#057: John & Tyler Richards - How to Validate your Idea, Master the Art of the Pivot, & Knowing When to Double Down

It isn’t easy to be an entrepreneur. You have to be in the industry and find out what would make a change in the industry and how you can give a solution for the problems that people have. In this episode of Establishing Your Empire, we have a fascinating conversation with Tyler and John Richards, Entrepreneurs and Angel investors. If you are interested in finding out how to become the entrepreneur you have always dreamt of, this episode is just for you. 

Starting the conversation, Tyler dives into how he got into being an entrepreneur, how his family background helped him to establish the environment to be an entrepreneur, and what kind of ideas he had getting started. 

Tyler shares how he identified the need for programmers for every company in Utah and started coding classes in a co-working space. Getting into a startup by sacrificing the current job with a salary is terrifying. But if you work hard at it, you can get back to the same rate as the previous job in one or two years, according to Tyler and John. 

It’s important to go out into the industry and find out whether your idea of doing a startup is worth the time or not. It will help you to either abandon the idea or change the idea. Tyler and John share advice on how to pivot when you are going to do a startup. 

Wrapping up the conversation, both John and Tyler share how they want to be remembered. According to John, he wants to be remembered in two ways; a good husband and a father and a person who helped others achieve their dreams and goals. Tyler wants to be remembered as a person who provides true value to other people. 

[02.15] As an entrepreneur -  Starting the conversation, Tyler and John dive into how they have been working in the entrepreneurial world and how their relationship is going on as father and son. 

[03.51] Becoming an entrepreneur – Tyler shares how he grew up in an entrepreneurial background and how he was motivated to become an entrepreneur like his father. 

[09.21] Yellowpages – John dives into the journey of Yellowpages becoming .com. 

[18.26] Utah – John discusses the difference between silicon-valley and Utah, saying that Silicon Valley does deeper tech and better engineering, but Utah knows how to sell stuff. 

[21.30] The two industries – Utah is the center for two industries; the Network marketing industry and the summer sales industry. 

[22.38] Finding the need – Tyler shares how he identified the need for programmers and developers in Utah and started a coding class for interested people. 

[32.45] Sacrifice – Startups are always a risk. Tyler dives into how scary it is to abandon a paid job and start a business and how to overcome that fear. 

[34.46] DevMountain – A basic training program for coding and design. 

[38.40] Advice – Talking to your target market is one the best things to do if you are thinking of doing startups. It will help you to identify whether people buy your product or not, says Tyler, as a piece of advice for entrepreneurs out there. 

[41.06] The Startup Owner’s Manual - The Step-by-step Guide for Building a Great Company by Steve Blank. 

[44.41] Mentors and mentorship – John dives into how to find a mentor, the two kinds of mentors that you need to find, and what kind of mentor you need to find to share the obstacles you are going to face. 

[48.45] Boot camps/ incubators/ accelerators – John and Tyler dive into the experiences they have with boot camps, incubators, and accelerators. 

[55.21] Funding – Both John and Tyler share their opinion on the importance of having a business model when it comes to funding. 

[01.00.09] Pivoting – Tyler and John share some advice on how to pivot when it comes to being an entrepreneur. 

[01.08.04] Advice for 16 old self – John shares the advice he gives to his 16 years old self. 

Resources

https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnrichards/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerjordanrichards/

https://www.startupignition.vc/

https://startupignition.com/

Quotes

“Be your own boss”

“It’s a tough decision. But if you’re all in on entrepreneurship, and you keep at it, a lot of the equity you get in these companies can make up for the salary sacrifice the first couple of years”. 

“‘It’s really scary at the moment for a lot of unknown entrepreneurs to give up a job and get into a startup. But if they do things right, and use good science, as well as make good decisions, often one two years later, they’ll find themselves back at the same salary they were plus the equity in hand”. 

“Build a product that people actually want and entrepreneurship is super easy”. 

“Talk to the people you think you can sell to and validate that they will actually buy what you’re going to make or produce or sell”. 

“There’s nothing better than an incredible engineer who learns the business side of business.”.

“There’s nothing better than peer to peer mentorship, where somebody is literally six months, 12 months down the road from where you are right now”. 

“Listen to the market inside the brains of your target customer is the magic business model that make all your dreams come true”. 

“When everybody’s greedy, be fearful and when others are fearful, be greedy”.