Elizabeth Glasbrenner [Smiley Technologies]: Know Your Number, Start With a Customer, and Fight Founder Syndrome

"We said to ourselves we have no voicemail and no exit strategy." This was a prescient quote when Elizabeth, her brother and father started Smiley Technologies. Smiley celebrated 20 years in business this year, and they are looking forward to many more. There is no venture capital in this story, and Smiley has been profitable almost since inception. I was lucky enough to meet Elizabeth through The Tugboat Institute, and she represents their core evergreen principles glowingly throughout this talk.

Most recent funding: NA

Company: Smiley Technologies

Problem: Core Banking Software

Place: Zoom (Denver <-> Arkansas)

The Conversation

☕️ Building differently with Elizabeth Glasbrenner

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Topics:

* [4:45] The origins of Smiley

* [12:55] The power of choosing to grow methodically (and profitably)

* [12:20] How Smiley overcame some of the challenges of building in FinTech

* [28:00] Different founder styles, and how to overcome founder syndrome

* [36:22] The power of asking "What's your number?"

* [37:45]The challenges of hiring, and leading with culture through the pandemic