Full Transcript for Beyond Strategy: How Execution Drives Real Growth

--> 00:02:47.520 So it's great to have you, and I think this is going to be an important conversation because it really lands where most of the confusion is today. 00:02:48.080 --> 00:02:52.000 And that that confusion is really around what do we do? 00:02:52.560 --> 00:03:00.159 Um it reminds me a lot of the dot-com era back in the mid-90s and later 90s. 00:03:00.479 --> 00:03:11.199 Um of those confusion about what was happening, what was going to happen, how do you predict it, how do you leverage it, what do you do, what do you not do, feels like this current environment. 00:03:11.280 --> 00:03:14.719 And so I think the skills that you bring to the table are really important. 00:03:15.120 --> 00:03:16.400 Would you agree with that? 00:03:16.800 --> 00:03:17.759 You're so right. 00:03:17.919 --> 00:03:40.240 I think, I think it's easy, and you have this amazing experience to leverage that, you know, that last sort of inflection point, if you will, that it's really easy to get caught up for a lot of companies in the buzzword, whether it's AI or a dot-com or whatever of the moment, and sort of lose sight of, you know, what are we doing as a company? 00:03:40.400 --> 00:03:41.680 What's our clear product? 00:03:41.840 --> 00:03:43.840 What do our customers pay us for? 00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:45.759 And what are we trying to achieve? 00:03:45.919 --> 00:03:58.080 And get sort of caught up with should we be doing more of this or should we be messaging this to our customers and kind of lose sight of what they um what their moat, if you will, actually is. 00:03:58.319 --> 00:04:00.000 And so I think you're so right. 00:04:00.159 --> 00:04:19.120 This moment right now can be really confusing to a lot of founders, um, and certainly the ones that I'm working with, um, about um how should they position themselves right now, and all of a sudden they're questioning um if what they thought was their path forward should now look different. 00:04:19.519 --> 00:04:28.800 Yeah, and you've spent your career helping founders, you know, really to focus on what what really matters to them, right? 00:04:29.279 --> 00:04:30.959 And so yeah. 00:04:31.279 --> 00:04:31.600 Yeah. 00:04:31.759 --> 00:04:45.279 So tell me when you first meet a startup founder today, as an example, um, what are some of the most common strategic mistakes that you're seeing out there in the marketplace? 00:04:45.839 --> 00:04:48.399 Yeah, that's a that's a great question. 00:04:48.560 --> 00:05:12.160 Um, and it's funny because I I'm actually working with three clients in such completely different industries, um, but it's still really, really interesting to see that if they're all sort of in the same um phase of growth uh or similar phase of growth, they are sort of all dealing with very similar problems. 00:05:12.480 --> 00:05:14.480 Um, so that's been interesting for me to learn. 00:05:14.639 --> 00:05:27.279 But some of the more common ones that I'm seeing um that I'm able to diagnose pretty

quickly when I start an engagement is one is is the founder the bottleneck for all big decisions, all decisions. 00:05:27.439 --> 00:05:34.720 You know, it's a company structured in such a way where makes sense in the early days, founder wants to be involved in everything, makes perfect sense. 00:05:34.800 --> 00:05:38.879 But as a company starting to grow and scale, you're now becoming a bottleneck. 00:05:38.959 --> 00:05:45.920 And that's a big strategic mistake that I see across clients that they're not set up for scaling success. 00:05:46.079 --> 00:05:54.079 They're sort of still working every decision to the founder, uh, you know, in their brains is where all the information lives. 00:05:54.240 --> 00:06:01.839 Um, and so that's a huge strategic and very costly mistake that I come in day one to help them sort of undo. 00:06:02.399 --> 00:06:09.600 Another one is, and they're all kind of coupled together, um, is hiring when your processes are just not set up. 00:06:09.839 --> 00:06:14.480 So, you know, another one is which ties into what I said, it all lives in the founder's brain. 00:06:14.639 --> 00:06:16.319 Nothing's documented. 00:06:16.480 --> 00:06:22.879 Um, and this is it's it's a it's a it's a symptom that's actually a great symptom because it means you grew very fast, right? 00:06:23.040 --> 00:06:28.160 You grew so fast you didn't have time to stop and document and write things down and have processes set up. 00:06:28.319 --> 00:06:37.439 So it's not a bad thing, but you need to now diagnose and bring someone like me in to sort of help prevent this from being a costly mistake going forward. 