Startup mentality, turning ideas into a business

Welcome to Building Better Developers, the Developer podcast, where we work on getting better step by step professionally and personally. Let's get started. Well, hello and welcome back. We are continuing our interview with Geert Veelemen, also known as much more pronounceably G. And we're going to get a little deeper this episode into the, we'll call it the startup mentality, how to go from that startup, as we've learned in the first episode, where you have all these, as he calls them crazy ideas sometimes, but actually very excellent ideas. And it's how do you go from that idea to essentially a startup to implement it, to turn it into a business. So it's not just, hey, we solve this problem, but actually doing it in a business sense. What are the processes and procedures and how do you leverage technology to build that? So whether you are a provider that's helping somebody do this, or whether you're somebody that's a startup that needs it, I think this is a really informative discussion. And you get a lot of the experience that G's gotten out of seeing a lot of these companies working with the organizations, working with the teams, getting into the mindset of the various people and helping them find the best way forward. That being said, I think it's a good time for us to just dive right back into it and let's get back to our conversation with G. Great. And so it really starts with, are you creating something that people actually want to buy? If that's the case, if you have enough proof of that, or you're on your way to proving that, how can you go, basically prove that as fast as possible? And then slowly but steadily building the right team with the right people. And the right people, it's really, I mean, we say it like, ah, the right people. But hiring the wrong person, I don't know if you've ever been there, but it can take a lot of energy and you don't get what you want. I think it's super important to work with the right people. And yeah, with the right people, you can do a lot. That's what investors look for as well, right? If they invest in companies, they say, well, it's team, team, and oh, yeah, team. And then they always say, a great team with a bad idea can come a long way. But if you have a bad team with a great idea, so yeah. Three components, if you will. I call them three pillars, magnetize, attract, and retain talent, staff, and partners, performance to really your leadership, because it really starts with you. And then your systems and your processes and really having the systems in place for the right age for your company, if you will, because corporate systems are not the right systems for a startup, right? It's really the face of the company. But that's my take. Do you agree? Have you seen the same? Yeah. And actually that sort of leads to the next. Another question I want to ask is what, with what you're seeing, do you often, I'm sort of thinking like the mix between processes and automation as part of being able to advance the business, because it seems like a lot of times a smaller business or a younger business or startup, they would love to automate. But the really, they don't have the processes defined in a way that you can automate it. So it's, you have to back up a little bit, say we can, yeah, you can throw a lot of technology at it, but right now you don't understand or you can't explain your business enough for somebody to automate it because, you know, it's rare that you have a, you know, a CEO or an entrepreneur that also is a, is tech savvy enough that they can just build their own thing. So they've got to, they've got to understand it, communicate it, and then let it get automated. And so where does that sort of fall? The, are you usually by the time people come to you, have they got some processes or is it a lot where you have to almost go in and, and help them nail down those processes first as part of that, that growth, or is there a mix in there? Well, I mean, in the beginning, when I work with startups, startups like to create, right? Oh, we have this great idea, platform and stuff, but usually it's, it's, it's, it's not the platform. It's really figuring out how do you get to your customers? Can you build this first pilot? Can you basically, what, like you said, do it and have that conversation and take it one step at a time. And yes, the building is important, but your customers are. So what I did, basically I built this platform and then I did it the wrong way around. So I got an expensive learning for, I usually now work with companies that are a little further along the, along the way. It's, it's like, sometimes I'll help solar entrepreneurs. It really depends on the case. But if you have a management team, usually they already have products and processes, but really there are a lot of times when, when we go in and we say, okay, here, here's where, how we can improve this process. But I don't, I, you know, I always, I think, I don't know who said it, but it's like a fool with the tool is still a fool. A tool is amazing thing, but, but you have to put the tool at the right place in the right moment. And then it's also a matter of, okay, how much does it really cost to, to have that developed and maintained because having a tool, you know, nowadays technology goes so fast, we have to make sure that we can maintain it and that it fits our, our processes. Spending money is easy, but spending it on the right things is actually quite