally honest journey about what it means to Fail Forward.  You'll hear that his founder journey is only just starting. Jon has a great background from a military career, to athletic […] The post Ep 60: Startup Advice – Failing Forward? What Does That Mean? How To Move on to the Next Big Thing, When the First Thing Wasn't so Good? with Jon Shower (Encore) appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.

The 30-second pitch. You are at an event, meeting, or party and someone asks you, “What do you do?”; “I'm the founder of the so and so company”; “What's that?”  You've just been asked to give your 30-second pitch. In this episode, I cover the key steps to creating a compelling 30-second pitch, that gets […] The post Ep 59: What Does Your Startup Do? The Dreaded 30-second Pitch! appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.

“Everyone thinks my product is great!”  In this episode, I discuss the biggest problem founders face with their products. This issue falls into the ‘stupid human tricks' category. I share a story about a recent interview of The Savvy Founder – where I can't even remember the 4-letter word that every founder should know — […] The post Ep 58: My Product is Great! So, What's Wrong? appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.

“As soon as we finish our Round-A we'll look for a real CEO.” Sound familiar? All too often there is a belief that Founders just don't have what it takes to become a CEO and build a big company that makes the investors lots of money. Founders don't have the skills to lead a big […] The post Ep 57: Founder to CEO?? Investor Says “No Way,” You say “Yes Way!” appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.

In this episode, The Savvy Founder interviews Alex Kalanda, CEO and Founder of Ayambe Talent Solutions. This interview is a great example of the entrepreneurial journey and spirit; it's a lifelong job; entrepreneurs live to solve problems and make things better for other people. In this interview it's clear Alex won't stop – even when […] The post Ep 56: An African Entrepreneurship Journey-with Alex Kalanda-Ceo Ayambe appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.

Solving big problems takes a different approach – in this interview with Co-Founder Joshua Whole, we dive into the topic from top to bottom. The show is a bit longer than the normal 30'minutes but well worth the insights. Mindstone's mission and the big hairy problem is “to surface and accelerate the world's informal learning.” […] The post Ep 55: Solving Big Problems, Best Practices For a Mission-Driven Startup – with  Joshua Wohle CEO Mindstone appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.

How do you save time? Listen to your customers! Not only does Shilpa Sharma share this excellent advice, but she and her co-founder are focused on saving time. FlyteAI.com save sales people 10 hours a week! We discuss: How did you know you had found a real problem? Me [Shilpa] and my co-founder went from […] The post Ep 54: How Do You Save Time? Listen To Your Customers! – Shilpa Sharma, Co-Founder Flyte appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.

In this episode, I sit down and interview Rand Fishkin, serial entrepreneur, founder of Spark Toro, and author of Lost and Founder. Rand shares his insights on: The venture capital industry Raising capital and having the right background The odds of raising capital Alternatives to raising capital Stock options and employee compensation Rand's mental models: […] The post Ep 53: You Don't Need to Be Venture-Backed to Build a Big Company – Rand Fishkin (Encore) appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.

Are you fluent in startups? Need to become fluent? Need to shorten your startup journey? Then listen to this episode with Gavin Dove, co-founder of Fluent.co. His company tagline is “Learn languages by browsing the web” and as you can tell, his company helps people learn a foreign language. More impressively, in this podcast interview, […] The post Ep 52: Fluent in Startups?  Gavin Dove Will Get You Speaking Startup Journey Success, Fast! appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.

In this 51th Episode, The Savvy Founder continues to reflect on the first 50 episodes, and shares his second biggest learning – Attitude The dictionary definition says: attitude is a settled way of thinking or feeling about someone or something, typically, one that is reflected in a person's behavior. Philip Topham covers shares his thoughts and experiences on […] The post Ep 51: To Build a Better Startup – Keep Changing Your Attitude appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.