00:06:37.680 --> 00:06:51.680 So now when you bring the new hires in, because your first, you know, your first thing is, oh, I need someone to help me, everything's flowing through me, but then you don't have anything set up, you bring on a new hire, you don't have any processes or documentation for them. 00:06:51.839 --> 00:07:03.360 So your ROI on that hire is going to be negative to start off with because you're spending that much more time training them, getting things up to speed, they're coming to you with all the questions because, like I said, it all lives in your head. 00:07:03.519 --> 00:07:09.920 So that's another really costly strategic mistake I see founders making, hiring when none of their processes exist. 00:07:10.480 --> 00:07:17.680 And I think sort of again, coupled with the first two is really just not investing in the right tools at the right time. 00:07:17.920 --> 00:07:24.000 So when they're seeing these symptoms, one of the knee-jerk reactions is I should hire someone, right? 00:07:24.079 --> 00:07:26.000 And that can end up being costly, like I said. 00:07:26.160 --> 00:07:45.279 And the other piece is sort of thinking, oh, we're not big enough or we're not at the right stage where I should get this type of tool, you know, whether it's timekeeping or, you know, expense tracking, or they sort of think, oh, whatever lives in my spreadsheets right now, or in this one file somewhere is good enough. 00:07:45.439 --> 00:07:58.560 And I think that's a really costly strategic mistake because that's preventing you from um the founders shouldn't be spending their time past a certain stage doing those admin cleanup tasks. 00:07:58.720 --> 00:08:09.519 But so many of the founders I work with are saying, you know, I spend three days staying up all night doing my taxes because I know where every cost goes and where everything does. 00:08:09.680 --> 00:08:11.920 And it's it's great that you do that in the first two years. 00:08:12.079 --> 00:08:13.920 You should not be doing that anymore. 00:08:14.160 --> 00:08:16.800 And so that's a really costly strategic mistake. 00:08:16.959 --> 00:08:24.000 And again, having the right tools and the right person come on and help you get those tools set up is again something that I do. 00:08:24.079 --> 00:08:37.840 But to me, those are the three most common mistakes that I'm seeing in founders at this sort of inflection point would have grown really fast and they're starting to scale, but nothing's really set up to help them support that. 00:08:38.159 --> 00:08:38.480 Yeah. 00:08:38.639 --> 00:08:52.080 Have you ever seen the opposite of your third one where they outsource everything, but no one is talking to the other one and they're not synthesizing and accumulating the information properly within the company? 00:08:52.320 --> 00:08:52.559 Yes. 00:08:52.799 --> 00:08:54.240 But yeah, that's being taken care of. 00:08:54.399 --> 00:09:00.960 Yeah, but that needs to be informed by a different channel and so on and so forth. 00:09:01.120 --> 00:09:01.919 You ever see that? 00:09:02.240 --> 00:09:03.039 A hundred percent. 00:09:03.200 --> 00:09:06.000 That's another, I've definitely seen that as well. 00:09:06.320 --> 00:09:19.120 Um, and it it all I think still comes back to um a founding team that realized they need support, which is a great first step, and went out to get that support. 00:09:19.279 --> 00:09:25.360 But then, you know, there's one or two steps like you pointed out after that that really set up, set this up for success. 00:09:25.519 --> 00:09:26.639 Are they talking to each other? 00:09:26.720 --> 00:09:28.320 Are they getting the right context? 00:09:28.480 --> 00:09:31.039 Um, is everything flowing back to where it should? 00:09:31.200 --> 00:09:42.480 Um, and I think that's a big mistake that also ends up being very costly because um you hire three or four people, you outsource something, but discrete tasks are getting done. 00:09:42.639 --> 00:09:49.440 But the overall sort of picture and moving your company forward strategically is still kind of sitting in the middle of nowhere. 00:09:49.519 --> 00:09:58.799 And I think that's another really big question that founders need to sort of address and understand that it really, and this is one of the big, big sort of things that I work with founders. 00:09:58.960 -->

00:10:07.840 I call it my decision matrix, is there's a lot of things that should move off of your plate as a founder when you're at a certain point of growth in your company. 00:10:08.080 --> 00:10:10.399 There's some things that should still stay with you. 00:10:10.639 --> 00:10:22.399 And sort of at some point, being that central point where you're getting the right information from different, whether it's outsourced support or any or tools, and you're the one who's able to synthesize it. 00:10:22.480 --> 00:10:27.679 Because at certain stages, you're still the one who knows your trajectory better than anybody else you could have hired. 00:10:27.759 --> 00:10:39.519 Um, and in some cases, the founding team is still the one who can say, um, you know, even if the numbers are telling me this is the right project or type of client to invest in, I may know the market better as a founder. 