#143: Taylor Justice: There are No Rules or Formulas in Entrepreneurship

OVERVIEW:

Jason A. Duprat, Entrepreneur, Healthcare Practitioner and Host of the Healthcare Entrepreneur Academy podcast speaks with Taylor Justice, Co-Founder and President of Unite Us. Taylor highlights his experiences after his medical discharge from the Army and how he came up with the concept of Unite Us. He also talks about the importance of building professional relationships, executing ideas and finding the right investors. 

 

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:

• Reflecting on his football days, Taylor shares how sports psychology teaches you mental discipline, mental toughness and emotional intelligence. 
• You may get told no 100 times. Keep going until you get your shot. 
• Taylor established Unite Us by focusing on and catering to the needs of US Army veterans.
• It’s hard to get your business on track, especially when it involves the government. Taylor highlights the technical aspects and professional relationships he built over the years.
• Have the courage to take the first step and then you’ll figure things out. 
• In entrepreneurship, there is no such thing as rules and formulas. It all comes down to mental toughness and the ability to execute your ideas. 
• Taylor states his MBA gave him good tools and resources, yet on his own, he learned to be gritty and innovative. 
• As a Co-Founder of a software company, Taylor encourages entrepreneurs to focus on three things: identify a need, set your vision and recruit a capable team.
• Finding investors is similar to a sales process. You need to find investors within your target market and understand how they invest.
• If you ask for money, you’ll get advice. If you ask for advice, you’ll get money. 
• Taylor shares his insight on sourcing partners for seed capital and how the early rounds are most expensive for equity. 
• Don’t be afraid of someone stealing your ideas. Tell everybody about what you want to do. It will help improve your pitch and greatly expand your network.

3 KEY POINTS:

1. The core of every business is to provide a solution to a current need or problem. When you have the right idea and the appropriate business model, your path is set. All that matters moving forward is your ability to establish relationships, grit and the proper mindset.

 

2. There’s no formula for entrepreneurship. Adding tools to build your business and scale it will become a great advantage. The important thing is finding your vision and finding a way to execute it.

 

3. Investors are a big part of a business. Aside from funding, they can pivot your business to the right track. Don’t be afraid to get rejected and keep your network open.

 

TWEETABLE QUOTES

“You start to get enough of those smaller checks that turn into a bigger dollar amount   that also tells a story. You do have grit, you do have the ability to go syndicate a deal. Investors get excited about that.” - Taylor Justice 

 

“You need to know your market better than they (your investors) do. If they don’t have confidence in you, it’s going to be very difficult for them to write a check to you.” - Taylor Justice

 

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Unite Us Website - https://uniteus.com/

NCCARE360 - https://nccare360.org/

Taylor Justice on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/taylor-justice

 

#HealthcareEntrepreneurAcademy #healthcare #entrepreneur #entrepreneurship #startup #veteransassistance #businessmodel #saas #buildingcommunity