Results Junkies

Fast.com was a one-click checkout solution that flamed out pretty brilliantly two weeks ago. After raising over $100 million, Fast never even managed to earn $1 million in gross revenue. Better.com is faring a bit better but going through another massive round of layoffs. Is it enough to save the company? If you've got a comment or question for the show, you can e-mail us at [email protected]. You can find Paul and Ed online @paulsingh and @pizzainmotion.

Paul brings up forecasts from travel tech infrastructure giant Amadeus and draws some conclusions about the future of work and business travel. Travel is changing along with the nature of work and Paul talks about why this is so important to entrepeneurs. After that, Ed and Paul discuss the recent development where Uber is now listing NYC taxis in their app for riders to book. What started as the original battleground for Uber now becomes their latest frontier. If you've got a comment or question for the show, you can e-mail us at [email protected]. You can find Paul and Ed online @paulsingh and @pizzainmotion.

Paul and Ed start the show with a quick nod to the work from home culture that most of us have embraced during the pandemic. From Ed's hatred of Microsoft Teams to Paul's shocking realization of how much Zoom can cost for a small team, it's a real-world look into how entrepreneurs are thriving and suffering in WFH. Speaking of cost, Ed shares a story about a company in fundraising mode that ran out of time during their pitch using a free Zoom account. Ed and Paul discuss one of Ed's portfolio companies, Point.me. They buck the trend of disruption, where the vast majority of founders are looking to disrupt the business of incumbents. It's somewhat rare to see founders causing disruption that helps incumbents. Lastly, Paul tees up a discussion on a new type of accelerator launched by Hubspot. Paul thinks this is a watershed moment for podcasting and creators and he explains why.Oh, and he's working on a pretty cool new tool that he's almost ready to launch. If you've got a comment or question for the show, you can e-mail us at [email protected]. You can find Paul and Ed online @paulsingh and @pizzainmotion.

What is Walmart up to with their latest move in the tech world? Is this a sign that founders should be cozying up to the massive retailer? Is this a move for Walmart to "buy the squeeze"?A discussion between Paul and Ed brings up a relevant question. Why don't our phones to more to protect us from bad phone calls, texts , etc?2:45 - Why Walmart might be setting up a “tech hub” in Toronto (and Atlanta).5:40 - Why the economic footprint of coworking spaces is more important than the square footage.16:30 - Ask Not To Track and what ads Paul saw while on hotel wifi. (Hint: behind-the-scenes data sharing is a thing.)19:55 - My First Million, Sam Parr’s Twitter hack and some opportunities for developers of browser extensions and other apps. Skip to 29:00 for some arbitrage ideas.If you've got a comment or question for the show, you can e-mail us at [email protected]. You can find Paul and Ed online @paulsingh and @pizzainmotion.

We're are discussing must reading this week from Fabrice Grinda. Titled "The Great Unknown", it's worth 10 minutes of your time. Paul shares why he's optimistic even if the short-term market conditions look rocky.Culture matters in every company. We take issue with a tweet from a prominent CEO. How you build your company and your culture will be some of the most critical thinking that you do. The nature of work is changing, but leaders are still responsible for looking to the future to determine what their core values should be.If you've got a comment or question for the show, you can e-mail us at [email protected]. You can find Paul and Ed online @paulsingh and @pizzainmotion.

Asymmetric bets might sound like buzz words and hand wavy stuff, but it's critical thinking. We're talking about why the devastation in Ukraine will have profound effects on your business (and where your attention should be focused).Bitcoin seems to be a part of so many conversations but the buzz may not match the engagement level.Here's a few time stamps to tune-in:5:15 - How Bump reacted to the original pandemic lockdowns. How that reaction is even more relevant to the Russia/Ukraine situation today. 8:30 - will consumers be willing to give up Free Shipping or paying for fuel surcharges?12:30 - Cash is a key driver. Except in situations like today.15:45 - why people at Yum Brands and Panera are probably patting themselves on the back right now.19:55 - Burgers and Bitcoin… and asymmetric bets.30:15 - Should you wait to get into crypto?34:20 - the people and companies that are best positioned for whatever’s ahead.If you've got a comment or question for the show, you can e-mail us at [email protected]. You can find Paul and Ed online @paulsingh and @pizzainmotion.