00:10:39.679 --> 00:10:55.919 And so, like you said, sometimes those things aren't connected because people are doing things in silos, but really being able to know when to step in as a founder is critical, uh, but also equally when to step away and offload things from your plate. 00:10:56.320 --> 00:10:57.039 Absolutely. 00:10:57.200 --> 00:11:06.000 So listen, you've worked at institutions like Morgan Stanley, uh, BlackRock, and you're part of the Chicago Booth Angels Network. 00:11:06.240 --> 00:11:07.919 Is that is that true? 00:11:08.240 --> 00:11:10.080 Yes, all of that's true. 00:11:10.399 --> 00:11:10.879 All right. 00:11:11.039 --> 00:11:21.039 So the and I want to know more about the Booth Angels Network, but how does understanding the investor mindset change the way founders should approach, say, fundraising? 00:11:21.360 --> 00:11:22.720 Yeah, that's a great question. 00:11:22.879 --> 00:11:41.919 I'd say, I'd say having been on both sides of the table, so both sort of, you know, investing in companies and then also now advising companies who are looking to raise capital is, I think, one of my invaluable um skill sets, just kind of knowing how both sides of the table think and what they're looking at. 00:11:42.240 --> 00:11:44.879 It's a pretty unique uh standpoint, I think. 00:11:45.039 --> 00:12:05.440 Um, and I think one thing that I'm talking to my founders who are looking to raise is that there's so many external factors or factors external to their own company, their product, their service, their traction that really determine their success that they need to get very smart on very quick. 00:12:05.600 --> 00:12:18.399 So things like what's the market environment, where are interest rates at, how much dry powder these funds have, investing trends, these can dictate a startup's fundraising success dramatically. 00:12:18.559 --> 00:12:24.879 And like I said, some of that has nothing to do with your own, your company's product or what you're offering or how successful you've been. 00:12:25.039 --> 00:12:31.759 Sometimes just knowing that right now all

funds care about its AI is a really important piece of information. 00:12:31.840 --> 00:12:40.799 That was, you know, I'm exaggerating, but that's a kind of piece of information that founders should know when they go in those conversations because things like that can really affect the outcome. 00:12:41.039 --> 00:12:54.480 And I and like I said, founders need to get smart really fast on all of these macro trends in order to go in those conversations, sort of equipped to have those conversations and end up with a successful outcome. 00:12:54.559 --> 00:12:58.559 And having been on both sides of the table, I can advise them on things like that. 00:12:58.639 --> 00:13:02.399 Like, okay, I'm hearing funds are only looking at these kinds of products. 00:13:02.559 --> 00:13:09.519 I mean, one example is we really are in a very different fundraising environment than you know, even four or five years ago. 00:13:09.679 --> 00:13:16.000 Things like investing in pre-revenue companies is in my um current experience is unheard of. 00:13:16.159 --> 00:13:30.080 When it would be something that you could easily, not easily, but you could for sure go to a fund and say I'm pre-revenue, but here's my pipeline, and here's sort of what I might believe, and and here's my IP and here's my product, and you could get funding. 00:13:30.159 --> 00:13:33.120 Today that's seeming to be a lot harder. 00:13:33.279 --> 00:13:39.679 So, and that kind of information that I'm able to share with the founders I'm working with, I think is a really big game changer. 00:13:39.759 --> 00:14:03.440 And I think that's a big, that's what I'm advising them when they're coming to fundraising, sort of really being nuanced when they talk about what their company is talking about, um, why this is the right time for that product, why they have a really unique um hold on the market and somebody or some AI or a service can't come in and disrupt them, um, and why that market's growing. 00:14:03.519 --> 00:14:16.720 So I think being able to kind of um tell them how investors will look at um their deck or or their pitch um has been pretty helpful um in the few few with the few engagements I have that are around fundraising. 00:14:17.279 --> 00:14:18.879 That's absolutely fantastic. 00:14:19.120 --> 00:14:24.080 So let's transition that into another part of that. 00:14:24.240 --> 00:14:25.919 So we all have a story, right? 00:14:26.080 --> 00:14:29.679 And that story is important to each of us founders. 00:14:30.080 --> 00:14:37.440 So you often help founders ref refine um uh how they tell their company story to investors. 00:14:37.679 --> 00:14:47.279 So what would you say separates what a pitch is uh that raises capital from one that gets politely say declined? 00:14:47.440 --> 00:14:49.600 What's the real magic sauce? 00:14:50.000 --> 00:15:04.720 Yeah, and it's uh that's a tough one because it's you know, some funds will tell you they all have their like calculators and they weigh certain parts of your deck differently than others because it comes down to what that fund's looking to do and looking to invest in. 00:15:04.879 --> 00:15:12.000 But I think I can you know bring all of that a couple levels up and distill it in a few different points. 