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In today’s episode of the startup chat, Steli and Hiten talk about why you should archive all your emails now. Email is one of the most common ways of communication in the startup world, and a lot of founders receive thousands of messages in their inbox. It goes without saying that managing your email is a crucial part of running a successful business and your life. In today’s episode, Steli and Hiten talk about why your inbox is not a prison, how responding to all emails can be counterproductive, Hiten’s relationship with email and much more.   Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:00 About today’s topic. 00:37 Why this topic was chosen. 03:23 Why your inbox is not a prison. 04:48 Why you don’t have to respond to every email. 05:15 How responding to all emails can be counterproductive. 06:16 How there are better ways to manage your life than through email. 06:40 How email is still very commonly used. 07:12 Hiten’s relationship with email. 07:40 Tips to help you manage your email. 08:41 Why email shouldn’t stress you out.   3 Key Points: Your inbox is not a prison. This idea that you have to respond to every email is ridiculous. There are better ways to manage your life than through email.

Today on The Startup Chat, Steli and Hiten talk how self-management is the best management. Managing yourself is one of the most important skills a person can develop, especially if you want to be a successful leader and manage other people. In today’s episode of the show, Steli and Hiten what self-management means, the importance of self-management, some principles of good management and much more.   Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:00 About today’s topic 00:39 Why this topic was chosen. 01:21 Why knowing what you control is super important. 02:25 Why self-managed people are some of the best people to work with. 02:39 What self-management means. 03:38 Why you should start with you. 04:27 Why you should live a truly good life in front of your  children. 05:35 How it’s so much easier to tell people what to do. 08:40 The importance of self-management. 09:07 The principles of management.   3 Key Points: A lot of it has to do with knowing what you control. Self-managed people are some of the best people to work with. Self-management is figuring out what to do and not ask other people what you should be doing.

In today’s episode of The Startup Chat, Steli and Hiten talk about why you should share your work. While a lot of startups conduct their business in secret, some are now beginning to share what they are working on with the public, and like everything in life, sharing your work has it’s pros and cons. In this episode, Steli and Hiten talk about what cross-promoting is, why you shouldn’t feel forced to share your work, what type of things you could share with the public, the benefits of sharing and much more.   Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:00 About the topic of today’s episode 01:37 Why this topic was chosen. 02:58 Why you shouldn’t feel forced into sharing. 04:53 Things to consider before sharing your work. 05:17 What most startups share about their work. 05:58 How not to share your work. 06:34 Why sharing your work in real-time is riskier. 06:54 How sharing your work shows vulnerability. 07:26 How sharing your work sparks curiosity. 07:38 When to share your work.   3 Key Points: Don’t feel forced into sharing There’s beauty and power in sharing your work Most people don’t share their work

In today’s episode of The Startup Chat, Steli and Hiten talk about if founders should be doing sales. Sales can be tricky for experienced and new founders, and it’s very common for some founders to want to delegate sales to someone else as they worry that customer will judge them or see their company as a small company and not want to do business with them. However, the opposite is the case most of the time and in practice, people love talking to founders. In this week’s episode, Steli and Hiten talk about how some founders are concerned about doing sales themselves, why it’s better for founders to do sales themselves, how some founders’ let their insecurities get in the way of their success and much more.   Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:00 About today’s topic. 00:45 Why this topic was chosen. 01:55 How some founders are concerned about doing sales themselves. 02:25 Why it’s better for founders to do sales themselves. 04:06 How Hiten does sales for his own startup. 04:54 How some founders’ let their insecurities get in the way of their success. 05:30 How the customer wants you to solve their problem. 06:07 How the customer matters. 06:35 How people are thrilled to talk to founders. 07:50 How Hiten and his cofounder get on sales calls together   3 Key Points: I think it’s better if the founder sells. Insecurities can stand in the way of success. The customer wants you to solve their problem.

