282: Get Real: Word of The Week and Updates from San Diego on the 2025 US Tour

Speaker A: Hello, everyone. Welcome to the Founders Live podcast. My name is Luis Antizana. With me is your CEO, uh, your founder, your best friend, Nick Hughes. How's it going?

Speaker B: Hey. It's good. Kind, um, of coming off of a, um, this, this week, and we'll maybe talk about a little bit, but a little bit of, I guess a head cold or, you know, when you. When you travel, you start somehow you start to get sniffles.

Speaker A: So, um, some bugs.

Speaker B: Yeah, kind of coming through that, but good. I am still in San Diego.

Speaker A: All right, well, hey, uh, we are going to do a little bit faster pace today. We're going to check in with Nick, see how his trip's going. We talked about getting back from New York last week. He's in San Diego today. Still in San Diego. This is the one week where he's a little bit longer in a city. And then we will get to our word of the week, and then that's it. We're going to get going. Nick, San Diego, they had an event on Wednesday. You were there, looked awesome. I saw a little bit of video. Tell us about that experience. Tell us about your week in San Diego.

Speaker B: Yeah, well, first, the, you know, just the week. The week has been, uh, it's been fun. And, you know, I'm like, you know, staying in the Mission Bay, Mission beach area of San Diego. Literally one block. Uh, the bay is right there, and then right the opposite direction. There's the full Pacific beach right there. It's really fun. And, um, just getting outside and definitely, like this morning, I just got a quick workout in over there. It was fun. So being over here is great. Um, I have a friend here that, um, every time I come into San Diego, I just make sure that I connect with him. And so, um, it was kind of fun. He invited me to a little. There was a thing happening at Tom's Watch Bar, which is an actually kind of new brand of sports bar that's been. They have 16 locations now. And it was fun. And it turned out I met Tom, the founder of it and we chatted. And me and you have actually, they hit our radar up there in Seattle. And so, um, I connected you into the whole thing because Tom was up there the next night. And I know that you chatted with him and you can share a little bit about that, but that's part of the tour is just some of this fortuitous, random things that happened. I didn't plan on that at all. And, uh, we might end. End up working closely with them and having, uh, some events There in Seattle. So we'll see. But that was fun. And then um, yeah, we had Founders Live San uh, Diego on Wednesday night. It was really, really great and um, a very high end location. And um, we were kind of concerned of how many people actually were going to show up. About a week ago it didn't look, look great, just the numbers wise but the room wasn't very large. But it was like at the 34th floor overlooking the city and the water and one of the best buildings in the city. And uh, so then it just was really high end. And uh, the team there, Sam and Daniel uh, did such a good job. I mean this very showmanship. Daniel's got that and um, they just do it their way. And it's fun to see Founders Live done in the slight uniqueness of how they want to do it. That's the way we created it. And so um, it was fun. Three pitches and um, went really well. I spoke a little bit, met a lot of people. They really enjoyed me being there and it was fun. Just, I love that. Just shaking hands and meeting all of our founders and people that are there. Um, so went really well and you know, can't complain.

Speaker A: Yeah, great energy. It's so cool to see stuff like that and, and like you said, the different flavors in the different city while the formula remains the same. The there's local style and shout out to Sam Holt, Daniel Redmond for making that happen, for bringing the crowd and having a, a great event and you know you always hear really good feedback. We've had some, some, some nice words from people sending emails to you and to our uh, backstage marketplace response. Uh, it's, it's, it's really nice. And by the way, that thing with Tom with the watch party, that actually even harkens back to last week's word of the week of show up. We, you know, you're out doing stuff, you just have an encounter with, with, with Tom and you look, this helps cement a relationship with a venue. 16 locations around the country. It's bigger than we thought. And I mean this guy's partnered with Alex Rodriguez. I hear Mark Wahlberg. This is a big, these guys know what they're doing. They do research, they build up a great company and they get in fantastic locations. Primary rule of real estate buying and they are, they're just putting these things in near stadiums and it aligns really well with us. Look for Founders Live events. If we can work out a relationship with them, it'd be awesome to have Founders Live events in their space. Around the country. We're going to start with Seattle this fall. We'll see what we can do. They've been really cool. Shout out to Tom's Watch Bar. Well done. All right, Nick, anything else to share before we jump into the word?

Speaker B: Uh, let's. Let's do this.