interesting. Yeah, that is, and it's funny because as we're, as we're doing this, we're near, you know, getting near the end of a year and this is, it's, that is recurring theme that I have with, with conversations, both internally and externally with customers in that, as you get to the beginning and the end of a year where that seems to be, that's the time where people look back a little bit and say, okay, you know, because it's, it's budget time and stuff like that. So what did we spend it on last year? What are we going to spend it on this year? And sometimes you do get that where they look at it and say, wow, we spent all of that. We threw bags of money at the same. We don't even, this is sitting on a shelf somewhere. We don't, we don't have somebody that can use it. And so that's, that's almost part of that. That growth is the, it's, it's almost getting lean again, is it's taking some of those things where you, you grow quickly and then you say, oh, I want that tool, that tool, that tool. And then you realize after the fact, I didn't really need those. And so that leads into in looking at, at both companies growing and then also from a, from like a finance, if they're getting venture capital or something like that, how does, how did those things factor in as far as like, Hey, if we're going to give you, you know, you want funding for X amount of stuff, how much is it, are they, are they going to be looking into, or how can you really, are you going to be able to really utilize that in the way that you say it is, or are you going to actually grow too far too fast and we're sort of wasting our money at this point and instead you need a, maybe you need a trickle instead of a fire hose of funding at the time. Well, what you see nowadays more and more of course is investors get educated more and more and, and they basically work more in a milestone way, say, Hey, okay, you're going to spend this money on this. What is the result that we're actually getting from it? Right. Not giving you like a blank check for like, okay, here is a few million, do this. You know, it happens, but usually it's okay. Let's, let's talk about some milestones. And even with the, the entrepreneurs that, you know, I work with in the management teams is okay, you know, are we willing to invest in this part of the business? And what, what is the result that we actually requiring to get out of it? And I can imagine, right. Your, your show is, is, is for developers, entrepreneurs is like, I can imagine, you know, if you build a tool or a software system, you want it to be used, right by the client. So it's also, can you help your clients sometimes to get some clarity? Because at the end of the day, if you know exactly what they want and you build something that really solves a problem, now you have raving fans and they come back, but if it's a tool that they use once then, or it really doesn't fit how they, how, how they can help their customers, then you know, you're not in the end, you do, maybe you make some money, but you're not doing yourself a service in the long run. Well, and because we've got a, the audiences tends, the audience tends to be a very technical audience. I always like to ask this question a bit because of the traditional way some developers and technicians look is how often when you're in a, when, when you're either particularly like if you're either in an incubator, you're looking at a company that's or a group that's trying to become a company, or if you're talking to somebody that's in an investment, how often does actual technology, the technology, like the, you know, the buzzword technology they use, how much is that even impact that discussion? Can you, can you reframe the question because I not totally understand what you're asking. So it's, it would be things like, cause a lot of times it seems like there's that, you know, it's a, somebody's building a tool and the difference is the differentiator is this tool is built new and improved. This is, you know, this is built in version 2.0 technology instead of 1.0 technology from a, from a, I'm trying to come up with a buzzword today for like a buzzword today would be something like this is a, you know, Hey, we are also including AI in this, or this has some crypto link or something that, you know, think of some buzzword that there's some technology behind it. And particularly when you get into technology, it's like, Hey, this is using Windows 11 versus windows 10 or something like that. How often does that, that flash factor, I guess, of a solution come in versus the things you've talked about, which are more about people and processes and having a good idea and customers. Well, I mean, nowadays I'm more into companies who are a bit more, you know, further along the road, they have some technology. I think personally, when I look at it, I mean, it's great, right? AI can do wonders for us. Crypto has its place. There is, there's, and it's, it's, it's all very new. And I think, yes, with new technology, we can do amazing things at the end of the day, is the technology really helping us to get the results as the end user or, you know, we're buying the software and we're giving it to the end user. Is it, is it, is it giving the end user the result that they're, that they're looking for, because then we're making a difference technology for technology doesn't make sense. And sometimes new technology is amazing, but from management of your firm, if you will, then you also need to be able to maintain it. So