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Feel the Boot
Home
Blog
About
Services
Resources
Merch
Contact
Site Search
Get my Fundraising Toolkit
Home
Blog
About
Services
Resources
Merch
Contact
Site Search
Get my Fundraising Toolkit
Your Product Won't Speak for Itself — Why Technical Founders Get Overlooked | Shayna Davis
Episode, Interview Lance Cottrell 3/24/26 Episode, Interview Lance Cottrell 3/24/26

Your Product Won't Speak for Itself — Why Technical Founders Get Overlooked | Shayna Davis

An investor told Shayna Davis he won't give a founder a dime if they can't sell themselves, not just the product. In this conversation, she breaks down the competency gap most technical founders don't even know they have, and shares a dead simple exercise to start fixing it.

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Hockey Enforcer to $110M: Dave Burnett on Grit, Time, and Making AI See Your Startup
Episode, Interview, Insight Lance Cottrell 3/3/26 Episode, Interview, Insight Lance Cottrell 3/3/26

Hockey Enforcer to $110M: Dave Burnett on Grit, Time, and Making AI See Your Startup

In this interview, Dave Burnett breaks down why most companies are invisible to AI models and what to do about it, shares his 1,440-minute time management system built around 10-minute blocks, and makes the case that non-traditional founders have a real edge

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🤝 The Super Connector System: David Homan on Building Relationships at the Speed of Trust
Interview, Insight, Episode Lance Cottrell 11/20/25 Interview, Insight, Episode Lance Cottrell 11/20/25

🤝 The Super Connector System: David Homan on Building Relationships at the Speed of Trust

If you think you're "terrible" at networking because you're an introvert—someone who prefers a book by the fire to working a room—you need to recalibrate your self-assessment.

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121. The mindset shift that separates stalled founders from successful ones – David Neagle interview
Episode, Interview, Getting Started Lance Cottrell 6/3/25 Episode, Interview, Getting Started Lance Cottrell 6/3/25

121. The mindset shift that separates stalled founders from successful ones – David Neagle interview

Fear stops more startups than failure ever will.

Recently, I sat down with David Neagle.

Our conversation was a powerful reality check for founders who feel stuck, and a roadmap to help them move forward.

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120. Unlocking Startup Growth: Fundraising Strategies and Resilience Tips with Paulo Andrez
Episode, Interview, Running Your Business Lance Cottrell 5/1/25 Episode, Interview, Running Your Business Lance Cottrell 5/1/25

120. Unlocking Startup Growth: Fundraising Strategies and Resilience Tips with Paulo Andrez

Paulo Andrez, angel investor and author of "Zero Risk Startup," joined me to unpack how founders can create clarity, reduce risk, and massively increase their odds of success.

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119. Pre-Sell Before You Build: Avoid Costly Startup Mistakes — with David Hirschfeld
Episode, Interview, Getting Started Lance Cottrell 4/10/25 Episode, Interview, Getting Started Lance Cottrell 4/10/25

119. Pre-Sell Before You Build: Avoid Costly Startup Mistakes — with David Hirschfeld

Most founders dive headfirst into building their product—only to realize later that nobody wants it. Instead of building first and hoping for customers, David shows how founders can sell before they build—and avoid the mistakes that sink most startups.

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114. Building Products Right: Essential Advice for Early-Stage Founders by Chad Perry 🚀
Interview, Running Your Business, Episode Lance Cottrell 12/20/24 Interview, Running Your Business, Episode Lance Cottrell 12/20/24

114. Building Products Right: Essential Advice for Early-Stage Founders by Chad Perry 🚀

The journey to building a product can feel like navigating a minefield. Fractional CTO Chad Perry shares his suggestions.

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107. Startup Failure Analysis 🔎 Key Lessons from Abby Sugar
Episode, Interview, Insight Lance Cottrell 6/28/24 Episode, Interview, Insight Lance Cottrell 6/28/24

107. Startup Failure Analysis 🔎 Key Lessons from Abby Sugar

In the world of startups, success stories often steal the spotlight. Yet, failure is a far more common companion on the entrepreneurial journey.

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101. Decoding Startup Sales Strategy 🧐 Michael Regnier Interview
Episode, Running Your Business, Interview Lance Cottrell 2/1/24 Episode, Running Your Business, Interview Lance Cottrell 2/1/24

101. Decoding Startup Sales Strategy 🧐 Michael Regnier Interview

Sales strategy is often a neglected aspect of many tech startups, especially those led by technical founders.

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93. Startup Branding and Positioning 🔥 Mara Rada Interview
Episode, Running Your Business, Interview Lance Cottrell 8/2/23 Episode, Running Your Business, Interview Lance Cottrell 8/2/23

93. Startup Branding and Positioning 🔥 Mara Rada Interview

Mara Rada explains how to use branding and positioning to maximum effect in your startup.

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57. Startup Lifecycles and Surviving No Man’s Land – Ruth King Interview
Episode, Running Your Business, Interview Lance Cottrell 7/14/21 Episode, Running Your Business, Interview Lance Cottrell 7/14/21

57. Startup Lifecycles and Surviving No Man’s Land – Ruth King Interview

Profitability Master Ruth King, the award-winning author of 5 books including “the Courage to be Profitable” and “Profit or Wealth?”, talks about the lifecycle of startups and surviving a phase she calls “No Man’s Land.”

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39. Michele Chaboudy - Feel the Boot Interview
Interview Lance Cottrell 9/4/20 Interview Lance Cottrell 9/4/20

39. Michele Chaboudy - Feel the Boot Interview

Michele Chaboudy, experienced senior executive, serial entrepreneur, consultant, angel investor, and vice-chair of the north bay angels shares tons of useful advice for any founder or CEO.

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37. Lisa Tamayo - Feel the Boot Interview
Episode, Interview Lance Cottrell 8/7/20 Episode, Interview Lance Cottrell 8/7/20

37. Lisa Tamayo - Feel the Boot Interview

Lisa Tamayo, serial entrepreneur, angel investor, CEO/Co-founder of Scollar, talked about their pivot from product to platform, and shared her hard-won experience about the startup process.

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34. Iris Fujiura - Feel the Boot interview
Episode, Interview, Fundraising Lance Cottrell 7/10/20 Episode, Interview, Fundraising Lance Cottrell 7/10/20

34. Iris Fujiura - Feel the Boot interview

Iris Fujiura, Chapter Lead of the Silicon Valley chapter of Golden Seeds, and an engineer/executive working on rockets and launch systems, provides great insight into angel investor priorities, and what makes for a successful funding pitch.

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32. Interview with Che Voigt, CEO & Co-Founder of Altwork
Episode, Interview Lance Cottrell 6/12/20 Episode, Interview Lance Cottrell 6/12/20

32. Interview with Che Voigt, CEO & Co-Founder of Altwork

Che Voigt, co-founder and CEO of AltWork and chair of the North Bay Angels, talks about their innovative workstation and how the work from home trend is driving sales and their experiences with a China based supply chain during COVID.

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30. Elizabeth Gore’s Feel the Boot Interview
Episode, Interview Lance Cottrell 5/24/20 Episode, Interview Lance Cottrell 5/24/20

30. Elizabeth Gore’s Feel the Boot Interview

Elizabeth Gore, co-founder and president of Alice (helloalice.com), shares numerous insights that will be of great help to any small business owner..

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