00:15:12.240 --> 00:15:24.480 Um this one's kind of it's hard to say because there's not much we can do about it, but sometimes it does really come down to founders who show passion and coachability. 00:15:24.639 --> 00:15:42.000 So, in my experience, funds typically really want to work with founders who are easy to work with, are extremely knowledgeable about their space, their product, the market they're in, and have a really solid plan in place with what they're gonna do with that capital that they're getting. 00:15:42.240 --> 00:15:58.799 Um the second piece, which I think is super important in today's sort of AI world, is, and I talked about this a little bit briefly a couple of seconds ago, is why is what you're doing not easy to replicate or be disrupted? 00:15:58.960 --> 00:16:04.080 Why is it so important for us to invest in this now, not two years from now or three years from now? 00:16:04.480 --> 00:16:10.159 And and what can you do that's not being replicated by anybody else? 00:16:10.240 --> 00:16:15.600 So I think that's sort of even more important than showing that you've had traction and you have paying customers. 00:16:15.840 --> 00:16:22.720 And I think the third piece is I think I mentioned this a little while ago as well, but they want to be in growing markets, right? 00:16:22.799 --> 00:16:31.279 So you can have a really niche, cool product where you have paying customers, but an investor wants to know that that market is growing as well. 00:16:31.440 --> 00:16:36.320 Like, is there gonna be two extra TAM or three extra TAM in the next 10 years? 00:16:36.480 --> 00:16:41.039 Um, to them, that's a really big positive signal as well, where they want to put their money. 00:16:41.120 --> 00:16:57.360 So I think for me, having a story that really combines those elements, putting your founder, you know, coaching them to where they're in a point where they can answer these questions really well and tell the story in a very conversational manner, answer these questions, you know, show they've done their diligence. 00:16:57.519 --> 00:17:07.599 Um, all of this really sets them apart versus the usual 10 or 12-page slide deck about, you know, here's my company, here's my product, here's what it does, here's the team. 00:17:07.759 --> 00:17:19.039 But I think really stepping back and being able to tell that story why you're unique, why your product is unique, um, gets an investor's attention and gets you sort of that next meeting. 00:17:19.440 --> 00:17:24.240 Yeah, that's absolutely that that's absolutely valuable to the listeners. 00:17:24.400 --> 00:17:35.839 I think it's very important to understand that it still comes down to being knowledgeable about what it is that you're doing in

the market that you're working in and being passionate about what it is that you're delivering. 00:17:36.240 --> 00:17:49.119 You know, here at McCarthy Hatch, our our uh our um claim to fame, if you will, is I want to improve the human condition, right? 00:17:49.279 --> 00:17:56.559 And that that sounds crazy and lofty, but there's a lot of work that we do that actually does that, right? 00:17:57.119 --> 00:18:10.559 So um we've got a product that that looks at consumer sentiment and delivers that in a report fashion back to the client so they know where their customers are at any given point at any given time, right? 00:18:11.200 --> 00:18:12.799 What's better about that, right? 00:18:12.880 --> 00:18:15.279 That's helping move that needle of human condition. 00:18:15.359 --> 00:18:25.039 And I think when you do these quote unquote pitches, it comes out to me when someone's not fully invested or engaged in what they're what they've built. 00:18:25.119 --> 00:18:27.279 Is that consistent with what you're saying? 00:18:27.680 --> 00:18:28.400 It's so true. 00:18:28.559 --> 00:18:29.200 It's so true. 00:18:29.359 --> 00:18:45.200 I mean, you can you can have a really polished looking, professional looking deck, but when you put a founder in front of in front of investors and and and they, you know, this isn't their soul and their baby, you can tell that immediately. 00:18:45.359 --> 00:18:48.640 Um, and it's one thing to be a serial entrepreneur and have done different things. 00:18:48.720 --> 00:18:50.160 I think that's fine as well. 00:18:50.240 --> 00:19:02.720 But I think, you know, when you go in front of investors and ask them for capital, and this isn't something you're living and breathing every day, and you've put your blood, sweat, and tears behind, it does kind of come across very clearly. 00:19:02.880 --> 00:19:15.519 Um, and I think, and no one's saying that that's you know, you you have to be sort of torturing yourself to be successful, but I think there is a clear difference between that's clearly this person's passion. 