Speaker A: All right, let's get to it. Now. This is where we're supposed to have the. The sound effect in the. And the. The stinger. Word of the week. Word of the week is get real. We are all feeling a little bit of. Of economic uncertainty, and, you know, that's going to affect some people's sales calls. It's going to affect. For forecasts. Uh, there's just so much around, but, uh, that. That is just one little shade of what happens when. When gets real, man. That's. That happens to us in our business. It happens. Uh, Nick, tell us why you chose this topic today, and let's just get into it.

Speaker B: Yeah, it's. It's a weird time, obviously. You know, I think there. There's probably not any industry that's not, you know, at least feeling some uncertainty. And we are for sure. And, you know, it's our. I don't know if the word is our fortunes have changed, but, like, um, you know, we. We've come off a very significant first three months and, you know, basically best. Best in history in the sense. And then, um, you know, tides have turned and, you know, one has to wonder. I mean, there's a couple dynamics that are happening within Founders Live, you know, especially, dude, when I hit. When I'm touring, you know, it's. It's a. It's a different dynamic than when I'm just in Seattle. But, you know, we're feeling it too. And it's. It's scary and frustrating and so, um, you know, I think just kind of talking about, you know, a few ways to, you know, as things get real, just get through it. And, uh, you know, I think one. One that comes to mind. You know, I think when you look at, you know, I was kind of thinking about, you know, just even the words like shift, you know, I don't. I don't necessarily like, pivot. I think it's way too overused now and, um, lost its meaning. But, you know, shifting and, you know, the world is shifting literally in real time. And, you know, look, we don't even, like, we're not dealing with, like, hardware or physical products that might be sent from a different country. Um, we deal with pretty dynamic different things. But I think what we're seeing is a lot of our potential customers are very much recalibrating as well. And at that moment in time they're less willing to take quick actions or make decisions, um, work with a company that they might not have worked with before. They're reconsidering a lot of their budgets and that's frustrating and so we're feeling it. And I think in the end it's, you have to be able to shift and where, how that's the job of the founder and the leader or the team is to figure it out. But um, yeah, that's kind of what's on my mind. And you know, it's. I think a lot of people are probably a lot of companies and teams are just trying to figure it out in real time as well.

Speaker A: Yeah, I don't know how many people need to hear that. It's important to be real with yourself. But look, we, we go through these phases of like being in our heads of imagining what could be and like hoping for uh, best case scenarios and working towards these things. And you know, we don't. But at the same time we don't want to be kidding ourselves and we want, we need to be realistic while being optimistic. Right. And there's times like this when you really just got to get down and be like, okay, what is going on? What is working? What is not working? What do we have to do right now? These moments of reality check. I don't know what the ratio is between how much time you spend in real world and how much time you spend chasing that ideal vision that we want to create as founders, but, um, that those are considerations. Um, Nick, do you have some way that you, uh, you know, a trick, a tip, a check in point, whatever that you use to make sure that you're living in the real world and not um, just, you know, in your own head and people think you're an idiot. Like what's your, how do you achieve that balance?

Speaker B: Well, uh, just this is my, this is the way I, my answer at this moment. But um, I think the few things are, you know, if you. Well, first is, oh, uh, you know, like it really helped to get outside today. And you know, um, I, in terms of exercise and getting out and I think, you know, for me I'm much more of a morning, you know, I need to, I need to get outside. I literally like bare feet, got out on the sand and kind of did a fun workout and I feel better, you know, and I think like you gotta, whatever your thing is, especially exercise or just Getting outside in nature and feeling literally the pavement or the sand on your feet, you know, that's important, the grass in your feet or whatever. And so, you know, that was helpful. And any days that I have, like, at least I get that done to, to get through the next day and all that. And then another thing is, do you have a coach around you and do you have people that are there to help you see things or understand things or work through? Um, I do. And, uh, make sure that I work, um, consistently with this individual. Basically, we have calls every two weeks. So, you know, that's a frequency that's helpful sometimes you might want every week or numerous times a day. And we also have, um, we've brought on a few people that kind of serve in these places that in the end what it is, is surrounding yourself and your team with people that strategically can help with, uh, times that can be uncomfortable and at least point you to things and directions that you might not otherwise see. So those are two things that they don't solve at all. But you're at least I think one is get out of your head in your body or get into your body, just get out in the nature. And then the second one is, um, surrounding yourself with some people that have some unique perspective that can kind of get you through some of these times.

