58 Judy Robinette – The Ultimate Power Connector

Stop Riding the Pine

Judy Robinett The Ultimate Power Connector Judy Robinett - The Ultimate Power Connector hails from Franklin, Idaho, the high school where Napoleon Dynamite was filmed, population 600. She grew up shy and bullied but worked her way through college to Fortune 500 company employment and eventually the stage of MIT. While giving a speech there, she was handed a Wall Street Journal which she read on her flight home. An article about how to become financially independent in the US caught her eye which said there were 5 ways and the last one said start a business. She took a sizable SBA loan and started a restaurant. She immediately found out how hard it was to start a business. On the verge of bankruptcy, Judy sat in her attorney's office and he shared these words of wisdom: they can break you but they can't eat you. Share on Twitter Her journey led her to discover the world of start-ups. She became the CEO of a small bio-tech public company and worked with the Skull Candies CEO founder when he was broke and needed funding. Judy became enamored with the start-up world. She sits on the boards and helps them find funding. Judy Robinett - Tips for a Start-up Judy Robinett The Ultimate Power Connector says her number one tip for success is identifying your ideal customer. You must validate you have a customer that will pay. You have to get out from behind the desk to and go meet with potential customers. There are a thousand incubators for them. Go to co-working spaces and seek advice. There are people that are happy to help you. In the US there is the Small Business Development Corp. SBDC and every county in the US has one of these groups. Colleges and Universities have these communities as well. Judy says there are two reasons a start-up fails. Number one is lack of a customer and number two is lack of funding. She fields calls all day from people seeking funding and when asked if they have sales and the answer is no, Judy says that is a mistake. What a Successful Start-Up Has Judy says you need a good management team. In the case of individuals, she looks at the executive summary and looks for three things: Have they done their research and know their ideal customer and proof of the concept that it will work; Create a product, and; Outside money that shows you are vetted. Investors are frantically looking for successful start-ups and when they see someone else has money in they are fearful of FOMO's - fear of missing out. The ROI for a successful start-up is over 21% and has been for 2 years and that is a lot better than a CD or savings account. There is no lack of money for start-ups. Credit Suisse predicts by 2019 global private wealth is 376 trillion! The funding is competitive. In a year a VC sees 5000 proposals. It's critical to have concise, compelling pitch-deck and you focus on what your investors need and not on how wonderful your kool-aid is. The first thing they will look at is ROI and how they will get their money back. If you want to learn more about or connect with Judy Robinett The Ultimate Power Connector, check out her links below and remember she welcomes all questions, comments and inquiries! Don't forget to mention you heard about Judy on Stop Riding the Pine:-) Judy Robinett Website Connect with Judy Robinett on LinkedIn Judy Robinett on Facebook Judy Robinett on Twitter Special Mentions: (iTunes Shout Out) Sun Devil Thank you to Alexis Ayala, host of the Friends and Family podcast, for providing the intro for this episode. Here are the highlights of my conversation with Judy Robinett the Ultimate Power Connector if you are in a hurry: Who is Judy Robinett? (2:36 Mark) Judy Robinett number one tip for success. (5:26 Mark) What are the traits of a successful startup? (7:55 Mark) Judy Robinett shares how to get funding. (10:55 Mark) What was Judy Robinett's break away moment? (25:57 Mark) This episode of Stop Riding the Pine Podcast wa...