The Russian invasion is front and center. There's plenty of heartache for the people of Ukraine. To a much lesser degree, there are also difficult decisions for founders in regards to fundraising, inventory and logistics.Paul provides feedback from his single opt-in test on his mailing list. If you missed our discussion on whether the gold standard of double opt-in is no longer the standard, you can check it out here.Oh, and Paul is looking for sweatpants. Or, boot pants. Or something.If you've got a comment or question for the show, you can e-mail us at [email protected]. You can find Paul and Ed online @paulsingh and @pizzainmotion.

A discussion about one of the largest food delivery services in India leads Paul and Ed down the road of identifying the five key languages that divide the world markets.Paul tries to quantify the time lost by GDPR. Ed and Paul discuss Facebook's whitewashing of privacy regulation. Paul is annoyed by the logo on his TV.Paul raises the point that VC-backed startups may never unseat incumbents.If you've got a comment or question for the show, you can e-mail us at [email protected]. You can find Paul and Ed online @paulsingh and @pizzainmotion.Key Topics:(4:30) Paul believes the world is made up of five major cultures divided by language and what that means for high growth companies. (10:30) Why catching up on local culture is the hardest part of expanding into new geographies. (12:50) For founders, putting name brand investors on your cap table is no longer a viable defense. And, why raising at higher valuations or openly discussing your revenue growth rates may be a better strategy.(17:30) Google vs Apple on user privacy… and why the “average” person’s 401k performance might be what ultimately drives more government attention on this topic.(21:00) GDPR: good intentions, billions of inconvenienced people and an arbitrage opportunity for browser extension developers.(24:30) How Facebook is using Hulu advertising spots to influence public perception about their stance on user privacy. And how Rolls Royce and GE put their logo on the side of airplane engines to do the same thing.(28:25) Craft your narrative and brand consciously — personally and professionally — or it’ll be crafted for you.(29:15) Why venture-backed companies won’t be the ones to truly unseat incumbents in mainstream industries. And why we think the “biggest” VC-funded wins of the past few years are actually rounding errors.

Google announced plans for some major changes on cross-app ad tracking, a topic Paul and Ed have discussed ad nauseum on the pod. On this, they don't quite see eye-to-eye on Google's intentions.They're also digging into why speed and aggression are such key traits to succeed as a founder.If you've got a comment or question for the show, you can e-mail us at [email protected]. You can find Paul and Ed online @paulsingh and @pizzainmotion.

Paul starts the episode with the question of when it's okay for founders to take money out of a company. This is a complicated question, especially since you have outside investors. It doesn't happen often and we're discussing when it might make sense. It's also a great reminder of why it's so important for founders to stay connected to investors.Ed asks the question of whether double opt-in, the gold standard of mailing lists is no longer the gold standard. If you've got a comment or question for the show, you can e-mail us at [email protected]. You can find Paul and Ed online @paulsingh and @pizzainmotion.

A lot to cover this week. Paul and Ed start with a discussion on Cana. This 3D beverage printer has the ability to cause serious disruption in a number of industries. The product itself is intriguing and brings up so many questions. The unique capital structure that enabled Cana to progress is also up for discussion.Peloton is on the docket. The current state of the company raises the question of how much capital to raise. Both founders and investors have strong opinions on the topic. Paul and Ed weigh in with their own.And, Paul is obsessed with Wordle even though he's never actually played. The NYTimes acquisition leads to a host of questions, and leads back to a discussion about Apple's privacy changes and the massive shift they have caused.If you've got a comment or question for the show, you can e-mail us at [email protected]. You can find Paul and Ed online @paulsingh and @pizzainmotion.

Paul and Ed loop back on a listener question and follow-up on the concept of turning something your company does well into an API for others.The Theranos verdict teaches important lessons for both founders and investors.Paul talks about the fact that every fundraise has a public and a private story and why they frequently don’t match.Big box retailers look at e-commerce as a channel. E-commerce thinks traditional retail is going away. They’re both wrong.If you've got a comment or question for the show, you can e-mail us at [email protected]. You can find Paul online @paulsingh and Ed @pizzainmotion.

Paul and Ed are still discussing companies that are trying to pivot but may not be equipped to do so. This dates back to their Walmart discussion in Ep 14. Ed digs into the wayback machine to talk about Independence Air and Paul introduces the concept of "Start, Build Grow".When your company needs to pivot, it's natural that part of your team may not be ready/equipped to do so. Leadership has to be bought into the mission for the team to embrace a pivot.Paul breaks down how personal connections help founders solve problems.Ed asks Paul if Tech Tour Stops are coming back and they both discuss what a post "Zoom only" world looks like.Lastly, Paul asks for help from the audience as he moves into a new role at Bump.