In today’s episode of the startup chat, Steli and Hiten talk about if there’s too much SaaS. In the startup world, there are a lot of SaaS solutions for different industries and niches. One of the reasons is that it’s become so easy to build a SaaS product and founders are doing just that. Unfortunately, this leads to oversaturation and standing out is a challenge. In today’s episode, Steli and Hiten talk about how people are building a lot of software right now, bottlenecks that affect selling a SaaS product today, advice for founders looking to start a saas company and much more.   Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:00 About today’s topic. 01:15 Why this topic was chosen. 01:37 How people are building a lot of software right now. 02:04 How bottlenecks affect selling SaaS today. 03:07 The current state of the SaaS industry. 04:16 How it’s easier than ever to build a SaaS product. 05:31 What customers think about the current state of SaaS. 05:59 How the market might go in the coming years. 07:36 If founders should be worried about competition. 08:01 Advice for founders looking to start a saas company.   3 Key Points: People are building a lot of software right now. I think there are all kinds of bottleneck today in selling SaaS It’s easier than ever to build a SaaS product.

Today on The Startup Chat, Steli and Hiten talk about a founders guide to feeling feelings. Running a business is difficult and comes witha lot of stress that if not managed properly can lead to a lot of problems for a founder. Problems that could affect your personally or worse, the health of your business. In today’s episode of the show, Steli and Hiten what it means to suppress your emotions, why doing so might not be a good thing, how to get in control of your emotions and much more.   Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:00 About today’s topic 00:32 Why this topic was chosen. 01:38 How Steli deals with his emotions. 03:25 One factor that determines how you deal with your feelings. 05:02 Another factor that determines how you deal with your feelings. 06:16 One way to get in control of your emotions. 08:35 The importance of recognizing your emotions. 09:05 A real-world example of dealing with emotions. 10:34 How Steli reacted to an emergency situation. 11:41 Why you can pay a big price if you suppress your emotions.   3 Key Points: I can’t quite fully trust my emotions. Think things through before you act. Personality has a lot to do with how you express yourself to the outside world.

In today’s episode of The Startup Chat, Steli and Hiten talk about how to acquire and cross-promo saas apps.   Acquiring and cross-promo saas apps is a common strategy stirrups use to grow. However, it can get very messy when not done right. There specific questions that need to be answered before you commit to making a purtcahse so that you avoin problems or regret.   In this episode, Steli and Hiten talk about what cross-promoting is, how companies use it to grow, why it isn’t as simple as people think and much more.   Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:00 About the topic of today’s episode 00:32 Why this topic was chosen. 02:45 Why cross-promoting isn’t as simple as people think. 03:29 Why you should be conservative with your expectations. 04:05 Things to consider before using this strategy. 05:22 How to introduce the new app to customers. 06:37 Why you should be clear about buying an app. 07:38 Why you should be cautious about buying an app. 07:41 Questions to ask before buying an app. 10:03 About Basecamp’s marketing strategy.   3 Key Points: Cross-promoting typically fails Be conservative with your expectations. Over time, most companies rebrand.

In today’s episode of The Startup Chat, Steli and Hiten talk about creating opportunities in a time of crisis. During these difficult times, a lot of business are going to struggling to stay alive, and even more, are going to fail. It’s tempting for some founders to give in to the challenging times which ultimately results in the collapse of their businesses. However, it doesn’t necessarily have to be so, with a little creativity and some innovation, founders can adapt and still keep their businesses afloat in these times. In this week’s episode, Steli and Hiten talk about reinvention versus destruction, how this pandemic is negatively affecting some businesses, examples of example of entrepreneurs taking advantage of the current situation and examples of business that are innovating in this crisis much more.   Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:00 About today’s topic. 00:37 Why this topic was chosen. 02:17 An example of an entrepreneur taking advantage of the           current situation. 06:19 How some restaurants are really innovating right now. 07:53 Another way some restaurants are innovating. 09:19 One other way some restaurants are innovating in this           crisis. 12:02 How a startup in the fitness industry is innovating. 06:01 How being successful in a time of crisis is all about getting creative.   3 Key Points: Tailors are very risk-averse. Don’t let things that get in the way of others get in your way. I’ve been most impressed by the number of restaurants that are really iterating right now

