Steve August Coaching’s Post

May 31, 2024 marked an auspicious milestone: 10 years ago I completed the exit of my first startup. I can still remember May 31, 2014 vividly. The feeling of finishing up a million pieces of paperwork and then refreshing the screen on my bank account online until there it was: a big lump of money for all of the work of the past 7 years. I felt a mix of emotions. I felt joy. I felt exhaustion. I felt a sense of disbelief that it actually was going to all go through. But if I'm being honest, the biggest emotion I felt was relief. It had been a huge lift to get the business to that point. With the plentiful resources of our acquiring company and this was the right move for the business and for me. For many Founders, Exits are the holy grail. The literal pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. There's almost a mythology that's built up around them, so I wanted to share three lessons about exits I've learned over the past 10 years. In this week’s Rocket Ship Founder Podcast, I talk about 3 myths and lessons of Exits looking back 10 years later. I'll cover: Lesson 1: Exits can be life changing, but they are rarely "you changing" While a successful exit can bring financial transformation, don't expect one to change or "fix" you. Lesson 2: The Work is actually the Thing Embrace the journey and the daily grind, as the process of building and growing your business is where the action is. Lesson 3: Everything is a series offers Learn to see everything in your business as a series of offers, helping you navigate your journey with more clarity and purpose. Even this podcast is an offer. This 12-minute episode offers perspective from the other side of the Exit! #founders #startups #entrepreneurship #growth #exit

How a Founder's Oura Ring Confirmed Product market fit. This week I was having a session with one of my private clients. I've been working with this Founder for a couple of years since their original Seed funding. It's been a long journey to product market fit, with many a twist and turn. But in this session, this Founder reported that the signals were finally turning green: - Customers signing deals - Partners eager to integrate their offering to keep their own customers - A pipeline that is starting to fill nicely But the clincher was when he said, "my Oura ring alerted me that my heart rate variability (a stress indicator) has gone way down over the past couple of months." There it was. Quantified proof that he'd cracked it. There's something that happens when you start getting "when can we start?" yeses. There's a confidence that emerges when you start feeling like it's not luck and you can replicate it. Stress goes way down and things start getting fun. In this week’s Rocket Ship Founder Podcast, I talk about: - Why it can be a long and winding journey to product market fit and reliable growth. - 2 keys to to shorten the journey. - 3 signs to know when you've cracked it (for now). This 13-minute episode is short, but impactful. #startups #startupgrowth #founders #entrepreneurship

How a Founder's Oura Ring Confirmed Product market fit. This week I was having a session with one of my private clients. I've been working with this Founder for a couple of years since their original Seed funding. It's been a long journey to product market fit, with many a twist and turn. But in this session, this Founder reported that the signals were finally turning green: - Customers signing deals - Partners eager to integrate their offering to keep their own customers - A pipeline that is starting to fill nicely But the clincher was when he said, "my Oura ring alerted me that my heart rate variability (a stress indicator) has go way down over the past couple of months." There is was. Quantified proof that he'd cracked it. There's something that happens when you start getting "when can we start?" yeses. There's a confidence that emerges when you start feeling like it's not luck and you can replicate it. Stress goes way down and things start getting fun. In this week’s Rocket Ship Founder Podcast, I talk about: - Why it can be a long and winding journey to product market fit and reliable growth. - 2 keys to to shorten the journey. - 3 signs to know when you've cracked it (for now). This 13-minute episode is short, but impactful. #startups #startupgrowth #founders #entrepreneurship

This week I've been digging in deep with with private clients and the members of my 2X Accelerator community on the biggest leverage point in their businesses. It's not their product or service, though a brilliant product/service is essential. It's not their team, though great teams will move mountains. It's not their brand, marketing or funnels. So if not any of the above, what's the biggest point of leverage for your business? It's your offer. This might sound controversial, but customers don't buy your product/service, your team, or your brand and marketing. They buy your offer. Everything else supports either building trust in your offer (brand/marketing) or delivering the promise of your offer (product/team). The more compelling your offer, the easier it is for customers to to say yes to it. The highest level of yes is, 'when can we get started?!' yes. When you have this kind of energy coming from customers, EVERYTHING in your business gets easier. That energy creates momentum that consistently drives exciting, fun growth. That's what makes it the biggest point of leverage in your business. In this week’s Rocket Ship Founder Podcast, I talk about creating the 'when can we get started?!" yes: - What conditions need to be present to get this type of yes - Why to focus on making your offer 'Stupid' - The two key components of creating a Stupid Offer This 11-minute episode is short, yet chock-full of wisdom. #startups #startupgrowth #founders #entrepreneurship

This week I've been digging in deep with with private clients and the members of my 2X Accelerator community on the biggest leverage point in their businesses. It's not their product or service, though a brilliant product/service is essential. It's not their team, though great teams will move mountains. It's not their brand, marketing or funnels. So if not any of the above, what's the biggest point of leverage for your business? It's your offer. This might sound controversial, but customers don't buy your product/service, your team, or your brand and marketing. They buy your offer. Everything else supports either building trust in your offer (brand/marketing) or delivering the promise of your offer (product/team). The more compelling your offer, the easier it is for customers to to say yes to it. The highest level of yes is, 'when can we get started?!' yes. When you have this kind of energy coming from customers, EVERYTHING in your business gets easier. That energy creates momentum that consistently drives exciting, fun growth. That's what makes it the biggest point of leverage in your business. In this week’s Rocket Ship Founder Podcast, I talk about creating the 'when can we get started?!" yes: - What conditions need to be present to get this type of yes - Why to focus on making your offer 'Stupid' - The two key components of creating a Stupid Offer This 11-minute episode is short, yet chock-full of wisdom. #startups #startupgrowth #founders #entrepreneurship