In this 50th Episode, The Savvy Founder reflects on the journey and shares his top learnings. Philip Topham covers how he came to start the podcast and what he's learned about doing the show itself. He also shares the one 4-letter word that every startup founder should know! Want to know what is a 4-letter word […] The post Ep 50: The 4-Letter Word Every Entrepreneur Should Know! appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.

In this interview with Anna Gudmundson, CEO Sensate we cover: Entrepreneurship born or made?  When do you get involved with a startup? At the beginning? Seed? Pre-seed? What are the critical factors for a startup? People. Market. Business Model. Business Case. Talking to Humans.  What is Sensate? Infrasonic resonance consumer product aimed at stress response.  […] The post Ep 49: Fundraising, Europe, Gender, Markets, and More – Anna Gudmundson CEO Sensate appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.

In this episode, Steve Silver shares his fast-moving entrepreneurial journey. Steve shares how covid, temporarily ended him organizing entrepreneurial investor conferences across the U.S; Only to wind up in New York at the height of Covid, with a new family on the way.   Steve's words of wisdom: “Go with the flow where life takes you […] The post Ep 48: Finding Entrepreneurship in America's Heartland – Steve Silver Infrawear appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.

Nathan Bekord and I sit down to discuss how to raise money; and how his own frustration finding and connecting to investors, lead him to create FounderSuite. In this “Fast Course on Raising Money” we cover: What does it mean to be a “real entrepreneur”? When do you engage investors? How to attract investors? What […] The post Ep 47: Real Entrepreneurs and Raising Money – Advice From Nathan Beckord -Founder Suite appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.

In this episode, Arjun Rai, CEO, and founder of HelloWoofy shares his founder story. He shares what it really takes to build a high-growth high-tech scalable business.  HelloWoofy now leverages augmented reality and artificial intelligence to make an easy-to-use social media content management for small businesses. But as Arjun shares, the journey to success is […] The post Ep 46: Founder Story – Equity Crowdfunding, Investors, Hiring with Arjun Rai, HelloWoofy appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.

Trevor Thoma, CEO, and Co-founder for Rideshine, authentically shares some fantastic advice on product-market-fit; over-coming competition; hiring; market size; listening to the customer; showing up like you belong. On competition – “We treat hurdles like opportunities. If you were running from point A to point B with 100 other people, and there were no hurdles, […] The post Ep 45: Get Rid of the Competition: Jumping Hurdles with Trevor Thoma, Rideshine appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.

In this episode, we expand on Episode 42, Neil Shah's “Surface Area of Luck” – Are some founders just luckier?  We share two different examples of how luck works. The first is the “lucky” pivot. Second, you might already be in a “sea of luck” and just not know it's there. The post Ep 44: Are Some Founders Just Luckier? Make Your Own Luck appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.

In this episode, Neil Shah shares his startup founder journey from apprentice to journeyman and towards master.  Neil shares stories about his first startup, a social enterprise; and then joining a corporate job, only to realize entrepreneurship was his path forward.  He also shares an early mistake – the right major, the wrong school, but really it […] The post Ep 43: Startup Founder from Apprentice, Journeyman towards Master – With Neil Shah appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.

Another real conversation with a real entrepreneur, Ethan Glass. In this episode, Ethan shares his journey on what it takes to tackle industry and build a great business.  In that journey, Ethan has become nationally recognized serving as the chair for the 40Under40 National Parking Association board. Ethan talks about his early days, just volunteering and […] The post Ep 42: How to Build a Better Startup? The Covid Pivot, Turning Down Money, a Conversation with Ethan Glass appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.

In this Episode, Shark Tank Season 13 Episode 11- teaches us something about Focus and Coachability. On Shark, Lori Greiner asked Leila Sham, founder of TA3, would you consider licensing your swimsuit shaping product. The response “I'd never do that”.  With that, the last shark was “out” and Leila didn't get a deal. I'm sure the […] The post Ep 41: Founders Need Passion and Focus, Right? appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.