in today’s episode of the startup chat, Steli and Hiten talk about how to improve cash flow during a crisis. One of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic is that a lot of businesses are going to have problems with their cash flow. This could be as a result of customer cancellations or non-payments, and how you manage your cashflow in this crisis could make or break your business. In today’s episode, Steli and Hiten talk about what cash flow management is, some things you could do to improve your cash flow, how to manage your cash flow during the crisis and much more.   Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:00 About today’s topic. 00:31 Why this topic was chosen. 01:35 Some things you could do to improve your cashflow. 03:54 Why you should talk to a finance expert if you want to learn how to read your P&L statement. 04:17 Why you should look at your P&L statement on regularly. 05:38 Why it’s important to know how much money your company is burning and how much is in the bank. 07:00 The number one thing to understand about cash flow. 07:50 How to manage your cash flow during the crisis. 09:26 How prepayments can help you with your cash flow. 12:08 How cash flow management is a never-ending process.   3 Key Points: Learn how to read a profit and loss statement. Talk to a finance person. Understanding how to read a profit and loss statement is something founders need to know.

Today on The Startup Chat, Steli and Hiten talk about the power of encouragement. Running a business is difficult. Every entrepreneur knows this. Difficult times are going to arise and sometimes, all we need is a bit of encouragement to get over these difficult times. In today’s episode of the show, Steli and Hiten talk about the concept of encouraging others, why it’s so powerful,  why some people are better at it than others and much more.   Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:00 About today’s topic 00:39 Why this topic was chosen. 02:03 An example of a fascinating Muay Thai trainer. 04:36 Hiten’s thoughts around encouragement. 05:07 How humans can be really insecure beings. 06:05 How humans are terrible at recognising when someone needs encouragement. 07:17 How talking things out can give us encouragement. 08:15 How encouragement is an interesting concept. 08:50 Why it’s important to become aware when someone needs encouragement. 09:32 The importance of encouraging each other.   3 Key Points: Sometimes I can be quite critical with people and with myself. I think anyone can use encouragement, in both ways. Become aware when someone needs encouragement, and when you need it as well.

Today on The Startup Chat we talk about worry. We get lots of questions about things that are rooted in worry. Worry is a useless emotion that just paralyzes action and problem solving. There are 2 different problems people worry about. The problem you can’t do anything about. The problem that you will never have. Worry can be helpful in business because it tells you there is an issue that needs to be addressed. A worry should be short term and dealt with in a matter of hours not days or weeks. Here are some observations we had about worry: What exactly is a worry The 2 questions to ask yourself Problems you will never have The difference a little experience makes Hiten’s helpful hack for worrying The productive way to worry vs. the unproductive way to worry Learning how to worry is key to keeping your business running smoothly. Problems should be dealt with quickly, when a worry creeps up, be proactive. We invite you to join our Facebook group.  It’s great to have such an incredible group of entrepreneurs out there making it happen every day. We’d love to hear from you; please feel free to join our Facebook group and share your experiences, challenges, and motivation with us and the rest of Startup Chat community. We appreciate having your email address at  The Startup Chat  because we’ll be sharing some special podcast episodes and other things exclusively with the people on our email list.  Click the link above and fill out the email address box to become part of the community today! As always, you can hit us up on Twitter @Steli or @hnshah.

In today’s episode of The Startup Chat, Steli and Hiten talk about The HEY launch. Basecamp launched their new product, HEY, recently and have succeeded in creating a lot of buzz and a huge waiting list in the process. In this episode, Steli and Hiten talk about how HEY was marketed before it launched, how the launch of HEY was a campaign, the unique position of Basecamp as a company and much more.   Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:00 About the topic of today’s episode 00:41 Why this topic was chosen. 02:04 One thing about Basecamp that a lot of people don’t realise. 02:48 About HEY. 03:47 How the launch of HEY was a campaign. 05:00 Another interesting thing about the HEY launch. 05:53 The unique position of Basecamp. 07:38 How Apple is a very principled company. 08:30 How Basecamp has found a middle ground. 10:03 About Basecamp’s marketing strategy.   3 Key Points: The team about basecamp is that they’re not as strategic as you might think. They just have principles that have worked for them for over 20 years. They don’t need to make privacy the enemy when they launch. Who starts a battle with Apple?