I'm talking nowadays more to people say, yeah, what technology do you need? Can you maintain it? If it's new, amazing. And if it gives you a competitive advantage, even better, but you need to have the people, the developers, if you will, to, to maintain it and to have the team that even if one developer or one team doesn't work, that, that you can, as a management team, quickly change and adapt if you need the change, because otherwise you're basically painting yourself in into a corner. And so as a, as a development for, for, I can imagine that it's really important that you have the capability and that you, you know, where that you can, that you have a differentiator with other firms and that you can give the results to the company, what they're looking for. Does that make sense? Yeah. Yeah. And that's what I was sort of expecting was that from an answer, but I just, I like to sometimes have somebody that say, we'll say in the know is to sort of walk through that as well, because it's, it's good to, to sort, to reaffirm some of those assumptions so that we know that we're, you know, we're, we're thinking through these things, we're going in the right direction. So an interesting one from that, while you're talking through this with companies that are sort of established, which is, you know, now talking about your, your primary customer base right now, and they want to grow. How, and this is, this is more of a curiosity is how often is it really just growing what they have in there, you know, doing like enhancements or new features with their existing products and how often do you see them coming up with it? It's, it's essentially, Hey, we have this new idea. We have this customer base. We would now want to expand or maybe pivot so that we can sort of launch off of the customer base we have into something else. Like for example, think of something that would be like, say somebody had like a, like an Airbnb and they said, Oh, you know, we're established in this, but now we're going to do Airbnb for restaurants or, you know, something like that is you hear that all. I think you hear that a lot where people are like, Oh, I've got this product idea. It's this, except for it's this, for this other thing that they don't currently use. Yeah, personally, I haven't come across it really. I have helped a few teams doing something totally new in the, in, in, in, in, let's say in distribution, but with very new technology, I mean, I'm not a developer, so probably one of your listeners go, Oh gee, you got it totally wrong, but more like, I think there's this new technology where you basically build a cube and within the cubes, the cube stock to each other is like really, I don't know, it's supposed to be very cutting edge. They, they did that, but they had this idea and they, they went for it. And, um, uh, my current customers, it's more like, okay, I have this way of working, how can I expand and how can I solidify what I'm doing because I'm getting crazy, let's say you have a development firm and, but you're there 24 seven and you can, you know, you're always the one who's solved the, solves the problems or you have that management team not working as you want to get her or you're great at developing, but your marketing is really, how do you get more people to you or are you getting too many people? I think my focus and attention is more towards that. And I haven't come across a company who wanted to expand through the power of technology, uh, into different markets just yet. That's good. That's, that's interesting. Good to know as well, because it's, it seems like those are the, uh, the bigger stories you'll hear is that, you know, some company pivoted and they did, especially in the last couple of years is they were, they were this kind of a company and then they saw a need and they did this big pivot. And sometimes that crashes the whole company. Sometimes they, you know, they do become something that they, they never expected to be, but it's good to know that that's more of the, the, the general approach is, Hey, if we want to grow, we can take what we have, we just, we just want to do what we do better. We, you know, we want to either bring more, you know, bring more customers in, sell better, have a higher quality. Uh, we want to grow and scale as opposed to, you know, hitting that ceiling of, Hey, we can only do so much per, uh, with the staff we have. And you hit that point where you say, okay, now we can't grow. Now here's the thing though. Um, if you scale, you want to have your systems in place, your people in place. You basically want to scale something that's working. Otherwise you have a problem. Having said that sometimes, and maybe some of the listeners have that sometimes we have some procedures, we invented stuff for ourselves that we feel is super normal. Right. We, we thought, Hey, that's always how I do it. But in that there's a new business case in that you can actually help a lot of others. So when you're listening right now, if you're, if you're thinking, Hey, I have this process and it's working really well, and I haven't seen it out there. I basically, uh, you know, figured something out where I had a need. Then maybe it's okay. It would that be something that I could sell or could use, uh, for others. And sometimes also we do stuff for our customers that they don't know. Right. We do a bunch of things, we include it in our service. And then we think, Hey, the customer just, you know, things that's normal. And, and, and