00049. How Garrett Dimon Built and Sold Sifter While Dealing with Health Issues That Ultimately Led to Amputating His Left Leg

On today's episode of Gritty Founder, Kreig Kent talks with Garrett Dimon about how he built and sold Sifter. Garrett shares terrific advice on the importance of listening to customers as well as some tips for selling your business.

Garrett spent eight years building Sifter before selling it while dealing with health issues that led to a left below-knee amputation. Now he's turning his experience into a site to help other amputees be more active.

Some Questions Kreig asks Garrett:

- At what point did you think you wanted to start a company? (8:18)

- How big was the team for Sifter? (13:01)

- What do you think is the most important ingredient for a founder who is starting out? (14:54)

- When things were not going well and you wanted to quit, what would you tell yourself to keep going? (16:11)

- If you could go back in time, what advice would you tell yourself? (24:13)

- What is some advice you can give to a SaaS founder in the early stages of their business? (30:45)

- How did you feel when someone showed interest in buying Sifter? (34:14)

- What is one piece of advice for founders who are trying to sell their business? (41:00)

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

- About Garrett’s background and how he became an entrepreneur (4:34)

- How Garrett built Sifter (8:22)

- The importance of perseverance and sticking with it (15:00)

- Listen to customers and be open to feedback (24:29)

- Talk to customers in person as soon as possible and forever (30:57)

- About the process of selling a business (34:53)

- Trust your gut when deciding to sell your business (41:08)

Connect with Garrett Dimon:

Twitter

Personal Website

Also Mentioned on This Show...

Garrett’s favorite quote:

“Everything takes longer than it does.”

Garrett’s book recommendations:

Christopher Alexander

Edward R. Tufte