In today’s episode of The Startup Chat, Steli and Hiten talk about how reinvention causes everything to thrive. People or companies might seek to reinvent themselves or change the way they do things, and most of the time, this can be a good thing. However, a lot of the times, people think that for you to reinvent yourself, something has to be destroyed. While this is true in some cases, it doesn’t always have to be. In this week’s episode, Steli and Hiten talk about reinvention versus destruction, one beautiful thing about the USA, how reinvention can cause hardship and much more.   Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:00 About today’s topic. 00:31 Why this topic was chosen. 01:07 Reinvention versus destruction. 02:24 One beautiful thing about the USA. 04:01 How reinvention can cause hardship. 05:13 How more American companies go through reinvention. 05:47 Why Hiten wrote this tweet. 06:01 How America has always been about reinvention. 06:23 What destruction is about. 07:19 What causes things to survive and thrive.   3 Key Points: I don’t think destruction is always required for reinvention. Reinvention is such an interesting concept. It is not easy to reinvent yourself.

In today’s episode of The Startup Chat, Steli and Hiten talk about how to make plans during 2020. With everything that has happened in 2020, you’d be forgiven if you chose to describe this year as the year of crisis. With this crisis comes uncertain and it can be quite challenging to make long-term plans in uncertain times like these. In today’s episode, Steli and Hiten talk about if you should make plans in 2020, how you should plan in this year, why your timelines have to be shorter during a crisis and much more.   Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:00 About today’s topic. 00:42 Why this topic was chosen. 01:33 Should you make plans in 2020? 02:43 How you should plan in 2020. 04:19 Why your timelines have to be shorter during a crisis. 04:59 How Steli currently makes his plans. 06:04 The right way to approach crazy times like these. 08:00 How Hiten approached the crisis. 11:59 How teams could deal with high pressure. 12:12 How you can adapt to the uncertainty.   3 Key Points: You’re just planning, but not as far ahead as you normally would. 2020 isn’t done with us. During a crisis, your timelines have to be shorter

Today on The Startup Chat, Steli and Hiten talk about the lack of mastery in inner work. As humans, we all are experiencing life differently, and these experiences shape who we are and mould us into what we are at any given time. Although some of us would love to master our shortcomings, it is an ongoing situation, and mastering inner work is the type of work that never ends. In today’s episode of the show, Steli and Hiten talk about how your strength can be your weakness, how inner work is the type of work that never ends, why you shouldn’t dehumanize your heroes and much more.   Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:00 About today’s topic 00:48 Why this topic was chosen. 01:01 How your strength can be your weakness. 03:04 How inner work is the type of work that never ends. 04:05 How inner work can feel like a never-ending onion. 05:21 How what you are today will always keep changing. 06:22 Why you shouldn’t dehumanize your heroes. 07:12 How Jeff Bezos is a human. 08:47 Why there’s no mastery at the end of the tunnel. 09:51 How long it took for the Steli and Hiten to realise they were full of shit.   3 Key Points: There’s no mastery in inner work. Inner work is the type of work that never ends Your strength is your weakness.  

In today’s episode of The Startup Chat, Steli and Hiten talk about "Should Have Done This Earlier". Business comes with lots of challenges. Sometimes we figure out the solution to a challenge and, depending on how you look at it, might feel relieved about figuring it out or frustration about not doing so sooner. In this episode, Steli and Hiten talk about why you shouldn’t focus on the negative side of things, the benefits of having a positive outlook on things why working on our attitudes towards ourselves can be a game-changer and much more.   Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:00 About the topic of today’s episode 00:31 Why this topic was chosen. 01:07 Why Hiten tweeted about today topic. 02:32 How there are different ways to look at a lightbulb moment. 03:52 How what you focus on changes how you look at different situations. 04:56 Why how you feel whenever you figure out something challenging doesn’t matter. 05:15 Why you shouldn’t focus on the negative side of things. 06:54 Why you shouldn’t set conditions for yourself. 07:00 The benefits of having a positive outlook on things. 09:53 Why working on our attitudes towards ourselves can be a game-changer.   3 Key Points: If you feel that you were dumber a year ago, you’re growing. Not every day is going to be the same. What you focus on a situation, changes how you look at it.  

