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Episode 46 – A Lesson in Bootstrapping with Jason Cohen

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You’re in for a treat this week!

Bring a notepad and get ready to jot down some great advice, as James and Jean are joined by Jason Cohen of WP Engine.

Get ready for a guest host who will leave you greedy for more and more of his awesome “knowledge bombs”.

Topics Include:

  • Jason’s 20 years of startups.
  • The Story of WP Engine
  • Why Entrepreneurship
    • “Start with what you want and optimize for that.”
    • “The best form of advice is to help someone think for themselves…” – Jason
  • The commonality between having children and running a business.
  • Picking your battles.
    • Choosing which problems to solve in what order.
  • What statistics say about startups.
    • “You have to ask yourself, do you want a cofounder?” – Jason
    • Answer what feels right to you.
  • Jason’s experience as a stay-at-home dad.
  • Growing your community.
  • Importance of point-of-view, purpose, & where the market is going.
    • Prepare for your ideas to be wrong.
      • “Strong opinions weakly held.”
  • On changing your own role within your company.
    • “Why build a company if you don’t like what you do everyday?” -Jason
    • Be excited, don’t get burnt out.
    • “The state of mind you are in doesn’t have to be terminal, you can change it.” -James
    • On “The tour of duty.”
  • Defining superpowers!
    • The difference between a superpower and excellence.
      • You CAN be burnt out by things you are excellent at.
      • However, a superpower will never wear you down.
    • Hiring for a superpower is one of the best things you can do.
  • Be mindful of the ‘ego’ component of being a CEO, or equivalent.
    • Have a big ego, but don’t let that drive major decisions.
  • How do you go about evaluating all of the above, systematically?
  • Being smart about 1-on-1 meetings.
  • Keeping a journal and tracking when you are most productive and happy.
  • What is ‘Coach mode’?
    • How to approach it.
    • How to hone it.
  • Is it more valuable to obtain new customers, or add a feature?
  • What is the one thing that will impact your business the most, that you need?
    • Focus on THAT.
  • Do you have employees who can be better utilized in other areas?
  • Try asking, “If you had a magic wand, what would you do?”

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