00:19:15.680 --> 00:19:17.359 They know so much about it. 00:19:17.519 --> 00:19:30.319 Um, and they can talk about the product's ins and outs and why it's the right product versus someone who has just done a really great deck can talk about what's on those 10 slides very well, and and not detracting from that. 00:19:30.480 --> 00:19:31.359 That's half of the job. 00:19:31.440 --> 00:19:37.440 But I think you know, we're talking about what gets you that next conversation versus what gets you just a foot in the door. 00:19:37.599 --> 00:19:40.079 And there is a clear difference between those two stages. 00:19:40.160 --> 00:19:43.680 And I think so much of what you said as well is is is so spot on. 00:19:44.079 --> 00:19:45.920 Yeah, so let's carry that forward. 00:19:46.160 --> 00:19:54.880 Um, let's let's say that um let's say that we're successful and we have growth, we have takeoff, right? 00:19:55.519 --> 00:20:04.799 So you help founders not lose their sanity or the soul of the company when that growth takes off, uh as I read. 00:20:05.200 --> 00:20:12.400 So, what are some of the operational mistakes that often derail fast growing startups in in your experience? 00:20:13.039 --> 00:20:21.519 Yeah, and I think I think that really, you know, that's so much, that's literally my bread and butter that I work with with founders. 00:20:21.759 --> 00:20:24.400 Um, and and so I love talking about this. 00:20:24.559 --> 00:20:38.000 Um, and some of it is stuff we touched on before because it all kind of bleeds into um similar themes, if you will, like the strategic mistakes they're making, or or you know, where they sort of they're going fast, but they haven't quite figured things out. 00:20:38.160 --> 00:20:44.400 I think the first one that comes to mind that I think is it's boring, it sounds boring, but it's so critical. 00:20:44.480 --> 00:20:46.319 It's just not documenting anything. 00:20:46.480 --> 00:20:56.559 And I think I've talked about this with you a few minutes ago, but um to me, this isn't just a today's problem or a problem because you grew fast. 00:20:56.720 --> 00:21:04.480 Like this has compounding effects of nothing was documented, then you hired someone, then that person didn't document anything. 00:21:04.640 --> 00:21:15.759 If you don't have a culture where things are organized and documented and processes exist for a reason that are followed the T, then you're kind of just flying blind. 00:21:15.839 --> 00:21:22.799 And I think it's, you know, I've said this before, it works when you're at a certain stage of your company and you're just trying to grow and get traction and survive. 00:21:22.960 --> 00:21:28.799 But I think, you know, we're talking about higher growth companies who sort of gotten the capital now and are scaling. 00:21:29.039 --> 00:21:35.759 For them, the ways they operate have got to be different than what they did five years ago or when they had five employees and now they have 20. 00:21:35.839 --> 00:21:46.000 Um, and so not documenting anything and not having processes is just one that I see all the time, and one that I come in and I help them get um better at. 00:21:46.160 --> 00:21:50.240 Um, I think the key to this is not doing something overly complicated. 00:21:50.319 --> 00:21:55.039 Like it doesn't have to be this like binder of 10 different things, and it's most complicated. 00:21:55.279 --> 00:21:56.400 Google spreadsheet. 00:21:56.559 --> 00:21:59.759 You know, as long as you have a new higher handbook, you have processes for information. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:05.920 Voicing, your processes for how you track POs, your processes for how you track revenue coming in by customer, by program. 00:22:06.240 --> 00:22:09.279 It just needs to be things that you can do on your own easily. 00:22:09.440 --> 00:22:13.200 So when I leave, because I'm a fractional, I come in for three months or six months at a time.

00:22:13.440 --> 00:22:15.359 When I leave, I want to set you up for success. 00:22:15.440 --> 00:22:20.240 And so it's got to be something that they can do on their own and follow and replicate. 00:22:20.400 --> 00:22:21.519 So it's got to be simple. 00:22:21.599 --> 00:22:29.839 But honestly, it's so like I said, it sounds boring, but not having anything documented is a huge mistake that I see in a lot of these companies that I work with. 00:22:30.079 --> 00:22:38.799 And I think the second point is again something I hinted at, but I I read this term, I think on LinkedIn and I loved it and I've stolen it or borrowed it. 00:22:38.960 --> 00:22:42.400 But it's when founders don't know how to share their Legos. 00:22:42.720 --> 00:22:46.960 Um I love that term because it's so, you know, it's it's very visual. 00:22:47.119 --> 00:22:52.240 Um, and I'm a I'm a pyramid toddler, so it resonates with me exceptionally well right now. 00:22:52.400 --> 00:22:58.400 But I think, you know, so much of an early startup success is the founder being so entrenched. 00:22:58.480 --> 00:23:02.079 We talked about that, the one who knows everything and passionate and really understands their business. 