if we make that into a little product or an edit service, or at least, um, tell our customers that we're doing it, at least the perceived value goes up. And sometimes we actually can make more money with, without doing anything else. So, uh, it's really interesting to see what are you already selling? Are you good at something? And then maybe expanding that into another product and that maybe can go into other markets. How much of that, uh, we'll get a little personal, how much of that is sort of how you grew into, you know, from the incubators and working with, you know, being sort of the, the guy people talk to, to say, Hey, I've got some stuff, some materials, some content, now I've got questions I answer in a way that is valuable enough that, um, you know, that you developed it into coaching and mentoring and, and consulting services you offer to companies. Well, I mean, I first, you know, started to talk to people one-on-one and, and I helped people on stage and then at one point, some people asked me, Hey, G, can you help me speak on this day? Well, it was already a skill that I taught others and suddenly it became a product. And now I am sometimes standing on a stage and telling my story and became an extra product. And, and, and so, yes, I do believe that we all develop skills and tools that we can use and that we use first to further ourselves and then we can sell. So I have a tiny bit of that going on. What I do know is that, that, that the more skilled we are, the, the, the more experienced, the more we hone our craft and the more we get asked to basically solve problems and, and, and that's what I do. I basically, you bring me your biggest problems and I can't, you know, I can't promise you that we'll solve them. But what I can promise that, you know, with all the experience and all the companies that I see, I'll ask you questions and, and, and, and we've usually go faster than you just Googling day and night, if that makes sense. Yes, it does. That's some of the, as you're talking through that is, because I know when I've, I've had conversations with customers and clients where there will be something that I'll, I'll stumble upon and I'll be like, Oh, I'm going to do this. It's something that I'll, I'll stumble upon that's a, you know, as part of the conversation with them, and it'll sort of occur to me like, Hey, this is something so different that I don't do, but I could, you know, there's something maybe that I'm even recommending to them that I don't do. And I'm like, Hey, I should go back and eat my own medicine, basically, and, and start doing that myself, because you can, you know, sometimes you can see it better in somebody else than you can in you and yourself in your own organization. Now is that something that you see as well? As you go through these conversations that you, you can occasionally pick something up and say, Oh, you know what? I need to develop that habit or I need to refine that process. Yes. I am so amazed with the people that I work with and I I'm very humble. I I'm the first to say that I have to develop a lot of things myself. I think people will say, Oh, I'm the greatest. No, that's not the case, but what I have is an outside perspective. What, what, what is a trick that I also, you know, sometimes. We look at in our industry and we'll always say, well, this is how it's done in our industry. Well, what if you look into another industry, right? What if we compare development with a five star hotel? Let's say you wanted to be a five star hotel. What would you do differently? Right. If, if your company was a five star hotel, or maybe you're just a budget hotel. Right. What would you do differently? So I think we learn, I get to learn a lot from the people that, that I work with. I get inspired. I really love people who love growth and, and, and, and basically people who say, you know what, I, I don't blame other, I don't, I don't blame others. I don't, you know, I'm where I'm at, but I want to grow and, and. And basically I have this goal and I will get there. So here's a little story. I, um, I, I wanted to lose weight and for years I said, Oh, I want to lose weight. Right. But it was like that rocket. I, I, I began and then I stopped, right. Gravity set in and until one day I, I was inspired by a, I volunteer at, at, at, with a certain group and, and the leader said, you know, basically talked about aspirational health and I said, okay, enough is enough. I re I really am going to make the decision that I'm going to lose weight. And I said one thing and, and, and I think for everybody listening, it's, it's. If you really want something, then fall in love with the process and the results will follow. I will say it again, say fall in love with the process and the results will follow because I basically said to myself, I want to lose weight and I don't care. I will just start to basically work out and count calories and I will fall in love with the process. And, and it took me one, 1.5 years and I lost 20 kilos and I'm not saying that. I mean, to me, that was really significant. Um, but I think sometimes we want things and then it just doing it daily and making it super simple. So yeah. Um, am I inspired by others? Absolutely. Do I need a push now and then? Absolutely. But I think that's, that's, that's the role of somebody like me sometimes to, to, to do suggestions, do the somebody like me know it better? I don't think so. I think I believe that any entrepreneur or any leader is the captain on