The Early Days Podcast by DULO
Technology:Podcasting
Sharing stories and lessons from two decades of building startups with Diane Tarshis, founder of Startup Distillery (S3E3)
THE DULO NON-IRON DRESS SHIRT: ▼
https://weardulo.com
Diane Tarshis is an experienced startup consultant who started her career in the middle of the dot-com boom and is now the founder of Startup Distillery, where she works with companies to help them navigate the muddy waters of their early days.
With two decades of experience from the entrepreneurial trenches, working with founders from all walks of life and industries, we wanted to talk with Diane about the messy beginnings of small businesses. We covered important lessons around launching a startup, such as the importance of having a roadmap and doing extra homework in preparation, we discussed the pros and cons of self-funding versus raising venture capital and when is it a good time to rely on each. We also touched on the topic of marketing and messaging - a topic near and dear to us, since we are in the middle of figuring out how to talk to our target audience.
Topics we cover in this episode:
01:53 - Who is Diane and what she does
04:56 - How Diane approached her first clients
06:36 - How to figure out what to charge
09:20 - The most common problems startups get stuck on
11:05 - The importance of having a roadmap before launch
12:55 - How to convince a stubborn founder to change direction
16:00 - There's always another way
17:21 - Bootstrapping versus Venture Funding
20:32 - The argument against going all-in on building a business from the start
23:33 - The myth of stress and the blessing of constraints when bootstrapping a side-business
27:20 - The DULO journey so far
33:05 - What to do when your business plateaus
37:41 - Can you apply lessons from one business into a new one
43:27 - The need to appeal to the head and the heart when marketing your business
45:34 - The importance of a clear and succinct message
49:10 - Future plans and project
54:29 - Get in touch with Diane
FULL LIST of Useful Resources and Links: https://weardulo.com/blogs/the-early-days-podcast/startup-lessons
S2E28 - Jackie Fast: How to ask for help when you are just starting
S2E27 - 6 lessons from 12 months of building DULO
S2E26 - How to protect your IP, patents, and going door to door
Slog 54 - Influencer efforts continue
Slog 53 - Influencer Campaign
Building a Product vs. Building a Business
Slog 52 - IG live question, merch and a cool podcast.
Finding Joy In Work Through Play And The Importance Of Quitting
Slog 51 - It's been a confusing week
S2E23 - Skip the gatekeeper and go directly to your audience
Slog 50 - A bit monotone, but important
Slog 49 - Do you like the background music?
S2E22 - How a passion grows into a business, Dale Spoonmore
Slog 48 - DULO at the Emmys
Slog 47 - Birds and new prices
S2E21 - How to grow at your own, comfortable pace
Slog 46 - Nearly forgot to record this one
Slog 45 - Busy Saturday
S2E20 - How to decide when to leave or stay in a job?
Slog 44 - Some new ideas brewing
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