00:23:02.319 --> 00:23:06.480 But you get to a certain point and you've got to start losing your grip on some of those Legos. 00:23:06.720 --> 00:23:18.640 And having someone like me or someone in my with a similar experience come in and help you prioritize which Legos really you shouldn't be owning anymore is so critical at this point of their growth. 00:23:18.720 --> 00:23:28.240 Um, because you're either gonna lead to founder burnout, or you're gonna lead to a company that moves excruciatingly slow because every decision goes to the founder, neither of which are good outcomes. 00:23:28.400 --> 00:23:44.799 Um, or you're just gonna have um, you know, a company that's just not achieving their potential because um, you know, they're they're just they're not, they don't have a culture where um they're bringing up new growth in the company in terms of personnel and headcount. 00:23:45.200 --> 00:24:05.279 And so I think for me, a delicate part of my job is for sure working with founders and helping them prioritize accurately and helping them sort of see the value of sharing some of their Legos and understanding that there's some that they might never give away, which is completely appropriate, but then for sure some they need to part with. 00:24:06.079 --> 00:24:13.440 So, Tanya, you've worked with organizations like Credit Karma during the periods of extremely rapid expansion. 00:24:13.680 --> 00:24:18.400 I mean, that's a ride that not a lot of people have been on, but you've been there. 00:24:18.799 --> 00:24:30.880 So going back and thinking about that rapid expansion at Credit Karma, um, what lessons from those experiences translate most directly to today's startup founders? 00:24:31.279 --> 00:24:32.559 Yeah, that's a great question. 00:24:32.799 --> 00:24:36.160 My time at Credit Karma was it certainly felt like being on a rocket ship. 00:24:36.240 --> 00:24:41.279 I think they like multiples by multiples grew revenue. 00:24:41.359 --> 00:24:42.960 It was a very exciting time to be there. 00:24:43.039 --> 00:24:44.319 And I learned so much. 00:24:44.480 --> 00:24:46.240 I'm very grateful for that experience. 00:24:46.400 --> 00:24:53.920 And I really think they did two things extremely well, which I've taken with me as I now work with um startup founders. 00:24:54.079 --> 00:25:04.559 One was um Kernakarma was ruthless about asking this question anytime they were launching a new product or testing a new feature. 00:25:04.720 --> 00:25:10.240 They're they were ruthless about asking what is the benefit to a customer from doing this? 00:25:10.559 --> 00:25:16.799 And they didn't work on things that they couldn't tie directly to the benefit of a consumer. 00:25:16.960 --> 00:25:27.599 Um, you know, so even if it made you money and it it was a great thing to have for engagement or something else, if it didn't ultimately benefit the consumer, um, they didn't think that it was worth investing in. 00:25:27.680 --> 00:25:31.759 I think that was such a wonderful um value for that company. 00:25:31.920 --> 00:25:40.559 And so one of the things I work with my founders for is do you have a clear line of sight of what your customers are looking for? 00:25:40.720 --> 00:25:42.799 And how are you servicing that need? 00:25:43.039 --> 00:25:47.279 How are you uniquely servicing that need better than any other of your competitors? 00:25:47.359 --> 00:25:48.720 Um, do you know what it is? 00:25:48.880 --> 00:25:50.240 Have you have you figured it out? 00:25:50.400 --> 00:26:02.559 Because a lot of times you might be generating revenue and be profitable, but you're performing a service or you have a product, you haven't quite figured out what it is that you're uniquely doing that's making you successful. 00:26:02.640 --> 00:26:10.000 So one of my one of my first clients, actually, um they're in like a hardware tech um uh space. 00:26:10.319 --> 00:26:25.599 And what they realized and my work with them helped them uncover was it wasn't even the product that they were, that they were creating, it's how they managed their relationships with their clients that met led the customers to go back and say, oh yeah, I want to get that from that person. 00:26:25.759 --> 00:26:38.880 There were other competitors making the exact same product or you know, variations of it, but the client relationships that they had built got them to winning those clients, those, those contracts again and again and again and getting bigger contracts down the line. 00:26:39.039 --> 00:26:42.480 And they haven't figured out that actually that was their secret sauce. 00:26:42.720 --> 00:26:49.279 And so one of it's I think this is such a key strategic question for companies is where you think growth is going to come from. 00:26:49.440 --> 00:26:50.640

