In today’s episode, Melissa sits down for a (virtual) drink with Lloyed Lobo, who is drinking a two liter bottle of water to keep hydrated, while Melissa is enjoying a Heineken. Lloyed is the cofounder of Boast AI, which is a technology platform that provides businesses with R&D and Innovation funding. He also cofounded Traction, which is a global community that brings leaders behind the fastest-growing companies to share learnings on how to build and scale companies via podcasts, meetups, retreats, and conferences. To kick things off, Melissa asks if most founders think they will get rich from their startup. Lloyed states that the common theme is that everyone is looking to create a massive impact and not necessarily money. Money loses its factor and you focus on the good you can make and the legacy that you leave in the world. He goes on to say that there are two types of founders– bootstrap and venture back founders. Bootstrap founders are more honest and will do things they like, and make decent money. The venture back founders will focus on making an impact first and the money will come later. If you focus on money, it is more short term decisions, but if you focus on your vision it will be long-term goals. Money is just a means to find happiness, and success is true freedom.
Next, Lloyed shares his story of how he was chasing money and freedom while creating Boast AI. He was building a community, so it didn’t feel like work and truly was fun for him. He went down a bad path, where Boast AI became his number one priority, and he gained weight and became depressed. He had a goal to prove his mother-in-law wrong that he would amount to something and this was a 10 year journey. He had professional ups and downs, and lost a child. Most founders have a common anger to prove someone wrong or change the status quo. He also states that the difference between a VC and P firm is that a P firm buys out your company and rolls it into another company, or continues to lean into it. A VC firm invests in it and doesn’t want to run it for you, but believes in your vision. A growth equity firm is somewhere in the middle, but you have to get to a certain AR for that to be meaningful to these firms.
Lloyed continues sharing his story where he was so engrossed with building Boast AI that his wife would urge him to put down his phone and to spend time with his family. He kept dreaming about taking everyone to Bora Bora, and his wife said the kids don’t care about that, but they want time with their Dad. He was supposed to go to Bora Bora, but was hospitalized because of COVID and on an oxygen tank. He also had COVID pneumonia and while in the hospital, he could not see his wife or any other family members or friends. He started thinking he had life changing money in the bank, but that won’t save him. When he came out of the hospital, they hired a lot more people for Boast AI, but he didn’t change his values and priorities. His daughter asked him to work for a founder who thinks differently, so she could have her Dad back. He almost missed his third child’s birth and he realized all worries in life are an attachment. His company became huge overnight, and he changed his values and priorities. He realized his main values are family, friends and fitness. He now asks himself if every opportunity brings him closer or farther away from these values. If it’s farther, he won’t take those opportunities. His personal definition of success is to find joy in the work he is doing.
Lastly, Lloyed discusses how he would not change the way he ran the company, but he would do it the same but focus on his values now. His advice for founders looking for capital partners is to ask for their values. He also states to not look at their references, but instead to look at their portfolio companies. You need to also find someone who believes in your company and vision, and who will go out of their way to make connections.
0:55 - Welcome to this episode, in which host Melissa interviews Lloyed Lobo.
4:38 - How most founders think they will get rich from their start-up.
7:50 - Two types of founders and what they are wanting from startups.
13:02 - Lloyed shares his story in building Boast AI.
18:28 - Difference between VC, P and GE firms.
24:17 - Lloyed shares his dream vacation to go to Bora Bora, but lands in the hospital with COVID instead.
31:58 - How he realized his personal values.
46:20 - Advice he would give to founders looking for capital partners.
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founder, startups, salary, Lloyed Lobo, Boast AI, Traction, bootstrap founder, venture back founder, values, success, money, firms, AR, growth, advice, capital partners