In today’s episode of The Startup Chat, Steli and Hiten talk about how to keep your sanity in 2020. With all that is going on in the world at the moment, the COVID-19 epidemic and the current police brutality protests going on around the world, it’s really difficult to stay composed and not let it all affect your mental health negatively. In this week’s episode, Steli and Hiten talk about things they are doing to stay sane at the moment, how nobody really knows how to feel right now, how information overload could be a problem right now and much more.   Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:00 About today’s topic. 00:23 Why this topic was chosen. 01:58 How Hiten is keeping his sanity right now. 02:36 The difference between luck and gratitude. 03:00 How nobody really knows how to feel right now. 03:12 How information overload could be a problem right now. 04:06 One really unique thing about these times. 05:50 How Steli is keeping his sanity right now. 07:19 One reason why this current situation is so intense. 09:07 How this current situation is hitting a nerve with a lot of people.   3 Key Points: This year is something else! These are unusual times I just feel really lucky. Nobody really knows how to feel.

In today’s episode of The Startup Chat, Steli and Hiten talk about online meetings & virtual events during COVID-19. One thing that has been on the rise during the COVID 19 crisis has been online conferences, and there are a number of factors that are causing this. One of those is that people ar3e working from home and have more time to attend these conferences. In today’s episode, Steli and Hiten talk about how the number of invitations to online events conferences has revved up rapidly, Hiten’s experience with online events, how people have more time for online events right now and much more.   Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:00 About today’s topic. 00:40 Why this topic was chosen. 01:28 How the number of invitations to online events and conferences has revved up rapidly. 02:02 Hiten’s experience with online events. 03:39 How things might gradually shift. 04:23 Why this explosion of online events fascinates Hiten. 04:54 How people have more time for online events right now. 06:00 How people are starving for new connections. 06:40 How online events are much easier to attend. 07:22 One thing that’s always going to be true about online events.   3 Key Points: The amount of invitations to online events and conferences has revved up rapidly. There’s been a lot of exuberance for online events, more than I’ve ever seen in my life. This explosion is fascinating to me.

Today on The Startup Chat, Steli and Hiten talk about the Sales & Marketing Grind. This episode is inspired by a tweet from Hiten that pointed out how marketing is a grind, one that you need to get used to, as it requires you to do the same thing over and over again in order to be successful. In today’s episode of the show, Steli and Hiten talk about the tweet that inspired this episode, what prompted this tweet and why marketing is different from sales and much more.   Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:00 About today’s topic 00:34 Why this topic was chosen. 01:05 The tweet that inspired this episode. 01:40 What prompted Hiten’s tweet. 03:02 How marketing and sales is a grind. 04:09 How marketing and sales are like working out. 05:03 What makes Steli stay consistently on the sale grind. 08:22 A mindset that salespeople need to develop. 10:10 Why marketing is different from sales. 11:34 How Hiten gets through the grind.   3 Key Points: The most difficult part of marketing and sales is getting used to the grind. Just do more of what ended up working. It’s the same thing over and over again.

In today’s episode of The Startup Chat, Steli and Hiten talk about starting a Startup during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the COVID pandemic, there’s going to be a lot of people thinking about starting a new Startup. However, whether now is a good time or now to start is a question that needs to be answered. In this episode, Steli and Hiten talk about if this is the right time to start a Startup, why there’s never a good or bad time to start, what to consider if you’re starting something right now and much more.   Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:00 About the topic of today’s episode 00:23 Why this topic was chosen. 01:37 If this is the right time to start a Startup. 02:22 Why there’s never a good or bad time to start. 02:34 How the world is very different right now. 04:38 Why this is a good time to start. 07:44 What to do differently if you started now. 09:05 Why cash flow is more important right now. 10:16 Why “nice to haves” are off the table. 11:57 What to consider if you’re starting something right now.   3 Key Points: I don’t think there’s ever a good or bad time to start a Startup. The world is different. There’s more access to information right now than in 2008.