Sometimes you're wrong. 00:26:50.799 --> 00:26:57.279 And of course, you have to have a product that you're generating revenue from, but that might not be your secret sauce. 00:26:57.359 --> 00:27:07.599 And so I think really uncovering what you're doing for the customer uniquely is such a game changer for so many of the founders that I work with that I learned from my time at Credit Karma. 00:27:08.240 --> 00:27:14.240 And it's great to know that there's there are resources out there that can help through this process. 00:27:14.400 --> 00:27:16.000 You do not have to do this alone. 00:27:16.559 --> 00:27:27.359 And I can tell you, as a as one of the two founders of our company, I can tell you it's hard to figure it out alone because oftentimes you don't pay attention to things until they hurt you. 00:27:27.759 --> 00:27:30.480 And that gets your attention in a big hurry. 00:27:30.799 --> 00:27:34.640 Um, and so it's important to to know that there's resources out here. 00:27:34.720 --> 00:27:38.400 So talk to me a little bit about how does someone reach you? 00:27:38.480 --> 00:27:41.200 What what services do you do you offer? 00:27:41.359 --> 00:27:43.599 And um who do you work with? 00:27:43.759 --> 00:27:46.319 And tell me a little bit about your world. 00:27:46.720 --> 00:27:59.359 Yeah, um, I work with early and mid-stage startups, uh, companies and really industry across the board, any industry, although I have a lot of experience in financial services and fintech, but I'm fairly industry agnostic. 00:27:59.519 --> 00:28:07.599 Um, and I help them with anything from raising capital, like we talked about, getting in front of investors, being successful with those pitch pitch decks and raising. 00:28:07.759 --> 00:28:15.359 And then once you've raised capital, or if that's not your path, really having the right strategic and operational foundation so you can scale successfully. 00:28:15.519 --> 00:28:19.440 Um, and so I really think of as a three-prong of strategy operations and finance. 00:28:19.519 --> 00:28:24.079 And I provide those services to founding teams as a fractional executive. 00:28:24.160 --> 00:28:33.359 So I come in for three to six month retainers, diagnose what your key blockers to success are, and really help them set up the right tools and systems. 00:28:33.519 --> 00:28:44.640 So when I leave in three or six months, they're ready to go, those those systems set up, and they don't um need any big overhaul to keep continuing down those um those pathways that are created for them. 00:28:44.799 --> 00:28:47.839 Um, I can be reached on email or my website. 00:28:47.920 --> 00:28:49.599 So my company's called Pure Insights. 00:28:49.839 --> 00:28:52.880 I don't think I shouted that out before, but No, shout it out. 00:28:52.960 --> 00:28:53.839 And how do you sell it? 00:28:54.000 --> 00:28:55.279 Is it just P-E-E-R? 00:28:55.920 --> 00:28:57.519 No, P-U-R insights. 00:28:57.680 --> 00:29:02.960 Um, and that is it's a play on my last name, Puri, so Pure Insights. 00:29:03.519 --> 00:29:08.640 And uh the website is pure insights.com, so PURINSights.com. 00:29:08.880 --> 00:29:14.160 Um, I have multiple links on the website to schedule quick, free introductory calls with me. 00:29:14.319 --> 00:29:17.200 And then of course, you can always reach out to me on LinkedIn. 00:29:17.279 --> 00:29:23.279 I'm very active on LinkedIn, but Tanya Puri and uh send me a message, uh comment and a post, anything. 00:29:23.359 --> 00:29:28.319 I love, I love even just sharing notes with founders and seeing what's working for them or not. 00:29:28.559 --> 00:29:33.119 Um, and uh and and yeah, so that's a little bit of what I do and how I can be reached. 00:29:33.200 --> 00:29:40.000 Um and you know, again, Jim, like I said, I'm I'm sort of new to the space, but really enjoying um what I'm doing so far. 00:29:40.079 --> 00:29:42.799 And it's um been such a crazy ride so far. 00:29:42.880 --> 00:29:46.880 I'm working with some amazing companies and just excited to see where it goes next. 00:29:47.279 --> 00:29:50.160 Yeah, and it's so great to see the results of your work. 00:29:50.319 --> 00:30:07.039 Like when you finish a project or you're in the middle of a project and you can bring a systemic operational process or or data governance, if you will, in the corporate world to a company and show them the results. 00:30:07.119 --> 00:30:16.960 It's it's it's efficiency plays, it's financial gains, it's um identifying your product is a massive growth strategy. 00:30:17.200 --> 00:30:18.720 All of those things are important. 00:30:18.880 --> 00:30:22.079 So tell me this: do you work only for founders? 00:30:22.319 --> 00:30:32.559 Are there people that maybe have positions that are within companies at a relatively senior level that might employ you to help them do their job? 00:30:33.200 --> 00:30:34.640 Yeah, I mean that's a great question. 00:30:34.720 --> 00:30:38.000 Um, I haven't so far, but I'm absolutely open to it. 00:30:38.160 --> 00:30:49.039 I've just I've just I think so far worked with um you know the founders of certain companies because they're the ones who are feeling the pain the most. 00:30:49.200 --> 00:30:59.839 Um but I'm so open, you know, in my past life before I, you know, started my own company, I worked with, you know, heads of strategy or heads of business operations within companies. 00:31:00.000 --> 00:31:02.319 And so I absolutely have that skill set as well. 00:31:02.480 --> 00:31:08.400 And I'm so open to um, you know, it's the skill set stays the same no matter who I'm serving. 00:31:08.559 --> 00:31:16.720 And I I'd love to help um any sort of leader within organizations um with any of these problems because this is the kind of work that I love doing. 00:31:17.119 --> 00:31:21.440 So now I'm gonna pull out of you the Chicago Booth Angels Network. 00:31:21.599 --> 00:31:22.880 Talk to me about that. 00:31:23.279 --> 00:31:27.759 Yeah, so I think um so Chicago

