I'm starting a new series called #Advice4Entrepreneurs. I ask the same two questions to close out the interview:
1. What advice can you offer budding entrepreneurs?
2. What skills that you use now do you wish you would have paid more more attention to back in college or the early part of your career?
This series are those last two questions.
Give it a listen and let us know what you think?
Podcast Guest
Fang Cheng
CEO & Founder
Linc
www.letslinc.com
Podcast Hosts
Jeff Roster
Twitter https://twitter.com/JeffPR
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-roster-bb51b8/
Website https://thisweekininnovation.com
Brian Sathianathan
Twitter https://twitter.com/BrianVision
Website https://www.iterate.ai
Podcast Website
https://www.podbean.com/pu/pbblog-f8asf-af2782
https://thisweekininnovation.com
Apple
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-week-in-innovation/id1562068014
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/2QDqTUnt6jebdRHbRzSTJN
LaunchPadOne
https://www.launchpaddm.com/pd/This-Week-in-Innovation?showAllEpisodes=true
Listen Notes
https://lnns.co/2QPSfnizE5K
[00:41:56] Jeff Roster:
[00:42:10] as we wrap up, I always like to ask a couple of questions of all the entrepreneurs we have. We have a lot of folks in college, kids that are listing that wanna want to be in your shoes someday. So in wrapping up, what advice would you give a young.
[00:42:25] Fang Cheng: Yeah. I have made so many mistakes if I would reflect on my humble entrepreneurial journey. I even chatting with team thing because this is my second baby as an entrepreneur. But first time to really take the business through true growth phase building enterprise, a focus at SAS business But if you think about the, perhaps the stand out to learning aspects, I would like to share with entrepreneurs, the budding entrepreneurs, that will be number one, don't be shy about asking for help.
[00:42:57] I think that this is a comment on advice often given to [00:43:00] entrepreneurs these days. But I would emphasize on that. So what here, what I mean by asking for help, it's not just about guiding a entrepreneur. Right or beating of a network with VCs, with federal entrepreneurs do advise you and reach out to your potential customers as we're hub.
[00:43:18] And then that's a particular angle of how I really encourage the entrepreneur. You just think about a specialty in 30 days. And don't be shy to reach out for help. You can learn so much from your process, prospective customers. Maybe you're building a B2C product that we're a B2B product that like links, especially in the B2B world, you can learn so much from your enterprise customers or prospects. And then also that. A fantastic relationship gets you that Verde cohort of early adopters, and then give you an opportunity to avoid making critical product mistakes, and to help you to be more successful finding that product market fit quickly. So asking for help, [00:44:00] especially seeking out for help from your prospective. And a number two saying have is empathy, right? And this is really something that more recently I recognize how important that is.
[00:44:13] As an entrepreneur, we all know learning about leadership is really important. But I think that empathy quality is also underrated. When we talk about, what it takes to be a good leader, And here, when you think about empathy, the only empathy to your teammates, right?
[00:44:31] To the members on the team that reports to you really understand how you can support them to be successful, but the empathy about the pain of your customers are having truly invested uncover that and build a relationship and a report was your customer. You always come from the angle of customer centricity and once.
[00:44:54] You'll see the magic is not only impacting your leadership style, the effectiveness of [00:45:00] that leadership. It actually allows you to build a better product. I always felt, I really only recently recognized that the best product are the ones that are proud of the Bible. Exits is empathy to the pain points of their customers.
[00:45:12] So I'll stop there. But that will be the two things that I perhaps in reflection found is my humble learning potentially can be helpful for.
[00:45:21] Jeff Roster: So two things that I heard that was really interesting. I'm always ask for help or ask. Potential customers, which I've never heard before from any other startups I've interviewed, which I couldn't agree more with.
[00:45:31] If you're trying to solve a problem, there's a reason it's a problem. It's a problem for somebody that would like a solution. So I think that's interesting. And the second thing you said that it's really re, I really want to emphasize is the idea of empathy. And I'll touch tell you a quick story and you'll laugh.