Paul and Ed debate whether it makes more sense for a DTC company to handle logistics and shipping from one center or if a “micro-center” strategy might work better. Here's a reference to the map Paul discusses. Thanks to our listener Eric for the question.They also dig into the different models that Y Combinator and Tech Stars chose Paul also has an announcement about some changes coming up for him and his current venture.Lastly, Ed manages to weave his fascination with Costco into a discussion about making the customer the center of what DTC companies do.If you've got a comment or question for the show, you can e-mail us at [email protected]. You can find Paul online @paulsingh and Ed @pizzainmotion.

Paul is back from the islands and we're diving back into the world. Hot topics this week involve COVID wildfires, travel, technology and DTC. Ed details how his restaurants had to adopt 3rd party delivery platforms essentially overnight to keep restaurants afloat at the beginning of the pandemic. That ultimately meant half of their customer relationships are now controlled by someone else. Paul is amazed that restaurants surrendered 50% of their customers to 3rd party delivery providers essentially overnight. Paul and Ed spend time going over a listener comment from Eric about at-home COVID testing machines. If you've got a comment or question for the show, you can e-mail us at [email protected]. You can find Paul online @paulsingh and Ed @pizzainmotion.Oh, and just in case you want to see Paul's "Pit Vipers".....

There is a ton of money on the sidelines waiting to invest right now. Paul and Ed are looking at a new Angel List fund and wondering if this is a byproduct of investors needing to adopt new models to find the returns they're seeking.With recent changes to CAC founders are likely going to feel the squeeze when it comes to fundraising. Paul describes why the far ends of the barbel (very early and very late stage companies) will still be able to raise cash. However, the mid-stage companies will be like the actual barbel in the middle, slim pickings to raise a fundraising round.Are investors pivoting away from "growth at all costs" for the companies they invest in? Paul thinks Ed is being too generous in his opinions of fellow investors on this point.Is Walmart preparing to take on the likes of Uber and Door Dash for last-mile delivery?And, Paul drops a question on Ed that may have to wait until next week to get a thorough answer.

Paul and Ed dive right into why this time of year is the best time to recruit. Paul is busy talking to new candidates every day and Ed is busy recruiting his existing employees. This leads to Paul's assertion that most CEO's wouldn't be proud of their culture if they stopped to figure out what their employees thought it was.We also discuss Paul's first public appearance on a podcast since we launched the show. He was on the popular DTC podcast recently. If you haven't already listened, you can find it here.While we're talking about podcasts be sure to check out our buddy Mesh's show, Talk Money.Last thought of the year. We're you prepared for the black swan that was Apple's change on targeting? Are you prepared for the next black swan your business will face?You can find Paul Singh and Edward Pizzarello online. Don't forget you can always e-mail us questions [email protected].

Some founders are built to start companies and some are built to bring their companies to a new level. Most aren't built to do both. Paul and Ed dive into that this week. Paul talks about how deep his company is into Black Friday when it comes to e-commerce and making sure all the trucks are leaving on time. Ed pokes a bit of fun at Paul for jumping shoulder deep into the world of physical products from the SaaS world he lived in the last decade.

Paul and Ed are breaking down some recent pitch decks for potential investments. Bad pitch decks can crush your chances at an investment. Lead with the strongest details, such as revenue, CAC and LTV. Traction is key, cut out the fluff. In the end, if you need to explain your entire business to an investor through a lengthy pitch deck, they're probably not the right investor.

Big recent statements from Facebook/Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg make Paul and Ed wonder if thinking in public can actually be a solid strategy. They also recap what Black Friday looked like for DTC and whether some odd ad targeting might be related to recent changes to iOS.

We dive right into alphabet soup this week. Paul is talking about the world of DME and we wander into a discussion on CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) and LTV (Lifetime Value of the Customer), two numbers every founder needs to understand.How hard is it to triple your revenue this year and then triple your revenue again next year? 10X-ing your revenue is really hard, and really special. Apple's recent changes to iOS have had a major impact on companies of pretty much every shape and size. Paul shares examples where he's seen CAC double recently due to the Apple changes.

Does your team make your company an acquisition target? That's what Paul Singh (@paulsingh) and Edward Pizzarello (@pizzainmotion) start off the show with this week. Your team can be your greatest asset.We're talking about the super sizing of Y Combinator, one of the most well-known accelerators.We also talk about Paul's idea for a verified revenue API on Twitter. And, robots ordering burgers. Of course.