Be inspired. Take a listen to some excellent advice from someone who left corporate, as a linear thinker to become a successful blue ocean creative entrepreneur. Justin's advice: Building is intense, subdue intensity, by breaking things into small steps Focus on one thing at a time Share your aspiration with the world and put it […] The post Ep 40: NFTs, Travel and Startup Advice with Justin Myers – Explorest appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.

In this episode, we share the three most important tips to shorten your startup journey. No matter if you are seasoned CEO, startup founder, or future leader – these three tips, what we call a mental model, will serve you well. We cover: Mental Models – what are they?  Google-like keyword phrases to help us […] The post Ep 39: The Top 3 Tips to Shorten your Startup Journey appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.

Silicon Valley Bank reports that there are over 200 startup accelerators in the United States. They each have a different model and value proposition. In this conversation, I sit down with Operate Studio's founder and president Carey Ransom, to understand their approach to the venture studio model, to get startups thru the J-curve (an initial […] The post Ep 38: Exploring the Venture Studio, Startup Accelerator Model with Operate Studio's Carey Ransom appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.

In this episode of The Savvy Founder, I have a great conversation with Michelle Seiler Tucker, author of “Exit Rich: The 6 P Method to Sell Your Business for Huge Profit.  Founders might think building a great business begins with the idea, but Michelle says to “Exit Rich” begin with the exit in mind.  To have a […] The post Ep 37: Even Startup Founders Need an “Exit Rich” Mindset- with Michelle Sieler Tucker appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.

As the year winds down, and I reflect on all the conversations and brilliant guests. I realized the “founder” attitude is a remarkable mindset. Our world is changing rapidly – socially, economically, technologically. Small businesses that were successful and had a great business model are struggling to keep up with the pace of change. To […] The post Ep 36: Angels and Getting Funded- Things to Know with David Friedman [Replay] appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.

Worried about communicating well? Worried about presenting your pitch deck? Then listen up. It's no wonder that this episode is an easy-flowing conversation with communications coach, Rachel Randolph.  We discuss how to become a better communicator. We cover how communications impact everything the founder does from pitching to investors, to communicate to customers. We cover what […] The post Ep 35: A Conversation on Startup Founders and Communication- with Rachel Randolph appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.

In this episode, I interview Andrea White-Kjoss from the Long Beach Accelerator. The accelerator is a unique public-private partnership, that in 4-months helps the start-up identify and focus on the 3 most impactful time-bound activities that will move them forward.   They are off to a stellar start with some fantastic results with $5M total funding and […] The post Ep 34: Long Beach Accelerator, a Public-Private Endeavor- With Andrea White-Kjoss appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.

What is the most important startup founder skill? Communications In this episode, I talk about the 6 critical Savvy Founder “soft skills” And why I think communications is the most critical. Communications Critical Thinking Leadership Teamwork Flexibility Time Management About the Host: Philip Topham is The Savvy Founder. Philip has an inquisitive mind and a […] The post Ep 33: What's the Most Important Startup Founder Skill? Communications appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.

In this episode, I  sit down with Dina Abdul Majeed. Dina is a female entrepreneur, building an international startup in a male-dominated Middle East world.  She shares her inspiring startup journey and many insights.  This episode is fantastic for all entrepreneurs worried about starting the entrepreneurial journey when they don't know anything about business; and will be particularly […] The post Ep 32: Passion Lets You Connect with Amazing People with Dina Abdul Majeed appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.

In this interview Gaetano Volpe, CEO of Latitudo40 shares his startup journey. This episode is particularly relevant to European companies expanding into the United States; as well for those founders later in their career or anyone building an ESG (environmental social and governance) startup. How did you come up with the idea? Working in the satellite industry for […] The post Ep 31: How to expand from Europe to the United States? With Gaetano Volpe-Latiduo40 appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.

In this episode Sri (short for Sriram) Subramanian, CEO of ShoppinPal shares his journey from happy PayPal employee to startup founder.  ShoppinPal today serves as the glue to stitch together web applications for the food, restaurant, and service industries. On the first pass, you might think ShoppinPal is just another Zappier or IFTTT –but Sri's strategy is fundamentally different. […] The post Ep 30: How Do You Build a Scalable High-Growth B2B Business? With Sri Subramanian –ShoppinPal appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.