"It's the mental game of being a Founder that's really surprised me." This week I had a call with a Founder who took advantage of my offer of a free Breakthrough Session for anyone who takes my Founder Type Quiz. Like many Founders, this person has tremendous knowledge and experience in their category. But this is their first go at sitting in the Founder seat. And it's different. Yes. Yes it is. While the Founder life has been painted with a sort of glamour, anybody who's been in the job knows the inside truth is far different. The Founder journey always functions at two levels. There's the brass tacks of just learning how to start, grow and lead a business. This is all about skills, experience, tools and what good looks like at each stage. This is about frantically scrambling to up-level your skills. The second level is the mental game. This is about learning to live with uncertainty and pressure, while feeling ultimately responsible for the success or failure of the business. No matter how senior your role in your previous position, there's nothing that really prepares you for "sitting in the seat." The highs are high and the lows are super low. Navigating the uncertainty and responsibility for success that comes along with the Founder title inevitably trigger our doubts, insecurities, imposter complexes and general anxiety. To succeed you have to always be working at both levels. Because every milestone tends to put in a place where you have to learn more and uplevel. In this week’s Rocket Ship Founder Podcast, I talk about: -Why the Founder seat is so different -3 keys to upleveling skills -3 keys for winning the mental game This 14-minute listen will give you some food for thought for your business. #startups #startupgrowth #founders #entrepreneurship

"We've never had a response like this" Recently of the Founders in my 2X Accelerator community reported a great win. We had supported her on refining her offer around helping CEO's stand up a weekly podcast that can help drive business. She committed to sending out an email to her list to see who in her world might be interested. Me and the 2X group helped her tune the email, which essentially described the offer, who it was for and simply asked those interested to reply. The result? "We've never had a response like that!" She's now excitedly working through the bounty of those inbound requests. There's a couple of takeaways from this win: 1. Focusing on making your offer as easy to say yes to can be the biggest leverage in your business. 2. Despite all the shiny bells and whistles of CRM software providers, it turns out you don't need to spin up complicated funnels or build elaborate sales pages to start testing your offer. In this week’s Rocket Ship Founder Podcast, I talk about: - Why focusing on your offer vs your product can be the most impactful thing you can do - A simple format to test your offer via an email This 7-minute episode is short, but impactful. #startups #startupgrowth #founders #entrepreneurship

"We've never had a response like this" Recently of the Founders in my 2X Accelerator community reported a great win. We had supported her on refining her offer around helping CEO's stand up a weekly podcast that can help drive business. She committed to sending out an email to her list to see who in her world might be interested. Me and the 2X group helped her tune the email, which essentially described the offer, who it was for and simply asked those interested to reply. The result? "We've never had a response like that!" She's now excitedly working through the bounty of those inbound requests. There's a couple of takeaways from this win: 1. Focusing on making your offer as easy to say yes to can be the biggest leverage in your business. 2. Despite all the shiny bells and whistles of CRM software providers, it turns out you don't need to spin up complicated funnels or build elaborate sales pages to start testing your offer. In this week’s Rocket Ship Founder Podcast, I talk about: - Why focusing on your offer vs your product can be the most impactful thing you can do - A simple format to test your offer via an email This 7-minute episode is short, but impactful. #startups #startupgrowth #founders #entrepreneurship

"It's the mental game of being a Founder that's really surprised me." This week I had a call with a Founder who took advantage of my offer of a free Breakthrough Session for anyone who takes my Founder Type Quiz. Like many Founders, this person has tremendous knowledge and experience in their category. But this is their first go at sitting in the Founder seat. And it's different. Yes. Yes it is. While the Founder life has been painted with a sort of glamour, anybody who's been in the job knows the inside truth is far different. The Founder journey always functions at two levels. There's the brass tacks of just learning how to start, grow and lead a business. This is all about skills, experience, tools and what good looks like at each stage. This is about frantically scrambling to up-level your skills. The second level is the mental game. This is about learning to live with uncertainty and pressure, while feeling ultimately responsible for the success or failure of the business. No matter how senior your role in your previous position, there's nothing that really prepares you for "sitting in the seat." The highs are high and the lows are super low. Navigating the uncertainty and responsibility for success that comes along with the Founder title inevitably trigger our doubts, insecurities, imposter complexes and general anxiety. To succeed you have to always be working at both levels. Because every milestone tends to put in a place where you have to learn more and uplevel. In this week’s Rocket Ship Founder Podcast, I talk about: -Why the Founder seat is so different -3 keys to upleveling skills -3 keys for winning the mental game This 14-minute listen will give you some food for thought for your business. #startups #startupgrowth #founders #entrepreneurship

Are former entrepreneurs better investors? In the latest episode of EU-Startups podcast, I sit down with Jan Reichelt, Founding Partner of 10x Founders, to explore the highs, lows, and everything in between when it comes to building a startup. 10x Founders is a network-driven investor backed by 200+ entrepreneurs and angels. They’ve been early backers of unicorns like Adyen, Palantir, and Luminar, and bring 16 years of expertise, with 40+ exits and 8 IPOs. Their mission? Empower founders to 10x their success. We dive into: - Is entrepreneurship a career or a lifestyle? - How to handle the emotional rollercoaster of startup life - The art of trusting your gut and taking unconventional bets - Why storytelling is the secret weapon for founders 🕺 And yes, what Jan’s salsa instructor days taught him about balance! 💃 Whether you’re a founder, investor, or just love hearing raw entrepreneurial insights, this one is for you. Links to the full episode in the comment. 👇 #startup #founders #entrepreneurship #vc #venturecapital