Nobody would blame an acquirer or acquisition target for getting a bit of deal fever as you close in on an agreement. Many more deals fall apart than actually get across the finish line. Paul digs in to this topic with Ed as they discuss the acquisition he's currently working on.There are more updates on North Star and over 1,000 users giving feedback now. If you're an e-commerce company it's a zero cost way to keep your key metrics front and center.Paul makes the assertion that any relationship where you agree 90% of the time is probably not a healthy one. He also outlines where 90% of the work is actually done.Paul and Ed are both seeing examples where CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) is skyrocketing. Are Apple's new privacy settings causing a ripple effect?

You'll hear folks debate about "buy vs build" when they're trying to figure out the best way to grow a company. Paul and Ed peel back the layers on how to make this decision for your company. Paul's Google plug-in, North Star is available for download on the Google Play store. Paul has more planned for a future update but it's ready to track your eCom stats right now.Submitting to Google wasn't too terrible, easier than submitted the show to Apple Podcasts (side note: we should have called this episode "Something Went Wrong").We're digging into a major payment change in India and wondering how it would affect US-based entrepreneurs who rely on places like the Apple App Store subscription model to grow.Paul gives us an update on the acquisition he's been working on since the podcast launched. And, we talk about diversification and how so many companies do it wrong.You can find Paul @paulsingh and Ed @pizzainmotion talking about growth, problems, travel and families on Twitter any time of the day and night.

So many entrepreneurs focus on cutting costs when they should be focused on growing revenue. Paul and Ed have strong opinions on where you should be focused.Paul lays out the game plan on why you need both traction and distribution. Traction is your intellectual property, your secret sauce. Once you have that figured out, distribution is what keeps people from eating your lunch.Diversification. You need it, but most people think about it wrong.There's a big difference between recruiting and hiring. If you're just doing the latter, you won't succeed. Shoot us your questions for a future show. E-mail us at [email protected]. Find Paul @paulsingh and Ed @pizzainmotion on Twitter.

Today we're talking about Paul's 3 rules for the invisible game of life. We also end up going down a rabbit hole about technology used in the service industry. Paul just can't figure out how such a massive industry can rely on so much inadequate technology.Transactions matter. Period. Paul is brewing up a tool you can use to track transaction growth.Our final rabbit hole this week is the airline industry and why airlines don't spend more time trying to poach each other's customers. Oh, and we talk about dwell time. Riveting stuff.

We dive into an upcoming investment opportunity and what keys they’re looking for prior to writing a check. Is it better to bootstrap or raise money? We'll be debating that until the end of time. Finally, we take a look at what we think founders in our portfolio have in common.Make sure to hit the subscribe button to be the first to get new episodes as soon as they’re available for download. Sign up for our e-mail list to get notified as soon as a new episode drops. Shoot us your questions at [email protected], and follow us on Twitter. Paul is @paulsingh and Ed is @pizzainmotion. And, make sure to sign-up for the Results Junkies mailing list to learn how to grow a business everywhere else.

Most folks think that they have job security right up until they don’t have a job anymore. It may sound obvious, but the person you should trust most is yourself. The nature of how we work is changing. Here’s how we see it. Finally, Paul and Ed agree (and disagree) on the most important attributes a founder needs to have.Make sure to hit the subscribe button to be the first to get new episodes as soon as they’re available for download. Sign up for our e-mail list to get notified as soon as a new episode drops. Shoot us your questions at [email protected], and follow us on Twitter. Paul is @paulsingh and Ed is @pizzainmotion. And, make sure to sign-up for the Results Junkies mailing list to learn how to grow a business everywhere else.

Episode 1 is in the books! We’re talking about whether it’s better to raise money or bootstrap your new company. We dive into how to tackle customer acquisition when you have less than $1 million in revenue. And, Paul explains the difference between “playing not to lose” versus “playing to win” and why it’s so important to do the latter.Make sure to hit the subscribe button to be the first to get new episodes as soon as they’re available for download. Sign up for our e-mail list to get notified as soon as a new episode drops. Shoot us your questions at [email protected], and follow us on Twitter. Paul is @paulsingh and Ed is @pizzainmotion. And, make sure to sign-up for the Results Junkies mailing list to learn how to grow a business everywhere else.

Paul Singh has been a VC, an angel investor, an entrepreneur and a full-time truck driver. Ed Pizza is also a lifelong entrepreneur, cutting his teeth in the restaurant industry before dipping into the world of tech and angel investing.The two spent three years on the road visiting towns across the United States looking for focused founders ready to take on the world. They disagree about as often as they agree, but they're always focused on results.