In this episode I sit down with Adam Young, to understand how you go from idea to accelerator in less than 18 months. Adam shares how his drive to make an impact on the world quickly steered him away from a life pursuing physics to pursuing business and people problems.  Be sure to listen to the entire […] The post Ep 29: How Do You Go From Idea To Accelerator? With Adam Young appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.

In this episode, I interview Rajesh Iyengar. With 20 years in technology working at various startups, Rajesh shares how his deep knowledge and connections in the manufacturing industry allowed him to just ask them “What's are your problems?” This lead to him finding a product that customers would buy, and hence Lincode.ai was formed. Its initial product uses […] The post Ep 28: How Do You Find Product-Market-Fit? With Rajesh Iyengar appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.

What is the biggest mistake founders make when pitching their startup to investors? Pitching a product, and failing to pitch an investment. I also cover the investor perspective and the two main types of investors: those investing their own money and those investing someone else's money. Along with some insights into how an investor thinks. […] The post Ep 27: How to Fix the Biggest Pitch Deck Mistake? appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.

Do you need to raise money to build a startup? In this episode, I interview Nick Lynch CEO and Co-founder of Collidescope.io.  Nick shares his journey about building the business first rather than raising money.  This show is particularly valuable for founders needing to learn how to find product-market fit and uncover the ‘pain' in a market.   Founders in the social enterprise space, conscious capital or ESG (Environmental Social Responsible and Governance) markets should also tune in. The post Ep 26: How Do You Get Investors? Build the Business First! with Nick Lynch appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.

In this episode, I interview Jamie Meyer, business communication and leadership coach, and more importantly an entrepreneur and digital nomad. Listen in as we discuss the concepts of whether entrepreneurs are born or made; risk taking; people and passion. We also talk about imposter syndrome; success and failure; finding meaningful investor; delivering bad news to investors; developing leadership skills; problem solving; and communications. The post Ep 25: Entrepreneurship and Communications – Insights from a Digital Nomad, with Jamie Meyer appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.

What does it mean to be a successful entrepreneur? Throughout my coaching and talking to entrepreneurs, there is a hidden expectation - “I want to be successful” - but no one really talks about success and failure. The post Ep 24: What Does it Mean to Be a Successful Entrepreneur? appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.

What advice do you have for raising money and talking to investors?  I get asked this question or a variation quite often from first-time founders seeking to raise money by selling part of their company (i.e. selling equity).  In this episode, I highlight the shows that talk about approaching and networking with investors. Ep 22 […] The post Ep 23: What Advice Do You Have for Talking to Investors? appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.

“Fail fast. Fail Forward.” We have all heard that Silicon Valley saying. But what does that mean? In this show, Jon Showers, share his brutally honest journey about what it means to Fail Forward.  You'll hear that his founder journey is only just starting. Jon has a great background from a military career, to athletic […] The post Ep 22: Startup Advice – Failing forward? What does that mean? How to Move on to the Next Big Thing, When the First Thing Wasn't so Good? with Jon Shower appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.

In this episode I share the number one problem for startups – “co-founder conflict.”  Co-founders launch their startups full of hopes and dreams, yet I've seen first-hand what happens.  I share three examples where none of the founders ever imagined the turn of events that lead them to conflict.  About the Host: Philip Topham is […] The post Ep 21: Co-Founder Conflict – The Number One Reason Early Startups Fail appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.

In another unscripted conversation, this The Savvy Founder episode looks into the past 10+ years of entrepreneurship to see what we can learn from then and now.  Bill Waldo, entrepreneur turned angel investor, provides those insights from then until now.  We delve into both sides – the entrepreneurial mindset and the investor perspective. Today we […] The post Ep 20: Entrepreneurship – A decade in Review with Bill Waldo appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.

