"How I Built This" Best Podcast; Great Lessons; Keep Moving!!

There are now 350,000 podcasts, making it very hard for podcast lovers to choose favorites.

But, here is our new favorite: http://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this. For anyone trying to build or help build a business, it is both fascinating and inspirational.

The podcasts are interviews with the founders of prominent firms like Spanx, Dermalogica, Clif Bar and Airbnb. It is amazing to hear what they went through to achieve success.

Here are some universal but excellent lessons we took from the podcasts.

Jump every hurdle no matter how high. The founders never fell into victim status no matter how huge the obstacles were. We were stunned to hear about the stuff Clif Bar and Spanx went through.
Luck. All the founders admitted there was luck involved (also indicating a lack of ego). One founder pointed out though: “luck only comes if you are constantly moving; it never comes if you are sitting and waiting for it.”
Passion before profits. They all focused obsessively on their product, and not on the money.
They all used friends and family for ideas, feedback, financing, and customers. Healthy networks are essential.
Get it in writing – no handshake deals. The Clif Bar founder almost lost everything to a supplier who claimed ownership of the company b/c there was no agreement.
Surround yourself with people you like so you can spend a lot of time together and grow together. This may be JVM’s secret sauce. I love going to work every day :).