Speaker A: I got one for you. The balance, uh, in the bank account, that is a reality check. And you know, I know it sounds funny, but, uh, it's true, right? Like, that is, all things aside, what is the money saying? And that is, uh, that that's a harsh reality. Sometimes, um, sometimes it's. Sometimes it's consolation. Sometimes like, okay, well, look, you, you know, despite what's going on, you get a little cushion. Um, but, you know, being straight with yourself is the important thing. I, I'd like to also say that in moments of uncertainty, when you're getting reality checks and feeling that you also have real. Knowing what's real also separates what is imagined. You get into uncertainty, you get into fear. And fear builds up all kinds of things that aren't necessarily real and you have to deal with, in your business with, with what's actually happening. Yes, stuff could happen. Fear, uncertainty, build up. But sometimes it's not as bad as you think based on just, you know, what your mind starts to imagine could happen. So if you're going to get real,

Speaker B: be real about what's real, I'll add to that. And, you know, I think, you know, it can get a. Yeah, the fear can, can get to you and you know, I think, you know, from our standpoint as well, we have a ton of moving parts, like a lot of really, really great stuff. And you know, I think that there's, I think what I've been paying attention a little to probably a lot or just like, you know, when, when, you know, especially our sales calls, like essentially the revenue generation of founders live. You know, it is like spiky in the sense of you might have three, four, five weeks of really good meetings and actually results happen. And then, you know, three, four, five weeks of like, why are people not actually committing, closing and moving forward and. Or, you know, like I said, um, if they are, they're just doing that in, um, maybe it's the lower, more, um, less money option of your offering. And so that has a tremendous effects. Right? But there's still a lot of goodness happening.

Speaker A: Okay.

Speaker B: And so this is to everyone out there is, you know, really remove emotions and look at what is actually happening. And you know, of course it's not going to be 100% perfect, but there are good things happening. Um, you know, there are, you know, it's like really evaluating the ones that you're not so happy about and really looking at what exactly that is. But pay attention to all the things that are happening is, uh, al. A very, very good thing in times that can be challenging.

Speaker A: So we talk about how we're interacting with our prospects, people we're trying to bring on, and you know, I think we get to probably have to shift our own messaging a little bit. But you know, look, these other people, if we think about what they're going through and sensing them pulling back or being cautious, I think it's, I think it's every one of our own jobs. If we're getting real to, to make sure we're real in our messaging, deliver something to them that, that brings them into a real state. And I think like, if we are, if we can be the, a reliable voice of something real for them to uh, have real value where we can give them an anchor within all of this to say, like, ah, look, this is the situation. You, you know, ah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And you, you, you can count on us for this thing that helps them focus and establishes value for our own product and ourselves as an organization.

Speaker B: You got it. All right.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: Well, last, yeah, last few thoughts here. Um, you know, yeah, the last thing I would say everyone is uh, it, you know, these things, ups and downs, um, got to hang tough. It's no secret that, you know, I would just say that the tone of the world and then especially the US Economy is being felt in the conversations we're having, uh, for our business. And that's, you know, like I said, again, we're not in the worst of these things. I mean, there's companies. I mean, I feel really bad for, um, some of the companies that work with products that are internationally, you know, uh, shipped or, you know, moving and importing and all this stuff. Okay, so we don't do that. But what I can tell you is it's. It's strange. And there's, you know, basically two main. Two main. Two huge things happened. In early April, I started to tour, and then the absolute tariffs, um, happened, and the crazy. It just shifted the mindset on, uh, so many people. And it's different than the pandemic. The pandemic was a different thing, but that was still tremendously crazy. But I just feel that you have to shift and find the way now. Uh, that makes sense for your business, and that's the job to do.

Speaker A: That's the real deal. All right, Nick, thanks for bringing this up. Where are you off to next?

Speaker B: All right, well, I leave San Diego on Monday. Uh, so when. When this podcast comes out, um, you know, I'm on my way to Las Vegas, so I will be in Vegas, and we have, uh, a gathering there, uh, that week. Yeah, yeah, it'll be fun. No, 15th.

Speaker A: Uh, 15th. Yeah. Uh, gosh darn it, that's right, the 15th. You're leaving on the 12th.

Speaker B: Yeah. So, yeah, um, the next stop. Here we go. And then, uh, we'll check in.

Speaker A: Yeah, it'll be great to start that city up. We were last there for Super Bowl. Good grief. And then before that, it was August 2023.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker A: Las Vegas. You deserve more. You're gonna get it. Hopefully everyone who's listening here can come out. Nick, have a safe trip. It's great talking to you. I'll talk to you later today.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker A: Everybody else, thank you for listening to the Founders Live podcast. We will be back next week with another word and another update. We appreciate your listenership. Thanks.