Episode 46 – A Lesson in Bootstrapping with Jason Cohen

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?" Featured on the Show: SmartBear WP Engine 37 Signals (Which is now Basecamp) Jason's Blog Jason's Twitter