In this episode, I interview Vitaly Golomb, a technology investment banker. Where he shares insights for entrepreneurs and what it was like growing up in Silicon Valley, and working in a printing shop that both Wozniak and Jobs visited. Vitaly shares his first-hand experiences about Silicon Valley across the decades from the '90s, the 2001-2003 […] The post Ep 19: Startup Founders, Angels, Investment Bankers, and Silicon Valley with Vitaly Golomb appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.

Startup founders. Do you have trouble with networking or connecting with investors? Listen to this fantastic episode with Tallal Gondal author of  TurboCharged Networking for networking tips on building relationships and networking.  For founders everywhere, having connections is critical. Connections help you find employees, investors, form partnerships, solve problems and so much more. Topics include: […] The post Ep 18: How Do I Build Investor Relationships? Networking Advice for Startup Founders with Tallal Gondal appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.

I wanted to know if there were differences in Europe and their approach to equity and scalable startups; So in this episode, I interview Craig Alexander Rattray, a chartered accountant (that's the UK's version of the Certified Public Accountant) from Glasglow, for some answers.  Overall startups have the same issues and concerns in Europe as […] The post Ep 17: A European Perspective on Financing and Raising Money for Scalable Startups with Craig Alexander Rattray appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.

The Savvy Founder answers the question. “What is my number one best advice for a new startup founder?”  You are the keeper of the flame. Take care of yourself. Take care of the flame. About the Host: Philip Topham is The Savvy Founder. Philip has an inquisitive mind and passion for ideas. He's impatient to […] The post Ep 16: What's the Best Advice for a New Startup Founder? appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.

Someday, I might say I knew Liam Rose, CEO and Founder Catalina Seven maker of Horus when he was just starting. Join me in a fantastic discussion on calendaring and time management. What are you building? What problem are you solving? You should really be able to schedule your time in one tool if you're […] The post Ep 15: Calendars, Scheduling, and Time – A Conversation with Liam Rose on a Better Way appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.

Have you ever wondered how an accelerator works? Or what an accelerator looks for? Then this episode is for you.  I sit down with Brian MacMahon, Founder of Expert Dojo, an accelerator for early-stage high-growth potential startups. Brian shares how he came to found Expert Dojo; and shares his insights on what it takes to […] The post Ep 14: Startup Accelerators 101 and Success Tips with Brian MacMahon appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.

In this episode I speak with Varag Gharibjanian, CEO and Founder of ActuateTech. Actuate helps companies discover tech that accelerates growth. They are a B2B platform that help enterprises create faster, easier, and better partnerships with deep tech companies. Varag shares some wonderful “Nuggets of Truth.” And we cover the following topics:   Whats important about launching a startup? […] The post Ep 13: Being Prepared to Start Your Business VS Just Starting Your Business – An Interview with Varag Gharibjanian appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.

In this episode I sit down with Scott Sandland, CEO and Co-founder for Cyrano.ai where we discuss: How does a Non-technical founder build a successful technical AI company? Focus on the problem. How do you manage your investors, especially when you are building for the long term and not fast growth? Make sure they are […] The post Ep 12: Engage with Purpose. Engage your Investors. Build for the Long Term. A Conversation with Scott Sandland appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.

In this episode we discuss what it was like to raise money just before the dot bomb and what it's like today; how to get more entrepreneurs capable to launch, build and grow their startup business; and how the Scott founded the OC Startup Council to help startups.  We talk about how to build an […] The post Ep 11: Scott Fox on Building a Diverse Startup Community in Orange County appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.

In this episode of the Savvy Founder, I interview Christian Peverelli, CEO and founder of WeAreNoCode. Christian shares some background on what led him to be in the technology startup world and shares what lead him to start the WeAreNoCode along with some lessons learned.  Listen as we discuss: All startups, even non-technical businesses, are […] The post Ep 10: The NoCode Movement and Other Ways to Speed Your Startup Success with Christian Peverelli appeared first on Philip Topham Personal Site.