In the last episode of the season, Sean and Étienne look back at some of the key themes that emerged from the first season.

They talk about how entrepreneurship can be viewed more as a career than a one-time experience (02:56), the importance of having conversations in your market (08:34), how founders can evaluate if they’re making real progress (14:24), and why survival is the key (18:53). At the end of the discussion, they share lessons learned from the first season (21:49) and lay the foundations for a second season...

- -

© LeanB2B and SKMurphy

In this week's episode, Sean and Étienne build on the sales discussion from episode 8. The topic this time is product demos.

They talk about the purpose of demos (01:11), why demos should be tailored and how that can be done (04:05), where demos should sit within the organization (10:00), how to work around mixed audiences (15:10), and how to present the company (19:02). They end the discussion with a series of tips to help evaluate whether the demos and the demo process are working or not (20:46).

- -

Resource mentioned:

Working Capital: Assembling Your Team (Sean's new book)

© LeanB2B and SKMurphy

In this week's episode, Sean and Étienne talk about strategic networking. They discuss whether networking can still be an effective strategy in 2023 (1:01), the types of relationships founders should try to build (5:03), when networking is the right tool for the job (13:06), how to make sure you're getting results from networking (14:14), why follow-ups matter (20:36), how to prioritize your networking efforts (23:15), and the (limited) role tech should play in networking (24:18).

- -

Resource mentioned:

Working Capital: Assembling Your Team (Sean's new book)

© LeanB2B and SKMurphy

In this episode, Sean and Étienne discuss how founders should think about making tough decisions. They start by defining why some decisions are difficult to make (01:11), they then discuss the importance of creating a decision-making framework for the company (04:53), share frameworks for making tough calls (11:13), give tips to help solicit feedback from the team (13:35), and end the episode by sharing ideas on evaluating the decisions made (20:12).

- -

© LeanB2B and SKMurphy

In this week's episode, Sean and Étienne take a stab at answering a listener's question: how can technical (and other non-commercial) founders learn sales on the job? They talk about how to get started selling (07:04), how to build the confidence to sell early on (13:53), how to evaluate your progress (20:13), how to build consensus inside organizations (22:25), how to stay in the game (22:58), and how to avoid being taken for a ride by prospects (27:02).

- -

Resource mentioned:

Glengarry Glen Ross – Always Be Closing

© LeanB2B and SKMurphy

In this week's episode, Sean and Étienne discuss how co-founders can keep each other honest and accountable (05:00), how to work around personality types (10:05), how to come to a working consensus (14:50), and when disagreements become harmful (18:38). They also share three key strategies to improve co-founder collaboration (27:00).

- -

© LeanB2B and SKMurphy

In this week's episode, Sean and Étienne discuss strategies to extend a startup's runway (3:30). They share ideas on when startups should start thinking about their runway (21:14), the downsides and upsides of different funding strategies (10:32), and what to do when a startup's runway is running out (25:28).

- -

Resources mentioned:

14 Ways B2B Entrepreneurs Can Extend Their Startup Runway to Go the Distance
PACE (Communication Methodology)

© LeanB2B and SKMurphy

In this week's episode, Sean and Étienne review four startup posters, discussing where they make sense, what's good about them, and potential drawbacks:

• Fake it till you make it (01:09)
• Move fast and break things (06:43)
• Skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it is now (12:41)
• If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses (16:33)

Each quote contains a kernel of practical startup wisdom. But are they useful? Lastly, Sean and Étienne discuss the merit of similar startup posters (19:58).

- -

Resources mentioned:

Korea, M*A*S*H, and the accidental pioneers of vascular surgery

Steven G. Friedman, MD, MBA

Historical vignettes in vascular surgery| Volume 66, ISSUE 2, P666-670, August 2017

© LeanB2B and SKMurphy