E328 - You don’t need capital to create a startup, performance-based equity is the biggest market validation there is | with Chris Joyce

The One Big Tip Podcast with Jeff Mendelson

Chris Joyce is the founder of 24 companies in high-tech consumer goods, health, and manufacturing. His products have been sold in more than 11,000 stores in 23 countries, and the users of his tech products are spread over 148 countries across the globe. Chris's newest venture is Gusher a simple, quick, and easy way to build a startup. Chris believes that great ideas can come from anyone, anywhere. The market and not venture capitalists should be the judge of whether or not these ideas see the light of day.

Chris’s biggest company was a company called Olo Food which was the largest low carbohydrate manufacturer in the world. It started off when he had $1,200 to his name and was almost homeless. One morning, he wanted a low-carbohydrate blueberry muffin. He had been eating eggs and bacon for three years and got fed up with it. He started looking for recipes and at that time there was nothing, not even on the shelves. Chris decided that he was going to do whatever it took to get a low-carbohydrate blueberry muffin.

He didn’t think of making a low-carbohydrate blueberry muffin, or if it will be shelf-stable, or that it had to have less than three grams of carbohydrates or not have wheat flour and everything else in it. All of those things evolved with time. Chris started reaching out to over 500 food chemists who all told him it couldn't be done. As a founder, it wasn’t his job to be an expert in all these different verticals. It was his job to surround himself with the most brilliant people in that field to go ahead and solve the problem.

Chris has never been one for marketing people or building sales organizations, he’s always been great to get things started and attract people into the deal. He believes if you're not able to go ahead and attract people into your company, those ideas should be buried. All great things start out as little ideas, something that burns inside of you, and when you put it out there and keep going it will become its own thing.

There are specific ways to test if your idea is great. The biggest aspect is attracting a team to join your company right from the get-go to bring that idea to life. The biggest market validation is people willing to support you when they fundamentally believe in your idea. You just have to have a commonality of purpose. As a founder, you do have to remind them at times to focus on what road they're on. There is no such thing as pulling somebody up a mountain. Either the people willingly go up a mountain or they don't.

In this episode:

[01:10] Chris started many companies, created products, and takes risks by being original.

• Having the tools in order to make things happen.
• Dealing with your own pain points to find new ideas.
• Riding the rollercoaster of awesomeness by sticking with it and never giving up.

[03:33] Chris shares how he solves problems in order to bring successful products to market.

• Starting the largest low carbohydrate manufacturer in the world.
• How startup founders are excessively creative thinkers seeing the world as blocks that you can move around.

[05:44] When people reject your idea, how to go out and get it made?

• Getting a team together that knows what they’re doing.
• Identify the problem and a possible pathway to the solution.

[10:41] There’s a method to figure out which ideas to move forward with and which ones to drop.

• Doing a fundamental litmus test.
• Ludicrous ideas should be let out because they have the most potential.

[13:35] Attracting a team with people willing to join your company right from the get-go.

• When people join your company in exchange for equity or performance-based equity.
• You don’t need a penny to get to the 10 million in sales level.

[16:06] Chris gives an example of the kind of people you need for your company.

• Simply ask for help when you start your mission to do something great.
• Having a commonality of purpose and never pulling somebody up a mountain.