Booth is where I went to um went for my MBA. 00:31:27.839 --> 00:31:30.559 It's the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business. 00:31:30.799 --> 00:31:50.400 Um, and um while I wasn't so actively involved with venture when I was at uh Chicago Booth getting my MBA, but in the years since, especially since I'm um working with founders, raising capital, being on the Angel Network side has helped me, like I said, have that, you know, both sides of the table perspective. 00:31:50.559 --> 00:32:06.079 And so really the Angel Network is um booth alumni that are looking to put in funds at a very, very early stage, um sort of precede stage, um, the angel round, if you if you will a friends or family round into startups and um and see that growth. 00:32:06.160 --> 00:32:21.759 And obviously it's um mostly booth alumni that we invest in because you know it's sort of a booth network, but obviously the angel network is um is professionals who are looking to deploy small amounts of capital and anything that seems promising. 00:32:22.160 --> 00:32:22.960 That's fantastic. 00:32:23.119 --> 00:32:26.319 So you have a strong consistency amongst the things that you do. 00:32:26.480 --> 00:32:28.559 So, where can we find you in the future? 00:32:28.720 --> 00:32:31.759 Do you have any conferences planned or speaking events planned? 00:32:31.920 --> 00:32:36.160 Anything, any travel set on the calendar for this year? 00:32:36.640 --> 00:32:39.200 Um, not for any conferences just yet. 00:32:39.279 --> 00:32:44.720 I just spoke at the Cal Poly Women's Conference two weeks ago, um, which was a wonderful experience. 00:32:44.799 --> 00:32:50.240 Um, but I'm regularly in the Bay Area and for meeting with clients. 00:32:50.319 --> 00:32:55.200 Uh, so you know, travel is um is something that can be arranged very easily. 00:32:55.279 --> 00:32:59.839 If that makes sense for any future clients out there, it's not hard to make that happen. 00:33:00.319 --> 00:33:00.640 Sure. 00:33:00.799 --> 00:33:06.079 Well, listen, I want to thank you very much for taking time out of your day to roll up with us and talk to us about this. 00:33:06.240 --> 00:33:07.440 I think it's important. 00:33:07.599 --> 00:33:16.160 Um, I think we have a lot of founders in spirit that want to start new ventures and they'd like to know what happens when you do. 00:33:16.319 --> 00:33:29.440 And I think we have people that are currently in a founder position and need to hear things like this to make sure that they know that they're not insane, that they're experiencing the same things that other founders are experiencing. 00:33:29.759 --> 00:33:38.240 And then I think it's important to um deploy the right strategies at an early stage or mistakes multiply very fast. 00:33:38.640 --> 00:33:40.960 And so I really I appreciate that. 00:33:41.119 --> 00:33:54.799 Um, I appreciate you rolling up with us today, and uh the audience is gonna absolutely love this one, and we'll have all of your contact information in the show notes, and um thank you very much for for coming in today. 00:33:55.200 --> 00:33:56.640 Thank you so much for having me, Jim. 00:33:56.720 --> 00:33:58.319 I really enjoyed the conversation. 00:33:58.480 --> 00:34:06.880 Um, and yeah, I I hope to reach out to anybody who needs this help um and um and maybe help make their lives a bit easier. 00:34:08.000 --> 00:34:10.639 That was my conversation with Tanya Pura. 00:34:10.960 --> 00:34:19.360 Tanya brings a sharp and practical perspective on what it takes to grow business from capital strategy to operational discipline. 00:34:19.599 --> 00:34:25.360 And her move into fractional leadership reflects a broader shift we're seeing across the market. 00:34:26.559 --> 00:34:29.280 Her experience highlights something important. 00:34:29.679 --> 00:34:38.880 Companies don't just need strategy, they need execution, alignment, and leadership at the right moments in their life cycle. 00:34:39.199 --> 00:34:49.599 If you're building, scaling, or thinking about how to structure leadership in a more flexible and effective way, this was a conversation worth paying attention to. 00:34:49.920 --> 00:34:52.719 Thanks for joining us on Financial Forward. 00:34:52.960 --> 00:35:04.000 If you found value in today's discussion, be sure to follow, share, and stay tuned for more conversations with leaders shaping the future of financial services and businesses.