Every Sunday, I send a newsletter with ideas on business and life. You can sign up below and read this edition from January 31, 2021.
Hello from Los Angeles!
Welcome to The Grind, a newsletter sharing the best ideas and insights on business and life I’ve learned each week.
I’m a bit late in getting this week’s newsletter out as I rolled my ankle yesterday and took the day off completely from work. Nonetheless, we’re back!
Also, for the first time, I had some help compiling this newsletter from my incredible assistant, McCall, who also helps edit my podcasts. We can thank her for additional sections and continued improvements! This is all part of my plan to delegate more in 2021.
Let’s dive in.
Lessons on Business and Life
This thread from Greg Isenberg, Co-Founder and CEO of Late Checkout, is full of insights. Here are some of our favorite tidbits:
A startup idea isn’t “one” idea. It’s a 10000 ideas, 100,000 decisions and 1,000,000 headaches.
You will doubt yourself a million times. It’s only natural.
You can’t build great products without being “at one” with the niche you’re building it for. It’s almost impossible. Deeply understand your niche or expect disappointments
A Venn Diagram of the Future of Work and the Future of Learning
Gale Wilkinson of Vitalize Venture Group shared her thoughts on the overlap between the futures of work and learning, leading to an interesting brainstorming session in this thread.
We are what we consume, right? And lately it feels like there has been a lot to take in. Sometimes, it’s necessary to turn it all off and take a break from the input. Take some space alone and shut down the computers, T.V.s, and phones. But sometimes disconnecting completely is just not realistic.
One thing we can all do on a regular basis is to be more intentional—about who we share our energy with, where we get our news, how we spend our time, and just how connected we really need to be all the time. Choosing to make these shifts can do wonders for your mental health.
Startup Redlining: What it is and what needs to change
Mariah Lichtenstern, Founding Partner of DiverseCity Ventures, shared about the important history of racist redlining among investors and her thoughts on how to fix the broken system of regulations.
Chuck Frey on Windows of Opportunity
“Most of the time, we habitually fail to recognize transformational opportunities. Even if we do, we may become immobilized by uncertainty and indecision and fail to take action on them quickly enough. We think we have plenty of time to ponder what to do. But we don’t.”
Chuck’s tips to recognize your windows of opportunity:
Cultivate an “insight outlook.”
Pay attention to “weak signals”
Immerse yourself deeply in the information flows of your industry
Adopt Richard Feynman’s technique: keep file folders for each of the key problems you are passionate about solving, then use them as springboards
Use visual tools to help you connect the dots
Vedika Jain, Chief of Staff at Weekend Fund, shared what the tools, automations and habits of a $10M fund look like. Others followed suit!
Just Go Grind Podcast Guest News & Updates
Are you L.A. based? Exciting news! Plastic-free grocery-delivery startup Zero is heading your way starting February 10th! We chatted with Zuleyka Strasner, Founder and CEO of Zero, back in August 2020. Check out her episode on the Just Go Grind Podcast here:
Opportunities from this Week
Are you a developer passionate about solving problems in the angel & VC industry? Reach out to Gale Wilkinson at Vitalize Venture Group regarding some side projects and/or perhaps a more key role in the future.
BOXFOX is hiring a Senior Full Stack Developer. Reach out to Sabena Suri, Co-Founder and CSO of BOXFOX with any referrals. And while you’re at it, check her out on the Just Go Grind Podcast.
Are you an investor or founder? Sign up for Gener8tor’s “Lightning Rounds” – Investor Pitches for Black & Brown Founders. Deadline to apply is 2/1.
This Week’s Just Go Grind Episodes
Listen on: Spotify | Apple Podcasts
Javier Marriott and Ruth Stedman Marriott are co-founders of A Pup Above, a company committed to changing dog food for good by using fresh real ingredients that dog parents can trace back to the source farm-to-bowl. On average, they deliver +70% more protein than other fresh dog food products in retail & online. Tired of not knowing what was really in their dog Lola’s bowl, Ruth and Javier set out to make it effortless to know what’s in your pup’s bowl and to feel good knowing you’re providing them a food that’s both healthy and delicious. Their fresh pup meals are gently cooked sous-vide to deliver exceptional flavor, more nutrients and more protein in every bite. All of their ingredients are 100% human-grade and their packaging is 100% recyclable.
Bryan Clayton is the Co-Founder and CEO of GreenPal, an online marketplace that connects homeowners with local lawn care professionals. GreenPal has been called the “Uber for lawn care” by Entrepreneur magazine and has over 100,000 active users completing thousands of transactions per day. Before starting GreenPal, Bryan Clayton founded Peachtree Inc., one of the largest landscaping companies in the state of Tennessee, growing it to over $10 million a year in annual revenue before it was acquired by Lusa holdings in 2013. Bryan‘s interest and expertise are related to entrepreneurism, small business growth, marketing, and bootstrapping businesses from zero revenue to profitability and exit.
Max Rofagha is the Founder and CEO of Finimize, the world’s largest and most engaged finance community. Max previously co-founded one of the largest ecommerce players in Switzerland, which he sold with 200 employees to the largest Swiss media house. He was a Forbes 30 under 30 in 2016, and is a mentor at Techstars. Finimize is financial news for everyday people. They strive to demystify finance by making financial news easy to understand, succinct and relevant to their readers. By enhancing financial literacy, they’re helping the Millennial generation make more informed decisions when it comes to their own money. The content on Finimize is produced by industry experts who previously worked at Barclays, Bloomberg and Forbes.
Thanks for reading this week’s newsletter and I’ll see you next week Sunday. Have a wonderful day!
Much love,
Justin
P.S. Who am I? I’m the founder of Just Go Grind, host of the Just Go Grind Podcast, and the Director of Marketing & Community at Vitalize Venture Group.
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