Summary
Welcome to another great episode of the Startup Junkie Podcast! On this episode of Startup Junkies, hosts Caleb Talley, Jeff Amerine, and Grace Gill sit down with serial entrepreneur Lloyed Lobo, co-founder of Boast.ai, a company accelerating the success of innovation by helping eligible companies get quicker access to R&D tax credits. Lloyed has been involved in the startup ecosystem for more than fifteen years as an entrepreneur, community builder, and angel investor. Throughout the episode, Lloyed talks about dealing with his sharp rise to success, the power of having a tribe, and his Wall Street Journal bestseller From Grassroots to Greatness.
Show Notes
(1:01) Introducing Lloyed Lobo
(3:13) Lloyed’s Origin Story
(14:04) The Inspiration behind From Grassroots to Greatness
(24:50) Balancing Resilience and New Opportunities
(29:01) The Process of Idea Validation
(39: 13) Advice to Younger Self
(45:46) Closing Thoughts
Links
Quotes
“…when we ask what entrepreneurship is today, it’s all about making money. But to me, what entrepreneurship is, is taking an obscure idea to execution and impact while dealing with extreme risk. There’s no bigger risk than being in the middle of a war. The other thing I learned was about leadership. Great leaders cascade purpose, not just goals.” – Lloyed Lobo, (5:50)
“The only way to learn something that you suck at is to put yourself in an environment that forces you to do that something over and over again. Now, another key lesson here is the importance of the people you surround yourself with, right? You become the average of the people you surround yourself with.” – Lloyed Lobo, (9:59)
“Every obscure idea that eventually went on to become this enduring global phenomenon had four stages in common. People listen to you or buy your product or service. You have an audience. When you bring that audience together to interact with one another, it becomes a community. Now, when the community comes together to create impact towards a greater purpose far greater than your product or profit, it becomes a movement. And when that movement has undying faith in its purpose through sustained rituals, over time it becomes a cult or religion. So audience, community, movement, religion.” – Lloyed Lobo, (20:59)
“What I tell people is if you have an idea and you don’t have an ideal customer profile, then figure out who you’re going to serve. Understand their pains and goals, but also understand their aspirations because the aspiration is forever. Your customer problem or goal will give you the first product, but if you understand the customer’s aspiration, then you will go on the journey of building your future products.” – Lloyed Lobo, (30:11)
Risking it All and Achieving Your Dreams with Lloyed Lobo
Welcome to another great episode of the Startup Junkie Podcast! On this episode of Startup Junkies, hosts Caleb Talley, Jeff Amerine, and Grace Gill sit down with serial entrepreneur Lloyed Lobo, co-founder of Boast.ai, a company accelerating the success of innovation by helping eligible companies get quicker access to R&D tax credits. Lloyed has been involved in the startup ecosystem for more than fifteen years as an entrepreneur, community builder, and angel investor. Throughout the episode, Lloyed talks about dealing with his sharp rise to success, the power of having a tribe, and his Wall Street Journal bestseller From Grassroots to Greatness.
The Power of Community
After growing up seeing the tragedies of war, Lloyed credits his entrepreneurial spirit to the communal efforts of those around him to solve big problems while in the midst of adversity. Lloyed applied this innovative attitude when going to college and graduated with a bachelors in software engineering despite never getting his GED. After deciding he didn’t want to work a traditional nine to five, Lloyed was advised that the best skill he could improve on was communication.
“…when we ask what entrepreneurship is today, it’s all about making money. But to me, what entrepreneurship is, is taking an obscure idea to execution and impact while dealing with extreme risk. There’s no bigger risk than being in the middle of a war. The other thing I learned was about leadership. Great leaders cascade purpose, not just goals.” – Lloyed Lobo, (5:50)
As a result, Lloyed found himself working sales jobs and now he credits everything he is today to the skills he learned making cold calls. And although Lloyed had many times where he wanted to walk away, he remained resilient and became a jack of all trades as he continued to expand his knowledge and seek new experiences.
Building a Community vs. Becoming a Commodity
Despite the fact that Lloyed’s entrepreneurial journey was nontraditional, his desire to learn led him to be able to adapt no matter the circumstances or environments he found himself in. After a few failed startups, Lloyed co-founded Boast.ai, a fintech company working to automate government funding for businesses. Early on, Lloyed leaned into the community mindset that he experienced growing up to drive growth for Boost by creating a social proof community.
Later, after a few smart business decisions, Lloyed found himself in the most financially stable position he’d ever been in and yet he was the most unhappy he’d ever been. So once again, Lloyed leaned into community and authored his book From Grassroots to Greatness, to educate others on the importance of community in a world where traditional marketing is losing its edge. Along with a customer profile and validation, Lloyed writes about the power of people in ensuring your brand doesn’t become a commodity.
“What I tell people is if you have an idea and you don’t have an ideal customer profile, then figure out who you’re going to serve. Understand their pains and goals, but also understand their aspirations because the aspiration is forever. Your customer problem or goal will give you the first product, but if you understand the customer’s aspiration, then you will go on the journey of building your future products.” – Lloyed Lobo, (30:11)
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