their ship, you get advice, you say, Hey, this, this advice fits me or it doesn't, but at least you have an outside perspective and then you get to move on and you get to learn and I get to learn in the process. And I'm super thankful for that. We often talk about, uh, incremental, like, you know, doing a little bit every day and then the next thing you know, it's a habit and then the next thing you know, there's, you can like, you can chip away at stuff and the next thing you know, you've made very big progress and you look back and it feels like he didn't spend any time at all, but you can look back and say, Oh, I've spent a whole year doing that, but that's why I've made these huge strides in that because I made a little bit of progress every day and that, that does add up and it does get easier over time. It's just, it becomes just your routine, you know, natural to you at that point to just say, yeah, I get up every day and I, I do a little exercise or I, I, you know, I have this habit around eating so that I don't eat so much or that I can keep track all of the, and it hits any facet of light, but you can do it a little bit and just repeat it, then it can grow and you can have some amazing results. I do want to, I want to respect your time and I do want to, I don't want you to let you go though before allowing you to share as, because I think you really gave us a, you know, a gym there to finish up all of, from an idea point of view, but now people have heard you and they're like, man, I love this G guy. I got to talk to him more. I want to reach out to him and see where, where I can help him help me be better. What are the, some good or the best ways for them to get ahold of you? Well, you know, I think I've created the system. It's, it's the three pillars. I explain a little bit more if you really want to know more. I have created this bit.ly it's bit.ly slash and then the name of my company, which is Imajayo. It's called I for Isaac, M for Marie, A for anniversary, G for generic, E for energy, J for January and O for ozone. If you go there, it's a 10 minute clip. It doesn't say the time, but it's really, it's really, really, really short. And then there is this form that you can, you know, you can give your details. You can reach out and if you really want to get on a call immediately, then it's the bit.ly it's really the same name, but then it says call in the end. And then you get in a form, you can book a call with me. And if you're somebody who is, you know, struggling in business or just wants to grow or manage growth, and you really think that, you know, I could be of service, I'm happy to help on the call, but look at the system first. And, and yeah, that's how people can reach me. And I'll be super thankful to help anybody progress further because yeah, I think it's about this entrepreneurial spirit. I love it, right? People who love to grow, love to innovate. That's the, and, and, and don't blame and say, oh, it's them. No, they, they understand it's me, but I needed a little help, a little perspective that's, that's people or management teams that I really love to help. Excellent. And that shows that comes through as, as I'm talking to you, that that's, this is definitely, I think, I think you're much happier than you would have been had you stuck with law. So I think you're having absolutely. Well, thank you again. Thank you for your time. It's been so nice having you and discussing with you. And then hopefully, you know, we'll connect again and be able to catch up with, with all the latest that's going on in your world. Thank you so much for having me. And thank you for everybody who listened to this and yeah, hope to see you soon and connect and to grow. And that will wrap it up. We've had a great conversation with G probably a lot of notes, a lot of things to get your, uh, you know, get your sauces flowing a little bit, however you think about it, to get the wheels in motion mentally about where you're at, what are you trying to do, where do you want to go that it is more than just having that great idea or that vision, but actually figure out how to implement it and turn it into something that is for lack of a better term, reproducible and eventually maybe automation or automatable. So you can use automation to scale that up as going to be links in the show notes for reaching out to G he's very conversational as you may have picked up from this interview. It's great guy to talk to very energetic, very enthusiastic. And so if you have any questions, if you have anything that where you would like to discuss his background, maybe what he sees, I'm sure he'd be more than happy to spend some time and get to know you and get to know your situation as well. So check those things out, tell them hi from the development or podcast and hopefully we'll connect some people and you've gotten it as again, as so many of the interviewees have been, if you got half as much out of it as I did, then you've got a full notebook, but we are not done. We've got more of these excellent interviews coming. We back next episode. We're going to start a whole new interview and we'll just keep on plowing ahead from there. We've got a long list and some great conversations ahead, but until next time, go out there and have yourself a great day, a great week, and we will talk to you and somebody else next time. Thank you for listening to building better developers, the developer nor podcast. 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